Bold changes needed to turn Eastern Cape around
March 5th, 2019
MEC Oscar Mabuyane’s maiden budget speech, introduced in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature today, did not highlight any bold changes needed to arrest the high unemployment trajectory of the Eastern Cape, which has resulted in 1,5-million people leaving this province since 2006. This outward migration, together with the mismanagement of our economy, which only grew 0,8% last year, has resulted in the equitable share allocation of the Eastern Cape shrinking …
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The Democratic Alliance expects the MEC for Finance, Oscar Mabuyane, to introduce a provincial budget for the 2019/20 financial year, in the region of between R82 and R83 billion, on Tuesday, 5 March, in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. MEC Mabuyane must clearly outline how a shift is going to take place; from consumption expenditure to investment in infrastructure and economic growth. This is a key task, given that unemployment …
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132 civil servants double dipping
February 28th, 2019
A total of 132 Eastern Cape civil servants are unlawfully engaged with business dealings with the province and national government How do they think that they can get away with this? This is simply an extension of state capture! This is according to a response to a question for written reply from MEC for Finance and Provincial Expenditure, Oscar Mabuyane, who reported that 120 civil servants were doing business with …
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DA welcomes Fezeka Mbiko as new MPL
February 19th, 2019
The Democratic Alliance would like to welcome Fezeka Mbiko as our newest member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, after she was sworn in at the beginning of today’s house proceedings. Fezeka will take the place of Celeste Barker, who has been medically boarded. Born and raised in rural Dutywa, in Gwadana, and currently based in Butterworth, Fizeka, 60, has a passion for serving the people of the Eastern Cape. …
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Failing ANC has no plan to combat unemployment
February 12th, 2019 It is clear that the failing ANC has no solution to the combat the rising unemployment in the Eastern Cape, which is stealing the bread off the tables of the people. This after the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Stats SA today, showed that unemployment in the province continued to rise, with the fourth quarter up by 0.5%, from 35.6% to 36.1%. The Eastern Cape also has the highest …
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Kirkwood police station holding cells out of action
February 6th, 2019
The holding cells at the Kirkwood police station have been standing unused since May last year, according to information that was brought to my attention, diverting much needed police resources away from the communities they are meant to serve. Vehicles now have to be dispatched to the Addo holding cells, over 40km away, to transport suspects. This was confirmed after I conducted an unannounced oversight inspection at the Kirkwood police …
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Orchard theft continues to plague Addo farmers
February 4th, 2019
I recently met with a number of farmers in the Addo area who are once again having their orchards plundered by what is suspected to be a highly sophisticated criminal syndicate. The farmers informed me, Sundays River Caucus Leader councillor Karen Smith, and DA councillor Laticia Erasmus, that the scale of this plundering is running into millions of rands. The farmers are frustrated with the ability of the local Addo …
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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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