COSATU Limpopo Province media statement for immediate release, 5 December 2011

COSATU Limpopo Province is shattered by the shocking news in the weekend newspapers alleging that the government of Limpopo is facing possible financial collapse (see City Press report).

The weekend papers also allege that the government may not be able to pay salaries of its employees in the last quarter of the its current financial year and that infrastructure development projects may have to be suspended and that social services in education and health are the hardest hit. 

We are quite concerned that while unemployment in Limpopo is so high, even funded vacant posts will not be filled this year, and that contract workers like teachers may be retrenched en masse.

Firstly we are saddened by conflicting statements from the Provincial Treasury on the requested bailout of about R700 million, because we suspect that were the department to do a comprehensive review of the financial stability of the whole government, surely we might find that as a province, we might not be below R2,5 billion in the red.

We hope that austerity measures imposed by Provincial Treasury on public servants also include travelling expenditure by Public Representatives, especially those allocated official vehicles but who prefer to utilize their privately owned vehicles just to milk the state.

We hope and believe that National Cabinet, in its meeting today, will approve the required bailout, with one condition, that the financial powers/authority delegated to the Provincial Government be withdrawn and it becomes the sole function of National Government (Section 100).

Statement issued by COSATU Limpopo Provincial Secretary, Dan Sebabi, December 5 2011

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