Cape Town - The ANC in the provincial legislature is urging the Speaker to take action against a number of MECs and their department heads for the late submission of their annual reports to their respective standing committees.
At a virtual news conference yesterday, leader of the provincial opposition Cameron Dugmore urged Speaker Masizole Mnqasela to at the very least make a statement in the legislature on the late submissions.
Dugmore took issue with the Community Safety Department which failed to table a report despite spending millions of rand on the province’s flagship safety plan.
“At a time when communities across the Western Cape are desperate for signs that the provincial government is serious about their safety, the lead department in combating crime failed to submit its annual report.
“This failure raises questions about the efficacy of the safety plan, as well as the commitment to make our communities safer.
“In another clear example of disdain, as well as an effort to evade accountability, the Human Settlements Department tabled its annual report a day before the end of the period to review annual reports.
“Other departments such as Education tabled theirs late. This is unacceptable.”
Responding to Dugmore’s accusations, Leader of Government Business Ivan Meyer said that delay in the tabling of the annual reports from departments was a result of delays in the finalisation of reports by the Auditor-General.
“There is no constitutional failure in this regard, and the ANC would know that the Speaker has already provided timeous updates to all members of the legislature and the programming authority has confirmed that any outstanding reports will be deliberated in committees early next year.
“We wish to remind the ANC, that unlike their record in government, over 70% of our departments in the Western Cape have achieved clean audits.
“We take corruption-free, quality service delivery as a priority and spend public funds where it matters.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Mnqasela said: “While the delayed submission of some of the departments’ annual reports, which is beyond the control of the provincial legislature, resulted in the relevant standing committees not being able to dispatch with their deliberations as per the legislature’s programme, these meetings will be rescheduled to take place early in 2022.
“The members of the legislature have been kept abreast of developments regarding the submission of the annual reports on an ongoing basis. I will ensure that departments account to the provincial legislature, albeit at a later date.”