Durban - Finance MEC Belinda Scott has fared very well in the DA’s annual report card of the provincial cabinet, with the party describing her as the most effective in the executive.
Releasing the report card in Pietermaritzburg, newly-appointed caucus leader, Francois Rodgers, scored Scott at seven out of 10 points - the same points she obtained last year.
Rodgers said the MEC had led by example when it came to running a tight ship.
“When it comes to austerity measures, the MEC walks her talk and ensures that her officials and Treasury do the same,” he said.
This, Rodgers said, had led to the KwaZulu-Natal Treasury becoming one of the top finance departments in the country.
“If we did not have a Treasury like we do, could you imagine the financial chaos that would be happening in the province?” he asked.
However, he said some departments were flipping the “proverbial finger” at the Treasury and Scott.
“We are on the way to getting to a point where there is to be a showdown between certain ANC politicians and the MEC. I”m looking forward to that,” Rodgers said, adding that the MEC did not have “political buy-in” from her colleagues.
The DA also named Public Works and Human Settlement MEC Ravi Pillay and Sport and Recreation MEC Bongi Sithole as among the top performers.
However, Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo was named as the poorest-performing MEC, along with Transport MEC Mxolisi Kaunda.
Dhlomo, who last year got two points, was scored one out of 10, and Kaunda got only two.
Dhlomo”s poor scoring has since prompted DA health spokesman Imran Keeka to say his nemesis was no longer a heavyweight in the ANC, and did not have control of the supply chain unit in his department.
“If he is not able to come on board, the ANC should make him walk the plank or he should jump overboard,” Keeka suggested.
Economic Development MEC Sihle Zikalala, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda, Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane, Speaker Lydia Johnson and Arts and Culture MEC Bongie Sithole were all rated at three points.
Better performing MECs included Themba Mthembu in agriculture and rural development; Premier Willies Mchunu, Nomusa Dube-Ncube in co-operative governance and traditional affairs; and Weziwe Thusi in social development, who were rated between four and five points.
But, ANC chief whip in the legislature, Nontembeko Boyce, poured scorn on the scorecard used to portray the ruling party as having failed to deliver.
“That barometer contradicts what they said in the previous year, inside the House, in debates and motions and in portfolio committees,” Boyce said.
She also said the scorecard was nothing more than a gimmick to put the DA within “imagined” ANC politics.
Boyce accused the DA of looking for negatives, and that its MPLs contributed greatly in legislature, only to make contradictory statements to the media.
“The ANC believes the MECs are delivering.”
She dismissed the calls for sacking of Dhlomo, saying he had been assessed like other MECs and the challenges in his department were caused by the state of finances in the country.
Defending the report card, Rodgers said it was a barometer of the performance of the province”s governance.
“It certainly is not a publicity stunt. It should be taken seriously,” he said.
Daily News