Ramaphosa airs frustrations over Eastern Cape's poor state of affairs

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has aired his frustrations over the poor state of affairs in the Eastern Cape in what could trigger a review of how the provincial government makes its budget allocations.

Delivering his opening remarks at the cabinet’s engagement with the province on Wednesday, Ramaphosa says work still needs to be done to improve the quality of life for the province’s residents.

Despite his constructive criticism, Ramaphosa acknowledged progress made to stabilise governance.

But he says more attention must be put towards addressing the collapse of services.

“We must be concerned at the sight of a number of our people who cross raging rivers in drums because there are no bridges or sick patients lying on the floors of hospitals, because there are no beds.”

He said that although budget constraints remained an issue, service delivery should be prioritised

“The extent of the challenges that we face means that we need to make critical decisions about resource allocations about resource allocation and spending in a difficult economic climate.”