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We have been cautioning and warning about the excessive spending of government, especially in the Northern Cape. In a province where almost 50% of the population live well below the breadline, it is repulsive that public representatives fatten themselves on taxpayers' money. Look at the former acting premier, Grizelda Cjiekella, who used her department's entertainment budget to buy alcohol and food for private parties. Look at the MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, whose spending on catering has increased by 409% since 2009 while jobs in the department have been lost because of so-called 'budget constraints'. The department of Health increased its spending on luxuries by 46% in one year, but then sick babies and the elderly from Namaqualand gets booted out onto the street and told their ‘holiday is over’.

The provincial government has spent R404.7 million on their own stomachs in one year alone. That’s four times as much as the school feeding programme will receive. These government officials are receiving huge salaries from government, but they still plunder the state for their own greedy needs while children grow hungry and while our child malnutrition rates are higher than in Zimbabwe. 

The ANC has now vindicated Cope's stance and has admitted that Cope is speaking the truth about excessive spending. We hope that Pravin Gordhan's speech was not just an election ploy or empty rhetoric aimed at getting votes, but that we will see a genuine commitment from government to reign in excessive spending. 

We have seen a history of abuse of credit cards in the province. We have Sylvia Lucas who spends almost R800 a day on fast food and Patrick Mabilo who uses his credit card for a luxury trip to Mozambique.

It is not just the credit cards that need to be revoked. The official residence of the premier is a state house that is meant for official business of state. It is not for the premier to bring her nieces and uncles and stepchildren to come and have lavish parties at the taxpayers’ expense. We demand that there must be stricter regulations on the use of this state property and that existing regulations in the Ministerial Handbook must be enforced.