South Africans are going through tough financial times and it is imperative for government to make the right decisions when it comes to allocating funds.
The Adjustments Appropriation Bill, however, shows just how miserably government is failing to do this. Here are a few examples:
An additional R1,298 billion was allocated to Home Affairs. Most of it is for the Presidential Employment Initiative. And R819 million of it is earmarked for goods and services, providing the perfect opportunity for looting.
International Relations receives an additional R102 million, while R176 million was taken from the National Treasury's financial and supply chain management.
This is shocking considering the extent of fraud committed with procurement.
To the ruined Transnet an additional R2,937 billion was allocated to repair flood damage. It would not have been necessary if people like Brian Molefe had not mismanaged Transnet's funds.
Public Works and Infrastructure lost R410 million, and only R896 000 more was allocated to Correctional Services while prisons are filling up by the day.
An additional R1,708 billion was allocated to the Department of Defence, while the Department of Justice received a mere R89 million more even though pressure on the country's legal system keeps mounting. This raises questions about government's commitment to combating corruption and prosecuting those implicated in it.
The ANC calls it a process of giving and taking. Meanwhile, the quality of healthcare services to the public keeps declining, and the police force is losing the fight against crime.
Still, R31 million was taken away from police, which does the opposite of levelling out the playing field against criminals. It sounds more like treason against the public than a reasonable process of giving and taking.
It is ironic when one hears in government's inner circles that apparently, the motive behind the opposition's demands that public enterprises must be privatised is personal enrichment.
Because it was under ANC rule that public enterprises were exploited for self-enrichment. Government's incompetence and policy of cadre deployment have brought about the destruction of these entities. The need for frequent rescue packages serves as proof.
This Adjustments Appropriation Bill offers tangible evidence of how the ANC government has failed the country and its people.
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