THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has blamed the National Treasury for the severe budget cuts education departments are facing across the country, which have resulted in a reduction and non-renewal of teaching jobs and services.
DA spokesperson on Basic Education Delamaine Christians said on Sunday, that the crisis is the direct result of Treasury’s failure to fully fund the 2023 wage agreement leaving provinces to absorb significant budget shortfalls.
“It is unacceptable that provinces are being forced to make difficult decisions because of a wage agreement that was negotiated at the national level but not fully funded,” Christians said.
Currently, the Western Cape is facing a R3.8 billion budget shortfall over the next three years, KwaZulu-Natal is unable to afford over 11 000 educator posts and Gauteng has been forced to reduce learner transport and delay Early Childhood Development (ECD) expansion.
The North West is in need of R485 million, while
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