R15.2 million allocated for all public holidays in Gauteng

26 Apriol 2017

In a written response to a DA question, Gauteng Premier David Makhura revealed that R15.2 million of the provincial budget will be spent on public holidays in the province.

This is a colossal waste of public funds as money could be better spent in developing the township economy and assisting the 242 000 young people that are unemployed in the province with finding a job.

The Premier revealed the breakdown of costs per public holiday as follows:

Public Holiday Amount budgeted
Freedom Day - 27 April R2.4 million
Workers Day – 1 May R200 000
Youth Day – 16 June R3.2 million
Women’s Day – 9 August R2.5 million
Heritage Day – 24 September R8 million + R2.5million from Arts & Culture budget

The Premier and the ANC have only paid lip service to the “radical economic transformation” they wish to implement in the province.

The provincial government could have collaborated with civil society, trade unions and private organisations to drastically cut expenditure and save money on these days of national celebration.

However, the ANC-run province of Gauteng will now further extend a hand of patronage to service providers closely linked to their organisation.

The DA will submit further questions on these celebrations to ascertain the exact amount of money spent, supply chain management processes followed and the procurement of service providers in order to celebrate these days.

It is disingenuous that jobseekers in the province struggle to find work whilst millions of rands are spent on frivolous ribbon-cutting exercises.

Issued by Kingsol Chabalala, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts, Culture and Heritage, 26 April 2017