Party says agency lacks direction

The provincial DA has expressed its dissatisfaction on learning that the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) has put out a tender for a consultant to conduct an Organisational Re-alignment (restructuring).

According to the party’s Bosman Grobler, It was clear that MEGA is without direction and vision, which confirms the DA’s position that the agency needs to be dissolved with immediate effect.

Grobler added that with no direction and vision, MEGA has become a bottomless pit where taxpayers’ money disappears.

“It can’t be that after every 2 years of failures, MEGA undergoes a restructuring programme to the tune of millions. This is a clear abuse of public funds and the CEO Mr Xola Sithole, including his board members should be ashamed of themselves,” Grobler said.

Grobler mentioned that the DA has continuously raised the matter in the legislature and in written questions but the Premier, Mr David Mabuza and the MEC for Economic Development, Mr Eric Kholwane, were quick to jump to the defence of the parastatal.

The DA has also called for the disbandment of the parastatal. According to the third quarterly report for the 2015/16 financial year, the entity’s performance was on a sharp decline. The report indicates that MEGA only achieved 29.3% of its targets.

Of particular concern to the party in these tough economic times, where unemployment is sitting at 39.4%, is the alleged dismal performance by MEGA’s business development programme.

The programme had 12 targets for the third quarter and only fully achieved three (25%). The programme was geared at a plan to distribute R 2.01 million worth of loans to SMMEs, finance four SMMEs but financed only one.

Grobler added that the DA will engage the MEC of Economic Development to ascertain why MEGA has put out another restructuring/realignment tender and the envisioned costs of this exercise and the merits used by the department to justify not disbanding MEGA.