GOOD Statement by Shaun August
GOOD National Organiser and Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
1 December 2022
Note: This declaration was delivered by GOOD’s National Organiser and Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Shaun August, today.
Speaker
The cost of living is at an all-time high; the cost of rates, taxes, food, water and electricity is crippling citizens and they simply do not have more financial rope left to honour living expenses.
While the people are suffering, this government adopts a position to increase the seat capacity of the legislature to pay more politicians, dish out millions more in secretarial and constituency allowances and all this at the cost of who, the already overburdened taxpayer who simply cannot carry it.
Speaker
We are living in a time of digital wonder, technological advancements and greater strides with innovation. This house prides itself that it could continue its work at the onslaught of the Covid pandemic as it incorporated virtual sittings.
Considering this and ensuring that politicians should incorporate technology to their advantage for political work, the same DA is now asking the people of the Western Cape to look the other way as they want to give more of their friends millions, whilst some people in this province go hungry, daily.
GOOD opposes the call for this government to increase the seat capacity of the legislature. It is a waste of limited public resources that could have been better utilized elsewhere. Whilst the DA is looking to enlarge the gravy train, there is:
1) Children going to bed hungry, who has not had a meal in days.
2) A young man slaughtering cats for consumption, just to be able to survive.
3) Women, children and youth being raped, murdered, abducted and trafficked.
4) Large scale joblessness, zero opportunities, unemployed graduates, broken families and communities, and many more social challenges.
In the face of all of this, the DA-led provincial government is of the opinion that more politicians are the answer and taxpayers should just be okay with carrying these costs. A time where our people have so little trust in politicians and little apathy for politicks itself.
Not only is this wrong, but it is also insensitive and out of touch with the plight of the people who could benefit more from that money should it be reappropriated into a working and functional social package.
This plainly opportunistic and should be condemned in the strongest sense.
Media Enquiries:
Shaun August, GOOD National Organiser & Member of Western Cape Provincial Parliament
Cell: 074 746 7378
Email: shauna@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za