“GOOD cannot support a budget that cuts the services needed to address the causes of crime” – WESTERN CAPE BUDGET ADUSTMENTS VOTE.
Brett Herron, Member of the WC Provincial Legislature and Secretary-General of GOOD.
3 December 2019
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Statement by MPL Brett Herron delivered to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature on the 3rd December 2019.
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For as long as people continue to be disempowered and trapped, living without hope in apartheid’s racialised townships, the perverse levels of crime and violence will continue.
We won’t change things by denying education, denying early childhood development, exacerbating poverty and inequity and cutting alcohol and drug abuse programmes.
To undo the perverted work of the racists who created this mess, we need bold and ambitious plans.
We welcomed the announcement of a Provincial Safety Plan because it promised to increase visible policing as well as addressing the root causes of crime.
Unfortunately we now see that there is no plan.
All we have is a superficial “working document” that avoids any mention of spatial redress or fixing our townships.
The Premier said he will spend R1 billion per year, but the Finance Minister allocated less than 40% of that.
And this year we get no money at all.
We are asked to simply support the transfer of R130 million for the Law Enforcement Advancement Project – called “Boots on the Ground”.
There is no plan to justify this number.
We don’t know if it is informed by operational requirements or if it is simply the amount the Province could cobble together.
Without a plan the allocation is arbitrary.
To support the transfer of funds, all of the social services budgets are cut.
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The Education department cuts R34 million from the “Public Ordinary School Education” and R7 million from the “Early Childhood Development”.
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Social Development reduces their Social Welfare Services budget by R24 million and it cuts R5,1 million from its overall budget.
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Cultural Affairs and Sport cuts R26 million.
The very departments needed to reduce crime are cutting their budgets.
It is irresponsible for legislators to blindly support a blank cheque transfer of R130m – from one DA administration to another – in the absence of a clear plan.
GOOD cannot support a budget that cuts the services needed to address the root causes of crime.
Ends…