Opposition political parties have mixed reaction to WC's R270bn budget
CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape's budget has been met with mixed reactions from opposition political parties. On Tuesday, provincial Finance MEC Deidre Baartman retabled an almost R270 billion budget for the province for the next three years.
The bulk of this budget will be spent on education and health, with an allocation of R100 billion for each department. Just over R6 billion will go towards housing, and more than R8 billion will be spent on social protection. The African National Congress (ANC)'s Nomi Nkondlo said it was unfortunate that the Democratic Alliance (DA) had tabled the same budget, despite concerns raised by opposition parties when the initial budget was tabled in March. "The Western Cape continues to record highest in crime and murder rate in the country. We also are affected by teacher cuts, which are causing overcrowding and the quality of education deteriorating in poor schools. The healthcare system that is collapsing in hospitals which are understaffed and the healthcare sector that is not recovering the loss of the USAID fund." However, the Patriotic Alliance (PA)'s Basil Petrus said the party welcomed the budget.
"The PA welcomes the decision that there will be no VAT hike. We support the allocations on infrastructure development to create jobs and economic opportunities. The Patriotic Alliance will monitor the spending of funds on education, health, law enforcement and social development that needs more intervention. We hope that our communities who need it the most will benefit out of the budget."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Contraceptives for sub-Saharan Africa stuck in warehouses after US aid cuts
Contraceptives that could help prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies in some of the world's poorest countries are stuck in warehouses because of US aid cuts and could be destroyed, two aid industry sources and one former government official said. The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills and intrauterine devices, together worth about $11m (R195.5m), the sources told Reuters. It has been stalled since the Trump administration started cutting foreign aid as part of its 'America First' policy in February, as the US government no longer wants to donate the contraceptives or pay the costs for delivery, they said. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has instead asked the contractor managing its health supply chain, Chemonics, to try to sell it, two of the sources said. An internal USAID memo, sent in April, said a quantity of contraceptives was being kept in warehouses and they should be 'immediately transferred to another entity to prevent waste or additional costs'. A senior US state department official told Reuters no decision had been made about the future of the contraceptives. They did not respond to questions about the reasons why the contraceptives were in storage or the impact of the US aid cuts and delays.
Eyewitness News
11 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Political parties bemoan inadequate protection for whistleblowers
CAPE TOWN - Political parties have bemoaned the inadequate protection for whistleblowers and the failure to reform the laws that will improve this. During an African National Congress (ANC) sponsored debate calling for guaranteed anonymity, job security and legal support for whistleblowers, every speaker referenced the assassination of Babita Deokaran, who was killed outside her house in 2021 for blowing the whistle on corruption at Tembisa Hospital. Parliamentarians said that despite a raft of laws dealing with whistleblowing, they have given rise to a culture of fear among whistleblowers who are punished rather than protected. Parliamentarians have added pressure on the Justice Department to speed up the process of improving its treatment of whistleblowers. The Protected Disclosure Act and Whistleblowing Act are currently under review by the department. The Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Glynnis Breytenbach is calling for the establishment of an independent whistleblower protection agency with prosecutorial referral powers. 'A dedicated, well-funded, autonomous institution must be created to receive disclosures, provide safe channels, investigate threats and offer physical protection.' Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said employers should be prohibited from disciplining officials who make protected disclosures, and should refund them the cost of litigation if an employee wins the case. 'We must similarly make it impossible for those people to be dismissed until the matter has been closed.' Members of Parliament (MPs) are also calling for an incentive fund that will encourage people to come forward to lift the lid on corruption. ALSO READ: Freedom Under Law echoes calls for protection of investigators, whistleblowers in high-profile cases
The Citizen
19 hours ago
- The Citizen
R72m foot-and-mouth vaccine delivery due mid-June
Karan Beef says vaccination efforts are contingent on 'availability from the state'. The outbreak 'is expected to cause major disruptions to the national beef supply chain'. Picture: iStock The Department of Agriculture expects a R72 million shipment of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines to arrive in South Africa by the second week of June. Dipepeneneng Serage, Deputy Director-General: Agricultural Production, Biosecurity and Natural Resources Management, tells Moneyweb the vaccines are being imported from Botswana 'due to South Africa's limited domestic manufacturing capacity'. The department has estimated the vaccine requirements for FMD for the 2025/2026 financial year at R1.2 billion, with each dose expected to cost around R100, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said in a statement earlier. But this amount may have to be increased, says Serage, after Karan Beef, one of South Africa's largest exporters, confirmed on Monday that a case of foot-and-mouth disease was detected at the Heidelberg facility on Friday 30 May. 'The R1.2 billion estimate was only for FMD protection zones in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and we did not anticipate a [recent] case in Gauteng and the outbreak at Karan Beef,' he adds. Karan Beef notes in a statement that approximately 120 000 cattle are housed at the affected facility. 'The company produces an estimated 100 million kilograms of beef annually from this site alone. Vaccination efforts are contingent on 'availability from the state'. 'Once initiated, a 14-day vaccination programme will commence, followed by a 14-day observation period.' ALSO READ: Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak rocks South Africa's cattle industry FMD in South Africa Serage says the department routinely vaccinates animals in areas in South Africa bordering known FMD zones, such as near the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga as well as the Mfolozi Local Municipality and the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, both in KZN. 'From time to time you see cases of FMD spilling over into areas outside the protection zones in areas where there haven't been vaccinations. If it's like that, it's manageable.' However, the situation has become more complex. 'In KZN, FMD has started flaring up in areas where we're not supposed to have it and we've been battling that since the beginning of this year,' Serage notes. Potential outbreaks in the Free State and Gauteng, which both border four other provinces, will be particularly problematic. The detection of FMD at Karan Beef follows an earlier incident in Gauteng on the East Rand on communal farmland. 'We're busy managing that. In a way it's easier when it's at a commercial feedlot like Karan because then you can place the entire feedlot under quarantine.' Serage says South Africa is in the process of ramping up its vaccine manufacturing capacity, but in the meantime the imported vaccines are suitable for South Africa, as the two countries are battling the same strain of FMD. 'So, their vaccine works for us.' ALSO READ: Industry warns of meat price spike and hunger as SA faces supply crisis Karan's next steps Investigations are still underway to determine the source of the outbreak, says Dr Dirk Verwoerd, senior feedlot veterinarian at Karan Beef. Currently, around 2% of the herd is infected, and no animals are being moved in or out of the Heidelberg feedlot during this period. Once vaccinations are complete, Karan plans to begin a controlled slaughter-out process under veterinary supervision. No mass culling is planned at this stage. The group notes that the outbreak has come at the height of weaning season and is expected to cause major disruptions to the national beef supply chain. With feedlot capacity now limited, farmers may be forced to hold on to calves for longer than usual. Karan Beef has also suspended all exports. ALSO READ: Ban on Brazil poultry imports adds to SA food insecurity Despite this setback, the company says its national network of facilities enables it to continue operations on a reduced scale. Unaffected sites will be used to support feeding capacity where possible. According to the statement, Karan Beef is 'working closely with veterinary authorities and following structured protocols to contain the outbreak with urgency and responsibility'. 'While the animals are not severely ill, the control measures are substantial and have a wide impact across the industry,' says Verwoerd. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
