Government fails to stem jobs bloodbath in Eastern Cape
August 24th, 2021
The Eastern Cape provincial government has failed to stem the tide of the jobs bloodbath across the Eastern Cape, as a further 66,000 jobs were lost in the three months between April and June. The latest unemployment statistics show the province’s unemployment figures have shot up 3.3% quarter on quarter, from 43,8% to 47,1%, the worst in the country. The province’s expanded unemployment rate has reached a staggering 53%! Even …
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Eastern Cape bleeds as damning quarterly crime stats released
August 20th, 2021
The skyrocketing increases in violent crime in the Eastern Cape are a real cause for concern. Our province is bleeding as residents are being slaughtered, raped and abused. The crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year, between April and June, released by National Police Minister, Bheki Cele, paint a dismal picture of runaway crime. There were 1020 people murdered in the province in three months, a …
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Worrying trend in attacks on Hankey farmers
August 20th, 2021
The second attack on farmers in the Hankey area in as many weeks should be sounding alarms, and police should be pulling out all stops to bring these assailants to justice. The first attack saw A 72-year-old farmer shot in the leg during a shoot-out with attackers on his smallholding on Wednesday last week [11 August 2021]. The assailants fled the scene and no arrests have been made. Last night …
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The brutal criminal onslaught against women and children in the Eastern Cape has shown little to no signs of stopping, with tens of thousands of cases of violent crime against women and children reported annually. The lives of our women and children are not respected or valued. Societal norms in this regard need to rapidly change! In response to parliamentary questions from the Democratic Alliance, MEC for Community Safety, Weziwe …
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The Eastern Cape provincial government continues to destroy the livelihoods of small businesses by repeatedly failing to pay its suppliers within 30 days. Over 24 000 invoices from suppliers valued in excess of R3,5 billion were still outstanding at the end of the last financial year, playing a tremendous amount of stress on businesses that have had to carry the costs during extremely difficult times. In response to a Parliamentary …
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Crooked cops still employed by Eastern Cape SAPS
July 5th, 2021 Nine percent of Eastern Cape SAPS officers have been accused of criminal offences, including serious allegations such as rape, murder, corruption and torture, over the past three financial years. These tarnish the image of hard-working and dedicated officers. There is no place in SAPS for bad cops. These rotten apples need to be rooted out. With such a high number of SAPS members being accused of a crime, it undermines …
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Urgent reforms needed to address EC youth unemployment at crisis
June 24th, 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the youth unemployment crisis in the Eastern Cape into a disaster, with nearly six out of every ten youth in the province without jobs. Responding to a question from the Democratic Alliance during a special sitting of the EC Legislature, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said the youth unemployment rate in the province is currently at a staggering 58.8%. SEE Response here Bold economic reform is the …
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The recent spate of violent protests in the Eastern Cape are having a negative impact on business confidence and investment, and will further hinder job creation, as unemployment remains stubbornly high in the Eastern Cape. These protests have had a crippling effect on factories and businesses, which could not operate at full capacity, with staff prevented from getting to work. This violent protest action might well find a negative expression …
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DA condemns violent taxi protest in Makhanda
May 25th, 2021
The DA condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the violent service delivery protests, spurred on by taxi associations, that are currently ripping through the heart of Makhanda. The South African Police Service (SAPS) must immediately put boots on the ground to save residents from the total anarchy they are being subjected to. Violent protests are spreading across the province, which are stretching SAPS resources. Yesterday, 24 May 2021, the taxi …
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Cop killers must be brought to justice
May 20th, 2021 The huge increase in the number of SAPS members murdered, revealed recently in the latest quarterly crime statistics, must be condemned in the strongest terms. According to the latest figures, in the Eastern Cape, seven SAPS members were murdered between January and March 2021, compared to the one SAPS member murdered in the same period in 2020. During this period a total of 24 police officials were murdered in the …
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