By AGISANANG SCUFF
27 July 2025- The Speaker of North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL), Dr Desbo Mohono said the budget speech that she tabled is a commitment and a demonstration of a pact that they have with the people. Mohono said the budget speech outlines the state of the Legislature since the day they were sworn into office on 14 June 2024.
She further said it also outlines the plans ahead as they position themselves as a leading people-centric Legislature, upholding good governance, transparency, inclusiveness for an empowered and prosperous society. Mohono added that they are therefore returning with renewed commitment to building an inclusive and sustainable economy amidst challenging regional and global conditions.
“The South African economy is in a precarious position, characterized by slow growth and the persistent triple challenge of inequality, unemployment and poverty.
“There is a glimmer of hope that our economy will improve, although the growth is expected to be modest, with inflation also expected to reduce moderately. The world trade uncertainties may exacerbate the challenges,” she said.
Mohono said although the journey ahead will be difficult, she is confident that they will conquer, for they are a nation founded on resilience. She said, therefore, we have to work together and form partnerships with the private sector, civil society and the world community that is willing to work with them.
“The year 2025 is significant because it is the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter. Whilst celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, we must ensure that all our Programs are geared towards the progressive realisation of the undertakings that have been made in this important document.
“We must therefore focus on improving public trust and focus on building ethical leadership. We must develop a culture of intolerance for criminality, corruption and wastage,” she said.
Mohono said the budget allocation for the North West Provincial Legislature for the financial year
2025/26 is R552 583 000, which declined by 3% compared to the previous financial years’ allocation. She said although with the economic climate of the country, the budget cuts are inevitable, the major struggle will be that of achieving all the activities as planned in the Annual Performance Plans (APP) against the diminishing budget.
“However, for the legislature, the impact of the budget cuts come with the high costs of potentially affecting the quality of the oversight work that it (the legislature) is expected to play over the Executive.
“The budget will be utilized for the compensation of employees, the remuneration for Public Office Bearers, operational expenses, infrastructural upgrades, capital expenditure and support to represented parties,” said Mohono.
She said despite the decline in the budget, they have an increase in the number of Members of the Legislature (MPLs) from 33 to 38 and have also seen an increase in the number of represented parties. Mohono said they have also identified a lot of work that must be accomplished with extreme urgency by the 7th Legislature.
The Guardian 