All posts relating to the Bhisho Brief Newsletter
After the conclusion of a very successful DA provincial congress, where the mood was tangibly one of keen anticipation of things to come in the 2016 local government elections and united team spirit, we have now effectively embarked on our next election campaign. Hardly has the dust settled from our most successful election yet in May 2014 and we are again embarking on our most important election yet. We have …
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The financial viability of small municipalities in the province came under the spotlight at the recent Taking Legislature to the People-event, held in Burgersdorp. During a question-session for oral reply, I asked the MEC for Provincial Planning and Treasury whether the Gariep- and Maletswai municipalities owed money to employee pension funds, Eskom, SARS, the Auditor-General and other any other creditors. In the case of Gariep, it was revealed that Gariep …
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The right to housing is under threat due to inefficiencies in spending and diminishing funding projected between the 2013/14 and 2017/18 financial years. It is my opinion that the Eastern Cape faces a significant backlog and serious shortfall in its provision of quality-built housing for low income households, while the ANC keeps tight-lipped on the matter. Everyone dreams of having a place they can call their own; a place that …
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Despite the best intentions of the department of education, who claim that adequate water and sanitation in schools in the province will be provided within a seven-year timeframe, an entire generation of pupils will remain subjected to a poor learning environment. It was recently revealed in question I asked the MEC for Education, Mandla Makupula, that 765 schools across 23 education districts in the province do not have access to …
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The portfolio committee on economic development travelled all over Joe Gqabi District recently visiting projects supported by the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Sadly, most of the projects were not running. One of them is the Aliwal Spa a prime example of how public funds seem to disappear. R26.4 million has been spent over the last six years with a further R8.6 million committed from the national …
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On 25 September 2014 DA DA Councillor Zuko Mandile and I visited Jojweni Village after receiving a plea with the photograph above. The situation at the village is dire. Jojweni is one of the former so-called Transkei villages in Ward 9 of Intsika Yethu in the Chris Hani District. Residents live in a most beautiful environment, tragically devoid of the basic means to survive. As evident in the photo, the …
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Gerrie Willemse was named legislature staff member of the year 2013 at the DA’s recent biennial provincial congress. She was secretary for MPLs Veliswa Mvenya and Edmund van Vuuren in the previous term and is currently support staff member for newly elected MPLs Celeste Barker and Vicky Knoetze. MPL Mvenya said: I started working with Gerrie from the beginning of the last term, from 2009 to 2014. She has triplets; …
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A warm thank you to my colleagues and staff in the Bhisho Legislature office for their cooperation and support which enabled me to “find my feet” being back here for the past 6 months. Let us start this year, the most important and critical political year in the history of the DA, with enthusiasm, expectation and a positive attitude to show all the people in our beloved country that life …
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HILLANDALE TRUST – LIFTING OF EXPROPRIATION NOTICE ON FARM 456 KOMGA DISTRICT My office received a request for assistance from a voter in the Amatole District who has been trying to sell his farm since 2009. The Trustees of the Hillandale Trust (TM5763), the owner of the farm property, Farm 456 Komga (Haga Haga area), in respect of which the preliminary notice of expropriation was issued, wished to sell this …
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A day after I visited the Kirkwood Police Station with Karen Smith, three extra vehicles were delivered to the Kirkwood station. This comes after we discovered that the station which services an area of 1 327 square km, only had one operating vehicle. The massive shortage of operating SAPS vehicles was further highlighted when police had to use bicycles to attend to a house robbery in Mount Croix, Port Elizabeth …
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