bobby stevenson

Dera MyPE Premier Phumulo Masualle’s State of the Province Address lacked heart, soul and substance. It failed to ignite the flame necessary to bring about total change. Whatever the Premier had to say was overshadowed by two events. Firstly, the impending ANC reshuffle. We were listening to a dead man walking. Secondly, the national budget has completely taken the wind out of the Premier’s sails. There has been a reduction in the School Infrastructure Grant and the Human Settlements … [Read more...] about SOPA – Total Change Needed

Dear MyPE Premier Phumulo Masualle will deliver his State of the Province Address with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his future and that of his cabinet. The looming provincial ANC cabinet reshuffle needs to be done as a matter of urgency. The party’s factional battles remain a huge obstacle to progress and good governance in this province. The biggest drought that this province faces, besides the water crisis, is that of jobs. As at the end of last year there were 754 000 people … [Read more...] about SOPA Expectations

Dear MyPE The fact that the State of the Nation Address has been postponed presents the Eastern Cape with a golden opportunity to postpone the State of the Province Address, which is scheduled for 16 February, until the ANC has finished with its political reshuffle in the province. It makes no sense for a lame duck Premier and a lame duck provincial cabinet to be part of a State of the Province Address when everything could change in a matter of weeks. The DA believes that what this … [Read more...] about Postpone EC SOPA

Dear MyPE While the ANC-led Eastern Cape Provincial Government is within its rights to seek a legal review of the Mandela Funeral Report by the Public Protector, the provincial government should be focussing its energies around what action it will be taking in regard to the issues raised in the report that have been well-exposed in this province since 2014. What is your clean-up action plan, Mr Premier? Even though all fingers are correctly pointed at the Eastern Cape Director-General … [Read more...] about Mandela Funeral Funds: Whole EC Cabinet was Responsible

Dear MyPE Out of the 12 896 violations of domestic violence protection orders reported in the Eastern Cape over the last three financial years, only 1 934 cases were successfully prosecuted. At the onset of the annual campaign of 16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, these shock-figures highlight a web of terror that is trapping thousands of women in abusive relationships. I condemn this brutality in the strongest terms and call on everyone to take a stand against … [Read more...] about Only 1 934 out of 12 896 Domestic Violence Cases Successfully Prosecuted in Eastern Cape

Dear MyPE The national Department of Basic Education has once more failed to spend the Schools Infrastructure Backlogs Grant for the Eastern Cape. This means R415-million or 26% of the R1.574-billion that was allocated to the Eastern Cape has been underspent. This money is allocated for the eradication of mud structure schools. This emerged in a briefing by National Treasury and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to the Provincial Portfolio Committee on Finance yesterday (subs: 15 … [Read more...] about EC Kisses R415 Billion earmarked for Mud Schools Goodbye

Dear MyPE Accruals or outstanding payments of provincial departments in the Eastern Cape totalling a monstrous R3.889-billion have been carried forward into the 2017/18 financial year, from the 2016/17 financial year, which is an increase of R1.409-billion or 56%, in one year. This exposes the tornado of financial mismanagement sweeping through government departments, which has devastating implications for the province. In contrast, the DA-government in the Western Cape has accruals in the … [Read more...] about Accruals bad news for EC finances and economy

Dear MyPE The Eastern Cape remains the province with the highest unemployment rate in the country. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics South Africa today, unemployment in the province increased by 1,1 percentage points, from 34,4% in the second quarter (April to June 2017) to 35,5% in the third quarter (July to September 2017). This means that there is now a total of 781 000 people unemployed in our province according to the official unemployment rate. … [Read more...] about EC jobs bloodbath continues

Dear MyPE It is clear from the SAPS crime stats for 2016/17 released today that the Eastern Cape is caught in the grips of a vicious crime wave that is striking fear into the hearts and minds of the people of this province. This is a province with the highest murder rate in the country of 55.9 per 100 000 as well as the highest rape rate of 105.3 per 100 000. If you live in the Eastern Cape, the expression “every person’s home is their castle” has now become “every person’s home must … [Read more...] about EC caught in vicious crime wave

Dear MyPE The Eastern Cape has forked out over R162-million to pay civil servants who have been on extended sick leave for years. Of the total of 396 ailing officials, seven have been on extended sick leave for more than six years. We need warm bodies at work, not bodies languishing in warm beds. It is time to press the reset button in the province. A DA-run provincial government will make sure that access to a government job is not an easy opportunity to just earn a … [Read more...] about Extended Sick Leave Civil Servants Cost Province over R162 Million

Dear MyPE Every effort must be taken by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure that police firearms are safeguarded and recovered. Every lost or stolen firearm becomes a weapon in the hands of criminals who slaughter countless innocent victims in this province. Over the past three years, from the 2015/16 financial year up to 2017/18, a total of 297 firearms belonging to the SAPS in the Eastern Cape were either reported missing or stolen from police stations, while only 48 were … [Read more...] about 297 missing or stolen EC SAPS firearms are deadly weapons in the hands of criminals

Dear MyPE There seems to be no sense of urgency from the national government and the South African Police Service to finalise the building of an additional police station in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth despite land having been allocated by the DA-led Nelson Mandela Bay Metro months ago. On Wednesday, 16 August, I tabled a motion in the Eastern Cape Legislature for a resolution that the Department of Safety and Liaison should vigorously interact with the national Department of … [Read more...] about No sense of urgency from SAPS while PE Northern Areas bleed