This week, Members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature participated in province-wide public hearings on three key pieces of legislation:
• The Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority Bill
• The Public Service Amendment Bill
• The Public Administration Management Amendment Bill
As the Official Opposition, we support the Public Service Amendment Bill and the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill. This support is not based on political convenience but on principle. These Bills offer important tools to strengthen accountability, improve transparency, and restore the integrity of service delivery in the Eastern Cape.
However, we strongly oppose the Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority Bill in its current form. While the intention behind the Bill, to remove political interference from boundary decisions, is sound, the bill fails to ensure the independence of the Board. Without clear safeguards against political capture, this Bill risks becoming a tool for further gerrymandering rather than a solution to it. We have raised concerns about the appointment process, the lack of oversight, and the excessive discretion afforded to the Minister. A truly independent authority must be protected from political influence at every stage.
We support the Public Service Amendment Bill because it compels departments to recover overpaid salaries and reinforces the duty to protect public funds. Crucially, this obligation applies even when employees have left their posts. Accountability should not end when a resignation is submitted.
We support the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill because it addresses the link between public servants and service providers. Officials who were part of the internal processes for awarding contracts will now be prohibited from joining or benefiting from those companies for twelve months. Breaching this requirement is now a criminal offence, with fines of up to R1 million. This is an important step in closing the gap between public office and private gain.
However, legislation alone will not change the state of our communities. Hearings held across the province, from Maletswai to Mthatha, Komani to Qumrha, have revealed that residents are still grappling with poor service delivery, inaccessible councillors, and unresponsive departments.
We are therefore calling for full transparency and the publication of all public submissions during these hearings, along with explanations of how they are being incorporated and clear timelines and delivery mechanisms to ensure implementation does not stall.
Reform is meaningless if it ends with legislation. Enforcement is what gives the law its power to improve lives.
We will continue to engage with these Bills not only to support their passage, but to ensure they are implemented in a way that fixes what is broken in the Eastern Cape so people can lead a meaningful life of dignity.