Division of Revenue Amendment Bill: No new money for service delivery for Western Cape
21 November 2022
The only increase in Provincial Equitable Share (PES) that the Western Cape Provincial Government is receiving, is a R 954 million allocation to cover cost-of-living increases for public service employees, tabled from national contingency funds. The 2022 Division of Revenue Amendment Bill does not allocate any additional increase in the PES for service delivery. The DA in the Western Cape thus does not support the Bill in its current form.
This bill sets out the division of revenue between National, Provincial and Local Governments.
Because the only increase in Provincial Equitable Share (PES) allocations is to cover salary increases, the Western Cape Provincial Government, as well as all Local Governments in the Western Cape, have effectively received no more money to expand and improve service delivery to the people.
While we welcome disaster relief conditional grant funding for the Cape Winelands, Overberg and Garden Route District Municipalities, which was erroneously allocated to these district municipalities by National Treasury, rather than the local municipalities which can maximise value, it is clear that the Western Cape is being short-changed. It is trite that conditional grant funding may only be used for that which it is allocated, meaning there is no flexibility through which the Western Cape can prioritise service delivery pressures, as would have been the case with an additional PES allocation.
In the face of high inflation, reaching 7.5% year on year in September, more money is needed to enable the Province to continue to deliver high quality services to residents.
Furthermore, the tremendous population growth through migration to the Western Cape has not been properly considered. StatsSA projects a 460 489 increase in the Western Cape population from 2021-2026, which means more people will be relying on government services.
Despite this, revisions to the PES Formula will see the Western Cape lose around R500 million in healthcare over the medium term. It is illogical, and unfair to the people of this province.
The priorities from the ANC-run National Government are clearly skewed, as they continue to spend billions on failing SOE’s, rather than capacitating frontline services that improve the lives of citizens. R30 billion has been allocated to Denel and SANRAL, while provinces receive no additional funding for service delivery.
The DA in the Western Cape has a responsibility towards the people we represent, and cannot in good conscience allow them to be disregarded, yet again. That is why we do not support this bill, and will keep on fighting for our fair share!
Issued by Deidré Baartman, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Budget, 21 November 2022
