Note to Broadcasters:Please find attached soundbites in English by Wolfgang Wallhorn
The new provincial budget of R58,389 billion remains a fiscal fantasy: long on promises but short on delivery. The picture painted remains as uninspiring as before.
Although MEC Kenetswe Mosenogi had a second chance at addressing the real issues of the province, such as unemployment, collapsing municipalities and infrastructure, she opted for recycling the same empty commitments.
With no real economic development, and still no plan to attract investment. No concrete steps to fix our crumbling roads, no real strategy to fight crime, and no vision to turn the North West into a tourist hotspot.
There’s still no sign of a budget that is people-centred and aimed at helping businesses thrive.
The current approach is suffocating Small, Medium and Micro-enterprises (SMMEs), and no mention of enforcing the 30-day payment rule that would ensure SMMEs can keep their doors open. This leaves service providers such as scholar transport providers, security services, and caterers to continue knocking on doors just to be paid for work they have already done.
The 5 500 short-term infrastructure posts and 3 094 assistant educator roles are just band-aids on a haemorrhage and is not addressing the 56% unemployment rate which is the highest in the country.
The new budget should have prioritised a dedicated, transparent, and verifiable infrastructure fund based on clear targets and timelines, not more allocations lost to incompetence and corruption.
The DA remains focussed on economic growth and employment to not only uplift the residents of North West, but to also build a sustainable future for all who live in this beautiful province.