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Disband The Failed Cacadu Development Agency

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Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the mayor of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) requesting him to immediately disband the Cacadu Development Agency (CDA) following years of financial mismanagement and a complete lack of successful project implementation.

Since its establishment in 2012, the CDA has received over R63 million in taxpayer funding. However, despite this substantial investment, the agency has failed to launch a single successful project, making it a prime example of yet another failed State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) in South Africa.

At yesterday’s SBDM Council meeting, the ANC-led government once again failed to pass the adjustment budget for the 2024/2025 financial year. The draft budget allocated R6,71 million for the CDA, with over R4,8 million earmarked for employee-related costs, leaving very little for actual development.

The DA has written to SBDM mayor Deon de Vos calling on him and the Council to take decisive action to disband the CDA. We also call on the mayor to reallocate the CDA’s resources to more effective and accountable initiatives that can genuinely benefit the people of the Sarah Baartman District.

Despite being positioned as a vehicle for catalytic projects and local economic development, the CDA continues to operate without delivering tangible results.

The DA has repeatedly highlighted the inefficiency and wastefulness of the CDA, which has failed to drive job creation, skills development, or any meaningful local economic growth despite receiving millions of rands in public funds.

The agency’s continued failure to produce results calls into question its very existence. The CDA’s attempts to revise its strategy and become more “agile” have only led to more of the same: wasted resources and no real impact.

We believe that the agency is beyond reform and should be disbanded to prevent further financial wastage and ineptitude.

The DA will continue to fight against reckless expenditure in the Sarah Baartman District which is squandering the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

Regards

Alderman Karen Smith
DA Sarah Baartman District Caucus Leader

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