ANC slams Western Cape premier over ‘evasive’ adjustment budget and missing disclosure

The ANC in the Western Cape has accused Premier Alan Winde’s office of evading accountability and failing to prioritise communities, during a heated debate on the Adjustment Budget for the Department of the Premier on Thursday.

Delivering the opposition response in the provincial legislature, ANC Leader of the Opposition Khalid Sayed said the budget “cannot, in good conscience, be supported” because it failed tests of transparency, priorities and ethical leadership.

Sayed criticised what he described as “selective disclosure” by the Premier’s Department, highlighting the unexplained absence of a R51 000 reimbursement from the Under2 Coalition for the Premier’s recent New York trip that does not appear anywhere in the Adjusted Estimates.

According to Sayed, the Department told the committee that it “did not need” to declare the payment — a response he called “extraordinary and deeply troubling”.

“Transparency is not optional. Treasury rules are not optional. Accountability to this House is not optional,” he said.

The ANC has referred the matter to the Public Protector and the Registrar of Members’ Interests, arguing that internal accountability mechanisms have failed.

Sayed further criticised the budget’s reallocation of more than R70 million into ICT functions under the Premier’s Office, saying it reflected skewed priorities at a time when communities are battling overcrowded classrooms, understaffed clinics and deteriorating safety conditions.

“This is not a budget for the people. It is a budget for bureaucracy,” he said.

He highlighted concerns raised across the province — from Retreat to Pacaltsdorp, Hout Bay to Bloekombos — where residents are asking for nurses, teachers and safety interventions, “not IT consultants” or restructuring of the Centre for e-Innovation.

Sayed also located the provincial debate within the global context of conflict in Palestine, Western Sahara, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He used the platform to commend President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership in geopolitics and South Africa’s successful hosting of the G20 Summit.

The ANC extended praise to former Western Cape Premier and Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, and former International Relations Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, saying both had shown “moral courage” in standing against global injustice despite threats and disinformation campaigns.

Sayed argued that leadership must be ethical “not only when it is easy, but especially when it is difficult”, calling for a provincial government that is “honest with its numbers” and transparent with all financial disclosures, including foreign-funded payments.

He concluded by stating that the ANC will not support Vote 1, arguing that the people of the Western Cape “deserve a government that serves them honestly, transparently and wholeheartedly.”