Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. When one looks at the report, one can clearly tell that the department is clearly failing in terms of its mandate to deliver education to our learners. As the Democratic Alliance, we believe that every individual should have the opportunity to be themselves, to develop themselves and pursue their own …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh Hon. Premier, Members of this house, visiting schools over the last two weeks, were confronted with the anguish of crushed hopes caused by the recurring theme of broken promises. I myself was part of the team visiting schools in the Chris Hani West District. At Ikwezi Secondary School, in Hon. …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity – it is a prerequisite. When Barack Obama made this statement in his first speech to a joint session of Congress, he must have …


Read More

The lives of our learners, teachers and their families continue to be put at risk during the matric examinations On the 4th of November, a media statement was released by the department of basic education, stating that provisions must be made for matric learners, who test positive for covid, to write their examinations in a safe and regulated environment. It is important to note that this was a joint agreement …


Read More

The community of Stutterheim is faced with an impending jobs bloodbath, and untreated wastewater is running into the rivers and ending up in the dams that supply areas of BCM with water. MEC Nqatha, I am afraid that you may have been misled by the local municipality in question, as the responses provided by yourself in the house sitting that took place yesterday, seems to not capture the reality faced …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. In undertaking the school visits which produced the report before the house today, honourable members witnessed first hand the symptoms of a flailing and failing department. The report itself serves as an indictment of MEC Gade and the management of the department of education in the Eastern Cape. It is little …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. The prospects for improvement in the education system and its outcomes for learners in the Eastern Cape is looking increasingly more precarious. Preparations for the reopening of schools have been completely bungled, the department wasted money it doesn’t have paying up to 5 times more for PPE compared to what …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. The Eastern Cape’s expanded unemployment rate as of the first quarter of this financial year sits at 48.9%. This is not a new phenomenon. Our jobs crisis has worsened year-on-year, spurred on by a flawed economic approach and inept government. In the midst of the global Covid 19 pandemic, President …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh On the 15th of January this year, I joined Hon. Matiwane and Hon. Naylambisa as part of the team conducting school readiness visits in Amathole East. The very same morning, my eldest daughter Ruqayyah was anxiously bracing herself for her first day of school as a grade 0 pupil. Days …


Read More

Honourable Speaker, Fellow South Africans… I greet you with the universal greeting of peace, As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. From 20 to 22 August 2019, the portfolio committee on economic development, environmental affairs and tourism visited various projects it funds and supports in the Chris Hani district. Madam Speaker, one can not express the importance of economic development enough. Economic growth in our province will result in the creation …


Read More