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Note to editors: The following is an extract from the speech delivered
today by the provincial leader of the DA, Andrew Louw, during the
debate on the budget of the Office of the Premier in the Northern Cape
Provincial Legislature.

It is a privilege to participate in this budget debate as
representative of the Democratic Alliance and to ensure that we, as
members of the legislature, live up to the oath we swore.

It is appropriate to close the round of budget debates for 2015 with
the Office of the Premier. As executive authority of the province, the
Office of the Premier is responsible for providing sound strategic
leadership. It is the task of the Office of the Premier to lead the
provincial government to sound financial management and improved
service delivery.

The Democratic Alliance notes that the Office of the Premier is
beginning to master some aspects of this responsibility. But there are
still areas of improvement. A better government, like charity, begins
at home.

We welcome the commitment from the director-general that the review of
the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy will also seek the
input from civil society, organised labour forums, non-government
organisations and members of the public. All sectors of our society
must buy into this strategy if it is to be rolled out effectively. The
new strategy must set realistic targets for economic growth, which
requires inputs from the private sector. We trust that the review and
implementation of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy will
happen sooner, rather than later.

The Democratic Alliance also notes the commitment to finalise the
provincial language policy by September this year. In terms of section
4 of the Northern Cape Use of Official Languages Act, the Executive
Council must adopt this policy by 30 September 2015.

I want to focus the honourable premier’s attention on the fact that
section 7 of the Northern Cape Use of Official Languages Act requires
that every provincial department must appoint or designate a specific
language official. This language official fulfils a number of
important functions which will ensure that the Act becomes a living
document in the province. It does not help to have a strong piece of
legislation if it is neither implemented nor respected. We see that
with the Public Finance Management Act. Once the language policy is
adopted, the provincial language officials must be ready to implement
the Act and the policy.

The Democratic Alliance is concerned about the capacity of provincial
departments to appoint language officials. I want to suggest that the
newly established planning forum at the Office of the Premier puts the
appointment of language officials high on the agenda. It is an issue
which will affect all departments. See if we have skilled officials to
appoint, determine the cost implications and decide how we will fund
the implementation. The effective implementation of the Northern Cape
Use of Official Languages Act is close to all our hearts.

The Office of the Premier has managed to achieve unqualified audits
with findings since 2009. Considering the leadership role that the
Office of the Premier has to play in the provincial government, one
has to ask if this performance is good enough. It is bittersweet that
provincial departments outperforms the Office of the Premier, which
should be the shining example on financial management.

Similarly, all entities reporting to the Office of the Premier must
also be able to account for the public funds entrusted to it. While
the 2013/14 audit for the Premier Education Trust Fund was not
finalised at the legislated date, the entity has received qualified
audits with material findings from 2009 to 2013.

The Premier Education Trust Fund is playing a vital role in providing
access to educational opportunities for those who would otherwise miss
out. The Democratic Alliance supports the work done by the entity. We
would like to see that the entity has better financial management –
not for the sake of achieving a clean audit alone, but also to inspire
confidence in its work.

The phrases ‘cost containment’ and ‘value for money’ was discussed at
great length in this round of budget debates. One area that has been
identified for cost containment by National Treasury is savings on
subscriptions to newspapers.

The Democratic Alliance is concerned that the Office of the Premier
has spent R6 million in one year on one newspaper alone. How many
advertisements, subscriptions and tenders do you need to spend R6
million in one year?

Yes, the Office of the Premier has subscriptions to other publications
and nobody complains. That is because other publications are not
bought in bulk on the taxpayer’s account and then dumped en masse at
state institutions. You do not find stacks of unread Noordwesters at
the doors of the Fraserburg clinic. But if you go to any public
library, health care facility or state institution in the province,
you will find heaps of The New Age at the door.

The Director-General attempted to justify the expense by saying that
The New Age is the most widely read paper in the province and that it
provides value for money. Independent, verifiable facts does not
support this view.

The South African Audience Research Foundation did their regular All
Media Products Survey in December 2014 and found that The New Age has
an average issue readership of 153 000. Not in the province, but in
the country. However, the Volksblad has an average issue readership of
123 000 in the Northern Cape and the Free State and the Diamond Fields
Advertiser has an average issue readership of 81 000. If you want to
inform the public beyond Kimberley’s borders of the government’s work,
you should look at alternatives beyond The New Age.

Other research conducted in 2014 shows that, in Kimberley alone, the
Daily Sun has 32 000 readers and the Volksblad 8 000 readers every
day. By comparison, The New Age reaches only a thousand readers across
the entire province. There are community papers distributed for free
that has higher readership figures than this.

Given these statistics, it is highly unlikely that The New Age is
indeed the most widely paper read in the province. It is indeed far
more likely that the Office of the Premier buys publicity for ANC
events using taxpayers’ money. The only value for money that is at
stake here is the value that the ANC receives.

The Honourable Premier will probably be tempted to talk about the
decision of the Western Cape government to let a subscription to the
Cape Times lapse. Let me invite her to be factual and to be relevant
to the issue at hand. We are raising a concern that the Office of the
Premier here is spending our hard-earned taxes on a piece of ANC
propaganda. The decision in the Western Cape deals with inaccurate
reporting which lead to a subscription not being cancelled, but
allowed to lapse. The two issues are entirely different.

Overall, the Democratic Alliance has enjoyed a healthy and robust
working relationship with the Office of the Premier. We appreciate the
fact that we now have a premier who is readily available to answer
oral questions without reply. It is refreshing to note that there is
some light at the end of the tunnel.

 Issued by DA