Emergency road funding needed!

The backlog of road flood repair costs exceeds R1billion for the province!

The assessed damage to roads caused by the 2010 Eastern Cape floods was R499 million.

Emergency funding of R81 million has been given from national for rehabilitation of these roads. We are informed that the balance will be paid out in tranches of R160 million over the next 3-5 years.

The assessed damage for the 2011 floods during this last winter was  R500m. Application for further emergency funding has been applied for by province but we have yet to be awarded any amount herein.

The DA's Dacre Haddon will be taking up this matter in the Legislature debates during the forthcoming sitting from 6th-9th December by requesting the Premier to give this matter urgent attention and to speed up emergency road repair funding as a top priority.

Government is it's own worst enemy when it comes to job creation

The massive under expenditure on conditional grants and capital which is largely for infrastructural spending flies in the face of government’s attempts to create jobs.  It is common cause that infrastructural spending results in job creation.  Government is its own worst enemy when it comes to job creation.
 

People are crying for houses.  People are crying for decent schools.  Yet the Eastern Cape continues to under spend capital expenditure and conditional grants.  According to the six monthly treasury figures for the province, it has under spent against budget by R1 billion on conditional grants and R549 million on capital expenditure.

Last year’s massive under expenditure by Health (50% of its capital budget) and Education (33% of its capital budget) is set to repeat itself.  The consequence of this is the long term deterioration of one’s assets.  The Department of Health now faces a R1,9 billion maintenance backlog.

On the other hand, the province has overspent on personnel for the first six month by R889 million.  Personnel costs are now running at 80% of the overall provincial budget if one takes the conditional grant component out.  This dangerous trend means more and more is spent on personnel and less and less on service delivery. 

What is truly alarming is that even though we spend more money on personnel, we continue to under spend on capital.  People are paid to spend the capital budget but they are failing to do so.  The reason why this continues to happen is that there are no consequences for non-performance. 

The main culprits when it comes to over expenditure on cost of employees are Health (R388 million) and Education (R597 million). 

When it comes to capital expenditure, the Department of Health has under spent by R168 million and Education by R350 million against budget.

Regarding conditional grants, Education has under expended against budget by R299 million on the education infrastructure grant.  The other big culprit is housing that has under spent by R350 million against budget.

What this province cannot continue to engage in is smoke and mirrors accounting where under expenditure on capital infrastructure is offset by over expenditure on personnel.  The books may balance but in the long term our infrastructure implodes.

What this province requires is tough leadership that can deal fearlessly with non-performers.  The people of this province will continue to suffer.  A DA-government will use the full force of the Public Finance Management Act to hold non-performers accountable.

Life saving medication left to expire by the ton

In the last six months the Eastern Cape Department of Health has destroyed almost 50 tons of medication, most of which is expired goods. Allowing vast amounts of medication to expire and go to ruin is the same as withholding treatment and is paramount to a human rights violation. Stock control policies need to be re-looked to ensure that this does not happen again.

Along with the medication that was damaged in the recent Mthatha medical depot fire, more than 13 tons of recently expired medication was destroyed.

Rumour within the department has it that the fire at the depot in April this year was started to hide stock shortages and/or large volumes of expired medication.

Excluding the medicines destroyed in the depot fire, the majority of the remaining 37 tons of expired medicine that has been destroyed by the Department of Health comes from state hospitals within the province. If even the most simple of stock control measures were exercised then millions of Rand worth of medication could have been redistributed to clinics across the Eastern Cape.

Clinics across the province, especially those in the most rural of areas, are known for being short of much needed medication and often being without medication at all for months at a time.

Proper stock control and subsequent redistribution of medication would mean the medication will be put to good use well before their expiry dates. Any chronic ailment sufferer would agree that their medication is worth more than their weight in gold.

I will be submitting questions for oral reply by MEC for Health in the legislature scheduled for 7 December to ascertain exactly why this travesty was allowed to happen and will demand that the department makes the relevant changes to not allow this to happen again.

Statement by John Cupido, MPL

Mr Gay South Africa Statement

As some of you know, I was crowned Mr Gay South Africa at the Lyric Theater at Gold Reef City on Saturday night. Thank you to the South African LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex ) community for choosing me to represent you as Mr Gay South Africa! I am filled with enthusiasm for the year ahead and hope that with your support I can make a big difference in the lives of LGBTI people in South Africa.

I believe that Mr Gay South Africa should be a role model to South African LGBTI youth. Too many young people resort to suicide and substance abuse because they believe that being homosexual is a social death sentence. The youth need suitable role-models to look up to, who they can be proud of, and who can help them come to terms with their sexual orientation without fear. I will endeavour to be this person - someone the youth can look up to and admire. If the youth can see that I can be a successful self-confident person they can realise that can also be.

South Africa is widely regarded to have the most progressive constitution in the world, with a Bill of Rights second to none. This legislation has helped to bring about tolerance towards the LGBTI community in South Africa. I’d like to see this tolerance turned into acceptance.

Once again, thanks to everyone for all their support! I hope that the next year proves to be very productive!

Lance Weyer, Mr Gay South Africa 2011

Black Tuesday

Some people don’t understand the significance of today... “Black Tuesday”. The Protection of State Information Bill is the major piece of legislation since apartheid that dismantles an aspect of our democracy. For voters to make an informed choice we need to know the truth of what is being done by government in our name. Covering up corruption and avoiding ANC embarrassment is going to come at a huge price to South Africans. The death of investigative journalism and whistle-blowing will result in a state that is only answerable to the state itself, and history has taught us that that is never a good situation.

While the bill must first pass through the National Council of Provinces, the battle is destined to end in the Constitutional Court. A total of 34 ANC MPs did not vote, even though they were ordered to do so. That says something...

Remember this??? "Press freedom will never be under threat in South Africa as long as the ANC is the majority party". Nelson Mandela 19/11/1997

Juju’s expulsion leaves way clear for Zuma and mines

The ANC's national disciplinary committee found Malema guilty of provoking divisions within the ruling party and of bringing the organisation into disrepute. He was suspended for five years and told to vacate his leadership position.

Julius Malema was kept around as long as he was useful, and now that he’s become a hindrance to Jacob Zuma he has felt the heat. The fact that this is the same ANC failed to sanction Malema for insulting former President Thabo Mbeki in 2008 is an indication of the politics involved here.

President Jacob Zuma may be closer to a second term in office after the ruling. Malema was the biggest obstacle to Zuma winning the party endorsement in December next year to lead the ANC, and by implication the country, for another five years.

The manner of Malema’s expulsion are immaterial to me, as long as he has finally been hindered from spreading his racist, chauvinistic, economically damaging, and ill-thought rhetoric. The nationalisation debate of South African mines that rattled investors will likely be sent into the political wilderness along with its leading advocate, Malema.

ANC priorities

This is going to be a very short post...

The Department of Defence wants to spend R1,6 billion on new private jets for the president and deputy president. SA can’t afford this sort of extravagance, period. That money would be better used to house some 30 000 families! But that’s just not how our ruling party thinks... it’s always politicians first, citizens last.

“let us remember that, in a democracy, people get the government the majority voted for.” - Helen Zille