The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State Legislature (FSL) are concerned by the second postponement of the Joint Ad-Hoc Committees of the Provincial Public Accounts Committee (PROPAC) and the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as PROPAC and Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure that were established to conduct investigations into the respective Vrede Dairy and Ramkraal projects.
The Free State Provincial Government has spent about R120 million on the Ramkraal project and an initial R380 million as well as R20 million per year on the Vrede Dairy project. The Ramkraal Prison site was meant to be converted into a new Free State Legislature Complex, but national heritage site remains a plundered and derelict shell of its former self. The Vrede Dairy still has no beneficiaries and remains the centre of the Gupta-linked controversy that includes the irregular and illegal abuse of provincial government funds.
The DA’s lobbying for ad-hoc committees to be established by FSL Rules and Orders Committee to investigate these two projects was successful. These committees must, however, not exist in name only and should carry out the job for which they were established by investigating these two projects and holding those responsible for any wastage of government funds accountable. The meetings of these committees for 18 September 2020 were both postponed without an alternative date and the meetings for 23 September 2020 do not appear on this week’s programme.
The DA is concerned that, as in the previous term, the ANC Members of the Provincial Legislature will attempt to shield responsible politicians and senior cadres from being held accountable. This term is still early with four years to go and the DA Caucus will not allow these issues to go unresolved by delays and excuses.
The FSL has a constitutional mandate to do oversight over the executive in the Free State and hold them accountable for their expenditure and management of government funds. The DA will demand that the Programming Committee reschedules these meetings and ensures that enough time is allocated for serious interrogation of these controversial issues that remain unresolved in the Free State province.