The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for a moratorium to be placed on the purchase of all new official vehicles for municipal political office bearers in the province. In response to parliamentary questions by the DA, Eastern Cape MEC for CoGTA, Xolile Nqatha, revealed how vehicles to the value of R26,8 million had been purchased to transport political office bearers in Eastern Cape Municipalities between 2016 and 2021. Download IQP …
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As locust plagues of biblical proportions ravage the Eastern Cape, decimating everything in their path, the ANC-led Eastern Cape government has turned a deaf ear to the desperate pleas for assistance from farmers and organised agriculture. Not one red cent has been made available by the provincial government to assist farmers in eradicating these swarms, leaving farmers already devastated by prolonged drought to face this disaster on their own. Swarms …
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Ballooning municipal arrears shows EC residents are suffering
March 30th, 2022 Municipalities are owed a staggering R22 billion by Eastern Cape residents and businesses, a ballooning spiral of debt that highlights just how dire the state of household finances in our province has become. The figures were provided by Finance MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko, in response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance and raise alarms over upcoming municipal rates hikes. Download response The DA will once again appeal to Provincial …
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Farmers in desperate need as locust plague sweeps across province
March 24th, 2022 Farmers, still recovering from one of the worst droughts on record, are now battling to save their farms from one of the largest locust plagues in living memory. The locust plagues are currently sweeping across three provinces, including the Eastern Cape, destroying everything in their path, wiping out crops and decimating veld meant for feeding livestock. The Democratic Alliance has written to Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, to request that …
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The poor handling of the road tender for the upgrade of the R56 road, near Indwe in the Eastern Cape, has inflated the cost by R111 million and delayed construction by 12 years. The maintenance and upgrade of roads are critical in linking individuals to opportunities, by providing accessibility and mobility for both commercial and personal transport. The project was recently flagged by the Auditor General at a meeting of …
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EC budget will not kickstart economy or create jobs
March 8th, 2022
The Democratic Alliance recognises the difficult task that Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko had to balance the needs of the province against an extremely tough fiscal position. Sadly, not enough attention or budget has been given to projects that will stimulate the provincial economy and the scourge of unemployment will remain an albatross around our necks. The MEC acknowledged our excessive wage bill, which is impeding service delivery as we are …
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A budget that gets the Eastern Cape working again
March 7th, 2022 The Eastern Cape needs a budget that will get the provincial government and the people of our province working again. Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko will tomorrow deliver his 2022/23 budget speech during very uncertain financial times. It is widely expected that he will present a very austere budget. It is of critical importance that this budget provides decisive direction to deal with bankrupt provincial departments, as well as provide hope …
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EC Farmers must heighten biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of rabies
February 16th, 2022 The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform needs to issue a public warning to farmers of the risks associated with the increasing spread of the rabies virus in the Eastern Cape. There has been an alarming increase of positive rabies cases in the province, most notably in the Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Alfred Nzo regions. The virus has also claimed several lives since the outbreak was first …
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Mantusini Dairy: More cows perish as cash crisis at farm deepens
February 3rd, 2022
More cows at the governments’ R43 million Mantusini Dairy Project near Port St Johns, have died, and at least four are on the verge of death, because no support has been forthcoming from the MEC of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, despite much promised intervention. Last year the Democratic Alliance exposed how 350 dairy cows of an original herd of 500 perished due to malnutrition and neglect. There are now …
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Cash crisis deepens for Health, Education as budget requests denied
January 28th, 2022 The future of the two biggest provincial departments in the Eastern Cape is growing increasingly bleak, as their requests for billions of rands of additional funding has been denied. These cash-strapped departments applied for unprecedented extra funding, as part of the latest adjustments budget, to cover ever-growing costs, but Provincial Treasury simply could not meet their needs with the finances available. The situation is so dire that, unless immediate action …
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