Coega, ECDC roped in to help

THE Eastern Cape government has pumped R850-million into the Coega Development Corporation to help build toilets and make water accessible to tens of thousands of families who have been let down by slow delivery in municipalities.

The move, announced by Finance MEC Phumulo Masualle during his budget speech at the Bhisho legislature yesterday, is the latest as the government increasingly turns to what is arguably its strongest arm yet to deliver basic services.

The Eastern Cape Development Corporation has also been roped in, with R688-million to help build key economic infrastructure such as roads.

"The lack of water and adequate sanitation has a crippling effect on the provision of education and leads to health hazards that burden the health system. It is for these reasons that the provincial government is therefore allocating R850-million [over the next three years] from our own revenue to support struggling municipalities," Masualle said - Nwabisa Makunga and Rochelle de Kock