Marianne Merten
The new African National Congress-New National Party Western Cape government could find its hands tied on poverty alleviation and service delivery next year, as the 2002/2003 budget is scheduled for finalisation on Friday.
Concern has been expressed that the new government has been installed very late in the budgetary process. It is understood various options to adjust provincial spending priorities were discussed between the new MEC of Finance, Business Promotion and Asset Management, Ebrahim Rasool, and his heads of departments on Wednesday afternoon.
Changes at this late stage are possible only by referring the budget back to the provincial public accounts committee to revise financial allocations. Long-term budget changes are easier to effect under the medium-term budget expenditure framework.
With next year’s budget effectively set, pressure has increased on the ANC in charge of key delivery portfolios like housing, social services and poverty alleviation and public works to show that the new government can deliver a better life, particularly in the Cape metropole, where two-thirds of residents live on or below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, the first volley has been fired in clearing out provincial administration staff perceived as out of tune with the new government.
Western Cape director general Niel Barnard whose backing for the Democratic Alliance (DA) leadership during the DA split was revealed by the Mail & Guardian was put on special leave even before the cabinet was officially announced. He packed up his office at lunchtime on Tuesday.
Barnard remains on special leave while negotiations over what the premier’s office called “his further service commitments” are under way. Under a possible settlement Barnard can expect a multimillion-rand payout given his recently renewed five-year contract, which involves an annual package of about R500 000 plus pension.
It is understood the joint ANC-NNP move against Barnard was partly aimed at breaking the power of old-guard officials. But his behind-the-scenes efforts to bolster Gerald Morkel’s premiership would not have endeared him to Marais and Rasool.
While the ANC and NNP joined forces over Barnard, their cooperative governance pact underwent its first test over the issue of continued provision of anti-retrovirals to pregnant women and rape survivors in the Western Cape, a policy initiated by the ANC and extended under the DA administration.
Marais was frank about his belief that HIV causes Aids, and promised he would personally supervise the campaign to provide anti- retrovirals. Rasool explained such “possible differences of emphasis” were permissible under the agreement between the two parties, which provided for their continued independence.
By handing the health portfolio to the NNP one of two surprise gestures of generosity, the other being the education MEC post the ANC has deftly sidestepped any possible clashes with the ANC- dominated national government, that has stalled on the further roll-out of the anti-retroviral programme.
The education portfolio has gone to advocate Andre Gaum, an ex-NNP national MP, while health has been awarded to former transport MEC Piet Meyer.
The ANC’s aim was to secure key delivery portfolios. In addition to the finance job, given to Rasool, its portfolios include transport (Tasneem Essop), social services and poverty alleviation (Marius Fransman) and housing (Nomatyale Hangana).