Eastern Cape NGOs have welcomed the allocation of R100m for HIV programmes from the provincial government – to help fill the gap left after the US funding withdrawals earlier this year – but the overall mid-term budget tabled last week by the provincial Finance Minister was slammed by opposition parties.
Daily Dispatch reports that the curtailment of Pepfar funds had led to the loss of critical health sector jobs and an abrupt end to essential services in the region: a number of workers were attached to NGOs that closed down, while others operated from government clinics, mostly in the province’s rural areas.
During the tabling of his mid-term budget speech, Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko said more than R94m had been allocated as emergency funding to be administered by the provincial Health Department, which received a R963.8m mid-term budget allocation.
He said R514.2m of that amount would be allocated to settle accruals and ensure continuity of health services.
A total of R108.6m was allocated to employ 429 health professionals, and R107.5m to assist in absorbing 3 971 community health workers.
NPO One to One Africa, affected by the Pepfar withdrawal, said the funding was crucial for the fight against HIV.
The organisation provided critical health services to rural communities, particularly in the OR Tambo district, through its “Enable” programme for maternal and child health, including HIV and TB prevention. Its head of business development, Valerie Govender, said the withdrawal of the Pepfar support had placed immense strain on organisations delivering HIV-prevention services in last-mile rural communities.
“We welcome the MEC’s emergency allocation of R94m, which will help sustain services in the short term – but the desperate need grows with each passing day. This funding cannot fully replace the scale and stability needed in the communities we serve.
“For families living beyond the tarred roads, continuity of HIV prevention requires not only emergency relief but sustained, multiyear investment.”
Mvoko said the allocations were aimed at safeguarding essential services, strengthening institutional capability and sustaining priority provincial programmes.
However, the provincial EFF rejected the adoption of the report.
Both the annual report and the mid-term oversight report painted the same picture, said MPL Simthembile Madikizela. “A treasury that cannot spend its own budget, cannot enforce compliance across departments, cannot strengthen municipalities, cannot ensure procurement fairness and cannot implement its own recommendations.”
DA MPL Malcolm Figg said the medium-term budget policy statement revealed a provincial fiscus under severe strain.
The treasury’s own figures showed total transfers to the Eastern Cape amounted to R99.6bn, while adjusted payments would reach R101.9bn, creating a financing gap of more than R2bn that could be closed only through roll-overs, cash flow adjustments and a drawdown of reserves.
“When a province must rely on one-off interventions to plug holes in its budget, it is the public who feel the consequences,” he said.
“Pressure on cash flow affects the ability of departments to pay suppliers on time, maintain clinics and schools and keep essential programmes running.
“Families already living with poor service delivery experience further instability when budgets don’t keep pace with the demands placed on them.”
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