The details around how we pay scholar transport operators with regard to contracts will come from the meeting because other provinces like Gauteng have an advantage in that they don't have the same kilometres as other provinces and they also don't have days whereupon the scholar transport doesn't work. For instance, if you use public transport like a Putco bus which transport people everyday, you
won't pay it if you don't use it on a particular day, but if it is scholar transport, and a learner is allocated that transport but doesn't go to school on a particular day, the buses would operate and drivers have to be paid. Those are all the details we will be looking into to check how cost- effective we can make scholar transport and also how to attract people to be willing to provide scholar transport for the department.
Question 86:
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH: Deputy Speaker, let me just apologise. I will respond to the question but I just want to say that the question refers to the disadvantages of the Northern Cape in terms of budget allocation. The real challenge we have with he Northern Cap is that all the provinces are given an allocation on the basis of a formula that is provided by the Financial and Fiscal Commission.
It takes into account the population size. It takes into account the economic activity generated by the province. Therefore, as the formula stands, it makes it difficult to adjust for the long distances between towns and cities and the very vast areas in
that province. This is the challenge that we have had to face and deal with.
In relation to the concern about doctors, we have acknowledged the fact that there is a shortage of doctors in the area. We have put an additional amount of about R13 million to employ 25 additional doctors, on top of the 73 doctors that the province is going to be employing itself. That is how far we were able to deal with this matter but we are in the meantime looking into the challenge of the declining allocation that the province has reported to the Department of Health and it is a matter that we have referred to Treasury for further discussion. Thank you very much,