Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier says the Special Adjustment Budget has left the province short-changed in the fight against COVID-19.
He says the costs for temporary hospital, quarantine and isolation facilities, humanitarian relief and ensuring that schools can operate safely are expected to exceed R5-billion for 2020/21 in the province.
He says the budget cut means they will fall far short of what will be required to fund the frontline response to the pandemic in the province.
“Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni tabled a special adjustment budget which effectively cut the provincial budget by R113.1 million at precisely the moment the COVID-19 pandemic is gaining momentum in the Western Cape. What this means is that we are effectively on our own in the fight against COVID-19 in the Western Cape,” says Maynier.
SA’s epicentre
Accounting for more than half of the country’s confirmed cases, the Western Cape is South Africa’s COVID-19 epicentre.
The province currently sits at over 55 000 confirmed cases.
Premier Alan Winde has since disputed remarks that the coronavirus infection rate in the province is out of control, adding that the infection rate seems to be increasing.
Below is a provincial breakdown of COVID-19 stats:
As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 111 796, the total number of deaths is 2205 and the total number of recoveries is 56 874. pic.twitter.com/izsViG1sql
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) June 24, 2020
Health sector given financial boost
The Health sector has been given a financial boost of R21.5 billion, with allocation of R12.6 billion for frontline services.
This is money desperately needed to employ additional health workers and equip hospitals properly to deal with the impact of the virus.
In the video below, Mboweni outlines measures to boost healthcare:
