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Time for Eastern Cape Finance MEC to step up

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Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is fighting for a provincial budget that creates jobs, grows the economy, and puts more money back in the pockets of the people of the Eastern Cape. The National Budget tabled yesterday fails this test, continuing a path of excessive spending, rising debt, and policies that choke economic opportunity instead of driving investment and employment.

The DA has made its stance clear; we cannot support the National Budget in its current form, as it fails to address South Africa’s deep economic challenges. Instead, it continues down a path of excessive spending, rising debt, and policies that do nothing to create jobs or grow the economy.

The proposed budget tabled yesterday sees the Eastern Cape receiving R82.45 billion in equitable share funding for the 2025/2026 financial year, which is a 5.58% increase on this year’s equitable share.

However, it is likely that the bulk of this funding will be swallowed by the increases in Cost of Employment, which the province has failed time and again to bring under control. Minister Godongwana’s revelation that nationally, the Department of Education’s CoE was sitting at a staggering 76%, is an eye opener.

A system where salaries consume three-quarters of the budget is unsustainable. While teachers and public servants deserve fair wages, runaway payroll costs cannot be allowed to cripple service delivery. The Eastern Cape must get serious about spending discipline. We cannot afford escalating costs while services continue to decline.

Our province is already struggling under poor governance, failing infrastructure, and a stagnant economy. Finance MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko, must take a hard line on cost containment and non-core expenditure.

The latest crime statistics have again highlighted the rampant violent crime in the province, and MEC Mvoko must ensure that more funding is allocated to the Department of Community Safety in the upcoming budget. The current allocation of R144,8 million, just 0.15% of the total budget, is wholly inadequate, especially when compared to the Western Cape’s R763.4 million commitment to tackling crime.

Provincial state-owned entities remain a major problem. These entities add no real value but continue to drain public funds. Instead of ensuring services are delivered efficiently within government, departments outsource functions to SOEs that act as implementing agents, inflating costs and delivering little in return.

The truth is these entities are not about service delivery, it is about keeping patronage networks alive at the expense of the people of this province. The DA has long called for the rationalisation of these entities.

Revenue generation in the province is also a serious concern. The Eastern Cape continues to miss its own revenue targets, especially in critical departments like Health and Public Works.

Public Works, which should be using state assets to generate revenue, does not even have an up-to-date asset register. Across the province, government buildings sit vacant and vandalised, left to decay instead of being put to productive use. This is wasted potential at a time when every available cent should be working to ease the financial burden on residents.

Investment and economic growth should be at the centre of any budget, and the MEC must do everything he can to encourage the private sector to expand, create jobs, and in so doing contribute more revenue to the fiscus.
We cannot continue down a path where the government continues to rely on overburdening taxpayers while failing to address the structural issues that keep investment away.

There is no urgency to fix crumbling infrastructure, no real incentives to attract business, and no plan to ensure that the Eastern Cape can stand on its own financially.

The DA wants a provincial budget that puts the people of the Eastern Cape first, a budget that prioritises jobs, investment, and financial responsibility. We will continue to fight for an approach that cuts wasteful spending, focuses on growth, and ensures that the people of the Eastern Cape get the services and opportunities they deserve.

Regards

Dr Malcolm Figg MPL
DA Shadow MEC for Finance

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.