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IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
The Impact of Neoliberal Policies on Workers in the Western Cape
Communities that depend on reliable mobility infrastructure are shortchanged, and public servants are pushed to the brink, all in the name of an ideology that prioritises austerity over human need, says SACP provincial secretary in the Western Cape Benson Ngqentsu. Image: Phando Jikelo/Independent Newspapers Archive Benson Ngqentsu In his State of the Province Address, Western Cape Premier Mr. Allan Winde introduced 'doing more with less' as the guiding philosophy of the 7th administration. This sentiment was later echoed by the MEC for Finance, Ms. Diedre Baartman. However, this neoliberal doctrine has gone largely unchallenged by the provincial and national media. Their silence is not surprising; it only reaffirms Karl Marx's insight that in a class-divided society, the dominant ideas are those of the ruling class. In the Western Cape, neoliberalism, as a stage of capitalist development, remains the prevailing doctrine. And, as with all capitalist systems, it is a deeply embedded ruling system that is entrenched in our political and administrative structures. Contrary to the ideology of 'doing more with less,' the bureaucracy of the Western Cape government is in crisis. Workers are overburdened, service delivery is compromised, and the state's very capacity is being eroded. The fixation with a leaner state has hollowed out departments, most notably the Department of Mobility. A striking example of this systemic failure is the chronic vacancy rate within the Department of Mobility, which stands at an alarming 32.8%, the highest of any province in the country. Compounding the problem further, these vacancies are concentrated in senior, skilled production, and supervisory roles, with 75% of vacancies falling in this category. This picture was painted by the Western Cape Department of Mobility before the Standing Committee for Public Accounts on Friday, 8 August 2025. The report of the Department to SCOPA further reported that despite the Western Cape's sizable economy, its Mobility Department operates with far fewer directorates compared to provinces of similar or larger economic stature. For instance, Gauteng has four Deputy Director-Generals (DDGs), KwaZulu-Natal has three, while the Western Cape has none. According to a briefing by the Mobility officials, the department's actual vacancy rate is 30.2%, which is second only to Gauteng. This is indicative not of efficiency, but of administrative atrophy. The officials from the department, in their own words, further told the Standing Committee that: 'This requires teams to perform additional functions for which there should ordinarily be dedicated capacity (for example, freight) or seek external specialised skills.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading In other words, the Department of Mobility in the Western Cape has been designed not to perform. Staff are stretched beyond capacity, key functions are either neglected or outsourced, and the burden continues to fall on already overstretched dedicated public servants. Sadly, it is evident that the consequence of the DA's downsizing of the department remains a compromise of service to our people. Communities that depend on reliable mobility infrastructure are shortchanged, and public servants are pushed to the brink, all in the name of an ideology that prioritises austerity over human need. This is, in essence, a plea to Premier Winde to abandon the neoliberal doctrine of 'doing more with less.' It is not only unsustainable, but harmful to the professional public service, to the people of the Western Cape, and an antithesis of any envisaged developmental state. Further, for Premier Winde to listen to this clarion call, organised labour in the Western Cape Mobility Department, in particular, Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) must step up and lead a Broad Popular Front against the chronic crisis of vacancies in the Mobility Department. The filling of the vacancies should be used as an opportunity to drive our progressive transformation agenda, and the department must be made to meet equity targets. Workers must rise and confront neoliberalism or risk perishing!! Finally, now is the time for a people-centred, pro-public investment approach. One that recognises that efficient governance is not achieved by shrinking the state, but by strengthening it with capable personnel, adequate resources, and a commitment to social justice as a tenet for a developmental state. * Benson Ngqentsu, ANC Spokesperson for Mobility in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature and Provincial Secretary, South African Communist Party. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Urgent R32 million budget for water security in the Western Cape
Anton Bredell, Western Cape's local government and environmental affairs minister, backing a bold R32 million push to upgrade ageing water infrastructure and secure the province's future supply. Image: Independent Newspapers Archive In response to mounting climate pressures and growing demands on municipal services, the Western Cape Government has committed R32 million in the 2025/26 financial year to assist local municipalities with critical water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, announced the allocation during a panel discussion on food and water security at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference on June 2. Bredell painted a stark picture of the challenges facing the province. 'We also have the added complexity of poverty, inequality and a fast-growing population,' he said. 'These socio-economic dynamics make it very challenging to plan, budget and construct the water and wastewater infrastructure we need to provide future water security in our region.' The R32 million allocation for the 2025/26 financial year will be used to support municipalities as they upgrade and expand critical infrastructure, a move seen as urgent given the province's limited potential for new bulk water storage facilities. Bredell said there are only limited opportunities for additional bulk water storage in the Western Cape, and as such, future water security will have to come from improved supply and demand management, alternative sources such as groundwater, the re-use of water, and desalination. While the Western Cape boasts the lowest per capita water use in the country, at 160 litres per person per day, compared to the national average of 216 litres, much of that water is lost or unaccounted for. According to Wouter Kriel, spokesperson for Minister Bredell, the Western Cape manages to generate revenue from 70.4% of water supplied to consumers, meaning that 30% of water is either lost in the system, or it was delivered to a consumer without generating any revenue. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ "A portion of the non-revenue water is water supplied free of charge to poor and vulnerable residents. This is part of a dignity basket which also includes a set amount of free electricity and other basic municipal services," said Kriel. Bredell said the current national threshold of free water is no longer realistic. 'Our research on what constitutes water dignity found that the current 6 kilolitres a month per household, as prescribed in South African legislation, is not sufficient, and it should be much higher, at 15 kilolitres per household,' he said. 'These findings raise serious questions on our approach to water management in South Africa and especially in our local governments where rate payers are being pushed to pay more for services to also help subsidise the dignity basket to an increasing number of indigent households.' Kriel confirmed the provincial support, saying; 'The Western Cape Government is budgeting R32 million for the 2025/26 financial year to support municipalities with water and wastewater infrastructure projects.' IOL News Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
IOL News
30-04-2025
- IOL News
Convicted 'killer' busted in Table View for robbery
Slain make-up artist Suritha Alting was robbed and stabbed on her way home from a restaurant in Richwood, Cape Town. Image: Independent Newspapers Archive Questions have arisen over how the teen convicted of the murder of Suritha Alting, 28, was found robbing people in Table View this month - less than two years after he was sentenced. Table View dad, Dave Walters, said he was shocked when he was informed by investigators that the man who robbed him of his cellphone two weeks ago was in fact a "killer who slipped through the cracks". The 50-year-old man said Xolani Du Preez and his accomplice were busted on April 17 after they entered his home. "I was at home playing Call of Duty and had left the gate open as I knew my son would probably leave around midnight to meet up with his girlfriend. "I saw two males and initially thought they were my son's friends but then I saw they put their fingers on their lips and said 'shhh' and this is when I knew it was a break-in. "The one grabbed my cellphone and they fled running in opposite directions." Walters and his son chased after the suspects and tracked the cellphone's location as they alerted police. Police arrived on the scene along Blaauwberg Road and the Oppo cellphone was recovered. Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, confirmed the arrest: "Table View police registered a house robbery case for investigation on Thursday, April 17, in Hoorn Street, Table View. The suspects fled the scene with a cellular telephone worth R10 000. We can confirm that two males age 19 and 22 were arrested on Friday, April 18, and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court." Walters said several days later he returned to Table View police station to thank SAPS for their work, when he was called by detective's who revealed the identity of the suspect. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ "They told me that he is the guy who was convicted of killing the woman in Richwood. "According to that sentence he was supposed to serve two years and 245 days at a juvenile facility and later eight years at an adult correctional facility but somehow the killer just slipped through the cracks," said Walters. The case Walters is refering to happened in November 2023, when Du Preez was sentenced by the Parow Regional Court to two years and 245 days in a child youth care facility and eight years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to Alting's murder.
