The Democratic Alliance (DA) has rejected the Eastern Cape’s 2025/26 provincial budget, saying it entrenches dysfunction, ignores urgent needs, and fails the people it should serve.
The party criticised the budget for failing to bring hope to struggling communities including rural families relying on public clinics, learners walking unsafe distances to school, and graduates still unemployed years after finishing their studies.
The DA took particular issue with budget allocations to key departments: Health, Education, Economic Development, Transport, Community Safety, and the Provincial Legislature. According to the party, these departments continue to spend without delivering meaningful results.
In the Health Department, over R7 billion in unpaid bills and a R1.7 billion overdraft remain unresolved, with no credible recovery plan presented. In Education, only 5% of funds go to infrastructure, despite an R82 billion backlog, and ongoing staff shortages leave schools without enough teachers or admin support.
The DA further criticised the 28% cut to the Scholar Transport Programme, calling it a blow to the nearly 50,000 learners left without transport. In a province with high crime rates, the Community Safety budget was also flagged as insufficient, offering little support for SAPS operations on the ground.
“The Eastern Cape cannot afford another year of failure disguised as progress,” the DA said in a statement. “Budgets must reflect people, not politics.”
