The Western Cape government is ready to take the national government to court and declare an intergovernmental dispute over unfair budget allocations.
Premier Alan Winde said that the Western Cape government is willing and able to take the matter to court if there is no resolution between the Cape government and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
What is the issue?
Winde made these comments on Tuesday, on the sidelines of his address to the Cape Town Press Club, according to Business Day.
According to the premier, there have been a number of letters, sent by the Western Cape Government to the finance minister, that have gone unanswered or have been ignored.
Winde explained that the Western Cape has the third-highest population size in the country but it was fifth in terms of its budgetary allocation.
Moreover, Winde said that the Western Cape budget allocation from government will be cut but a whopping R7 billion over the next three years.
| 2024/25 | R84 billion |
| 2025/26 | R84.38 billion |
| 2026/27 | R86.9 billion |
“Limpopo actually gets more budget than the Western Cape and that cannot be,” Winde explained.
The premier said that the 2023/24 budget was hit by R1.1bn due to the public sector wage bill.
Furthermore, Winde said that the Western Cape was at a deficit of about R1.3bn due to the 2023 floods that battered the city. He noted that national government failed to contribute any funds to assist this situation.
Provincial government will face a huge amount of pressure over the next three years due to the R7 billion shortfall and this will impact the Western Cape’s health and education sectors, according to Winde.
“We have increasing demands and decreasing funds and that’s not fair. We don’t get the correct amount of money,” Winde concluded.
Your health could suffer!
In March, the former Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Professor Nomafrench Mbombo noted the significant cuts on the budget for the 2023/24 financial year made by National Treasury.
“In health, this is an impact, especially noting that the National Equitable Share formula has decreased the percentage allocation to the Western Cape despite the fact that its percentage population and burden of disease has increased,” according to a department statement.
The Western Cape health department said that the 2023/2024 budget shortfall has real consequences across the health platform. Especially in the service delivery programmes where:
- Metro Health Services will face a real decrease of R281 million
- Rural Health Services will face a real decrease of R187 million;
- Tygerberg Hospital will face a real decrease of R109 million; and
- Groote Schuur and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospitals will face a combined real decrease of R132 million.
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