Cape Town - The Western Cape Government (WCG) has formally declared an intergovernmental dispute with national government. The dispute relates to the centrally negotiated and agreed-to public-sector wage bill.
Premier Alan Winde and Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC, Mireille Wenger, announced that the provincial government had formally declared dispute with national government.
The dispute against government, represented by the Minister of Finance, Minister Enoch Godongwana, and the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Minister Noxolo Kiviet, is in terms of sections 41 and 42 of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act.
The act provides for the establishment of forums and mechanisms to facilitate the settlement of intergovernmental disputes.
The dispute relates to the centrally negotiated and agreed-to public-sector wage bill, which was implemented after the Western Cape Provincial Parliament approved the annual budget, leading to unprecedented in-year budget cuts.
Winde and Wenger in a joint statement said that provincial governments were the people intensive sphere of government.
“We rely on our nurses, teachers, social workers to deliver basic services to millions of citizens every day and with a growing population, and to respond to overwhelming pressure on our services.
“And while National Treasury has committed to partially cover the wage liability in education and health, the shortfall amounts to a staggering R1,1 billion,” they explained.
“This will have a direct impact on critical service delivery like schools, clinics, hospitals and our roads network.”
Winde added: “From the start of this process it was evident we could not afford this wage deal and all warning signs of the irrationality of the agreement were seemingly ignored. This is an issue that affects all provinces and every government department.
“What is desperately needed is prudent fiscal consolidation, management, and discipline. This appears to be lacking in national government.
“Our highest priority is protecting our citizens from the eventual impact of this nonsensical approach to managing the country’s finances,” Winde said.
“We will do everything we can to keep providing the best possible services for our residents even in the face of this calamity.”
Wenger said that the national budget process had completely collapsed.
“There is no certainty over the next three years of the MTEF, and now, there is no certainty in the current financial year, with cuts being made in an unprecedented way, in-year.
“The failings of the national budget process mean that we aren’t budgeting for three years, we aren’t even budgeting for one year anymore. We are working on pay-as-you-go budgeting,” Wenger said.
“Through this action, we are trying to avoid dramatic reductions in service delivery spending in order to cater for the wage liability. We have tried to engage with national government to avoid this situation, to no avail. And for this reason, we have taken the difficult but necessary step of declaring an intergovernmental dispute,” said Wenger.