FS SOPA 2017 again proves Executive capture of the Legislature
20 February 2017
The Free State Provincial Legislature’s logistical arrangements for this year’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) has been poorly managed. By last week Wednesday, Members of the Legislature (MPLs) were still not fully informed about the arrangements for SOPA. The DA wrote to the Speaker, Mamiki Qabathe, seeking clarity on a number of pressing issues.
We have received the Speaker’s response to our letter and the DA has the following serious concerns:
- MPLs have always been allowed to invite 10 personal guests to the SOPA. This year MPLs have been restricted by the Speaker to one guest only, citing the limited numbers of guests that the Legislature is able to accommodate. However, in the same letter, she indicates that a combined number of 2000 VIP guests and members of the public will be in attendance.
- The event will cost the Legislature over R2 million which the Speaker justifies by claiming the cost is far less than the costs associated with previous SOPAs. However, the Legislature still does not comply with requests by Treasury for more stringent cost cutting measures. SOPA will be held at a private venue, Thanda Tau, which alone will cost R325,000.00. This really is an unnecessary expenditure. The largest cost item, that of transportation and catering services for 2000 guests, will again be carried by already cash-strapped municipalities and the provincial government, as was the case last year. This cost item could add millions to the total cost for SOPA. The seat of the legislature is the Fourth Raadsaal, while not being able to accommodate 2000 guests, it would have cost very little, and the money could be better used to fund service delivery programmes.
- While the Speaker indicates that the venue was chosen for its proximity to the communities of Vrede and Warden, the venue is on the N3 national road which is some distance from these communities. Guests will have to be transported to the event.
The SOPA 2017 once again proves that the Free State Legislature has been captured by the Executive. The DA will use the platforms within the Legislature to object and expose this blatant abuse of public funds to support a growing totalitarian trend in the province.
The buses will again be filled with 2000 ANC supporters who will act as Premier Ace Magashule’s own rent-a-crowd while ordinary citizens of the province are again left marginalised.
The DA will submit written questions to the Executive to determine the true cost of this event to the people of the province who continue to endure poor service delivery the ANC-led Free State Provincial Government.
Issued by Roy Jankielsohn, Leader of the Official Opposition Free State, 20 February 2017
