Municipalities are no longer being assisted by officials from the Department of Co-Operative governance and Traditional Affairs, after millions of rands were diverted from the Municipal Public Participation (MPP) directorate, to pay for the controversial Masipathisane programme. This is according COGTA MEC, Fikile Xasa, who confirmed in a response to a parliamentary question that, despite not having a budget allocated to the programme, the department spent R2,119 million on it …
Read More
The Democratic Alliance welcomes the historic ruling in favour of the Amadiba Crisis Committee and the people of the Umgungundlovu area of Xolobeni on the Wild Coast, which declared that the mineral resources minister must obtain consent from the community, as the holder of rights on land, prior to granting any mining rights. This judgement has hopefully brought closure to a community that has been fighting against the exploitation of …
Read More
Tomorrow (21 November 2018) marks World Fisheries Day – a day meant to create awareness for our oceans and their precious resources. The Eastern Cape has the potential to be a leading player in this sector by supporting small scale fishing operations and securing our waters from foreign fishing vessels, but we need to ensure compliance with legislation. While Fisheries is a national competency the Eastern Cape MEC for Department …
Read More
Ongoing violent protests and community unrest in Stutterheim are beginning to drastically affect the economy of the small town, which is fast becoming a no-go zone. Despite having written to Co-operative Governance and Traditional affairs MEC, Fikile Xasa, calling for the town to be placed under administration, there has been no intervention. The failing ANC leadership, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have opted to rather give the town a wide berth. …
Read More
There is still no sign of the Coega Development Corporation’s (CDC’s) 2017/18 Annual Report, even though it should have been tabled in the Provincial Legislature over a month ago. Failure to table the report is in direct violation of the Public Finance Management Act and appears to be a deliberate attempt to avoid accountability for gross under performance and possible corrupt activities. If Coega has nothing to hide, why are …
Read More
Following the recent chaos that erupted in Stutterheim the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape is calling for the Amahlathi Local Municipality to be put under administration in terms of Section 139 (1) (b) effective immediately. Less than two weeks ago one person was killed and 18 arrested in violent protests in Stutterheim. Young people protested against a lack of jobs, nepotism and bad service delivery. I visited the town …
Read More
The scourge of rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape is getting worse, with an estimated 100 rhinos poached in the province over the last eight years. The recent senseless slaughter of two critically endangered black rhinoceros at the Great Fish River Nature Reserve has brought the number of rhinos poached in the Eastern Cape to 15 this year, up from 12 killed by poachers last year. These poachers are not …
Read More
The scourge of rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape is getting worse, with an estimated 100 rhinos poached in the province over the last eight years. The recent senseless slaughter of two critically endangered black rhinoceros at the Great Fish River Nature Reserve has brought the number of rhinos poached in the Eastern Cape to 15 this year, up from 12 killed by poachers last year. These poachers are not …
Read More
Yesterday during a sitting of the National Council of Provinces I challenged Deputy President, David Mabuza, to come clean on the situation in Nelson Mandela Bay. I asked the Deputy President, as the leader of government business, whether he believed what happened in the council last week – where an unlawful sitting of council directed by MEC Fikile Xasa, illegally removed the legitimate coalition government – was really in the …
Read More