Port Elizabethan

Dear Editor The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment, Dr Dion George, has significantly increased the protection of marine life by publishing important regulations regarding bunkering (at-sea refuelling of ships). This activity poses serious risks to surrounding marine ecosystems, particularly through acoustic pollution and the propensity for spillage of oil and other chemical pollutants. Bunkering has been implicated as a major threat to the African Penguin in particular, which … [Read more...] about Dr Dion George expands protection for marine life and penguins through bunkering regulations

Dear Eitor Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) failed to provide the leadership and direction needed to fix the Eastern Cape’s economic and service delivery crisis. If the direction is wrong, the budget in March cannot correct it. It is embarrassing when the Premier himself cannot accurately reflect the economy’s performance. The provincial economy grew a mere 0.1% in Q2 2024—far below the 2.1% he cited and nowhere near the targets needed for sustainable … [Read more...] about EC SOPA 2025 Fails to Deliver

Dear Editor The latest crime statistics, released on Friday, confirm what the people of the Eastern Cape already know: our province is under siege. Violent crime continues to shatter lives, drive businesses away, and kill jobs. There were 1,300 people murdered, and 2,341 sexual offences were recorded in just three months. That’s an average of 14 lives lost every single day. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Premier Oscar Mabuyane to announce a zero-tolerance stance on crime in … [Read more...] about Crime Also Kills the Economy

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested that the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) investigate the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's refusal to publicly disclose river water quality results. This refusal is particularly concerning given reports that contamination levels have consistently exceeded prescribed limits, posing a health and safety hazard to residents. High levels of contamination in river water create significant health risks, especially to vulnerable … [Read more...] about NMB Refuses To Publicly Disclose River Water Quality Results

Dear Editor The Eastern Cape is buckling under a cost-of-living crisis. In a province where nearly one in two people are unemployed, many have lost hope of ever finding work. Instead of delivering solutions, the national government tried to push through a 2% VAT hike, a move that would have crippled families that are barely surviving. The Democratic Alliance took a stand and blocked the national budget, refusing to let ordinary South Africans pay for government failure, corruption, and … [Read more...] about SOPA Expectations: Jobs, Growth, and an end to government failure

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the mayor and acting city manager of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality requesting that they immediately intervene after National Treasury warned that it intends to withhold hundreds of millions of Rands in crucial conditional grant funding from the metro. National Treasury has notified the acting city manager of its intention to withhold R262,5 million in grant funding. This decision is based on the municipality's poor performance … [Read more...] about Plan requested to prevent NMB from losing millions in grant funding

Dear Editor The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q4 2024, released by Statistics South Africa, shows that our province must harness the national growth and jobs agenda urgently. The unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, with an official rate of 36.6% and an expanded rate of 47.6%, placing immense pressure on families, businesses, and local economies. That 47.6% of working age people cannot find work, or have given up trying, is a crisis for our province. While … [Read more...] about Eastern Cape must harness national growth and jobs agenda