Ideas to cut costs for our finance minister
TO: HONOURABLE Minister of Finance Mboweni
As you gear up for the unenviable task of telling South Africans how you are going to rescue our country from the dire financial straits in which it finds itself, may I suggest cost-cutting measures which could be taken immediately, and which would not impact negatively on service delivery.
Firstly, will your department please ensure that the state cuts back on the number of bodyguards of state officials paid for by the state.
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta)in KwaZulu-Natal stipulated last year that no municipal office bearer or official should have more than two bodyguards, but from reports about councillors, for example, it seems that the instruction is being ignored (it is difficult to verify because it is seldom that letters are replied to, including by the eThekwini municipal manager).
This failure of so many organs of state to respond to questions directed to them brings me to the second area which needs immediate attention from your department, and drastic budget cuts – the bloated communications structures in government departments.
The KZN Department of Health, while failing dismally in its mandate to provide decent health services for poor people, not only squanders billions in irregular expenditure every year, but is also permitted by the KZN Treasury to place regular colour advertisements in provincial newspapers boasting about its supposed achievements (The ministry of health is another prime offender).
Worse, the department seems to have a well-resourced communications department, including spin doctors for the MEC, whose job seems to be to provide to the media and the public a very selective (indeed at times greatly distorted) version of what is going on in the health sector (spokespeople for different departments, including health, have been known to put out untruths to the public, reminiscent of apartheid years).
Government by spin doctors massaging the ego of politicians is not the way democracy is supposed to work.
The Department of Health is by no means the only culprit.
I think you should also take a close look at the Cogta communications budget in KZN, and, specifically, which municipalities receive millions in the way of hand-outs from Cogta for “communications” (and who the contracts are awarded to).
If the extent of protests about lack of service delivery is anything to go by, this department has failed dismally in ensuring clean and efficient local government.
It is reported that, country-wide, Eskom is owed R30 billion by defaulting municipalities. Why is this being allowed to continue?
Why are municipalities – some at least – allowed to have large budgets for communications, when there are elected councillors (not to mention a plethora of traditional leaders in rural areas) who are supposed to communicate directly with their constituencies.
Of course, many, or perhaps most, do not – so why should taxpayers fork out for communications structures in local government to do the work of those we are already paying to do it?
Once tomorrow’s budget dust has settled, please task members of your department to follow up on my suggestions – and save South Africa millions of rand which could be better spent on pressing social and health issues.
Kind regards, Mary de Haas