MEC of Health gets a new car for Christmas
December 6th, 2018
The MEC of Health has been gifted a brand-new car of just under a million rand as part of the Eastern Cape Adjustment Budget passed in the Legislature today [SUBS: 6 December 2018]. Part of the adjustments for the Department of Health includes R901,000 for a new vehicle for the MEC, whereas we can only afford to spend R325,000 on wheelchairs, hearing aids, and orthotics. SEE Extract from Provincial Treasury …
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Poor governance and bigger wage bill hits the Eastern Cape hard
November 22nd, 2018
The Hill of Hope that MEC for Finance, Oscar Mabuyane, referred to in his adjustments budget, tabled in the EC legislature this afternoon, is just an illusion. It is in fact the slippery slope of poor governance. This is well illustrated by the R3,014 billion in equitable share that we will lose in 2021/2022 financial year due to the number of people who are leaving the province. Bad governance does …
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A year later and still no action against civil servants on extended sick leave
November 22nd, 2018
A year and R121,6 million later, and still no real action has been taken to address the issue of extended sick leave in the Eastern Cape. In fact, the response to the parliamentary question on why the Premier’s Office has allowed situation for such a long time is almost identical to the response given a year ago. This shows that there is simply no political will to tackle this problem! …
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Millions wasted on food, consultants while service delivery stalls
November 8th, 2018 At a time when the economy is in a technical recession, government spending should be geared towards service delivery and job creation. However, a review of the Eastern Cape Government Departments annual reports for the 2017/18 financial year shows that at least R1,4 billion is being spent on non-core business such as catering, consultants, transport and accommodation. On many occasions the province has committed itself to belt tightening exercises and …
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Premier drags his feet on filling critical Safety Department post
November 5th, 2018 The Department of Safety and Liaison has not had a permanent Head of Department for a year and a half, as the Eastern Cape Premier, Phumulo Masualle, is dilly-dallying with regards to filling the post. Shamefully the Premier has apparently deemed it unnecessary to have someone in charge of the Department, responsible for oversight of the South African Police Service and Community Policing in the Eastern Cape. Failure to fill …
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Sexual predators preying on children in the Eastern Cape
November 1st, 2018 Children in the Eastern Cape are falling prey to vicious sexual predators, making up half of all sexual offences’ victims in the province in last financial year. This outrageous figure is a sad indictment of the utter collapse of the moral fabric of our society. We all need to band together to turn the tide. In a response to a parliamentary question, Safety and Liaison MEC, Weziwe Tikana, said that …
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Eastern Cape unemployment bloodbath continues
October 30th, 2018 The Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Stats SA today, shows how the Eastern Cape economy is continuing to fail, along with the job’s bloodbath. This means thousands of families across the province will struggle to put food on the table, pay for medication and schooling for their loved ones. The fight to just survive in the Eastern Cape is getting harder. The third quarter statistics show the Eastern Cape’s …
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Critical staff shortages in municipalities open flood gates for corruption
October 22nd, 2018 Only eight of the 39 municipalities in the Eastern Cape have permanent Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) who meet the minimum requirements for their posts. Unqualified Chief Financial Officers not only result in qualified audits but open the flood gates for corruption! In a response to a parliamentary question, Finance MEC Oscar Mabuyane said 25 CFOs had not met the minimum competency as at July 2018. It is no wonder local …
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DA calls on EC Provincial Commissioner to account to the Legislature on Crime Stats
October 15th, 2018 On Thursday last week, I moved a motion in the Provincial Legislature on the latest Eastern Cape crime statistics. The motion directs that the Provincial Commissioner should annually brief the Legislature on the yearly crime statistics. SEE: Honourable Stevenson – Motion relating to annual crime stats This practice has successfully been adopted in the Western Cape. In September I attended a sitting of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, where the …
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DA pressurises SAPS to improve accountability
October 11th, 2018 The Democratic Alliance welcomes the fact that the SAPS have committed to put better controls in place to ensure incorrect information is not provided to the provincial legislature, after incorrect data was given to me on rape and DNA kits in the province. According to a response, an instruction has been issued that the deputy provincial commissioners have to peruse and verify information submitted. We are however still concerned by …
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