Jack says 66% of the total R18.3 billion provincial budget will go towards these two departments. He says despite health and education demands in the province, the salary bill in these departments continues to increase. Tabling his budget in the capital city of Kimberley, Jack alluded that R6.9 billion of the provincial budget will go towards the Education Department while the Health Department will receive R5.2 billion. He says whilst the compensation of employees within the two departments is the main expenditure, goods and services drive the expenditure within the health sector and that R1.7 billion will be allocated for that.

He alluded that over the next three years, R26.4 million has been allocated for the absorption of medical interns within the Health Department and that there are plans to hire more personnel to meet the health demands in the province. He says an additional R10.5 million has also been set aside for the education department to run sanitary projects at schools across the province. Jack says they are concerned over the state of health and education in the province and are working on means to re-dress challenges faced in the province.

The province’s alleged poor state of healthcare services once again came in the spotlight yesterday when the DA delivered an alternative budget speech following their announced oversight inspection at the Kimberley Mental Hospital, which has been under construction for more than a decade. The hospital has become a white elephant with opposition members demanding answers over millions unaccounted for. The hospital was initially earmarked R290 million to be completed, its costs have, however, over the years ballooned to more than R2 billion.

The party’s leader in the province, Andrew Louw, during his visit, confirmed that the facility is still far from being operational despite Premier Sylvia Lucas’ promises that the facility would have been opened by the end of last year.

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