Opposition parties underwhelmed by W-Cape medium term budget

Opposition parties in the Western Cape Legislature have poured cold water on the provincial government’s R230-billion medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), claiming that it showed a lack of priority.

This was according to the ANC, while the GOOD party said the statement had failed to effectively highlight a clear path of development and growth within the province.

The parties were responding to the policy statement which was tabled by MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger on Thursday.

Wenger said R1.28bn was added to the budget for spending over the next three years, which would bring the total estimated expenditure for the Western Cape over the 2023 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) to R230.82 bn.

Other areas that were prioritised included:

*R466.6 million for the new Infrastructure and Mobility departments.

• Around R31.17bn for infrastructure projects.

• An additional R200m to continue the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) programme.

• The Health and Education departments will receive an allocation of R168.69bn over the MTEF, making up 73.1% of the total budget over the three year period.

DA MPL Deidré Baartman said that while the province had received no additional provincial equitable share allocation from the national government, except to make provision for public service wage increases, the MTBPS reaffirmed the Western Cape government’s commitment to jobs, safety and well-being for it’s citizens.

But opposition parties felt this was not good enough and also lambasted Premier Alan Winde’s no-show at the meeting.

GOOD MPL Shaun August said the MTBPS lacked clear plans and was gambling with the lives of residents.

“In the absence of clear plans on how to move forward with growth and development and how the economy of crime and illicit trade will be tackled, this MTBPS is just lip service accompanied by wild guesses on how we will address the problems of the poor.

“We should oppose the daylight gambling with the lives of residents, based on a scale of possibilities. These decisions must be guided by clear plans, but more so by tangible solutions - we owe that much to the people of this province,” August said.

The ANC’s Khalid Sayed said they condemned the “lack of appreciation of priorities” on the side of Winde, who reportedly did not attend sitting as he was attending a breakfast with European diplomats.

“The ANC insists that Alan Winde cannot be a part-time premier and must fulfil his constitutionally bound duties, which are to be accountable to the provincial legislature.”

“We again condemn the systematic undermining of the provincial legislature by the DA and call on the intervention of the national leadership of the DA to ensure that the people and service delivery are the priorities of this DA premier,” Sayed said.

Winde's spokesperson, Regan Thaw, said the premier was unable to attend the sitting.

Weekend Argus