MyPE

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Tough leadership is needed to contain expenditure

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Dear MyPE

It is clear from the Adjustment Appropriation Bill which was tabled in the Provincial Legislature yesterday (Wednesday 19 November) that the country is cash strapped with expenditure exceeding revenue.

This Adjustment Appropriation Bill of R467.6 million is the smallest one that I can remember. Last year’s Adjustment Appropriation was R2.117 billion and in 2012 it was R1.191 billion.

In an extremely sobering speech, the MEC for Provincial Planning and Treasury, Sakhumzi Somyo, highlighted a number of home truths one of which was the big increase in the provincial wage bill from R 31.4 billion in 2010/11 to an estimated R 40.171 billion in 2014/15.

There has been a massive rise in employee costs without a rise in service delivery. Services are simply not being delivered as they should.

For a number of years now the Democratic Alliance has warned of the dangers of spending over 64% of the budget on employee costs or rather 78% if one removes the conditional grants from the budget.

Unless spiralling costs of employment are checked and stringent cost containment measures implemented this province will end up as nothing more than an employment agency.

This is the time for tough leadership to ensure that the province’s finances are managed effectively and efficiently for the benefit of all the people.

Regards

Bobby Stevenson, MPL

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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.