All of the Democratic Alliance, Eastern Cape Legislature Caucus’s press releases
October serves as transport month and an opportunity for the Department of Transport to showcase infrastructure. New Roads and Transport MEC, Xolile Nqatha, will however have his work cut out for him to get his Department in order. Over Heritage Day weekend more than 20 people lost their lives on Eastern Cape roads, causing pain and loss to families, particularly when they lose a breadwinner. Sadly, this carnage is not …
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Residents living in Nelson Mandela Bay have been unable to get any assistance from the Provincial Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services, because the call centre has been offline. Imagine lying bleeding on the side of the road or being in labour and needing an ambulance, and your calls for help go unanswered. This is a shocking failure of government. The call centre, based at the head office at the …
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New COGTA MEC, Zolile Williams, has missed a golden opportunity to serve the people of Nelson Mandela Bay and bring stability back to the Metro, by choosing to put the interests of his party over those of the people. Instead of lambasting his own party councillors for their abhorrent behaviour on the day, the new COGTA MEC chose to classify a democratic process as “worrisome”. What appears to be worrisome …
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The provincial government needs to put firm plans in place to take Eastern Cape hospitals off the grid. The ongoing rolling blackouts across the country are deepening the crises at hospitals, which are struggling to keep lifesaving equipment running during power outages. Cash-strapped hospitals, already battling to pay suppliers for basics such as food and laundry services, not to mention lifesaving equipment and oxygen, are now having to divert millions …
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Over the last two and a half years there have been 95 reported attacks on long-distance passenger buses in the Eastern Cape. If these acts of economic sabotage continue unchecked, it will ultimately destroy part of our transport network and along with-it jobs. In response to a parliamentary question from the DA, new Community Safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, revealed that there has been a dramatic uptick in attacks on long-distance …
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The Eastern Cape Scholar Transport system is in crisis, with thousands of learners across the province not attending school once this year because they have no means of getting to their classrooms. On Friday last week, I conducted oversight at Clarkson Primary school, where learners have missed out on six months of learning because their scholar transport driver died. The sad plight of the children from Clarkson Primary is heartbreaking, …
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Premier Oscar Mabuyane has deliberately avoided holding his MECs to account, dodging a question about which of his executive have failed to meet their performance targets. Without full and transparent accountability MECs will become a law unto themselves and poor service delivery will remain the order of the day. Name, shame and remove them, Premier, the people have the right to know! During a special sitting of the Eastern Cape …
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Yesterday the ANC made it clear that they do not want the people of the Eastern Cape to have access to emergency medical services, shooting down a motion tabled in the Legislature to address the crippling state of emergency services in the province. The motion, tabled by the DA, called for the outsourcing of repairs and maintenance of ambulances, to speed up ambulance turnaround times and improve service delivery. It …
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The condition of the once world-class Uitenhage Provincial Hospital has deteriorated to such an extent that it is unfathomable that the Department of Health considers the facility acceptable for patient care. Oversight of the hospital this week revealed passages filled with medical waste, dirty linen shoved in random storerooms and patient toilet doors sealed with tape, as the toilets remain out of order. The now infamous main elevators of the …
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Despite being instructed by the Eastern Cape Legislature to ensure that a water disaster plan is put in place for schools in and around the Nelson Mandela Bay area, nothing has been done. Should day zero arrive, our learners’ education will be severely disrupted. Schools could become hotspots of infection as sanitation conditions deteriorate. Learners would be faced with the very real choice of either staying home and missing school, …
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