Northern Cape -
Parties
The ruling African
National Congress looks set to continue to govern the province with its
present majority intact. However, some uncertainty exists over the
personality of the next premier. The current premier, Manne Dipico is
in the last phase of his second term (premiers are constitutionally
limited to two terms). It was commonly thought that John Block, the former
Member of the Executive Council for Transport, Roads and Public Works
would assume the post in 2004. Block resigned in late 2003 on account of
alleged misallocation of funds. Certain party members favour the current
MEC for Health. Ms Peters, as a potential successor. Still in her
mid-thirties, she is the acting chair of the ANC’s Provincial Executive
Council (the organisation’s highest decision-making body in the province).
Dipico resigned from the chairperson last December to make way for a
successor. By tradition, the chair of this body is also the premier. Ms
Peters also has considerable support among the ANC Youth League in the
province. However, some in the party has indicated that she might be too
young to assume the premiership.
The resignation of John
Block led to some bitterness in the party and according to political
analysts close familiar with the province, two main factions can be
identified. The first is based in the Frances Baard area, and have
traditionally supplied most of the party’s leadership. The second is based
around the town of Upington (Block originated from this area).
The biggest opposition
party in the province is the New National Party. However, a cursory glance
at the results of the 1994 and 1999 elections shows that the party’s
support (for the provincial legislature) had almost halved between those
two elections. Interestingly, no other party showed any significant gains
during that period (in contrast to the Free State, where a clear
correlation exists between the decline of support for the NNP and sudden
upsurge in the number of people who voted for the Democratic Alliance).
Voters
- At the time of
writing the IEC had registered 433 591 voters in the province, of which
52% were female and 58% male
Main Challenges
- About 41% of the
people in the province were unemployed in 2002 (compared to 28.5% in
1995). Furthermore about 43% of the population were living in poverty in
2001.This of poverty is still lower than those found in the neighbouring
provinces of North West (56%) and Free State *53%). However, these
statistics conceal growing income discrepancies in the province between
those fortunate enough to work in the formal sector have seen their
incomes rise. Between 1995 and 2000 the annual income of head of
households in the province rose by 36% (41% for Africans and 63% for
white people). During the same period, the country as a whole showed a
10% decline (in the annual income of heads of households).
- The Economic
mainstays of the province, the agriculture and mining sector is
declining and employing less people. Mining is especially vulnerable to
fluctuations in the international exchange rate and agriculture.
Agriculture is shedding labour partly because the structure of subsidies
and tariffs that had long protected the sector were almost entirely
dismantled after 1994.
- Historically, the
province had always neglected to develop secondary industries (such as
manufacturing). According to provincial officials, this contributed in
no small measure to the high levels of unemployment now prevalent. The
products of both primary sectors (mining and agriculture) are mostly
processed outside the province. When both primary sectors started to
employ less people, secondary industries were not capable of offering
new employment opportunities.
- Moreover, the massive
size of the province and dispersal of its inhabitants creates
difficulties in service delivery and the maintenance of infrastructure,
which in turn slows down economic development. Provincial officials
refer to the spatial difficulties involved in service delivery in the
province as a ‘key issue’ for explaining widespread poverty in the
province. Underdevelopment in the province led it into a Catch 22
situation. Potential investors bypass the province, and companies based
there relocate to urban centres such as Cape Town and Johannesburg
because of the lack of the appropriate infrastructure and development,
thereby compounding the problem.
- Statistics also
reveal that community, social and personal services sector has become
the single biggest contributor the provincial Gross Geographic Product
(contributing 23% compared to 16% for agriculture and 14% for mining).
This sector is mainly composed of government employees (local,
provincial and national). The growth of this sector can be ascribed to
the relative decline of the two primary sectors, as well as to the
expansion of the number of employees attached to the provincial
government and various local governments in the region. Should present
employment trends continue, the province is danger of becoming dependent
government in its various forms, and not industry, to provide economic
opportunities to its citizens.
The Northern Cape Provincial
Strategic Priorities that informed the 2003/04 Budget Process are:
-
Job Creation - this is
to be achieved through rural access roads, implementation of preferential
procurement system, etc.
-
Investment Creation -
this can be achieved through the strengthening of Small, Medium and Micro
Enterprises (SMME's) policy of affirmative procurement, etc.
-
Rural/Urban Development -
this is to be achieved through resettlement of families on their
ancestral land, promote an implementation of the 5-Year Strategic Policy
of the Northern Cape, etc.
-
Infrastructure Development
- this involves building, rehabilitation and maintenance of social and
economic infrastructure (e.g. school, hospitals, parks, water supply,
roads, energy, etc.)
-
Combating Crime - this
is to be achieved by enforcing code of conduct for Public Servants,
preventing gangsterism, drug and violence at schools, etc.
-
Skills Development -
this evolves skills development, training, capacity building, etc.
-
Combating the impact of
HIV/AIDS - to be achieved through a review of cost of medical
treatment and hospitalization, institutional as home-based care,
education/information/awareness campaigns, selected social security grants
and welfare projects/institutions, nutrition schemes, etc.
-
Poverty Alleviation -
Job Creation has an impact on poverty alleviation, infrastructure
development or investment in infrastructure and /or investment creation
has an impact on job creation.
Education -
While significant progress has been made,
tremendous challenges still remains in attaining most of the objectives in a
comprehensive way:
-
Roll out of Information,
Communication Technology (ICT).
-
Institute for higher
education;
-
Increasing ABET provision
-
Investment in Early Childhood
Development (ECD)
-
HIV/AIDS and life skills
Education
-
Combating Crime, drug use and
abuse and violence in school inclusive Education
Northern Cape Province is
committed to provide facilities at institution of learning to enhance the
culture of learning, teaching and service provision had been made over the
Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to address backlogs in classrooms,
toilets, specialist rooms and administration blocks.
Health -
High priorities is given to:
-
primary healthcare emergency
medical Services,
-
district hospitals,
-
communicable diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and TB
-
strengthening of personnel at
management and operational level,
-
giving attention to primary
health clinics and hospitals and districts.
-
the pharmaceutical services
are being established with the department and the department will be
solely responsible for the management of pharmaceutical stocks.
Planning for the upgrading and
construction of new hospitals and clinics is in progress. The following
new hospitals and clinics will be constructed during the MTEF period:
Social Services and Population
Development - The province registered
45 900 on their system for child support grants in December 2003 which is
80,5% of the projected total of 57000 in the 2002/03 financial year. The
Department has committed itself to continue to launch the home base care
facilities for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS pandemics, increase
funding on day care centers and embarking on food security programmes
Housing and local government -
The department has committed itself
to construct 3 600 housing units. The other area with backlogs is the
eradication of 2000 bucket toilets system.
Agriculture, land reforms,
Environment and Conservation - The
department has committed itself to continue with its Orange River Farmer
Settlement programme. The following projects will be implemented:
This implies that a total of
1477 ha of water rights will be used for the development above areas. The
province has set aside R10 million for the 2003/04 financial year to address
the water shortages in the Karoo region.
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