The flood-battered Eastern Cape province is in for a bleak time after finance minister Enoch Gondongwana allocated only R1bn for disaster response nationally in his budget speech. The province said it would need at least R4.5bn to repair infrastructure damaged in floods earlier this month and that was before the most recent downpour, when Coffee Bay's bridge was washed away.
Takatso Aviation indicated in a statement on Wednesday that it was underwhelmed by the provision of R1bn to SAA from finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget, saying it added uncertainty to the financing process for the embattled airline.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has revealed that the province has incurred close to R1b in financial misconduct in the past three years. This was detailed in a reply to a legislature question posed by opposition leader Nqaba Bhanga. Bhanga had asked Mabuyane about public funds lost by the provincial government departments due to corruption, mismanagement and fruitless and wasteful expenditure.