While service delivery in the Free State has basically come to a standstill due to a lack of funds, the Free State Legislature spent R2,7 million and R4,4 million on this year’s Budget Speech and State of the Province Address, respectively.
It certainly is not indicative of a province that is being careful with taxpayers’ money and prioritising service delivery.
The whopping amount of R7,1 million spent on these events comprises only the Legislature’s expenses and not the provincial departments’.
It is unacceptable for the ANC to, in these desperate financial circumstances, present these glamorous events as public participation, while the people of the province are starving and becoming poorer by the day.
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the FF Plus challenged the Free State government to cut back on its expenditure on all kinds of luxuries, like entertainment, catering, transport, and leasing venues and facilities in the coming year.
The FF Plus also warned the Premier, Sisi Ntombela, that the party will be keeping a close eye on her and hold her accountable in the hope that she does not live up to her reputation as the party premier.
However, it seems that there is still a culture of exorbitant spending under her leadership in the Free State.
The FF Plus will take this matter further by looking into it to determine the true extent of the spending and by bringing to light any irregularities.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Armand Cloete on FF Plus
