Special Adjustment Budget: Time to deliver on promises made

Tomorrow (24 June 2020), the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, will table a special adjustments budget in Parliament, which we hope will provide clarity on the scale of national government’s financial support for the fight against Covid-19 in the Western Cape.

During the opening of the Hospital of Hope, our Covid-19 field hospital at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), on 5 June 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa made it clear that “cost is not the issue” when it came to the fight against Covid-19 in the Western Cape.

Provinces are on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19, providing the immediate healthcare response requirements, including hospitalisation and quarantine and isolation facilities.

Since the start of the crisis, R1.65 billion has been committed towards Covid-19 related expenditure across government in the Western Cape.  We have made a huge effort to reprioritise expenditure, within the existing budget, to support the fight against COVID-19 in the Western Cape.

However, despite significant reprioritisation, and commitment of reserves, financial support from national government will be required to support the fight against COVID-19 in the Western Cape. 

Tomorrow, we hope the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni,  will use the special adjustments budget to deliver on the promises made by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Hospital of Hope in Cape Town.

Listen to soundbyte from Minister Maynier: