While the Nelson Mandela Bay Flying Squad had no vehicles available for four days in February, the District Commissioner’s Office, based at the Mount Road Police Station, has been driving in a new high-performance BMW highway patrol vehicle. See IQP response, sub-question 15 The issue of vehicle shortages is an ongoing problem, and our dedicated, hard-working flying squad members do not deserve the scraps. At a time when violent crime …
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Steps need to be taken to prevent jobshedding
May 16th, 2023
The Democratic Alliance welcomes the resilience of the private sector in the Eastern Cape for the 41 000 jobs created under extremely adverse conditions in the last quarter. It is, however, incumbent on the provincial government to develop a clear action plan to avoid job losses and prevent Eskom’s deepening power cuts from wiping out these recent gains. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for January to March 2023 shows …
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The recent murders of two South African Police Service (SAPS) members highlight the urgency for a better plan to deal with violent crime, especially in Nelson Mandela Bay, which has become a hotspot. The existing 72-hour activation plan has generally proven to be futile and has failed to bring these criminals to justice. The sad reality is that criminals have become a law unto themselves, treating the province as the …
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DA condemns shutdown of Eastern Cape Legislature
March 14th, 2023
The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns in the strongest terms the shutdown of the Eastern Cape Legislature on the day that the budget speech was meant to be delivered under the guise of security concerns relating to the ongoing strike action. This is an assault on democracy. Never before in the history of the Legislature have members been barred from the House. The Legislature cannot be held to ransom by perceived …
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EC unemployment remains stubbornly high
February 28th, 2023 The Eastern Cape unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, with a fractional reduction of just 0.3 percentage points, from 42.4% to 42.1%. The Democratic Alliance welcomes the fact that 132 000 additional jobs were created in the province and that unemployment seems to have declined in rural areas. Still, these gains pale in comparison to the need for work in this province. There is a hand around the throat of our …
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EC Premier clearly living in a different province than the rest of us
February 24th, 2023
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s description of our province as “a story of good progress” is a delusional fairy tale that ignores the harsh realities confronting citizens daily. This is best summed up by the fact that there is no water in the Legislature right now. We can’t turn on a tap or flush the toilets in the building that is the centre of government in this province. How much …
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Premier must give clear direction this SOPA
February 23rd, 2023
Premier Oscar Mabuyane, must spell out how he is going to create a province that we all want and dream of. The time for pretty stories is over. The time for real action is now. The people are tired of hearing empty promises and platitudes. They need real solutions. People want a province of hope and real opportunity that is founded on a capable, competent, and ethical state. The premier …
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Eastern Cape residents living in a war zone
February 17th, 2023 Residents of the Eastern Cape are now living in a war zone with the very real threat of being gunned down, raped or assaulted constantly hanging over their heads. The latest quarterly crime statistics for October to December 2022, released today, show that a tidal wave of violent crime continues to sweep over the province, fueling a climate of fear, heartbreak and sorrow. Behind these bloody statistics lie broken families, …
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Government must accept private partnerships if we are to break unemployment cycle
November 29th, 2022 The DA welcomes the marginal decrease in the unemployment rate for the third quarter. However, when one looks at the expanded unemployment rate, more than half of the province’s labour force is still unemployed. There is a long way to go to break the unemployment cycle. The only way we will turn the unemployment crisis around is if the ANC changes its hostile stance towards business and accepts that they …
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Tsunami of violent crime sweeps across Eastern Cape
November 23rd, 2022 A tsunami of violent crime continues to sweep through the Eastern Cape, fuelled by a culture of lawlessness which sees people brutally murdered, buildings hijacked, long-distance buses attacked and taxi warfare. The second quarter crime statistics, released today, once again reinforce the province’s reputation as the killing field of South Africa. In the three months under review, 1 303 people were murdered across the province, a 31,3% increase compared to …
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