The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature have adopted a pre-pandemic budget, despite being hit by the biggest health care crisis in a century. Even though the Eastern Cape Health Department is collapsing under the pressure of increasing COVID-19 infections, the province has adopted a budget with almost no additional funding for this struggling department. The Democratic Alliance accepts that it is impossible to address all of the inherent, historically fiscal problems …
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AG Report casts spotlight on EC local government failings
July 2nd, 2020
Auditor-General (AG) Kimi Makwetu’s latest report on the Audit Outcomes for Local Government is the clearest message yet that Local Government in the Eastern Cape is collapsing. Not only have 13 municipalities reports worsened compared to the previous year, only one municipality in the entire province received a clean audit! These poor audit outcomes are as a result of the continuing looting of municipalities, corruption and maladministration, as well as …
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The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality (DBNLM) is descending into financial chaos, with residents facing the very real possibility of being overcharged for rates and services, that may then have to be voided by the municipality, as the budget processes have been severely flawed. The municipality is of the opinion that the budget has been passed, but nothing could be further from the truth! Not only will this have dire …
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Department of Health fails Fort England Covid-19 response
June 30th, 2020
The Fort England Psychiatric Hospital, in Makhanda, has a full 40 bed unit to accommodate patients who test positive for Covid-19, but not a single professional nurse to work in it. This was revealed in an oversight visit conducted by myself and my colleague, Shadow Minister of Health Siviwe Gwarube, MP, from the National Assembly. The hospital management has made an impressive effort to rearrange the space available to create …
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The drastic water cuts on extraction from the Kouga Dam that are expected to come into effect from tomorrow, could be a devastating for Gamtoos Valley Farmers. The Democratic Alliance has reliably learnt that the Department of Water and Sanitation has cut the normal water allocation for agricultural use from the Kouga Dam by 80%. The 20% that is left over, which farmers can still extract, will not be sufficient …
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