Cape Town - Crime, education, jobs, health, housing and transport are the key issues that the opposition in the Western Cape wants addressed in this afternoon’s provincial budget by Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier.
Maynier will today present his budget for the province, in which he is expected to provide allocations to fund the promises made by Premier Alan Winde during his State of the Province Address (Sopa) last month.
Maynier’s budget this year is themed “A budget to push forward” and his spokesperson, Georgina Maree, said people of the province should expect “notable announcements and allocations to Education, Health and Infrastructure” – three of the pillars of Winde’s Sopa.
Provincial ANC finance and economic opportunities spokesperson Nomi Nkondlo said: “The MEC must respond to the cries by the Khayelitsha people for improved services at the Khayelitsha District Hospital.”
She said the hospital’s management has requested an additional R150 million to address challenges there and Maynier must make this available through this budget.
Nkondlo also called on the Province to consider improving the Red and Blue Dot taxi grants and to head towards a full subsidisation of the taxi industry.
EFF provincial chairperson Melikhaya Xego wants the budget to address the issue of the provision of housing in the province, and that the budget must speak to humanitarian social relief.
“People are poor, hungry and without jobs and Maynier must allocate a substantial amount of money to address these issues while also making sure that the provincial government creates employment opportunities.”
ACDP MPL Ferlon Christians would like the budget to address crime.
“Crime is always a major concern. The ACDP would want to see funding allocated to neighbourhood watches and community safety forums instead of Leap officers.”
Christians also called for funding for more classrooms and teachers to fix the issue of unplaced learners and for health, in particular the emergency ambulance services.
GOOD party MPL Shaun August said: “The time for beautiful phrases and phonaesthetics is gone; what is now required are actionable and tangible outcomes, tied to solution-driven civil, social and economic intervention.”
He said the focal point for this year’s fiscal policy should be centralised on rebuilding, reorienting and re-industrialising after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.
August also wants to see economic stimulation in the form of local manufacturing, especially in the textile industry.
From the DA’s own benches, MPL Deidré Baartman said: “Money should be allocated to infrastructure development to further capacitate our healthcare platforms and to preventative and proactive measures to keep communities safer.”
She said funding for provincial energy programmes, such as the Municipal Energy Resilience project, will be needed to secure economic recovery and growth in the Western Cape.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za