More money for school building projects

Infrastructure development and maintenance is a crucial part of the Eastern Cape provincial government budget.

Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko confirmed in Thursday’s budget speech that government planned to spend R118bn on education for the provinces 1.6m learners over the current MTEF. The MTEF is the medium-term expenditure framework which runs over three-year cycles.

School infrastructure backlogs remain a huge concern, said the MEC. He announced that in the current financial year, the education department would spend R1.5bn on accelerated construction, upgrading, maintenance and rehabilitation of schools. It forms part of R4.7m to be spent over the MTEF.

Given the size of the province, transportation linkages — and especially road networks — are important, and expensive.

During the 2020 financial year, government will spend R2.2bn on roads across the province, out of R6.5bn over the MTEF. Understandably, not all roads are covered from provincial allocations, given the split between national, provincial and local roads.

Government’s subsidy of bus services for rural residents will continue with an allocation of R571m this financial year, out of R1.8bn over the MTEF.

Mvoko said government would “channel resources to infrastructure investments to propel growth in agriculture, tourism as well as social and human development”.

ICT infrastructure is increasingly crucial to connect the province and R771m will be spent in the METF through the office of the premier (OTP) on broadband access across the Eastern Cape, of which R303m will be used in the current financial year.

The provision of office space for government services has been made a priority.

This year, government will spend R2.6bn on provision of office accommodation, including the completion of offices for the Aliwal North service cluster.

Through an allocation of R220m to OTP in this financial year, projects to accelerate the provision of basic services will be completed in Ndlambe, Sundays River Valley, Raymond Mhlaba, Elundini, Ngquza Hill, Port St Johns, Nyandeni and Umzimvubu.