Premier Mabuyane separates Eastern Cape departments to spur economic development

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has separated the economic development, environmental affairs and tourism department from the finance portfolio to improve the financial future of the struggling province.

Mabuyane announced the new provincial cabinet in Bhisho on Friday. He said he did not believe in fixing things that were not broken and retained most of his exco team, adding that lifestyle audits had already been carried out on most of them. 

Mabuyane said that since the ANC won 62% of votes in the election, he did not have to negotiate.

“There is no PGU [provincial government of unity] here,” he said.

“Thank you for the unambiguous vote of confidence. We will do more, better and faster. It is make or break for us now.   

“People have affirmed their trust in the ANC,” he said and vowed (once again) to address unemployment and poverty. 

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Mabuyane said the previous government, his first as premier, had created a solid foundation for the new government to build on. 

He had made economic development a separate department to ensure “special attention to the creation of jobs” in the province. The hard-working former MEC of agriculture in the province, Nonkqubela Pieters, was appointed as the MEC for economic development, environmental affairs and tourism department.

The announcement came on the heels of a R5-billion skills development programme for the province, launched on 16 June. 

Mabuyane said his focus this term would be on the establishment of a special economic zone along the Wild Coast. The province’s partnerships with subsistence farmers would continue, he said, and he hoped agriculture would provide a significant economic boost to the province.

“If you have land you must wake up and do something,” he said.

He added that a pressing priority for the new government would be the rebuilding of the town of Kariega, which was devastated by a flood earlier in June. Preliminary reports indicate that the flash flood, after more than 200mm of rain fell in the town in a single night, caused damage of R5-billion.

Home to the headquarters of Volkswagen and other component manufacturers, the town is key to the automotive manufacturing industry in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.

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MECs who kept their jobs are Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko, Social Development MEC Bukiwe Fanta, Education MEC Fundile Gade, Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha and Cooperative Governance MEC Zolile Williams.

Singling Fanta out for her hard work, Mabuyane said he wished he had “more Fantas” in his team.

Mabuyane said he had considered whether the transport MEC could be responsible for the scholar transport problems in the province but came to the conclusion they were the fault of the Department of Education. However, the latter department is in the premier’s good books after the province recorded much-improved matric results in 2023.

Mabuyane combined the portfolios of public works and human settlements into a single portfolio, saying the plan was to build more houses and to ensure people receiving these homes would have schools and clinics. 

He said he was hoping for a sharp reduction in service delivery protests in the province. 

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In a veiled reference to the violent taxi protests in Mthatha that saw the N2 closed for hours on the first day of special votes in the May election, Mabuyane said: “You must understand that protests have serious consequences. If the N2 is closed for five hours a day you are putting jobs at risk. The economy is very sensitive at the moment.”

In a major setback for the province that already has the highest unemployment levels in the country, Mercedes-Benz announced on 13 June that it was starting retrenchment procedures at its East London factory that would affect 700 people. 

Mabuyane said on Friday that they were “working with Mercedes to mitigate the impact”.

Mabuyane said they were putting every possible structure in place to fix the struggling Department of Health.

It is an open secret in the Bhisho Legislature that nobody wants to be the MEC for health.

Mabuyane appointed Ntandokazi Capa, the ANC Women’s League chair in the Eastern Cape, to this position. She replaces Nomakhosazana Meth who is now a member of Parliament.

Capa topped the list for the Bhisho Legislature for the May elections. 

She was elected provincial Women’s League chair in 2023 and served as the OR Tambo District Municipality Speaker.

“This is one department that we must address,” Mabuyane said. “We have to find a solution.”

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The department is in a dire financial situation, battling many problems including stock-outs and staff shortages.

Other troubled departments are human settlements — which the new MEC for infrastructure and human settlements, Siphokazi Lusithi, headed in the previous government — and public works, both of which were cited by the Public Protector for their unconstitutional failure to deliver services and asked to return with recovery plans.

Other MECs are Sibulele Ngongo for sport, recreation, arts & culture; and Nonceba Kontsiwe, who was appointed to replace Peters in the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform.

‘Matter of urgency’