Administrators stay

LEBOWAKGOMO – No date has been set for the Section 100 (b) administrators to leave the province.

This was according to treasury MEC, Rudolph Phala and department head Gavin Pratt during a press briefing in Lebowakgomo last Tuesday, and contrary to premier Stanley Mathabatha’s state of the province address, during which he said the province’s affairs would be handed back this month.

DA caucus leader Desiree van der Walt said Mathabatha lied to the people during his state of the province address when, referring to the Section 100 (b) administration, he said “the situation has been turned around and we have improved to a positive cash position of R4,4 billion as of the end of January this year”. Van der Walt said Mathabatha also made false assertions that Limpopo’s unemployment rate was the lowest in the country, with hundreds of thousands of people being unable to find work.

“While the DA welcomed the Section 100 (b) when it took place in the province, it appears that it still cannot clear the financial mess created by Zuma’s administration. In the end legitimate entrepreneurs are made a scapegoat,” she said.

“When it comes to jobs, the province has no plans or initiatives to tackle Limpopo growing unemployment crisis. Mathabatha and Phala purposefully underreported Limpopo’s unemployment rate. It is one of the worst rates in the country at 35% – and not the 16% claimed by Mathabatha and Phala.

“The fact that the premier is not able to correctly and honestly report on the unemployment rate in his own province is a massive embarrassment and frankly calls into question his administration’s ability to run the province. Limpopo is also losing money to other provinces, because it is not spending its budgets.

“There is so much that Limpopo could be doing to create jobs,” she said.

Regarding the R1,3 billion that was returned to national treasury, had of the Section 100 (b) administrators, Monde Tom said government should not spend for the sake of spending.

He said the R1,3 billion was a conditional grant which should be spent for the purpose intended.

“It was supposed to be used on housing, roads, and sport. We haven’t built planned houses for 2013/14 financial year. We were a bit late to convince the national treasury that we found contractors and that’s why the conditional grant was returned back to the national coffer,” he said.

Spokesperson for the premier, Kenny Mathivha said it had been agreed that the Section 100 (b) administrators would possibly leave at the end of March, subject to approval by national parliament.