The three-fold increase from 2010/11 to 2011/12 in amounts paid out for legal claims against the province is alarming and means funds that should be available for service delivery are being swallowed up by legal settlements.
According to a reply by the Premier to a parliamentary question I asked, two of the biggest culprits are the Departments of Health at R43,148 million and Transport at R18,801 million in the 2011/12 financial year. For the reply, click here.
Both healthcare and transport are under huge pressure to deliver services in this province and cannot afford to waste one cent on legal settlements. Those responsible need to face disciplinary action so they are held accountable for their actions.
The DA believes that for effective service delivery the management of departments needs to shape up so that quality services are brought to our people and mistakes are not made: some of which can be life threatening, for example, things going wrong in state hospitals.
Bobby Stevenson, MPL
