End to dry spell for Eastern Cape legislators?

Democratic Alliance MPL Bobby Stevenson’s water problems may be about to end.

Stevenson has been without water in his house in the government compound in Bhisho for three weeks but this morning received an SMS stating: “Supply to Legislature, Fort Hare and Bhisho CBD to be interrupted today in order to switch ministerial houses from low pressure to high pressure supply”.

The message came from the Buffalo City municipality.

Stevenson and others occupy houses in the “ministerial complex” that was once home to the members of the Ciskei cabinet when they are required to be in the provincial capital.

The problem according to Stevenson is that currently the houses are served by the lower reservoir and needed to be connected to the upper reservoir. Buffalo City maintains “this is the problem of the Amathole District Municipality as they are responsible for supplying water to the reservoir. Amathole District Municipality say it is the problem of Buffalo City Municipality”.

While Stevenson will know doubt be pleased to have water it will also provide comfort to his neighbours to know that Bobby will be bathing again.

New hope for PE's Bayworld?

There is possibly light at the end of the tunnel for Bayworld.

The complex in Port Elizabeth that needs a cash injection of R400 million for a new structure to house the dolphins has received an additional R5,3 million for operating costs and may receive funds from national government, Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture MEC Noxolo Ntantiso-Abrahams told the Bhisho Legislature today.

The MEC said that Bayworld had made a presentation to a meeting of minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan and other provincial MECs and would now present a business case to the national department for additional funding.

Just where Bayworld will get additional dolphins no one is saying, least of all the Bhisho committee that probed the situation at the facility mumbling darkly about an “unethical route” whatever that might be.

Bhisho in MPLs' bad books over libraries

Bhisho’s Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture committee has issued a damning report on the department’s handling of libraries in the province saying that among other things it has neglected its constitutional obligation for rendering library services in the Eastern Cape by “sub-contracting this function to municipalities”.

The report says that most municipalities do not have the capacity to provide library services “nor do they have an interest in rendering the service because it is viewed as being auxiliary to their mandate”.

The committee recommends that:

• Funds should be transferred directly to local authorities and not through district councils that deduct 10 per cent as an administration fee
• Vacant posts in libraries should be budgeted for and filled, and
• More library books should be provided for township libraries

The committee visited libraries across the province in June this year discovering that in many of the facilities staff had been serving in an acting capacity for several years and that insufficient books were provided and little or no provision made for periodicals and other publications.

PE's Bayworld in stormy seas

Bayworld in Port Elizabeth needs R400 million for a new structure to house the dolphins according to a report from Bhisho’s Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture committee that was tabled in the Legislature today.

The report reveals that 600 000 people visited the complex last year including 50 000 pupils.

One of the major problems facing the institution, the report states, is that there are now only two dolphins and they cannot be allowed to breed so that if the facility is to survive as a tourist attraction money will have to be found for a new facility and for additional animals.

Currently the budget allocation for Bayworld from the province is less than R900 000 and represents 20 per cent of operational costs. There is also a shortage of skilled staff and only 67 posts out of 93 were filled at the end of last year.

Add to that the head of department appointed a committee including the senior manager: Museums and Heritage to drive the proposed re-development of the facility but he had “not been available to attend meetings nor has he advanced the required actions of the department in this regard”.

Full story in The Herald tomorrow.

Primary school nutrition? Let them eat cake

There may be problems with the School Nutrition Programme but there certainly are not with the Legislature Nutrition Programme with MPLs provided with a veritable feast of food to keep them fortified during plenary sessions.

Catering staff slave over stoves all morning to ensure the tables are groaning by the time the hordes arrive shortly before 2pm – and it is showing on the girth of some of the more portly members of the Legislature. In fact some of them are becoming positively rotund.

Some time ago as he observed the girth of members of the National Assembly expand in an almost exponential manner, one MP proposed that members should be weighed as they were sworn in so that there would be a record of if and how they had ballooned as the session worn on.

Unfortunately plenary sessions only last four days otherwise there would be a superb opportunity for a weight loss company!

Probe into Pillay commission back on track

The ad hoc committee of the Bhisho Legislature that will look at aspects of the Pillay Commission report is back on track with a new chairman Alfred Mzi, following the appointment of the original chairman Phumulo Masualle as MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Environmental Affairs.

The committee had initially been scheduled to report back at the end of last month but must now do so by October 24 when the Legislature will meet for the next time.

The task of the committee is to:

• Consider the process of receiving the report by the Legislature – it was only submitted to the Speaker after a motion demanding this had been passed
• Consider the report against the background that the Premier and Executive must be accountable to the Legislature and must therefore consider the report with due regard to the funds that the Legislature has voted to fund the commission
• Consider the report, the findings and the recommendations thereof, the appropriateness thereof for implementation by the Executive and investigate the steps taken by the Executive to implement the recommendations of the commission and
• Consider the terms of reference of the commission and to what extent they have been complied with.

In addition, the committee must look at the Eastern Cape Commissions Act and assess whether it should be amended “to make provision for improved transparency and accountability in the appointment and terms of reference of and reporting by commissions”.

Thobile Mhlahlo ducks housing question

Newly appointed Housing MEC Thobile Mhlahlo is being cagey about whether the R1,2 billion conditional grant for housing will be spent in the current financial year.

Answering a question from Pine Pienaar (DA) this afternoon, Mhlahlo declined to give a guarantee that the money would be spent, although he did say his department would do its best to ensure that it was – last year the Eastern Cape had to hand back R500 million of its conditional grant when it became clear it would not be able to spend it.

Mhlahlo did acknowledge that his department was not on track to spend the money at present saying it had spent 24 per cent of the R1,2 billion in the first five months of the financial year – underspending of about R143 million.

It doesn’t look good!

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