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Funds for compensation of employees reprioritised yet department has high vacancy rate

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng notes with great concern that the Gauteng Department of Social Development has reprioritised funds for the compensation of employees, yet the department has a high vacancy rate for critical skills.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Social Development in a presentation to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s (GPL) Social Development Portfolio Committee during a virtual meeting.

According to the department’s fund reprioritizations in the special adjustment budget for the 2020/21 financial year, R74 963 000,00 has been reprioritized from the compensation of employees to food parcels; R14 649 000, 00 has been reprioritized from the compensation of employees to food banks and R1 388 000,00 has been reprioritized from the compensation of employees to substance abuse. In total R91 million has been reprioritized from compensation of employees by the department.

While we understand that there is a need for food security in this province there should however be a balance in ensuring that other services within the welfare sector are not compromised.

According to the department’s first quarter report for the 2020/21 financial year, the department has a vacancy rate of 44 percent for occupational therapists and a 36 percent vacancy rate for psychologists.

The department’s vacancy rate remains high at 15 percent, yet the money intended for filling these vacancies has been reprioritised.

Gauteng is still facing a severe shortage of social workers as the department has for several years failed to meet its target of employing sufficient social workers in the province.

It is high time that the department considers filling all critical vacant posts to ensure that our people receive critical welfare services.

The DA calls on the Gauteng Social Development MEC, Nomathemba Mokgethi to reconsider the department’s fund reprioritisation in the special adjustment budget for the 2020/21 financial year to ensure that the critical skills vacancies are filled as a matter of urgency.

 

 

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DA Gauteng debates Motion on Hospital Boards

 

The following speeches were delivered in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, Jack Bloom MPL and DA Gauteng Spokesperson on SCOPA, Dr Heinrich Volmink MPL, during a debate on Hospital Boards and Clinic Committees in Gauteng.

Jack Bloom MPL

“Stronger boards can attract donors to improve quality care in hospitals”

• An effective Hospital Board and Clinic Committee can perform an invaluable role in raising the standards of health treatment;
• Donors are more likely to give when they are approached by a public-spirited board member with a specific project in mind. The Department should be encouraging this and making sure that they are making use of the skills and experience of those who give of their time to help our hard-pressed hospitals and clinics;
• Boards or Committees must actually have the powers and influence to do something about problems that they identify, they should be empowered to act.

The full speech can be obtained here.

Dr Heinrich Volmink MPL

“’You can’t manage what you can’t measure’”

• Out of 369 facilities in the province, only 143 have fully complemented Clinic Committees. This means that 226, or about 6 out of every 10 of the facilities do not have fully complemented Committees and, in fact, 39 out of those facilities have no Clinic Committees at all;
• If we consider how imperative good governance is to quality of care and then reflect on these deficiencies, we begin to understand some of the Department’s performance challenges; such as why, for example, only 71 out of 300 clinics measured in the province reached Ideal Clinic status;
• In terms of developing the capacity of these bodies, we would encourage the MEC to consider the DA’s Health Policy proposal entitled “Our Health Plan” where we emphasize the independence of such bodies so that they can fulfil their governance duties unencumbered by undue political influence.

The full speech can be obtained here.

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DA Debates 2016/17 Gauteng Department Of Economic Development Budget

Speech by: Ina Cilliers MPL

“Economic budget out of sync with economic crisis”

  • The Department of Economic Development’s budget of R1.3 billion is not leveraged in such a way to create a meaningful, large scale economic difference in Gauteng – especially not in township economies.
  • An amount of only R245 million is budgeted for economic infrastructure- this is a very small amount given demands in Gauteng, and only R50 million of this will be spent in townships.
  • The department should re-evaluate their planned spend to focus on modernising the informal economy in the townships because this is where potential is and entrepreneurs there have different needs.
  • The department can use their money to make it easier to do business in Gauteng by cutting red tape, relaxing the regulatory environment and by looking for best practice to emulate.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Ashor Sarupen MPL

“Cadre deployment holding back real job creation”

  • The AIDC is now paralysed by infighting. Documentation is presently sitting with the Public Protector and the Public Service Commission that shows that staff have been appointed by this CEO even though they did not even score highest in the interviews, in contravention of policy.
  • The reality is that the ANC created agencies in Gauteng not for the purposes of economic growth, but to give high paying jobs to its members, regardless of their position.
  • Honourable Premier – you called for more cadre deployment… The ANC must stop misleading people – what it says in its manifesto are not its real policies.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Janho Engelbrecht MPL

 “Policy uncertainty cannot weather Gauteng’s economic storm”

  • This government must provide certainty on its vision for the economy, the policy it intends to implement to realize that vision, and its commitment to ensuring that the economy serves ordinary people.
  • The government should recognize the need to broaden participation in the economy and help to make it easier for outsiders, not just the politically connected, to become owners, access capital and actively participate in the economy.
  • Government must work to give more people the education and skills they need to get a job and to support the kinds of research and development that can make South Africa a winning nation in a globalized knowledge economy.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media enquires:

Ina Cilliers

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 556 4344

 

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 558 8303

 

Janho Engelbrecht

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 556 4343

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