Provincial budget will be R26 billion

The Limpopo provincial budget for the 2007-08 financial year will be R26 billion and the biggest part of the money will go towards the development of the people.

This was revealed by Mr Sa’ad Cachalia, MEC of the provincial treasury, at a pre-budget public hearing that was held at Thohoyandou in the Vhembe district on Tuesday.

"The ruling party has put the development of the people as the top priority. Therefore, we are here to listen to what the needs of the communities are. All of you who are here today should state what the budget should do for you in this area," said Cachalia.

He said in Limpopo the budget is informed by the growth and development strategy. "We want to ensure that the infrastructure is put in place and maintained to ensure growth. We also want to make sure the administrative capacity is there to ensure this".

The MEC indicated that education will get the biggest slice of the cake as in the present budget where the department got R12 billion which was half of the total budget. Health and social development got R6 billion and housing R2 billion.

"The government is a people’s government and everything it does should be what the people say. Therefore it must be a people’s budget and can not be dictated by big business. I’m here to make sure that the democracy we have is intact and our people’s budget should reflect exactly that," said Cachalia.

He said if treasury knows what the people want, they should make the money available to implement "the people’s programme".

"We cannot do everything in one year, but we plan for three years and longer to achieve what is needed. You will agree with us that we have, over the past 12 years, provided health services, education and many other services. We have provided a better life for all," said Cachalia.

And the people spoke. The representatives of the district and four municipalities in the packed council chamber of the Vhembe district municipality stated what their needs are in this area of the province.