The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is cautiously optimistic about some pronouncements in the provincial adjustment budget, tabled on Wednesday, which heeds our call for turbocharging the Northern Cape’s economy through greater municipal infrastructure investments.
In particular, I appreciate the additional R20 million allocated for Emthanjeni’s bulk infrastructure. This additional funding comes in response to our numerous calls for provincial assistance, as residents of De Aar, Britstown, and Hanover are stranded without reliable municipal water supply and dependent on dysfunctional waste water treatment systems. I welcome the commitment given in the post-budget briefing by the Member of the Executive Council for Finance, Venus Blennies-Magage, that this extra money will bring about immediate relief to these residents.
We will scrutinise the implementation of R10 million in municipal support funding to two of the twenty municipalities that obtained qualified audit outcomes in the 2023/24 audit cycle. We trust that the insight from this pilot will translate into tangible support for other municipalities in dire administrative straits.
At the end of the day, it is the residents who must benefit from the choices made by the Northern Cape Provincial Treasury. We will therefore continue to probe discretionary fund allocations to members of the executive. The premier and his MECs receive a total R31.5 million for discretionary funds, which are intended for social upliftment and community outreach programmes. But these activities coincide with by-election campaigns far too often to be a coincidence. Looking at the fiscal facts, we are not satisfied with the provincial treasury’s claims that these slush funds are based on budget availability within departments. You cannot justify giving money for MECs’ public relations stunts when six departments sit with accrual-adjusted deficits, three have bank overdrafts, and four ended the previous financial year with cash shortfalls amounting to more than 10% of the next year’s budget.
While the provincial adjustment budget takes a tiny step in the right direction, the DA will continue to fight for fiscal policy that makes financial sense and that benefits the residents of the Northern Cape.