SPEECH BY MRS GLENDA STEYN, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Let us stamp out the scourge of racism together

Thank you Madam Speaker,

On Monday, The Premier honoured those who fought and sacrificed so much for freedom and democracy in our country. He said “I hereby make a clarion call that we must unite against racism and xenophobia. Let us fight against racism wherever and whenever it manifests itself”.

I couldn’t agree more!

The DA couldn’t agree more!

He said “those who call black people baboons are as wrong as those who threaten to drive white students out of university campuses”.

I couldn’t agree more!

The DA couldn’t agree more!

Racism and xenophobia is a reality. To try to justify it, in any of its repugnant forms, is despicable and unacceptable and must be exposed for what it.

I believe this!

The DA believes this!

This must include making assumptions about any group of people, be they in an organisation, be they of one demographic or another, be they of one specific religious group.

The Premier said on Monday, “Nothing is more offensive that acts of incompetence and corruption that feed the racial stereotype that all black people are either inherently incompetent or corrupt”.

I couldn’t agree more!

The DA couldn’t agree more!

Black people are no more predisposed to corruption and incompetence that any other racial group. Individuals are incompetent. Individuals are corrupt. This does not make it true for everyone else in his or her family, for everyone else who is in the same race group or for everyone else who shares his or her demographics.

Far too often, assuming the actions of one individual are indicative of the sentiments and abilities of an entire group is the forerunner to dividing our nation which so many have sacrificed so much to build. The Premier made such an error just a few days before the state of the province address when he tried to rally ANC supporters by accusing his opposition of being racists trying to mislead the young people in townships. Equally erroneously, he made the assumption that there were no racists in the ANC leadership.

You see Mr Premier, black people are right to be offended to be assumed incompetent and corrupt because of the actions of some individuals for those individuals are not representative of the demographic. Equally white people are right to be offended to be assumed racist due to the actions of others who committed horrendous acts of racism 100 years ago, 50 years ago, 10 years ago or even yesterday for those individuals are not representative of the demographic. Muslim people are right to be offended to be assumed violent due to the actions of others who committed acts of extreme violence for those individuals are not representative of the demographic. And there are so many examples beyond the obvious stated.

Political mobilisation on race, religion or creed, is a certain road to a divided nation and so contrary to the lessons which the Premier says are taught by those who shed their blood and fought for this country we now enjoy,   who he describes as “the moral compass and conscience of the nation”.

Mr Premier, acknowledging plagiarism, I too make a clarion call that “we unite against racism and xenophobia. Let us fight against racism wherever and whenever it manifests itself”.

SPEECH BY MR KINGSOL CHABALALA, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Promises and promises with little to no delivery

Honourable Speaker

Let me take this opportunity to briefly reflect on the events of the 27th April 1994 when our precious democracy was born. I can clearly and vividly remember the events of that day with my family and my community of Evaton, as if it happened yesterday.

I can recall how the light in my parents eyes was shining as bright as the morning African sun, how excitement and hope consumed my peers and elders of my Evaton community for the duration of that day.

In the past 22 years since the dawn of democracy I have with a heavy heart filled with pain and sorrow witnessed, how the light that was in parents eyes was fading away, how the excitement and hope that consumed my peers and elders of my community evaporated.

Because the society they envisioned was characterised by a community of values of freedom, fairness and countless opportunity. This dream turned into a nightmare under the ANC led government.

Because a society that is free and fair with access to opportunities for all has not been realised under the ANC led government in this province.

The barriers of the past have not yet been removed and a more equal society has not been realised.

Honourable Speaker

Our democracy was hard fought and won by all South Africans from all walks, South Africans of different races and genders sacrificing everything, being exiled from the country of their birth, from their families, being imprisoned and others laying down their lives for our democracy.

Great South Africans like Mme Emma Mashinini, Rita Ndzinga who were imprisoned under section 122 and such was the brutality their solitary confinement in Prison Mme Emma Mashinini whilst in prison could not even recall the name of her youngest daughter and Mme Rita Ndzinga upon her release from in few could not even where her house was located.

Yet the ANC led government which claims to be the sole custodians of our liberation struggle is spitting and trembling on the memories of the great South Africans hero by failing to ensure that our province becomes a fair society that enables our people to realise their full potential is not being build, the ANC led government is also failing to ensure that our people in Gauteng enjoy the maximum amount of freedom consistent with law and order.

Honourable speaker

During his SOPA, the Honourable Premier stated that there is nothing more important and urgent than giving hope to our youth through quality and sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities, and that his government cannot be the one that destroys black business and SMME’S through non-payment or late payment of invoices.

Honourable Premier, the truth is your policies are killing and destroying black businesses in Emfuleni where you delivered the SOPA and is the worst performing municipality in terms of late payments of invoices.

This has resulted in demise and collapse of many black businesses. In the very same municipality black businesses are expected to pay 20% of the total invoices as a kickback to municipal officials.

A case in point is that of Sakhumzi Trading 48 – which was referred to your office on the 15th of July 2014 because the owner refused to pay the 20% bribe to the officials and they refused to pay him citing a number of unreasonable things.

To this date he hasn’t been paid and you failed to help him and therefore you are responsible for destroying his business which is 100% black owned.

Honourable Premier you called on religious leaders to take a lead in the fight against social ills such as drug abuse – we can pray until we turn blue in the face this will never resolve anything.

The biggest contributing factors associated with such social ills is the lack of sporting and recreational facilities. Gravel soccer pitches that were the only sporting facilities a black child had access to during apartheid are in such bad state that they resemble bushes.

This still exists today.

Your party is always lamenting lack of transformation in sporting codes like Rugby, Cricket and swimming with the ANC’s executive chief cheer leader Minister Mbalula leading from the front.

It’s high time that your government prioritise grassroots development of sports not this superficial transformation of quotas and beans counting.

In the Sedibeng district there are no cricket or rugby facilities in townships yet you spend millions on dining and wining guests who attend lavish sports awards, if you want to honour our sporting heroes just honour them without these festivities.

The money you spend on these festivities and catering during your SOPA could be used to build state of the art Olympic swimming pool in our township. For the “learn to swim” program of the dept. of sport, it is quite sad that school going kids from township schools have to make use of facilities that aren’t in existence.

Saul Tsotetsi sports complex swimming pool which you saw for yourself on Monday is an example of the poor state of these facilities in townships.

Honourable Premier, you mentioned how Evaton road will be upgraded in Emfuleni, I guess you wanted to say is for it to be completed since it stood incomplete from 2011.

But this is not the only road that is incomplete in Evaton, you should also ensure that Kent road, Lind road and West road are completed or rather in your language that they are upgraded.

In October last year, you stood in front of the community of Rustervaal in Sedibeng and promised them that you will again visit their community before Christmas day – they still await your visit.

In SOPA you confidently said Honourable Premier, “a promise made, is a promise kept”.

How about starting with walking your talk.

 

SPEECH BY MR JANHO ENGELBRECHT, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Gauteng’s environment laid to waste

Madam Speaker,

In his speech the Premier gave a lengthy analysis of successes and failures in the province.

He promised to change leadership where problems persist.

The Premier further stated that the housing backlog remains stubborn and that we need to dramatically increase the number of houses delivered. The solution to this problem, according to the Premier, is the establishment of mega human settlements and new post-apartheid cities.

He further went on to say “Owing to institutional and capacity constraints, our performance on housing delivery is not impressive.” To remedy these constraints the Premier decided to appoint a new MEC. The only logical explanation for this move by the Premier is that he believes that MEC Mamabolo was not capable of delivering on these promises.

In this context I have very little faith in the prospects of the Premiers envisaged performance for the struggling Infrastructure department under the leadership of the demoted MEC Mamabolo. I cannot help but wonder how many Cabinet reshuffles we can expect this year?

In relation to our environment the Premier has unfortunately disappointed in his speech.

The bulk of the Premiers speech on environment consisted of 3 sentences. This despite the fact that our water ways are being poisoned with raw sewage and heavy metals.

In the newest DWS green drop progress report posted on its site on the 8 February this year, it is stated that 5 of Gauteng waste water treatment plants have reached a critical risk phase – 22 are at high risk and 25 at moderate risk. It is further stated that it is important that Provincial Action Plans identify the lower performers with high and critical risk plants, and focus corrective action and interventions accordingly. With the annual risk profile increasing year on year it would seem that this administration has no strategy to mitigate the risk posed to our environment.

On various occasions I asked the then MEC for COGTA and Housing MMC Mamabolo to please intervene in waste water treatment facilities, sadly nothing came of it and the Greendrop report proves this.

Is the ANC scared to admit there is a problem, mostly our Metros, during an election year?

In various questions I posed in relation to Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and the salination of the Vaal dam caused by the AMD treatment plants, the answers was that rain water will dilute the salt water being pumped into the dam. But now that we face a severe drought, expected for the next few years, what will we do?

The Premier did not deem the salination of the Vaaldam that provides drinking water to Gauteng, important enough, in fact I believe no plan exists to solve this problem.

The Premier indicated that EIA approvals will be fast tracked to now only take 30 days.

This statement scares me.

Under the current time frame of 18 to 24 months, some developments in wetlands and on protected ridges are approved.

With added time constraints, I fear it will be a free for all scenario where environmental sensitivities will not feature high on the priority list.

Honourable Premier, please pay more attention to environmental issues, the current situation in the department of environmental affairs is not good, they have almost no resources and they are under-staffed, added to this they sit with a MEC with no interest in environmental issues, and if your SOPA address is anything to go, by neither do you.

SPEECH BY MR KHUME RAMULIFHO, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Nothing ‘radical’ in SOPA on Gauteng’s failing education system

Thank you Madam Speaker

Honourable members

My focus will mostly be on school infrastructure and corruption.

Though there are issues of shortages of textbooks, furniture, learner-educator ratio, school admission, poor performing schools, SADTU meetings during school hours and independent schools to talk about.

The DA is committed to engage with the provincial government to ensure that Gauteng resident’s needs are prioritised. We are doing this because we care about the interests of our people.

Last year, R2.6 billion was allocated to fund education infrastructure. This commitment was made, however the implementation hasn’t met the expectation of radicalism.

We have learners in this province sitting on buckets, on the floor or school bags. At Kwanele primary school in Katlehong, some learners were taught in a school bus.

President Zuma spoke about new school budget cap of R30 million, is Gauteng going to keep to that amount or will we spend almost R100 million per school while other learners are using a bus as a classroom or prefab schools which can be extremely hot, dusty or cold depending on the weather.

The radical plan should be to remove all prefab schools and build new ones on time at a reasonable cost. Look at Delta Park remedial school in Blairegowrie, there was unfortunate incident last year in September were three learners were injured due to collapse of scaffolding at the school.

The project is on hold and the investigation report is not shared with the school and SGB if it was ever done.

Honourable Premier, Building new schools on time, with approved building plans by municipalities and paying contractors needs a radical approach. Unless radicalism is when the money is set aside and disappears while the report indicates that the work was done.

Let me give an example so that this information isn’t perceived as rhetoric.

The department of education made claims that R18 million was spent to renovate Noordgesig primary school in Johannesburg. The quarterly report indicated that renovations were completed in August 2015. I visited the school, and observed that not even a single brick was delivered to the school. According to the projects scope, it commenced in November 2014.

The background of Noordgesig learners, is determining their future. Do you know that the school is in bad condition? So where is R18 million reported to have been spent at the school? I’m not sure whether the money was stolen through corrupt practices or it was fraudulent reporting!

The challenge in this case is not the money as R2.6 billion was allocated to school infrastructure.

Premier you made reference to ICT in education. The DA supported the classrooms of the future initiative. However, the DA has cautioned the provincial government about previous experiences of more than R2 billion Gauteng online project. The biggest project I know which has failed dismally in this province.

Amongst other factors which characterize the failure of the project and still in existence are lack of project management, lack of utilization strategy, lack of security, costs escalations, insufficient training to teachers and not enforceable service level agreements.

In this case, with reference to classrooms of the future, the government you are leading has failed to pay contractors within 30 days, to build these classrooms of the future, in many instances not even within 90 days. I will give two schools as examples to confirm my point, Alexandra High and Penelope Oracle Secondary Schools are two schools where ICT infrastructure is a priority and service providers aren’t being paid for a while and this is delaying the completion and will cost tax payers more money than what was initially budgeted for.

The failure to pay service providers is destroying businesses in a radical way. Such failure don’t inspire confidence to small businesses who should be empowered by the same government.

This behaviour destroys jobs. It traps people into poverty as empowerment opportunities are put on hold from the same people who are supposed to be benefiting. Largely this affects small businesses, leading them to be bankrupt and failing to pay their staff who rendered the service.

The Education MEC replied to the DA’s questions last year in May and he confirmed that that there were more than 3500 service providers who were not paid on time and some went bankrupt due to this problem.

I asked the same question a week ago to ensure that the service providers get paid on time. There are many advantages for paying service providers on time, they include economic growth, job creation, fight poverty and empower communities in a sustainable way through developments. The question is why the provincial government is failing to pay service providers on time?

I mentioned Noordgesig primary but is not the only school, I can mention Itereleng LSEN School in Kagiso, the contract was awarded in 2014 but the work isn’t done. The list is long, for instance only 15 schools out of 60 were renovated in this quarter under review. Poor project planning and management are disadvantaging the poor.

Let’s look at commitment to fight corruption.

The MEC for education got pressure to release forensic audit report for Glenvista high. It was reported that the MEC was shocked and rated the school as the most corrupt school in the province. If this is the shocking story, can’t actions be the lesson to other schools that corruption don’t pay?

But there are many schools I know with forensic audits reports done but no sufficient actions taken. Brakpan secondary school amongst others is one example where whistle-blowers were threatened with law suits for exposing corruption and the report confirmed that the whistle blowers were correct but the report was classified. If this is how the provincial government will fight corruption, I’m sorry this signifies a lost battle.

Let words be met with actions.

SPEECH BY MRS JANET SEMPLE, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Gauteng’s economy needs action more than words

The Premier began his 2016 SOPA by announcing that “a promise made is a promise kept”.  Very bold words from a Premier of a political party that is renowned for making empty promises.

The Premier might have kept his promise to the people of the Sedibeng district by bringing the SOPA to Sedibeng, although the cost of that exercise was hardly in line with the cost cutting measures and budget cuts proposed by the President in his recent State of the Nation address.

However, if we look at the promises made by the Premier in SOPA 2015 it appears that some of those promises made a year ago have either been forgotten or not followed through.

One of these was the seven new township hubs promised to be established in Ennerdale, Hammanskraal, Mabopane and Reiger Park to name a few.

At last week’s portfolio committee meeting the word “established” was questioned and clarified.  According to this Province’s Department of Economic Development established can mean (1) actually established, i.e. up and running, (2), in the process of being established or (3) merely having a site identified.

One could be forgiven for not understanding quite what the Premier means by established -it does appear that however one defines established, the conventional meaning of the word does not apply.

Similarly the Premier referred to revitalising industrial parks in Katlehong, Orlando, Residentia, Khutsong and Ennerdale in his 2015 SOPA. Perhaps the MEC for Economic Development would like to explain at what stage of revitalization these industrial parks are actually at?

Another challenge the Premier faces in his great vison for Gauteng is the economic policy uncertainty faced by the entire country. The Premier himself acknowledged in SOPA 2015 that the vast majority of the planned economic development of this province relies on public/private partnerships.

We all know that economic growth has slowed throughout the world with commodity prices hitting rock-bottom, naturally effecting South Africa but equally so, the economic and financial instability in our own country does not help.

The domestic and foreign investors, essential to driving economic growth and the jobs that go with that growth, need to know that their investment is safe. They need to know that there will not be three finance ministers in almost as many days, and they need to know what the overall economic plan for the country is.

Is South Africa still committed to the NDP or are we following the New Growth Plan?

Ultimately all the mega projects the Premier plans for Gauteng are dependent on what happens on the national stage. For Gauteng’s economy to grow and for more jobs to be created, there must be policy certainty.

The Premier states that the economy in Gauteng has been consistently growing above the national average, well then he needs to use that fact as leverage to prevent the mayhem that occurs at a national level. Unfortunately this province is not an island that can progress regardless of what is going on in the rest of the country.  Economic growth nationally is predicted to be just 0.7% this year which will obviously impact on all provinces.

The Premier’s big plans need big investment and that can only be achieved if the investors have confidence and are committed in investing for the long-term.

Interestingly in the Western Cape there is a significant uptake in infrastructure and real estate investment, a leading indicator that investors are confident and committed for the long term and are prepared to commit their capital to create jobs.

The number of square metres of building plans approved in the province showed a significant increase in 2014/15.

In a 12-month period ending August 2015, 654 000 square meters of commercial and residential developments were approved for construction in the Western Cape, almost 9 times the 75 000 square meters approved in Gauteng for the same period, according to Statistics South Africa.  To quote Premier Helen Zille: “construction projects not only reflect confidence, they create jobs”.

The Gauteng Premier states that steps are being taken to improve the ease of doing business and cutting red tape. This is to be welcomed although there are still many reports of people being asked for cuts on profits in order to get the permission needed; of phones going unanswered and appointments only being granted once money changes hands.

Why is it so difficult for officials to make a decision? Anything that requires a commitment beyond a six month time period seems to be impossible. Do the officials in this Province know something the opposition is still anticipating?

The premier has noted that payment of e-tolls is more about affordability than civil disobedience. Surely Premier if people are battling to pay e-tolls now, how are they going to be able to cough up an additional 5% in March?

Once again it will be the poorest people in this Province who will be most disadvantaged by the increase as they are the ones who live furthest away from their places of work due to apartheid spatial planning. The cost of a loaf of bread and other essential items is rising every day and an increase in e-tolls is the last thing any household needs right now. We call upon the Premier to use his influence in the national sphere of government to stop this highway robbery once and for all. Let’s see if the ANC really cares about the people of this province!

Premier we note and appreciate the improved methods of public transport such as the Rea Vaya, Areyeng and now Harambee in Ekurhuleni.  We would however like to know how it is planned to integrate these different transport systems between the three metros in the planned city regions. Obviously this would help people move seamlessly between the different areas.

The results of the feasibility study on extensions to the Gautrain have never been announced but the expansion is going ahead at huge cost.  Can this be afforded in this time of economic austerity?

The Premier has a grand vision for Gauteng. He needs to follow up the promises with commitment and visible results on the ground. In the words of Pravin Gordhan at yesterday’s Budget Speech “Above all, action is needed rather than words”. Premier the unemployed people of Gauteng are depending on you to do just that.

SPEECH BY MR JACK BLOOM, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Planet Makhura cannot escape the gravity of Planet Zuma

 

Madam Speaker

Madam Speaker, the Honourable Premier delivered the longest ever State of the Province address that I have listened to since 1994.

I do hope that his words are not a substitute for action.

He didn’t use his favourite word – “radical” – quite so much in this speech. He said it 29 times in his inaugural address as Premier, but now we are down to a mere six mentions.

It was always peculiar that a leader of a party in power for 20 years in this province could talk so much of a radical break from the misgovernance of his own party in all this time.

Twenty years into ANC rule and we have an ANC premier still talking about fixing deep-rooted governance problems, including corruption and lack of accountability.

We need to ask why there is this history of poor governance in Gauteng that needs a radical overhaul.

I would like to welcome MEC Paul Mashatile to this House after a long absence.

We last saw you seven years ago after your brief seven month tenure as Premier.

I wish to give some advice to the Honourable Premier about Honourable Mashatile.

He’s a nice guy to chat with, but you don’t want to put him in charge of a government department.

Wherever he goes, controversy follows.

I am going to quote from a Mail and Guardian editorial in May 2009 when Honourable Mokonyane became Premier promising to clean up the mess that Honourable Mashatile had left behind.

I quote as follows: “Allegations of corruption and mismanagement against Mashatile are plentiful and well publicised. This newspaper has been at the forefront of exposing his dodgy links with companies and individuals benefiting from Gauteng’s fiscus.

In 2007 we revealed the existence of the Alex Mafia – Mashatile’s friends and confidants appointed by him to crucial positions in the provincial government … According to recent reports in sister newspapers, it was exactly these dubious relations that made him too risky to re-appoint as premier.”

The editorial concludes: “For too long Mashatile was allowed to run amok, spending money on fancy motorsport events and international trips, while the province’s hospitals had no bread or medication.”

And now, Honourable Premier, this is the man that you are bringing into your cabinet supposedly to speed up housing delivery.

Is this your radical break from the past poor history of governance in Gauteng?

What do you expect from the man responsible for the disaster that is G-Fleet which you are now putting under new leadership?

And the biggest question of all: who is the boss in your cabinet? Is it you as Premier or Honourable Mashatile who is your provincial leader?

It seems that part of your green objectives is to recycle politicians. Well, this is a retread of a retread.

Another flat tyre in your Cabinet is Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu. She was recycled from Health to Infrastructure Development and back to Health again.

I will quote Honourable Mahlangu when she was MEC for Infrastructure Development which is responsible for hospital generators.

She declared in March 2013: “I can now confidently stand before you and say that in the event of a power outage, generators at Chris Hani Baragwanath and the generators at Charlotte Maxeke will power the hospitals.”

The Honourable MEC must dread the numerous calls that inform her of yet another generator failure at these hospitals.

In January this year they failed at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. They failed at the Bara ICU in November last year.

And they failed also at Bara in April last year when they knocked out the emergency theatres.

I thought the Honourable Premier said that “a promise made is a promise kept”.

Here’s another one.

In her budget speech in July 2013, Honourable Mahlangu said: “To further reduce patient waiting times and the loss of files we have launched a project at South Rand Hospital to put 2 000 patient files onto a real time integrated electronic system. Our objective is to ensure that every patient file is on an electronic system over this financial year.”

Go there today and you’ll see that two years after it should have been completed, nothing at all has been done.

I could entertain you with lots more examples of promises made but not kept.

I don’t expect the Kempton Park hospital to be built during the term of the Honourable Premier, nor the Soshanguve and Daveyton hospitals.

The problem, you see, is because Planet Makhura cannot escape the gravity of Planet Zuma.

We know that the Honourable Premier doesn’t like President Zuma, but they are part of the same decaying party that fails to live up to the ideals of its founders.

As ANC struggle stalwart Denis Goldberg said recently, ANC leaders at all levels are corrupt and need to be replaced from top to bottom.

We in the DA believe it is not just ANC leaders that need to be replaced, but the ANC itself as a governing party.

On Planet DA, promises made will be kept, with a better life for everyone.

 

SPEECH BY MRS INA CILLIERS, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

Major challenges ahead for Gauteng’s agri- economy

Madam Speaker

The SOPA was the ANC’s mythmaking at its best.

Premier in your 42 page speech, you devoted 3 lines to the ‘elephant in the room’.

You stated that: “The provincial government has decided to intervene and provide drought relief for emerging and subsistence farmers.”

That was it.

This drought, the worst in 104 years, is in fact the biggest game changer we will face this year, not only as a province, but as a nation.

Already 2.7 million people are food insecure. We will need to import far more than the estimated 3.8 million tons of maize.

Many farmers planted outside of their normal schedules and it is hard to predict what their yields will be.

Buying fodder and drilling boreholes is not enough.

Premier you must augment our drought relief efforts to include additional funding for operational loans to farmers, a wage subsidy for farm workers. Furthermore, you could feed packages to sustain livestock and education programmes on conservation agriculture.

Premier, your assumption that Gauteng’s agricultural economy consists of small, emerging or urban farmers is another myth.

Where will the produce for Gauteng’s agro-processing come from?

Are you just going to ignore the commercial farmers and hope they go away the same as what you have done with the drought?

The DA will demand that the drought be declared a national disaster so that we can unlock the resources of the national departments, the Defence force and the national disaster management centre.

Premier you mentioned the politics of the drought but are you willing to make the tough decisions?

Will you act in the best interest of every citizen’s long term economic opportunity and prosperity, or will you prioritize the interests of the ruling party?

Every year we see how Gauteng’s politics plays out.

For example- in last year’s SOPA, the West Rand featured strongly as a development corridor.

You had plans for the region to become an agricultural hub. However, this government, in association with DMR will soon be considering an EIA for Sibanye Gold to build another mega-tailings facility.

Unfortunately, this project will be at the heart of some of the best agricultural land in Gauteng.

The West rand region has approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of surface tailings and mine dumps, sitting around the West Rand.

Inside these tailings are hundreds of millions of pounds of uranium and gold.

The mining house will certainly request your permission to mine those dumps, retreat them, and move them to another new site.

This is going to cost Gauteng 1500ha of prime agricultural land on the actual site of the mega dump.

This translates into 8250 tonnes of maize, every season.

The mining companies acknowledge that there is an environmental risk factor.

Dust particles on windy days can be found up to 3000m in the air affecting and contaminating large areas of the West rand and the Vaal Triangle.

The surrounding farms and the communities of Fochville, Greenspark and Kokosi will bear the brunt of the pollution.

If there is any breach of the 50km pipeline or any fault in construction or operation, the by-products will seep into the groundwater.

The mines already have a very poor track record of compliance and respect for our environment.

Premier, you correctly stated that Gauteng is no longer a mining province. You further argued that we have the potential to become an agro-processing hub. Gauteng has the opportunity to be a leader in this regard.

But you will have to choose.

If you make the right choice, the western and southern corridors of Gauteng can become sustainable and vibrant agricultural regions.

After all, Sibanye has already indicated that we will have depleted gold resources in 10-12 years.

Agriculture is a sustainable sector that the West Rand will have to offer the economy of Gauteng.

Making the right choice means that the mines can extract the minerals from the tailings without dumping their waste to become someone else’s responsibility.

This will enable the province to generate taxes and royalties for the national coffers.

Making the wrong choice, without considering the alternatives available or the endless promises you previously made in your SOPA, will prove that you are acting solely in the best interest of your party.

The West rand might be prettier without the mine dumps, but it will be empty just like the ANC’s promises.

 

SPEECH BY MR JOHN MOODEY, MPL ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2016

ANC lacks the vision to fix joblessness, e-tolls and housing crises

Madam Speaker:

On behalf of the Democratic Alliance, I would like to thank the Honourable Premier for delivering the State of the Province Address on Monday. That he can do so is a tribute to the fibre and strength of Gauteng’s democracy.

We are approaching the 20th anniversary of the adoption of our inspirational human-rights constitution. We remember that the great work of the Constitutional Assembly took place in this City.

Its adoption as a living document- which shines a light today – is a celebration of country, not party.

I am proud of the role my Party played in co-drafting with the other parties’ represented here our liberal democratic constitution based on non-racialism, equality and tolerance.

Our daily politics may be divided, but we share many of the same basic principles.

The presence of us all today testifies to the fact that the province is strong.

However, the state that serves the province is weak.

Gauteng – like South Africa – is suffering a major crisis of leadership.

In these challenging times, we wanted the Premier on Monday to give the province direction to overcome despair. Yet he has failed to match the prestige of his office with a sense of direction.

The Honourable Premier dutifully off ticked his statutory responsibility on his notepad, but his speech lacked leadership and vision.

In fact, it sounded like last year’s Address repackaged.

The Premier could have boldly set out actions steps to fix the province’s economy, e-tolls, and housing crises. Instead, he offered a reheated version of last year’s broken promises, knitted together with platitudes and processes.

We all know that the biggest tragedy of our time is unemployment. The people of this province is crying out for action. The premier’s address failed to speak to the many people – especially young black people – who are trapped in long-term unemployment.

This administration’s lack of leadership is causing havoc on the frontline of Gauteng’s economy – where real people live outside the bubble of politics and government.

The premier might recall that his not so honourable friend, President Zuma, promised five million new jobs by 2020. But joblessness has risen every year that the President has been in office. The economy now has 8, 3 million people jobless.

Let’s zoom in.

Gauteng is the economic heartland of South Africa, constituting just over 34% of the country’s GDP.

But there are over two million people who are out of work in Gauteng. This means that over 30% of the provinces labour force cannot find work or have given up looking for work.

Does the Honourable Premier appreciate the ‘opportunity cost’ as well as the human tragedy of having so many people out of work? Does he care for them?

Madam Speaker: A vote for the ANC in this year’s local government elections is a vote for more unemployment.

The DA is working hard to win Gauteng to get the province back to work.

For there is a town of hope that shines brightest on Gauteng’s map. A place where good governance runs like a river, and social justice like a never failing stream.

Can honourable members imagine a future where the DA has the opportunity to replicate the success of Midvaal municipality across the province?

Why does Midvaal stand tall as the best governed municipality in Gauteng?

Why is Midvaal rated as offering the highest quality of life in Gauteng?

Why is Midvaal ranked first in Gauteng for responding to the needs of the poor, and providing basic services?

Above all, why does Midvaal boast an unemployment rate far lower than the rest of the province?

What is so special about this place where new start-ups and factories are springing to life, sharing prosperity with the many?

Madam Speaker: the answer is that while the ANC talks about a better life for all, the DA in office delivers the better life for all promised in the constitution.

Not only does the Premier not have a vision to get Gauteng working, the ANC throws multiple obstacles in his way.

Let’s take the e-toll crisis.

The DA advocates a ring-fenced fuel levy to pay for the e-tolls.

Yet the “new dispensation” brokered between the Premier and the Deputy-President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, last year was anything but new.

Mirroring the technique of the Premier’s repackaged speech, the cost stayed the same taking inflation into account.

It was just reconfigured to make it appear that motorists were paying less.

More bad news for Gauteng’s battered motorists’ and families is on the way in 2016.

SANRAL are increasing the cost of tolls by 5% at the end of February, which is almost at the same rate as the province’s headline inflation prediction.

Simply put, motorists’ hardship is set to deepen in 2016 as the cost of living spirals.

On Monday, the Premier said that he had listened to people across the province highlighting their opposition to the e-toll system.

The DA agreed when he said that people do not want to embark on a civil disobedience campaign for the sake of it. Because the people of Gauteng are law abiding and good citizens.

But what is the point of listening, Mr Premier, if you do not act?

The fact is that e-tolls are untenable and morally wrong.

While our revenue crust ever diminishes, a huge slice of the collection fees heads overseas.

More fundamentally, people cannot afford to pay e-tolls due to apartheid spatial planning.

If the Premier went online and looked at a Google map of Gauteng, he would see a striking picture of inequality and a lop-sided economy.

A blaze of light and colour in the centre shows that we’ve not made enough progress to build a new and inclusive economy for all.

The Premier would, in an instant, see that poor people who travel from the outskirts of the province to the centres of economic activity are the hardest hit.

The inherent cruelty of e-tolls, Madam Speaker, is that they strengthen and deepen apartheid’s spatial scars.

They are emblematic of the ‘Great Unwinding’ of our society that is taking place under President Zuma.

E-tolls stunts Gauteng’s progress to reshape the composition of the economy, and end the division between the few “insiders” and the many “outsiders.”

The Premier said that he would once again look into the cost implications of e-tolls.

If he cannot give a timeline and an approximate figure of what he considers to be fair in his Reply, then his words remains hollow.

When elected, the DA will immediately scrap e-tolls.

Madam Speaker:

The province’s housing crisis is as symbolic as e-tolls of the ANC’s failure to make Gauteng a fair place to live for those who call it ‘home.’

The DA acknowledges the Premier’s candour that housing delivery in Gauteng falls far short of what is required.

The Premier will also know that the City of Johannesburg disregarded a Constitutional Court declaration that the city’s housing policy is unconstitutional.

This means that the constitutional mandated co-operation between the provincial and metro spheres of government in Gauteng has broken down.

The DA saluted Nelson Mandela’s government housebuilding programme in the first decade of democracy, which gave expression to the people’s constitutional right to shelter.

But that progress has now stalled.

Today, not enough units are being built, and we are not keeping pace with the province’s rapid population growth.

 

Nor has the province made the visionary shift that the DA-led Western Cape has done to make housing a driver of fairness, inclusion, and reconciliation.

Last week, Premier Helen Zille announced a multimillion-rand construction project of a mixed-use neighbourhood, which will contribute towards addressing Cape Town’s spatial legacies of apartheid.

To make Gauteng a fair province where every person is proud to call ‘home’, we need mixed housing for people of all backgrounds and incomes.

RDP housing has not been fast-tracked as promised. And when sites are identified, they are not truly breaking the back of apartheid spatial planning.

And most of the new “mega cities” are only at the ribbon-cutting phase. Spades have not yet turned soil.

The DA however welcomes the fact that these projects are public private partnerships.

South Africa needs investor confidence and investment if we are to have the means to redress the past in economic terms.

The administration’s DA-lite approach to PPPs is, of course, completely out of kilter with the national ANC.

So I don’t want to make the Premier’s job any more difficult than it already is. But it is hard not to draw the conclusion that he is being constrained from doing what is right by Luthuli House.

We note that the honourable Mashatile has made a cameo comeback as the Co-operative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Housing MEC. He looks happy to be back.

Some say that this is an election gimmick, while the corridor gossip I hear is that it was done to solidify the ANC in Gauteng’s position against President Zuma.

Either way, he outranks the Premier in the ANC’s provincial structure. The fear must be that the battle for the soul of the ANC is overtaking the battle to provide service delivery in Gauteng.

Madam Speaker:

Gauteng’s success will rise or fall on infrastructure development, and our ability to switch the lights on, and get goods to markets.

Once again, the Premier speaks like the DA when he says that the failure to pay suppliers timeously strangles businesses who work for government.

70% compliance with the payment of suppliers with 30 days in massive departments like Health, Infrastructure and Education effectively bankrupts start-ups and those emerging from the township economy.

The eGovernance department will help ensure compliance, but it will not have the power to switch the lights on or pre-empt cyber-attacks.

None of the additional power generation strategies that the Premier promised in 2015 have materialised.

Last year, the DA asked if there was a provincial disaster plan in the event of the electricity grid being compromised – or being shut down by hackers, which happened last month in the Ukraine.

The administration claimed that these things are done ‘on a need to mobilise basis’, with the resources available.

In other words, there is no official back up plan.

When it comes to electricity, we are all truly in this together. Without electricity, people on the roads are endangered. Transport creaks to a stop, and shop shelves lay empty. Patients in hospital risk death and disease. Our elderly and children are especially vulnerable.

The Premier must put an additional power strategy in place, just like the Western Cape has done.

Madam Speaker:

There is a simple and animating reason why the DA is marching towards power in Gauteng: We exercise power on behalf of citizens, and we never let power use us.

We are marching towards power in Johannesburg and Tshwane because we have a vision to turn back the legacy of apartheid; to build an open and inclusive economy.

The time is fast running out for the Honourable Premier to use the power of his office to fix Gauteng’s joblessness, e-tolls and housing crises.

For the sake of Gauteng, we can only hope that he can break out of the strait-jacket of President Zuma’s failed leadership.

Tshwane delays dodgy R4.65 billion broadband deal after DA reveals scandalous details

Moments after I briefed the media this morning on the attempt by Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, to force through Council a dodgy broadband deal, without disclosing that National Treasury had raised major objections to the legality of the contract, the City released a statement withdrawing the tabling of the contract, at tomorrow’s council sitting.

This is an admission by Mayor Ramokgopa, and the City of Tshwane, that the concerns raised by the DA this morning are legitimate and fatal to the ANC attempts to force this contract through. Mayor Ramokgopa has buckled to the DA’s pressure on this matter.

It was no mistake that Councillors had not been informed of any of the serious objections to the contract, from National Treasury, Gauteng Provincial Treasury and the National Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

This latest summersault by the Mayor and his administration is a vindication of the DA’s pursuit to ensure that proper tender processes, procedures and regulations are followed by the City of Tshwane.

The DA is committed and will continue to advocate for the fair allocations of public money, to benefit all people in Tshwane and we will not allow dodgy deals to be railroaded through Council.

Media enquiries:

Motheo Mtimkulu

Media Manager: Tshwane Mayoral Campaign

083 728 0554

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Herman Mashaba To Visit Roodepoort Labour Centre And Traffic Department

Tomorrow Friday 26 February, DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Herman Mashaba and Constituency Leader for Greater Roodepoort, Anchen Dreyer MP will visit the Roodepoort Labour centre to meet with job seekers, and the local licensing office to assess the levels of service delivery.

 

Date: Friday, 26 February 2016

Time: 11h00

Place: Roodepoort Labour department, 125 Albertina Sisulu road, Roodepoort.

There will be ample opportunity for interviews and photographs. Members of the media are invited to attend.

 

Media enquiries

Nkele Molapo

Media Officer

072 041 4842