I want to thank the DA community for their support during my medical disability in 2011.

I confirm that I am back and available. My new portfolios in the legislature are 1) Roads and Public Works. 2) Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture.

I will once again be focussing on the maintenance of roads in the Eastern Cape to ensure value for money.

Concerning public works, I want to establish a norm that contracts for the maintenance of state buildings go to local entrepreneurs. In this way unemployment is reduced and skills are transferred.

In my capacity a member of the portfolio committee on sport, arts and culture, I want to ensure that libraries have the necessary material available which is in line with school curriculums. All children in our province must have access to information that can help them to be successful.

We have to ensure that all museums in the Eastern Cape reflect the legacy of all communities.

The DA will continue with its efforts for the establishment of a provincial lobbying unit as in the Western Cape and Gauteng to bring large sport events and world symposiums to the Eastern Cape to promote tourism and relieve poverty. The support of the provincial government for the EP Kings, sport clubs and schools sports will also be sought.

Where the DA governs, it works for the community. This can also happen in the Eastern Cape.

Yours sincerely

Pine Pienaar, DA MPL

Bhisho

DA Chief Whip in the Provincial Legislature, Pine Pienaar, says the blue wave is everywhere -- even in the medicine in his drip! He is currently receiving treatment in a hospital in the Western Cape due to multiple lung infection. He is rearing to go to show the ANC a thing or two and has been actively canvassing among the doctors and nurses in the high care unit at the hospital. "I am happy to continue doing my duty and being part of the tide that is turning against the ANC," he said.

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture was informed this week – a day before the Bill was due to be introduced on in the Eastern Cape Legislature by the MEC for Agriculture — that it was flawed and incomplete.

The bill provides for the merging of the Eastern Cape Rural Finance Corporation and the Eastern Cape Appropriation Technology Unit into the Rural Development Agency.

DA fully supports the initiative because one, focussed entity could bring success if its approach to development is professional and streamlined.

Food security, water resource development and tapping into hydro-power potential, developing tourism opportunities and assisting emerging farmers in our province should be developed without delay.

Water shortages are a chronic and severe problem in much of South Africa. Our country has no commercially navigable rivers and no significant natural lakes.

However, the Umzimvubu River in the Eastern Cape is one of the most significant rivers in our country. Its catchment area receives between 700mm and 1500mm of rain annually, carrying 2 500 million cubic litres of water to the sea.

This alone is a phenomenal statistic which creates a massive opportunity. It is estimated that the water of the Umzimvubu could generate 2 000million kilowatt of electricity annually if it is tapped properly.

At the moment the sad reality is that a mere 5 per cent of the water flowing down the Umzimvuvu River is being utilized for agricultural use. Putting more of the water to use could be the catalyst to agricultural and hydro-electrical development in this region, creating thousands of jobs sparking the road to food security and the proper management of water resources.

A recent report by the Development Bank of South Africa points the fact that water-based opportunities for development have not been exploited in this country. For example, more than 40 years after the Pongolapoort Dam (South Africa’s third largest dam) was constructed, the water available to supply irrigated agriculture on the Makatini Flats in KwaZulu-Natal is still not being used productively. The hydropower potential of the Umzimvubu River has not been tapped at all.

In Cape Town the DA-led coalition turned The Mother City into the most successful city in South Africa by overhauling the administrative systems, appointing the right people in the right places and re-prioritising expenditure. By 2007, the organisation had been restructured and 1,800 new qualified staff members, mostly technical personnel, had been appointed. The same needs to be done in the Eastern Cape.

In Cape Town the DA did not only talk. The City showed us how it should be done.

The story here is that we need to get our act together. We have potential, but we do not develop our resources. The Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency Bill must be finalised and put into legislation without delay to ensure sustainable service delivery, improved rural livelihoods and economic development it the Eastern Cape.

*1. Mr C H Maxegwana to ask the Premier:

(1) (a) How many Government officials were placed on suspension with pay from 1 April 2010 up to and including the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what total amount in salaries and benefits was paid out to these officials in the same time-frame;

(2) how many of these suspensions had been (a) lifted and (b) successfully dealt with through disciplinary proceedings as at the latest specified date for which information is available;

(3) in how many cases did disciplinary proceedings have to be cancelled in terms of the law as a result of their continuing for longer than 30 days?

MECs:

*2. Mr J C Cupido to ask the MEC responsible for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism:

(1) (a) What progress has been made with the appointment of the incoming Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board (ECGBB) members and (b) when will the new ECGBB be appointed;

(2) whether any of the previous members who were asked to resign by the MEC reapplied to serve on the board; if so, are their applications being considered; if so, why;

(3) whether he has been informed that in terms of section 9 of the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Act an individual is not allowed to serve more than two terms as a member of the ECGBB; if so,

(4) whether any applicants for the new board have served more than two terms; if so, will they be excluded as candidates?

*3. Mr C H Maxegwana to ask the MEC responsible for Education:

(1) What criteria are used in determining what books are selected as prescribed books for Matric learners in the province;

(2) whether any consideration has been or is to be given to selecting the book Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains by Luli Callinicos as a prescribed book for Matric learners in 2012; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

*4. Mr M Mrara to ask the MEC responsible for Education:

What legal steps can be taken against principals in the province who contravene the provisions of the South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996, and the Constitution relating to guaranteed free education in cases where parents qualify?

*5. Mr P E van Vuuren to ask the MEC responsible for Education:

(1) Whether his Department has received disclaimers and adverse opinions for the past 15 years; if so,

(2) whether any steps were taken to address this situation and avoid a repetition thereof in future; if not, why not; if so, what steps;

(3) whether the systems in his Department have improved to such an extent that an unqualified report in respect of financial matters is likely to be (a) obtained and (b) sustained; if not, why not; if so, what weaknesses within the financial system were identified and addressed?

*6. Mr P E van Vuuren to ask the MEC responsible for Education:

(1) Whether resources of his Department are being abused and depleted due to maladministration and financial mismanagement on the part of certain officials; if so, (a) how long has his Department been aware of this and (b) what steps have been taken to rectify the situation;

(2) whether any skills audit has ever been commissioned to determine the suitability of the officials for the tasks they have been appointed to perform; if not, why not; if so, (a) what was the outcome of the audit and (b) what corrective measures were implemented in this regard?

*7. Ms V Mvenya to ask the MEC responsible for Health:

Whether he has been informed that (a) (i) Ntenshe, (ii) Mnyibashe and (iii) Kotane clinics operate without electricity and (b) these clinics have to depend on the community to refrigerate medicines; if so, (aa) why are these clinics without electricity and (bb) when will this problem be addressed?

*8. Mr J Pienaar to ask the MEC responsible for Health:

Whether any weekly reporting system is in place at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital to report any deviations from acceptable health norms and standards; if not, why not; if so, why did his Department not act in time to prevent the recent 29 baby deaths at this hospital?

*9. Mr J Pienaar to ask the MEC responsible for Health:

Whether any accrual payments to suppliers will be brought over from the 2010/2011 financial year to the 2011/2012 financial year; if so, what total amount is anticipated to be brought over to the 2011/2012 financial year?

*10. Mr C Martin to ask the MEC responsible for Local Government and Traditional Affairs:

(1) (a) What are the required equity targets in respect of (i) gender and (ii) race in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) and (b) how does the current situation in the NMMM compare with these targets;

(2) whether any steps have been taken over the past three years with a view to rectifying existing imbalances in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what steps?

*11. Mr C Martin to ask the MEC responsible for Local Government and Traditional Affairs:

How many service providers have been waiting for longer than 30 days for payment from the Mayor’s Office in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality for services rendered from 1 October 2010 to date?

*12. Mr D B Haddon to ask the MEC responsible for Local Government and Traditional Affairs:

(1) With reference to a recent media article which stated that he could provide financial assistance to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM), (a) from where in the departmental budget is this funding being sourced, (b) what amount will be made available to the NMMM, (c) how did this amount become available and (d) when will the NMMM receive this amount;

(2) whether the NMMM applied for this financial assistance; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether the granting of this funding is subject to any conditions; if so, what conditions?

*13. Mr D B Haddon to ask the MEC responsible for Local Government and Traditional Affairs:

(1) Whether any provincial departments owed the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) any amounts as at the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (a) which specified departments and (b) what amounts in each case;

(2) whether any steps have been or are to be taken with a view to ensuring that the NMMM receives all outstanding amounts due to it; if not, why not; if so, what steps;

(3) by when will all amounts owed to the NMMM be paid in full?

*14. Mr J C Cupido to ask the MEC responsible for Local Government and Traditional Affairs;

(1) (a) How long after the recent collapse of the Dordrecht dam wall did the Emalahleni Disaster Management Services start assisting the community of Dordrecht and (b) what action had been taken to assist the community of Dordrecht as at the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) whether he has been informed that essential community water is still running out of the broken dam at an alarming rate; if so, what steps have been or are to be taken with a view to repairing the damage in respect of (a) the dam wall, catchment and overflow and (b) the community’s homes;

(3) whether he has been informed that this disaster could have been avoided if the dam and overflow drainage infrastructure had been properly maintained by the relevant authority; if so, why was this infrastructure not properly maintained?

*15. Mr R S Stevenson to ask the MEC responsible for Provincial Planning and Finance:

(1) What percentage of budget for capital expenditure had been spent by (a) Health, (b) Education and (c) Roads and Public Works as at the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) (a) what specified amount was spent in each case and (b) what is the remaining amount in each case;

(3) whether any of this amount will have to be returned to National Treasury; if so, what are the relevant details?

*16. Mr R S Stevenson to ask the MEC responsible for Provincial Planning and Finance:

(1) Which specified conditional grants are anticipated to be significantly underspent in the 2010/2011 financial year;

(2) whether any amounts are being held back by National Treasury due to underspending; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;

(3) (a) what amounts are anticipated to be returned to National Treasury in respect of unspent conditional grants at the end of the 2010/2011 financial year and (b) what are the names of the conditional grants concerned?

*17. Ms V Mvenya to ask the MEC responsible for Social Development, Youth and People with Disability:

Whether she has been informed that an employee of her Department, whose name has been forwarded to the Department for purposes of the reply, moved to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in Ngqamakhwe but did not receive her HROPT back-pay, whereas her colleagues did receive it; if so, (a) why did this employee not receive the back-pay to which she is entitled, (b) when will she receive it and (c) why was the letter enquiring about this matter never replied to?

*18. Mr P J Mnguni to ask the MEC responsible for Social Development, Youth and People with Disability:

(1) (a) What programmes and measures are in place to combat drug abuse among young people in the province and (b) in which specified parts of the province is drug abuse most prevalent;

(2) (a) how many drug rehabilitation centres were there in the province as at the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what procedures must be followed in order to have someone admitted to such a drug rehabilitation centre?

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY TRANSFERRED TO THE QUESTION PAPER IN TERMS OF RULE 184.3

33. Mr D B Haddon to ask the MEC responsible for Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison

(1) When will the beneficiaries of Vastrap, Jacksonville and Greenfields in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) receive the houses in Chatty Extension 12 that were promised to them by her Department;

(2) why did these beneficiaries each receive written erf numbers allocating them specific houses, when these houses were ultimately allocated to other beneficiaries from Salt Lake;

(3) whether the Housing Development Association which relocated the Salt Lake families to Chatty acted against the advice of the NMMM housing officials that these units should be allocated to the original beneficiaries; if so, why?

34. Mr D B Haddon to ask the MEC responsible for Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison:

(1) Whether her Department had undertaken any audit of all housing occupants who (a) rightfully live in their units and (b) do not as yet have title deeds to their units as at the latest specified date for which information is available; if so, (i) what were the findings of the audit and (ii) when will these findings be presented to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements; if not,

(2) whether any steps have been or are to be taken with a view to quantifying this problem; if not, why not; if so, (a) what steps and (b) when;

(3) whether her Department has the capacity to undertake such a project throughout the province; if not, how will this incapacity be addressed;

(4) when is it anticipated that this audit will (a) commence and (b) be completed?

55. Mr D B Haddon to ask the MEC responsible for Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison:

(1) (a) When will the 22 incomplete RDP houses in Bezuidenhout in the Nxuba Municipality be completed, (b) why have these houses not been completed and (c) what was the original completion date for these houses;

(2) whether any amount has been paid to contractors in respect of these incomplete houses; if so, (a) what amount and (b) when;

(3) (a) what was the original contract amount for this project and (b) what is the amended projected completion cost of this project?

FRAUD and corruption have cost the provincial Health Department a whopping R45 million in the past three years.

The biggest case – amounting to R18m – directly links eight officials to tender procurement fraud.

Some of the officials have already resigned, while the rest have been suspended.

Another case under investigation relates to a “lost” amount of R14m that was meant for the maintenance of medical facilities and new building activities.

The last matter involved a R13m contract for an air ambulance.

The fraud and corruption charges came to light after a recent investigation by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said: “The investigation started last year after the department noticed a number of irregularities.”

A total of 35 companies have reportedly profited from malfeasance. Some of the cases have already gone to court and seen judgment handed down.

Derek Luyt, media and advocacy head of Rhodes University’s Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), welcomed the news.

“I hope the investigations will be speedily concluded, and that in all cases where prosecution is warranted, including those officials who have already resigned, prosecution will indeed go ahead.”

Luyt said Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana should remember prevention was better than cure.

“If policies, regulations and practice notes are adhered to, there should be a significant reduction in the space in which corrupt officials can operate,” he said.

DA Health MPL Johan Pienaar said the party fully supported the department’s efforts in “cleaning house”.

“They must just make sure those people are brought to book. They must follow up on the criminal cases,” he said.

Gqobana could not be reached for comment yesterday. — michaelk@dispatch.co.za

Last year the ANC Youth Leader, Julius Malema, said in Zimbabwe that his party would unleash Zimbabwean tactics on white South African farmers to get rid of them. He likened these farmers to Western imperialism and sang “Kill the Boer”.

What makes the infamous youth leader’s statements and song noteworthy is that without the farmer, the masses in this country will not only go hungry, they will also die. If you kill the commercial farmer, you will kill your own people. It’s a fact.

In this country every commercial farmer feeds 1 600 people, but in the rest of Africa a commercial farmer only feeds 26 people. Here in South Africa commercial farmers are feeding 50 million people per day, earning R46 billion per year. They are ensuring food security for Southern Africa and are playing a major role in the national- and regional economy.

Why then, would the government go out of its way to threaten the livelihood of the South African commercial farmer with labour legislation, ill thought-out land reform and increasing land taxes? Added to this, farm murders, theft and lawlessness is causing farmers to doubt their future in this country.

At the recent South African Agriculture Union conference in Somerset West, Charles Senekal of Pongola told farmers there was ample opportunity for them to farm in the rest of Africa. We have seen this trend before where farmers go off and make a success in neighbouring countries.

Senekal revealed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo was prepared to give 70 000 hectares of land to 200 foreign farmers; Mozambique now offers 70 000 hectares to at least 800 farmers; Ghana has 600 000 hectares available to 300 potential farmers; Zambia is ready to dish out 60 000 hectares to 40 farmers; and South Sudan has 100 000 unfarmed land, ready to be cultivated.

Can we then blame a serious commercial farmer for thinking of moving to another African state where he will be welcomed, while his own government is going out of its way to make things harder for him? I can’t. I can only ask him to be loyal to his country and his people.

What should our own Ministry of Agriculture be doing to ensure we keep our farmers and build on our own food security?

Firstly, the government needs to acknowledge that South Africa’s commercial farmers have built up loads of experience over hundreds of years, passed from one generation to the next. These skills cannot be replaced or bought. It needs to be protected.

Secondly, agricultural colleges need to be empowered financially and structurally to train a new generation of emerging farmers to build food security along with the existing stock of commercial farmers.

Thirdly, this government must investigate a system where newly qualified agriculture students can work on existing commercial farms in a practical year to afford them the opportunity to hone their knowledge and skills. The details of this can be worked out between the organised farming community, education institutions and the government.

As far as encouraging commercial farmers to take the initiative to develop emerging farms and -farmers is concerned, government should give tax rebates to farmers who are willing to take on these endeavours. Joint ventures between established commercial farmers and emerging farmers are the best way to grow this initiative. But it will not happen if the government does not create the environment or make it worth their while financially.

If a farmer wants to transform his farming business into a public company, government should empower labourers with the knowledge and loans to buy shares and become part of the business. Only then will everybody share in the profits of agriculture, will we be able to work towards infinite food security and will we prevent our existing farmers from packing their tractors and crossing our borders to turn the fields of the rest of Africa.

Pine Pienaar, MPL

DA Spokesperson on Agriculture

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, Bhisho

THE East London Hospital Complex (ELHC) has come under fire for its failure to notify health authorities of a serious infection outbreak at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH).

A record number of infants died at the hospital in January, prompting a plea from concerned staff to management to implement urgent hygiene control measures.

Internal records showed that killer superbugs were responsible for at least 13 of the deaths.

Only this week was the Health Department made aware of the outbreak, after a Dispatch investigation brought the crisis to their attention.

And despite exhaustive attempts, the Dispatch was unable to ascertain from any medical authority if there was a formal policy in place to respond to such emergencies.

Opposition parties said yesterday no “early warning system” was in place to detect a sudden increase in infant mortality at the East London Hospital Complex, which comprises Frere Hospital and CMH.

However, these claims were vehemently denied by provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

“It is nonsense … complete nonsense … it is the responsibility of hospital management to inform the MEC. In this case it was not done, but an investigation is under way to find out why,” he said.

“There is a process and policy in place and when something happens the hospital must inform the department … the correct teams will be mobilised,” Kupelo added.

A team of epidemiologists, senior officials and doctors have been sent to the hospital as part of the investigation, Kupelo said.

Preliminary investigations by authorities revealed that 23 of the 29 babies were referrals from clinics and hospitals around East London.

The babies all recorded extremely low birth weight, below 1kg. Thirteen of them, according to Kupelo, had died from HIV-related complications.

Doctors also noted the superbug bacteria klebsiella on three newborn babies. However, the department at this stage could not conclude that there had been an outbreak of an epidemic, he said.

These early findings are distinctly different to records obtained by the Dispatch, which stated that an outbreak of infectious bacteria had occurred and deeply worried staff.

Kupelo would not say if the full findings from the investigation would be made public.

Critics waded into the department yesterday, with one medical professional saying the neonatal unit at CMH should have been shut down immediately.

South African Medical Association vice-chairperson Mark Sonderup said the hospital showed clear signs of a complete breakdown in infection control measures, and there was no excuse for it.

“Hospitals worldwide follow universal precautions to prevent any infections from reaching this proportion,” he said.

Such precautions include simple hand washing, using antiseptic soaps, and keeping tools and equipment clean.

Hospital records given to the Dispatch highlighted the “erratic” supply of antiseptic soap for handwashing, the absence of disposable paper towels, non-existent spray bottles and even a lack of toilet paper for staff and mothers.

Lack of hygiene control is chiefly to blame for the spread of bacterial infections.

Sonderup said: “It is crazy. It is like an accident waiting to happen. Especially with the infection being so prevalent … it is like standing on the N2 and waiting to be hit by a car.”

He said the spike in baby deaths should have set off alarm bells and the proper authority should have been notified.

“There is clearly a problem. An infection to that extent should force the hospital to shut the unit. It needs to be decontaminated immediately. They must change the stock, change hygiene practices and get the appropriate stock.

“Because they (superbugs) are common in hospitals and the healthcare setting in South Africa, we can easily transmit them from one patient to the other,” Sonderup said.

He said neonates (newborn babies) and premature babies would be the most sensitive to the infections.

Provincial Democratic Alliance health spokesperson Pine Pienaar said yesterday his party had been trying for years to introduce an “early warning system” to pick up “spikes in baby deaths”.

“How many babies must die before the Eastern Cape Health Department gets its act together,” he asked.

United Democratic Movement secretaryBongani Msomi said State hospitals were failing citizens.

I had asked the Department of Health previously to put in place an early warning system to pick up any unusual situations in our health system. Sudden spikes in the monthly norms should be monitored and acted upon. It is extremely alarming to find that such a system is not in place yet. How many babies must die before the Eastern Cape Health Department gets its act together?

I will as a matter of urgency write to the Chairperson of our Health Portfolio Committee in the Legislature for an urgent visit by the committee to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital. We need to identify the challenges in that hospital and put the necessary resources in place. A skills audit of the hospital management should also be done as a matter of urgency.

WHILE all four of the Bay’s hospitals have had their budgets increase with inflation in recent years, top officials in the department admit this is not enough, as they are overspending by hundreds of millions of rand.

This follows the Auditor-General’s damning report late last year in which he issued the department with its eighth disclaimer in 10 years, saying he could not obtain enough evidence to provide an audit opinion of the department.

He said the department had been unable to give supporting documents for employee benefits payments to the tune of R858.5-million, as well as R219-million in allowances and bonuses. The department says it expects to overspend its R13.5-billion budget for 2010/11 by R1.23-billion. In the Bay, the budget for all four hospitals has increased steadily from R968-million in 2008/9 to just under R1.35-billion for 2010/11.

Despite this, they are overspending by R130-million this year.

A senior provincial employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the hospitals’ budgets were “consumed by the cost of employment, leaving little funds for goods and services

“Often we are given policies to implement which aren’t always funded,” he said.

According to Eastern Cape DA health spokesman, Pine Pienaar, “a mere 26% of the province’s R13.5-billion budget was allocated to health work itself. A gross 63% is allocated to the cost of employment”.

Education researcher Daygan Eagar, who works with advocacy group Section27, said the problems stemmed from officials “not understanding how the accounting system works”. Overspending has been something which has been building up over the past 10 years. It’s come to a head. The question is whether the political will to fix the department will be sustained in the medium to long term, after the local government elections,” said Eagar.

Since 2007/8, the national health budget has steadily increased from R63-billion to R113-billion for next year while the Eastern Cape’s health budget has risen from R8.1-billion to R13.5-billion this year.

NELSON Mandela Bay’s primary health care will soon be in the hands of the local municipality, a move that some believe could spark a turnaround in health in the province.

Eastern Cape Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana confirmed yesterday that the Primary Health Care function was to be assigned to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

He said negotiations were under way to finalise the matter, adding that the funds required to finance the service – which include clinic and other primary health services – would be transferred to the municipality.

It had also been decided that the Primary Health Care function would also be assigned to Buffalo City, which is set to become a metropole after the local government elections.

The decision will come as a major relief to the cash-strapped Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

It was facing the possibility of having to pay for the service following a warning from provincial Health Department Superintendent-General Dr Siva Pillay that the department would stop all funding.

In a letter to acting municipal manager Elias Ntoba, the SG stated: “It is our considered opinion that if the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality continues to provide primary health care services in January 2011, it may be an unfunded mandate. The municipality, to our understanding, acknowledged this risk.”

Pillay said the National Health Act defined municipal health services, which did not make provision for primary health care by the municipalities.

He said after the National Health Act had been promulgated, the “provincialisation” process had been challenged in court on more than six occasions with various arguments and all legal challenges, including the last one in December 2010 by South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) challenging the process in Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, failing.

DA caucus leader Leon de Villiers also warned at this week’s budget and treasury committee meeting that unless there was a service level agreement in place “we will not be paid”.

Chief financial officer Kevin Jacoby said that the R43-million owed by the Health Department to the metro for the service up to the end of last year had now been paid. He stressed that the service was being assigned to the metro and this was “not a devolution of powers”.

DA spokesman for health Pine Pienaar welcomed the decision yesterday.

“This is a good move. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has been doing well so far in terms of health service delivery despite struggling to get payment from the provincial department. This decision will bring much needed relief,” he said.

Pienaar firmly believed that by focusing on primary health care the Eastern Cape’s health problems could be rectified.

“More people can be helped at clinics, which in turn takes some pressure off provincial hospitals. It is much more expensive per bed at a hospital compared to the costs per bed at a clinic.”