COSATU Open Letter to National Minister of Finance - Wasteful Expenditure of Public Funds by City of Cape Town - 07 March 2016
07 March 2016
To: The National Government
Att: The Minister of Finance
The Treasury
Open Letter re: Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure of Public Funds in City of Cape Town Municipality
Dear Minister Pravin
Please receive correspondence from our offices in respect of the fruitless and wasteful expenditure of public Funds by Government in Cape Town.
There is an advertising budget of R50 million between the Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town, that sees advertising by their advertising agency, that is the equivalent of wasteful expenditure in these tough economic times. This R50 million is spent on advertising and radio shows that negates the belt tightening that our country is going through.
This R50 million could have achieved the following:
- Built 400 homes for people in need of housing in back yards and informal settlements;
- Could have given I-Pads to 50 000 learners in poorer schools in the Western Cape;
- Could have upgraded the 5000 classes in poorer schools;
- Could have assisted 10 000 drug addicts with rehab facilities.
This money is wasted on the ‘Mayor and Premier radio show’, which talks of holes in 5 roads and 9 lights that are not working, where that R100 000 could have been used for a house to be built. The ads in the newspapers talk about MyCiti bus schedules, when the money of the advert could have been used to buy another bus for the Cape Flats - with no MyCiti routes yet.
Every time a new advert is heard or seen, it’s a waste of precious funding that could have changed a child’s life, with better education opportunities.
Clearly these advertisements are inappropriate expenditure at this time when money must be prioritized for the social injury in our communities. We are calling on the Treasury to compel the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government to spend the money on the urgent needs of our people and to stop this wastage of funds on advertising.
Yours Comradely
Tony Ehrenreich
Provincial Secretary
Issued by COSATU Western Cape, 7 March 2016
