Hannah Omarjee | homarjee@radioislam.co.za
09:03:2023 | 14:30 PM CAT
2 min read

Photo Credit: IOL

Gauteng’s finance minister MEC Jacob Mamabolo will deliver his maiden budget speech later today. Opposition parties will listen attentively to how he plans to improve service delivery and attract international investors to the province after the country has been grey-listed. Opposition parties want to ensure that every rand allocated is spent openly and transparently.

The DA’s shadow minister MEC for Finance, Adrianne Randall, said that Mamabolo has his work cut out for him. Randall said, “It’s a tight balancing act between service delivery to our residents that are losing hope and livelihoods are at stake.”

E-Tolls remain a controversial issue and are high. There will be no additional money to fund E-Tolls in Gauteng. Randall said,” The capital expenditure on building new schools. The influx, monthly of new learners, has reached alarming figures. We’ve not seen new schools being built, and we need quality education, and this government, unfortunately, is not succeeding in meeting the demands with regard to the influx.”

According to Randall, ESKOM needs to cut the red tape regarding the ITP issuing then licenses and secure any credits coming into the grid to ensure a reserve, especially for small and medium enterprises. Multiple businesses are closing down because they cannot afford the generator due to the high diesel and petrol costs.

The municipality is in dire straits. The infrastructure is failing. It was never made to be switched on and off four to five times daily. That leaves the province and the country in a highly dire state.

Listen to the full interview here.