The Auditor General’s provincial audit outcomes paint a bleak picture of the Eastern Cape provincial government that is failing to practice consequence management. Not only did the province have the highest unauthorized expenditure in the country of R1.59 billion, but the Department of Health also still faces contingent liabilities of R36.75 billion, the highest of all national and provincial auditees. The AG says there’s significant doubt whether the health department …


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Our legislature deserves praise for the speedy manner in which we adapted to the COVID crisis by moving over to a virtual platform to continue the work of this House. I believe that we were the first legislature to have virtual committee meetings and virtual sittings. It is good for our legislature to be able to lead the way in this regard. Similarly, there was public access to our sittings …


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I want to express my sincere condolences to all the members of this House who have lost loved ones during the last few months. We all either have family members or know people who have tragically lost their lives to the virus. Our hearts go out to all of you, who have suffered so much during this time. Matthew 7: 25 says, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and …


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If we are to build a capable state in the Eastern Cape that attracts investors and where jobs are created, we simply have to cut the crime rate and ensure that our criminal justice system becomes more efficient. Sadly, given the fact that the government has bungled the vaccine acquisition, police resources are continuously going to be tied up in chasing surfers off the beach rather than catching criminals when …


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We have now entered the period of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. A key issue that needs to be answered is, why is research not being done by the province into the relationship between liquor and violent crime of which gender-based violence is a component? When I asked the question to the MEC of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, whether the liquor board has undertaken any study …


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Power to the People – an integrated approach to community safety The global pandemic that we are currently undergoing has issued in a new approach to the delivery of services, not only in South Africa but also throughout the world. It is no longer government as usual but rather the COVID-19 ushering in, what one would call “the whole of society approach”. It requires government, businesses, communities, and individuals to …


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The following speech was delivered by Bobby Stevenson, MPL in support of a motion tabled in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, on 23 July 2020. The global pandemic that we are currently undergoing has issued in a new approach to the delivery of services, not only in South Africa but also throughout the world. It is no longer government as usual but rather the COVID-19 ushering in, what one would …


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The Democratic Alliance welcomes the change in name of the department to the Department of Community Safety. This gives greater clarity as to what the role of the department is and will certainly resonate a lot better with the public and is aligned with other provinces such as the Western Cape. Any name change costs can be phased in over time. With reference to the budget, what is of great …


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At a time like this, our country and province face an unprecedented humanitarian crisis fueled by the health pandemic as well as the meltdown of our economy. The Eastern Cape was in a crisis prior to COVID-19. We are now dangerously close to going over the edge of the cliff while being pounded by the forces of a perfect storm. These two overarching issues are not only going to heavily …


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