Software rollout delay cripples new academic year before it begins
February 10th, 2021
With less than three days to go before the opening of schools for the 2021 academic year, school staff and teachers have been unable to update any information for the year, because the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape has still not released the latest patch for the South African School Administration Management System (SA-SAMS). Not only does this platform allow schools to update information of learners, it is …
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Drinking in public chaos in BCM must be addressed
February 10th, 2021Decisive action needs to be taken to end the upsurge of drinking in public, especially in recreational areas associated with beaches in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). It is not just about the broken bottles, litter and increased trauma cases, but about saving lives as Covid-19 regulations, along with the city’s by-laws, that are being flouted. A capable state would have a multi-pronged approach to address this, that would …
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Jobs, Environment not priorities for EC ANC
February 9th, 2021
The Eastern Cape ANC has made it abundantly clear that creating jobs and preserving the environmental integrity of the Eastern Cape is not a concern, after rejecting a DA motion to host a summit around job creation through the adoption of environmentally friendly alternatives. In rebuttal of the motion, ANC MPL and Chairperson of the Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Portfolio Committee, Pumelele Ndamase, stated categorically that the ANC …
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Speech Notes: Vote 8 – DRDAR Annual & Half Year Financial Oversight Reports
February 5th, 2021
Speaker, in November last year, we had a debate in the House on Climate Change. I revealed then that as far back as 2011, the Eastern Cape Provincial Government had revealed its Climate Change Response Strategy at COP17. This 350 page document dealt with both the key climate change risks as well as the priority response options to climate change. This strategy stated that: “Climate change projections indicate that the …
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DA to fight for release of Nelson Mandela Bay drought funding
February 5th, 2021
Nelson Mandela Bay is currently in the grip of a devastating drought, that has seen the combined dam levels supplying the Metro drop below 20%. Despite this, the previous ANC-led Coalition of Corruption, failed to spend conditional grants given to the city for drought mitigation measure, totalling R188 million rand, during its two years in government from 2018 to 2020. National Treasury has subsequently refused to roll over these funds. …
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