Budget of tourism sector in Mpumalanga cut
“The tourism industry in the province cannot afford budget cuts,” he also said.
The DA is of the opinion that Mpumalanga’s tourism sector will suffer as government reduced funding.
The spokesman on finance and economic development, Mr Bosman Grobler, issued a statement on 9 November, saying the sector’s budget was reduced by R40-million.
According to the statement, this was revealed in a recent second quarterly report.
Mr Grobler said this decision will speed up the province’s economic decline and referred to the effect of the lockdown measures.
“The tourism industry in the province cannot afford budget cuts,” he also said.
“In fact, the sector needs more funding and support from government to survive.”
According to him, the sector already faces challenges that include poor road conditions on popular tourist routes, lack of general maintenance and necessary upgrading at government-owned and controlled tourism attractions, inadequate funding, especially for marketing and development, tourism safety and security, lack of meaningful engagements with the private sector and lack of any urgency or capacity by government to implement tourism resolutions.
The statement referred to the MEC, Mr Pat Ngomane’s words in August, to the interim board of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), that tourism is the goose that lays the golden egg.
Mr Bosman said furthermore that the reduction impacts mostly on transfers and subsidies, which means money will be taken away from SMMEs and other businesses that rely on tourism to survive.
The party concluded by saying the MEC has set the interim board up for failure, knowing full well that the goals set for this board are unattainable.
The DA will be engaging with the department in the form of written questions and personal engagement to prioritise funding for the tourism sector, fixing the tourism and coal haulage routes.
