Chairperson, I hereby give notice on behalf of Cope that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
1) notes the recent drive-by shooting of the well-known gangster boss, Cyril Beeka, in Cape Town, on Monday 21 March 2011;
2) further notes the fact that the alleged crime boss took many secrets to his grave right under the nose of Moe Shaik and our state intelligence and police establishments;
3) therefore calls on the government to properly address this issue of underworld criminal activity, which is leading to increased mafia activity and the erosion of law and order in our country.
Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
1) notes the Premier of the Free State, Mr Ace Magashule's, allegedly assault of two ANC members who differed with him on the party's nomination list in Winberg;
2) also notes the lack of professionalism that is evident at local government level and the fact that the ANC has become a law unto itself, ignoring democracy and democratic practices;
3) calls on government to re-establish a culture of democracy and respect at local government level and for justice to be served in this specific case.
Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, I hereby wish to give notice that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council notes that -
1) households countrywide paid 46% more for municipal services last year compared to the previous year;
2) the highest increases were in the Limpopo province, at 150%; Mpumalanga, at 145%; the Eastern Cape, at 121%; the Northern Cape, at 80% and the Free State, at 60%;
3) these percentages are based on the latest figures from National Treasury, compiled from reports received from various municipalities;
4) the amount owing to various municipalities has increased from R56,3 billion to R62,3 billion over the previous year, an increase of 10,6%;
5) in the poorer residential area of Madadeni in Newcastle, for example, where the average resident earns less than R5 000 per month, the prepaid electricity and municipal rates come to more than R1 000 a month.
6) the outstanding debt is increasing by R9 million every month in Newcastle and the total outstanding debt currently amounts to R642 million; and
7) this is a poor state of affairs for the poorer municipalities and service delivery continues to just get worse, whilst the municipal residents who can afford to pay, get fewer and fewer.
Chairperson, I hereby give notice on behalf of Cope that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
1) notes the extent of the impact the intervention by the national Department of Education in the Eastern Cape has had between the national Minister and the MEC;
2) also notes that the MEC has not been fired for nonperformance;
3) further notes that cadre deployment is running the show; and
4) acknowledges the need for penal measures to be taken against the culprits without fear or favour.
Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA I hereby wish to give notice that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
1) notes that the DA is very concerned and deeply perturbed that the department of education in the Eastern Cape will only have R700 million to spend on nonpersonnel issues for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012;
2) further notes that the budget allocation for the department for the 2011-2012 financial year is R24,6 billion, of which 87% or R21,4 billion will go to compensation of employees, which leaves 13% or R3,2 billion to address the cumulative overexpenditure of R1,2 billion, made up of R800 million from the 2009-10 financial year and R400 million from the 2010-11 financial year;
3) also notes that the department has to address accruals of R500 million and has to cover the projected expenditure of R800 million over 10 months to pay the cost of reinstatement of temporary educators as per the recent court order;
4) recognises that when all the amounts are added up, it is obvious that this department will have major difficulties in funding its various programmes with only R700 million available to it, which will have to provide for scholar transport, the school nutrition programme, learner-teacher support material, appointment of substitutes, provision of school furniture and the building of schools; and
5) debates the education crisis in the Eastern Cape and the possible solutions.