Eeastern Cape capital expenditure lowest in the country

The first quarter National Treasury expenditure figures for the Eastern Cape once again highlight the alarming trend of low capital expenditure in the key Departments of Education (7.7%), Health (11.3%) and Human Settlements (17.7%).

Under development, inequality and poverty are directly related to the lack of capital expenditure in the social cluster.

The only way to stop the rot is for the MEC for Finance and Provincial Expenditure, Phumulo Masualle, to table a quarterly statement on the state of the province’s finance upon which findings and recommendations are made by the finance portfolio committee for debate in the house.  When he and the officials of the affected departments have to face quarterly scrutiny by the Legislature, they will be forced to jack themselves up or face the music.

The historical slow pace and under expenditure on capital works are detrimental to a sound education and health system in this province.

These figures are the worst in the country. 

There is a crying need to improve our school and health infrastructure.  Under expenditure cannot be tolerated.  Provincial Treasury must ensure that capital expenditure is speeded up and that officials, who cannot do their job, be disciplined.

Millions of learners in this province are suffering at the hands of a dysfunctional educational system and deserve a decent learning environment.

For the first quarter of the 2012/2013 financial year (April – June) Education only spent R74 million out of a total of R960 million of capital expenditure, being 7.7%.

The Health Department was slightly better spending R104 million out of R925 million of capital expenditure, being 11.3%.

Human Settlements only spent R242 million out of R2 292 billion, being 17.7%. 

In the 2010/2011 financial year Education only spent 43.9% of its capital budget and in the 2011/12 year 63.9%.

In the 2011/2012 year the Health Department under spent by R193 million spending only 84.8% of its budget.

Social worker shortage undermines effectiveness of social welfare legislation

The total number of social workers registered with the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) as at March 2012 was 16 740. This number includes social workers that work for the Government, non-profit organisations (NPOs), or the private sector, as well as those that are no longer in practice but retain their registered status.

Of these social workers, only 6 655 (40%) are employed by the Government and 2 634 (16%) by NPOs. This leaves 7 451 (45%) registered social workers that are either employed in the private sector or are not practising.

According to the Department of Social Development’s own costing, some 16 504 social workers are required to provide the social welfare needs of children in terms of the Children’s Act of 2005. This accounts for 99% of all registered social workers, illustrating the shortage of social welfare skills given that social workers are also required to provide services related to substance abuse, older people, people with disabilities, crime prevention and support, and HIV/AIDS, among other things.

In order to overcome these social issues we need more social workers, but with a failing basic education system I don’t believe we have much hope for increased graduates in the future. Once again, if education fails everything fails!

Expiring US trade policy could spell economic meltdown for East London

I’m disappointed in the local media coverage surrounding discussions with United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in South Africa this week to extend an essential trade policy that expires in 2015.

South African negotiators have been scrambling ahead Clinton’s visit to ensure we remain a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) after it expires in 2015. If South Africa were to be excluded from the act, it would have serious implications for players in the local motor and motor components industries, among others.

Under the act, African countries have been granted tariff-free access to the US market, with widespread implications for apparel manufacturers on the continent. Locally, companies exporting cars and car parts to the US have also fallen under the act. Both Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and director-general Lionel October confirmed that elements within the US Congress were questioning South Africa’s continued involvement in the act. "They think we’re too developed," Mr October said, and the fact that "the World Trade Organisation classifies us as industrialised" was not helping the cause.

Peter Draper, of the South African Institute of International Affairs, said "there have been rumblings over the years concerning whether South Africa should be part of Agoa. South Africa’s economy is much more diversified and the scheme was devised for the very poorest and some argue we should graduate from it." Draper said there "have also been rumblings from US industrial and agricultural groups who want certain products excluded, or South Africa totally out" of the act. He said the view that South Africa was "anti-US and pro-China" was "gaining currency".

The implications of South Africa being excluded from the act could be significant for the motor industry – particularly the East London Area. US ambassador Donald Gips said South Africa exported more than $2bn worth of cars to the US last year. Mercedes Benz exports most of its cars to the US, and it is possible that they could cease production of future models in East London if it becomes expensive to export to the US, which would spell and economic nightmare for the greater Buffalo City area.

Fani tries to account for BCM tender chaos

Buffalo City Metro’s (BCM) city manager Andile Fani said the award of tenders was sometimes delayed because of the workload of the tender committees and threats made against committee members. 

Speaking at a council meeting last week, Fani also said the leaking of information to potential service providers and threats against some members had resulted in resignations by committee members and delaying the tender approval processes. He said the situation was so serious members of BCM’s bid evaluation and adjudication committees were living in fear of losing their lives after receiving threats over their decisions during committee sittings. “Some are confronted on the streets and some tell me they don’t feel safe serving on the committees because information coming out of those committee meetings is leaked to potential service providers,” he said. “Some find themselves being confronted by service providers about certain decisions or certain issues that had been raised in the bid adjudication committee. “Some would say they are approached by service providers who tell them this is what you said in the bid adjudication committee about my tender that is there. They just don’t take kindly to that,” Fani added. 

According to Fani, the metro was constantly “persuading and pleading” with committee members to stay on, but it was a struggle to keep some on board. “Just recently, one member pleaded with me that at the end of the financial year which ended in June, he be released.” 

The city manager also revealed the city faced legal challenges due to the awarding of tenders to companies whose names appear on attendance registers while in reality they never attended tender briefings. He said that led to companies which attended briefings, challenging the awarding in court and thus stalling project completion. “That really us backwards.” 

BCM’s political parties expressed concerns over the leaking of information from these committees and the threats made.  The DA’s chief whip Kevin Mileham said that the “forced resignation" of committee members would deeply impact on service delivery. “This is going to slow the process down, but as the DA, we believe the first step in ensuring trustworthy procurement processes is to open up the bid evaluation and adjudication process to public scrutiny. “Only by allowing everyone sight of the process can we ensure corruption and maladministration are rooted out,” said Mileham.

ANC and council chief whip Sangweni Matwele said investigations needed to be conducted.
“More than what the city manager had told us, we still need more information on the matter and thus investigations will be conducted,” said Matwele. 

Source: Daily Dispatch