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46 years later, the plight of the young continues to fall on deaf ears

Madam Speaker,

Last week Thursday marked the 46th anniversary of the “June 16 Uprising” in which hundreds of young South Africans in Soweto paid the ultimate price at the hands of the Apartheid police when they stood up for freedom.

46 years later, young people still fighting to have themselves heard – to be afforded their right to access and equality.

46 years later, the plight of the young continues to fall on deaf ears.

Unemployment for those between the ages of 15 – 25 years of age is a staggering 63%. What kind of message does this send to our youth?

Would these odds of getting ahead inspire you? I think not.

To quote the author, Anthony Horowitz:

“Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child.”

It is little wonder we see substance abuse among this same demographic skyrocketing.

In the first three months of this year, Madam Speaker, 45 young people were killed in this province – an 80% increase for the same period a year ago.

What kind of society do we live in where the young are killed with such wanton destruction of life?

How can we face ourselves when this is the world we have bequeathed to our young?

This is not the society that those who marched and died fought for.

It is time that this government stopped attempting to paper over the gaping crevasses before we have an entire generation lost to ANC ineptitude.

I thank you.

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2022/23 Budget: No hope for Gauteng residents’ future

The DA is tired of misleading budgets and subsequent unexplained over- and under-expenditure.

Our people are suffering due to a lack of proper and regular maintenance of provincial government institutions such as libraries, sporting facilities, public health care services, police stations and public schools.

It is concerning that this budget does not speak to the needs of our residents who deserve a government that delivers proper basic services.

Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng delivered its position on the 2022/23 budget votes for the following departments: Health, Community Safety, Sports, Arts, Culture (SACR) and Recreation and Education. 

Below are the speeches delivered during today’s budget vote debates in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) :

Gauteng Health budget is like pouring money into a leaking bucket

See speech here:

DA_JACK_BLOOM_HEALTH_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

Department of Community Safety budget should prioritize effective, visible policing

See speech here:

DA_CREZANE_BOSCH_COMMUNITY SAFETY_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

DA_NICO_DE JAGER_COMMUNITY_SAFETY_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

Gauteng SACR’s budget lacks innovation and won’t benefit Gauteng residents

See speeches here:

DA_KINGSOL_CHABALALA_SACR_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

DA_WILDRI_PEACH_SACR_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

 

Its high time that the Gauteng Education Department gets a budget that talks to the future of underprivileged learners

See speech here:

DA_KHUME_RAMULIFHO_EDUCATION_BUDGET_VOTE_SPEECH_MAY_2022

 

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District Development Model is the last attempt by Premier Makhura’s administration to centralise power and empty municipalities’ coffers

Madame Speaker,

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned about the vigorous way in which the Premier spoke in terms of the implementation of the District Development Model in Gauteng. This model focuses on the implementation of a “One Plan” with a “One Budget”, which is a clear indication that the Premier wants to leave a legacy of centralized power, which completely undermines the principles of our constitution. 

This “One Plan” will bind all municipalities in the province and their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) into certain projects and commitments for the next 25-30 years. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that centralized power should be avoided at all costs. We saw what happened with the National Command Council, where we became prisoners within our own houses, being held hostage by our government. 

Neither the Constitution nor the IGR Framework Act, the Municipal Systems Act nor the MFMA makes provision for the District Development Model. The purpose of the IGR is for cooperation and support and not to undermine, control or prescribe to municipalities. Premier, do not be deceived, the IGR and the District Development Model are not the same. We must protect the autonomy of the municipalities. Let each municipality plan for its future. 

This SOPA also includes a lot of champions to champion this dream of centralized power. The DA cannot help but wonder if the ethics champions will become judges, jury, and perpetrators in our many cases of corruption within our provincial government. Will the District Development Champions be appointed to manage, or even worse, replace our mayors within our various municipalities? Will the ward-based war room champions be replacing the duly elected councillors within our various wards across the province? 

This model has no financial benefit for municipalities, and in fact, it will in all likeliness only cost our municipalities more money, stealing from the people who are already suffering at the hands of the provincial government. This will generate even more underfunded mandates from the provincial government such as emergency services, motor vehicle licensing, clinics, libraries and even housing. 

The writing is on the wall, and the real question one should ask is whether this District Development Model is not a final coup d’etat from the ANC?

Is the District Development Model not a final attempt by the ANC to hang on to power, projects, and money ahead of the 2024 elections after they lost control of so many municipalities in 2021? 

Madame Speaker, the Premier also proudly announced the establishment of a Debt Management Committee (DMC) to facilitate the settlement of government debt. It is, however, important that this House hears the truth about this DMC. 

This committee met once a quarter over the last year and yielded very little to no success from its meetings. But, approximately two weeks ago, the decision was taken for this committee to meet every two weeks and to finally do what it was intended to do. This came at a time when the City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg respectively decided to take power into their own hands and started an intensified disconnection campaign, which lead to various Provincial Governmental Departments and facilities being left without power. 

Mr Premier, the truth is that you should thank the DA-led coalition governments for their no-nonsense approach to billing and debt recovery. 

In Johannesburg, there is still a total of R422 755 347, in Tshwane there is R326 159 946 outstanding, and in Ekurhuleni, there is a total of R80 million still overdue. 

This is close to a billion rand that the Provincial Government owes the local municipalities. I know these figures are enormous for some of us to fully comprehend, so let me break this down into simpler terms, R1 billion is equivalent to 14 000 new RDP houses or equivalent to 1000 kilometres of tarred roads. This lack of payment is robbing our municipalities, but more so robbing our residents of the services they deserve. 

If the provincial government cannot even pay its debt to municipalities, how can we be sure that they will be able to manage the District Development Model with one plan and one budget for the entire province?

Section 154(1) of the Constitution states that the National Government and Provincial Government by legislative and other measures must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their affairs, to exercise and to perform their functions. Not to attempt to control them.

The DA rejects the District Development Model and demands that this House stands firm against this model and the lies that the Premier is trying to sell us. We need to stand for the rule of law to protect our constitution. We should stand firm against state capture, centralisation of power, and interference from other spheres of government. We must keep governance as close as possible to the people, with easy access to the services they deserve.

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Gauteng residents continue to suffer due to the Department of Social Development’s constant under spending

The Gauteng Department of Social Development has been constantly underspending on its allocated budget whilst the vulnerable residents of Gauteng continue to suffer. To be honest – this department has been caught with its pants down when Covid-19 arrived on our shores.  Underspending by R438 million for such a crucial department is a criminal offence. Social Development used to be a department that I thought many did not pay attention to but with the Covid-19 pandemic, I understood truly how crucial its role is. 

Premier, I listened with full concentration as you delivered the State of the Province Address on Monday. In the beginning, you said you would be honest and mention the successes but also acknowledge the shortcomings of your government and I listened attentively. None of the shortcomings were mentioned.

During the Covid-19 period, the department was forced to act on impulse and accommodate homeless people. Then they promised that they would develop a much-needed homelessness strategy and even allocate R84 million to this plan. 

A promise was made and presented to the portfolio committee, it is now February 2022 almost 2 years since Covid-19 came and there is no strategy presented to the committee. The Minister of Public Works donated six buildings to this province to be used as shelters – again nothing has come of these buildings. 

The young and vulnerable people of this province were denied much-needed dignity packs as well as school uniforms. On paper without thorough analysis, one would be made to believe that the department is meeting its targets but what is happening is that the department keeps on rolling over funds from the previous year. 

Let me remind this House that living with albinism or having a monthly period is not a choice. At this moment, I would like to pay respect to the late Kuli Roberts – a fighter for people with albinism.

When will cooperatives be transitioned into businesses that are incubated so that they can bid fairly for the work that they do? For almost four years, the department has told the committee that they are busy appointing a company that will sub-contract cooperatives. This is not happening because this is the area in which the department is failing dismally. 

In 2014, I found the same cooperatives on the database – no growth but solely dependent on government, now that government due to treasury regulations cannot finance cooperatives, they are struggling to stay afloat, and some are closing their doors. 

Whilst the department is getting clean audits, many NGOs that work for this government continue to get late payments. 

Yes, finally the monitoring and evaluation was started in the department, but they don’t seem to understand how to capacitate NGOs to ensure that they are compliant, or the department doesn’t know how to maintain compliance with regards to NGOs.

Either way, the beneficiaries and staff employed by these NGOs are the ones that suffer.

The ECD stimulus package would have gone a long way to cushioning the ECD sector, but the department was not ready to spend that money. 

Honourable premier, you made a promise on Monday to the people of Gauteng that you will release the SIU reports. From the Social Development perspective, I am waiting to see the outcome of the conduit payments investigations where to this day nothing has happened – a person went missing!

In conclusion, the Gauteng Department of Social Development needs a more effective and proactive monitoring and evaluation unit that develops compliant solutions to assist the welfare sector. This will ensure on-time payments for NGOs so that the vulnerable are protected and there is continuous empowerment of NGOs to ensure that treasury requirements are complied with. The department poverty alleviation programmes also need to contribute to job creation or entrepreneurship in this province. This is urgent and we demand an emergency response. 

I thank you!

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Premier Makhura is politically accountable for the failures of his administration to deliver services

Madam Speaker, in the old parliament this debate used to be known as the no-confidence debate.

What is unique about the Honourable Premier’s address is that he admitted his own no-confidence in his own provincial government.

How is it possible that this provincial government is unable to fix the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital?

According to the Honourable Premier, the reason why the Department of Infrastructure Development was removed from this job is because of “the failure to deliver on time and huge concerns on over-pricing for the refurbishment and construction work.”

The fire that destroyed part of the hospital happened ten months ago. If this was a private facility it would be substantially repaired and operational by now.

But two weeks ago, the CEO of the hospital desperately called in the Gift of the Givers to do an engineering assessment of the damage because it hadn’t yet been done.

Just think about this! An engineering assessment is the elementary first step in repairing any building but DID couldn’t even do this.

We do know what DID is very good at doing. It’s very good at choosing fishy contractors who can’t finish the job on time, but they still get paid and other contractors have to be hired at extra expense.

This has been the case for all the eight years that the Honourable Premier has been in office. 

Eight years in which he hasn’t fixed DID, and he hasn’t fixed the Gauteng Health Department either.

Eight years in which he has talked about fighting corruption and inefficiency, and yet it continues.

The SIU is now investigating two fishy contracts for R128 million concerning the hospital repair.

Nine officials have now been suspended, six from DID and three from Health.

The Honourable Premier says he is filled with pride that Gauteng is commended for the swift implementation of SIU recommendations. 

And then he says he will “continue to focus on promoting a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient public service, building ethical governance and eliminating corruption.”

Instead of pride, the Honourable Premier should be expressing shame.

He should be ashamed that Gauteng has the most SIU investigations in the country.

He should be ashamed that he didn’t prevent this corruption in the first place.

This includes hundreds of millions in PPE corruption.

It includes spending R750 million on the white elephant Anglo Ashanti hospital which the province still doesn’t own and treats a handful of patients. 

It includes R431 million wasted in cleaning schools.

The Honourable Premier should be ashamed that he has to hand over the repair of Charlotte Maxeke hospital to a national department after months of delay that has increased the suffering of thousands of patients.

He should be ashamed because the extra deaths from this fiasco will be far more than the 144 Life Esidimeni patients who died on his watch.

He should be ashamed because he keeps appointing MECs and Heads of Departments who don’t prevent corruption.

These are the appointments we know about, but there are far more cadre deployments that don’t do their jobs and are involved in corruption as well. We know this from the Zondo Commission and the minutes of the ANC’s national deployment committee.

Madam Speaker, in medical matters they always say that prevention is better than cure.

It is quite clear that MEC Tasneem Motara should go just as you fired the Honourable Bandile Masuku for failing to prevent corruption.

Other members of your cabinet should also be fired for non-performance.

Now that would be real consequence management because the rot starts at the top.

It’s very simple what needs to be done to fix what is wrong here.

Firstly, stop cadre deployment and put the best people in the right jobs.

Secondly, implement all the recommendations of the Auditor General.

Thirdly, release all the corruption reports and act on their recommendations 

And finally, in the case of hospitals, give the CEOs control over maintenance and repairs.

These steps will make an enormous difference in improving the vital government services that the most vulnerable people need in our province.

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Premier Makhura lacks political leadership to hold his MEC to account

Good afternoon,

Honourable Premier 

Indeed, we recognise that this is the last Sixth Premier of the Province under the ANC-led government. In short, you are finishing this term as the governing party in the province. 

The energy and passion you had demonstrated when you took over in 2014 has gradually faded. Even when you were delivering the State of the Province Address, it was different this time around as you sounded tired. 

This is not unique to the ANC leadership, as even the voters are tired of the ANC. The people of Gauteng have lost faith in your leadership and your party. They have proven this on two occasions so far, in 2019 and 2021.

In 2024, the ANC will be out of government in this province. You will be leading the opposition benches. I know some of your colleagues will deny this reality as a defence mechanism.

The factors that led to the ANC losing power include amongst others; lack of political will to fight corruption and too much talking with no action. As the premier of this province, during your term of office, corruption has characterised this government and it is continuing because there is no consequence management system. 

You have received many SIU reports and you are hiding them because you don’t have the guts to make them public. The question is why? You can keep them on the shelf, but the new government led by the DA in 2024 will make them available to the public. We will be open, transparent, and accountable to the people of Gauteng. 

It is only under your government where there is no political accountability and accounting officers can oversee departmental looting and get away with murder. It is very clear that you are leading a divided caucus and they are aware of what is wrong with your government, but they are pretending. 

You spoke about the township economy; your government is frustrating sub-contractors; they are not paid on time. Braamfischer Primary and Nancefield Primary sub-contractors are among those that have complained about non-payment. 

There is a company that has not been paid for years for services rendered to the government. Investigations indicated that two cheques were written to honour payment to Ramaadimo Trading Supplies, but cheque number 101345 was referred to the drawer and there was no trace for cheque number: 101354. So, R117044,18 has still not been paid to this company and the money has disappeared.

Premier, you have dysfunctional departments led by incompetent MECs. MEC Lesufi has forgotten how to hold a pair of scissors and cut a ribbon. He once made a claim that he will be opening a new school every week and it is clearly no longer happening. As we speak, we have learners who are still not placed, yet you never mentioned this in your SOPA.

You cut the ribbon at Nokuthula LSEN school in 2018, may you please re-visit the school and establish why you cut the ribbon? The cost was to the value of R300 million, 4 years later it is still partly occupied. 

At Mayibuye Primary school, learners are still trapped in dilapidated mobile structures while next door there is an empty structure where your government spent more than R80 million. DID still needs more money and it is unjustified.

There are so many projects on hold because incompetent contractors were appointed who are failing to deliver on time and within budget. While there are so many competent service providers tendering for projects but never getting the job, there are a few who have been getting contracts even when they are not delivering. We all know why, if you don’t, use assumptions to arrive at a conclusion.

While all these malfeasances and poor management continue to deny the residents of this province opportunities to succeed, the premier cannot take any action to demand political accountability from his DID MEC. Fire her! She has destroyed the entire department, she finished it off. But while the department has collapsed, she remains standing.

You have two years to go, can you vacate the office with some stability? Two weeks ago, we went to Soshanguve in Tshwane where one principal told us he is not prepared to take the budget to build three classrooms because the business forum will come and demand 30 percent for doing nothing. Are you saying you don’t know about this ongoing practice which demands payment from contractors? What have you done and still doing to stop them?

Do you really have leadership in the Department of Sports Arts, Culture and Recreation? If you think you do, what are they doing? There was no vacancy for the former Head of Department (HOD) in the Department of Education yet she was seconded to the department. 

You spoke about crime; it is true that many of us who have no blue lights feel unsafe. Imagine those who lost trust in reporting crime incidents. You have run out of ideas for turning around this province. Some officials are approaching us, telling us to capitalise on this emerging opportunity to lead this province in 2024, and we will honour it. We will serve the residents of this province. They deserve more than what they are getting from your government.

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Under Premier Makhura’s leadership, unemployment and poverty has increased drastically

Ndza Khensa,

Honourable members, fellow South Africans, and the people of Gauteng

We have a Gauteng Premier that is full of empty promises, more plans and that has established several war rooms and tasks teams yet very little to show for how his government has improved the quality of lives of the people of Gauteng. 

On Monday, Premier David Makhura delivered the 8th edition of his theoretical plans full of empty promises.

Premier, I sat, watched, and listened to you deliver your 8th State of the Province Address. What I saw on Monday is an incapable and incompetent Premier who has no political will to lead and has lost leadership control for his executive members.

Perhaps what you delivered on Monday was your farewell speech, your last State of the Province Address as you prepare to leave office. 

What exactly has Premier Makhura done for the people of Gauteng since 2014, and what legacy will he leave behind?

Mr Premier, your legacy is the killing of mentally ill patients at Life Esidimeni; the stealing of public funds meant to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and the urbanisation of poverty.

Mr Premier, you have done very little for the people of this province. You sat and folded your hands when your friends and comrades were looting the PPE funds and then acted surprised. You did the same thing when your government killed Life Esidimeni patients, you pretended that you were not aware of what was happening within the Gauteng Department of Health.

Your biggest failure Mr Premier has been the management of the economy since you came into office in 2014. When you came into office, the unemployment rate in Gauteng was 24,6 percent and currently is sitting at 37 percent  by the time you leave this office, it would be approaching 50 percent.

There were 4,8 million employed people in the province in 2014, and now there are 4,4 million employed people. Under the leadership of Premier Makhura, more than 400 000 people have lost their jobs. The number of unemployed has increased by more than 1 million in the years that you have been in charge.

This is a shame, and no wonder even your comrades cannot wait to see you leave. You have failed the people of Gauteng, particularly the young people because under your leadership we have seen poverty and unemployment skyrocket in Gauteng.

Honourable members, the premier has been talking about the Gauteng Township Economic Bill as the panacea or the pill that will cure his failures over the last 8 years. As I listened to him on Monday, I remembered what the former President Kgalema Motlanthe once said in 2007:

“This rot is across the board. It’s not confined to any level or any area of the country. Almost every project is conceived because it offers opportunities for certain people to make money. A great deal of the ANC’s problems are occasioned by this.”

Let the truth be told the Gauteng Township Economic Bill is not about assisting small businesses and entrepreneurs in Gauteng but primarily about the township development fund. The fund will only enable the connected elites to steal from the government coffers. This is the reason why the fund is designed to have its own board, employees, and offices.

If you were serious about the interests of the small business owners and entrepreneurs, you would have used the existing provincial development finance institutions without the need to create another government entity.

Mr Premier, you have indicated that you will be establishing a war room to unlock the potential in the province to reduce the number of unemployed people. Do you need to be reminded of the last time we had a war room in this province when people looted PPE funds right under your watch? The people of Gauteng do not need war rooms but deserve a government that will improve their living conditions without stealing their money. Your government has failed on both these scores.

As you prepare to leave the office, I wish you all the best, but the people of Gauteng will not miss you because under your government it has been eight wasted years. The people of our province are now poorer than when you took office.

Ndza Khensa,

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Gauteng can only be great again if Premier has the political will to hold his government and officials to account

Madam Speaker,   

Honourable Premier David Makhura,  

Honourable Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature  

I am reminded of the poem written by Wally Serote For Don M. where he says the following:  

“it is a dry white season  

dark leaves don’t last, their brief lives dry out  

and with a broken heart they dive down gently headed for the earth,  

not even bleeding.  

it is a dry white season brother,  

only the trees know the pain as they still stand erect  

dry like steel, their branches dry like wire,  

indeed, it is a dry white season  

but seasons come to pass.”  

Gauteng is currently going through its own ‘dry white season’. How is this possible? Well, let’s take a look the current economic situation in our province.   

UNEMPLOYMENT AND REVILISATION OF THE TOWNSHIP ECONOMY  

The unemployment rate in our province is extremely high.   

Currently this figure stands at 37 percent and has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen numerous businesses close their doors during the hard lockdown period when the pandemic was at its height.   

To further add to the province’s woes in July last year, this province erupted with violence which saw many residents, particularly those living in the townships, take to the streets in protest and begin looting businesses located in various areas. 

While some may say that this had all the hallmarks of a coup and was not because of poverty, I beg to differ. Our residents are angry and hungry.   

They are fed up with this ‘dry white season’ they are going through.   

They are fed up with government and political promises that are only meant to get political parties votes on election day.   

They no longer just want promise after promise year in and year out.   

For the past eight years we have been hearing the same rhetoric from you Mr Premier about job creation in our province and stimulating our township economy.   

Our residents are tired of empty promises.   

In 2014 provincial government vowed to boost employment and economic inclusion by procuring 75 percent of all goods and services from South African producers, especially SMMEs, townships enterprises and black-owned, women and youth enterprises. This was not achieved.  

Again, a similar promise was made in 2019 that 30 percent of Gauteng’s budget will be spent on procuring goods and services from business in townships. This was also not achieved.   

Madam Speaker, Honourable Premier this is worrying given that if we go into townships like Soweto, you will find businesses owned by residents from the area who are more than capable of providing goods and services that may be needed by government.   

But the major complaint I had from some of these businesses is that they struggle to procure tenders from provincial government and in order for them to get a tiny piece of the pie they have to rely on bigger companies who will then subcontract to them.   

This is the sad reality for our township enterprises and in order for this ‘dry white season’ to come to pass, change is needed – not in two years as I’m afraid by then the damage will be too far gone – but change which you Mr Premier can enact now by doing rather than selling us pipe dreams of a flourishing township economy, job creation programmes for our youth and using a failing infrastructure department as a key driver of jobs in our province.   

We do not need a new bill like the Township Economic Development Bill. This is just creating another entity   

We need action.   

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT  

Infrastructure Development is a key driver of job creation in any economy.   

It is one of the essential arteries of our economy as the maintenance of our critical infrastructure like roads, hospitals, schools, libraries and substations are vital if we want an economy that is able to grow and for a conducive environment to be created for the private sector not just within the borders of our country but also internationally to attract investment to our province.   

But the sad reality is, and Honourable Premier you admitted this at the start of your State of the Province Address (SOPA), that the Department of Infrastructure Development Department has failed in this regard.   

They have failed the residents of Gauteng; they have failed our economy.   

Yet, Premier Makhura you do not want to get rid of this department.   

To this end we have opted to table a motion for the dissolution of the Department of Infrastructure Development and the removal of MEC Tasneem Motora.  Here are but a few examples of critical projects undertaken by the department that have not been completed on time and where it was eventually completed over budget and still have a number of issues that need to be resolved:  

  • The AngloGold Ashanti Hospital, donated to the Gauteng Provincial Government, under the custodianship of the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development in response to the COVID-19 pandemic saw costs balloon from a budgeted R50 million to R500 million while only 6 patients received treatment at this facility  

      
  • Mayibuye Primary School which was handed over to the appointed contractor in 2015 is to date still not complete. Construction took place illegally as building plans had not been approved, the budget of the project has ballooned to over R100 million while the school has been allegedly built on a sewerage line  

      
  • The Nokuthula LSEN School could not receive an occupancy certificate. This school was built on a wetland and the boarding school hostel could not be occupied until remedial work was done. In addition, water damage to the school was extensive.  

     

    This department should be dissolved and the services that this department is supposed to provide should be aligned to the departments, so that the current departments which are the customers/users of the services of infrastructure development should be able to roll out and complete their own projects directly.   

      

    CORRUPTION  

     

    Madam Speaker, Premier Makhura, we all know that corruption within the government departments exist, but the Covid-19 pandemic exposed just how deeply the rot of corruption runs in this province.   

     

    In 2015 a commitment was made by the Premier that the Integrity Management and Anti-Corruption Unit will be fully operational by the end of that year. Again, this did not happen. It is definitely a ‘dry white season’ for this province   

     

    Holding our government officials and public representatives to account is the only way in which we can ensure that the rot of corruption that runs so deep within our provincial government is removed.   

      

    It is the public money that is being looted by thieves masquerading as honourable politicians and officials who unashamedly steal our hard-earned taxes. This needs to end, and it needs to end now. Corruption cannot and should not be the norm in our government structures.    

      

    Under your watch, corruption has festered and has now turned into a cancerous blight on the province that is seemingly very difficult to get rid of because the political will does not exist to do so.    

      

    Furthermore, during last year’s SOPA a promise was made that following the finalisation of 73 forensic investigations and the 66 cases that were referred to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation and civil recovery that we would see action, yet we do not know the current status of these investigations, and nothing has yet been made public on this.   

     

    Again, we heard the same during this year’s SOPA.   

     

    Madam Speaker, Honourable Premier, it is a ‘dry white season’, but seasons come to pass- in order for this season to pass we need firm political will.  

     

    We need a Premier who is prepared to do what is necessary to ensure that our residents are given proper basic service delivery. We do not need pipe dreams; we do not need any more committees or commissions to be established.   

     

    What we need is for you Premier to make sure that all your MECs do what is required of them and that is to see that our residents live in a province that works like a well-oiled machine, so that this season that we are in can come to pass.   

     

    If this does not happen, we will see more of the protest action that we saw in July as our residents particularly those who are unemployed become more and more disillusioned with your administration.  

      

    Be bold and hold those MECs whose departments are failing when it comes to service delivery to account. Remove them if need be.   
  • ​Over the last eight years Premier, you have either partially met or not met any of the 104 promises you have made during your SOPA speeches. 



    This ship will not continue to float if the rot continues to fester, and this ‘dry white season’ will not come to pass.   

     

    Show us and the residents of Gauteng that you have the political will to deliver basic services to our residents, to grow our economy so that our province can once again be known as the City of Gold that glimmers with hope.   

     

    Where a better life can be built for all who live in this province.   

     

    Let us work towards truly making Gauteng great again.   

      

    I thank you.   
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#RealGautengSOPA: Gauteng province buckling under corruption while residents endure poor service delivery and unemployment

Note to editors: This speech was delivered earlier today by DA Gauteng Leader, Solly Msimanga MPL during the #RealGautengSOPA

My Fellow Democrats

Members of the Gauteng Provincial Caucus

The way our country has been operating has changed drastically over the last two years.

Never did we think that we would be living through a pandemic in our lifetime.

The Covid-19 pandemic came in silently like a thief in the night and disrupted our daily lives, forcing many of us to change how we go about doing our jobs and how our children are receiving a proper education.

Suddenly our economy was plunged into disarray, a state of disaster was declared and unexpectedly embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution was the order of the day.

However, while some of us were fortunate enough to keep our jobs, many of the residents of our province suddenly found themselves either being forced to take annual leave, or without an income as the principle of ‘no work no pay’ was enforced where employers were unable to maintain their current wage bill without providing any goods and services.

The government was the only hope to ensure that our people are protected from the pandemic through providing funds to procure life-saving resources such as Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and relief grants. Little did we know that the same government we trusted with our livelihoods, was the same government who in fact took advantage of our plight to steal the money and resources meant to help the residents of Gauteng through the pandemic.

Yes, we have come a long way since February 2020, when it became obvious that like many other countries around the world, we too would be affected by Covid-19.

But here is the thing- Gauteng is the economic hub of the country. We have the highest rate of in-migration as many South African citizens come to Gauteng to seek better economic opportunities so as to provide a better life and future for their families.

One would think that the current Gauteng government under the leadership of Premier David Makhura, would have been able to seamlessly transition our economy into one where technology is fully utilised in all our schools across the province, where measures like social distancing in our schools could be put in place in a blink of an eye.

This did not happen! In 2014, Premier Makhura promised that our residents would have access to broadband and free Wi-Fi in partnership with the private sector- This has not happened! Instead in 2020, what we saw was a tender hastily awarded to IN2IT technologies to the value of R30 million for the provision of G-SOC Security System. Officials used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse for not following the proper supply chain management process.

Again in 2018, the Premier made a similar promise that by 2020 the public money would be used in the creation of the broadband infrastructure so that all residents have access to broadband connectivity. This has not happened! Yet we have a country and economy that is now becoming more and more reliant on technology. The pandemic has shown us that there is a gap in the market where our youth – if given the proper training – would be able to start their own businesses that embrace the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Last year, a 24-year-old entrepreneur in Hammanskraal, Godiragetse Mogajane started a delivery service using WhatsApp. Hammanskraal is one of many townships in the province where apps like UberEATS and Mr Delivery do not operate. He noticed a gap in the market and took advantage of it by using modern technology that many of our residents have access to.

We need more of this, and government must assist in facilitating and providing support to the growth of the economy. That is if they are fully committed to ensuring that our youth receive the training they need to help them create their own job opportunities which would require the government to keep true to their promises of creating a space for our youth to have access to a stable and reliable internet connection.

My Fellow Democrats, our unemployment rate is skyrocketing. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the unemployment rate went from bad to worse.

In the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey published by Statistics South Africa, Gauteng’s unemployment rate is at 37 percent and has been increasing compared to the previous quarters. In the first quarter it was at 33.7 percent, second quarter it was 35.4 percent and now it is 37 percent.

It is the responsibility of the government to create a conducive environment for our residents to seek and find employment opportunities. But if we have incidents like the unrest we saw in July once again take our province by storm, the very businesses that we want to invest in our economy will not do so.

The private sector will see our province as unstable and will be hesitant to invest funds into an already fragile economy that is seen as a time bomb where at any time looting and rioting can break out.

Furthermore, in 2019 during his SOPA Premier Makhura indicated that e-toll system is not working and to date he has not barely indicated on what will happen to the e-tolling system in the province. This clearly shows that Premier Makhura is not a man of his word as he has failed to convince his national counterpart that e-tolls have no future in Gauteng and must be scrapped immediately.

Corruption is one of the major characteristics that can be used to describe Makhura’s government and that has had a huge impact on service delivery. I remember when Premier Makhura came to office in 2014 he promised the people of Gauteng that he will decisively fight corruption in his government and act against those implicated.

Like all the promises that he has made, only a handful have materialised. The damning SIU report on PPE corruption has now exposed the rotten corruption within Makhura’s administration. Gauteng has the largest amount of money wasted on corruption, all of which happened under Premier Makhura’s watch.

Contracts to the value of R6 037 901 185 are currently under investigation by the SIU, while 38 disciplinary hearings and executive action are also underway. A handful of those implicated have been held to account while the rest are continuing with their lives as if they did nothing wrong.

As a country, we cannot afford to have an endless number of commissions established to probe corruption – something that can be curbed should our government properly implement the consequence management system. They should ensure strict adherence to Supply Chain Management processes and an open tender system. This is the only way in which we can ensure that only businesses who can deliver on the goods and services required are doing business with the government.

Chances of there being any corrupt activities, as we have seen with the procurement of PPE at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, will also be significantly reduced. This trend of only empowering those businesses that may have political connections needs to end immediately.

Our residents are already suffering because of the decline in our economy and the Covid-19 pandemic has made this even worse. The money that was lost to corruption over the last two years would have gone a long way to improving the lives of our residents had it been channelled to small businesses, entrepreneurs and used to improve our ailing infrastructure.

Holding our government officials and public representatives to account is the only way in which we can ensure that the rot of corruption that runs so deep within our provincial government is removed. It is the public money that is being looted by thieves masquerading as honourable politicians and officials who unashamedly steal our hard-earned taxes. This needs to end, and it needs to end now. Corruption cannot and should not be the norm in our government structures.

In addition, Makhura’s-led Gauteng government has not yet reopened all the sections of the fire-damaged Charlotte Maxeke Hospital despite making promises that the Accident and Emergency Unit would be reopen last month. Lives are at risk as thousands of patients have lost access to specialist services such as heart, cancer, and mental health. This government is failing to ensure that this hospital sections reopen but allowed money to be wasted on the AngloGold Ashati Hospital.

For years, Premier Makhura has said that lifestyle audits will be conducted on all government officials. This has not happened. Under his watch, corruption has festered and has now turned into a cancerous blight on the province that is seemingly very difficult to get rid of because the political will does not exist to do so.

The following promises were made by Premier Makhura in 2014 and have not yet been fully achieved:

2014

· The provincial government and municipalities working together with the private sector in the massive rollout of broadband and free wi-fi across the province as a backbone of the new economy. Gauteng should be able to realise 100% internet connectivity in the next five years. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· To boost employment and economic inclusion, the provincial government and municipalities will procure 75% of all goods and services from South African producers, especially SMMEs, township enterprises and black-owned, women and youth enterprises (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Working closely with state-owned enterprises, PRASA and TRANSNET, to re-industrialise our province and build an economic infrastructure that will boost employment creation and economic inclusion through investing more than R300 billion in the post, freight, rail and pipeline capacity (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next 200 days, we will work with the Mayors of metros and districts and the private sector, within the National Policy Framework, to develop a plan on the healthy energy mix (with an emphasis on smart and green energy solutions) for Gauteng. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In 200 days, we will speed up the handing over of existing housing projects that are complete and make sure that all houses are allocated to the legitimate owners. As part of preventing the abuse of the housing waiting list, we will introduce the use of biometric technology. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The next five years shall see greater efforts in harnessing ICT to deliver education in the context of e-governance and modernisation of the delivery of public services – smart schools and the classroom of the future. (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· We shall stabilise the finances of the Health Department, improve the delivery of quality healthcare, reduce waiting time and queues, increase professional staff and invest in infrastructure, including the ICT as part of our programme of modernising public services and e-governance. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will embark on a programme and campaign to promote healthy lifestyles. In this regard, we will in partnership with local government and the private sector to build more recreational facilities and increase access to training facilities in communities. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next 100 days, we shall unveil a comprehensive and more integrated EPWP and CWP that will create over one million job opportunities within five years. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next 100 days, we shall work with the local government to review current structures and processes of community participation. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Set up a panel to review the impact of e-tolls and invite new proposals on how we can find a lasting solution to this matter, working with the national government, municipalities and all sectors of society. (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

2015

· The Central Development Corridor is anchored around the City of Joburg as the hub of finance, services, ICT and pharmaceutical industries (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The Eastern Development Corridor anchored around the economy of the Ekurhuleni Metro as the hub of manufacturing, logistics and transport industries (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The Northern Development Corridor anchored around Tshwane as our nation’s administrative Capital City and the hub of the automotive sector, research, development, innovation and the knowledge-based economy (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· The Western Corridor encompassing the economy of the current West Rand district and the creation of new industries, new economic nodes and new cities (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The Southern Corridor encompassing the economy of the Sedibeng district and the creation of new industries, new economic nodes and new cities (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next five years, we will mobilise more than R10 billion in public and private investments in the regeneration of the Joburg CBD as the seat of the provincial government (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next five years, 140 000 housing units will be built in Lion Park, in Diepsloot East, in Fleurhof, Cosmo City, Malibongwe Ridge and Goud Rand (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Together with the Ekurhuleni Metro and national government, we are now undertaking 29 industrial initiatives, under the banner of the Aerotropolis, to revitalise manufacturing, aviation, transport and logistics industries linked to the OR Tambo International Airport. This will dramatically transform the current industrial structure of the economy of Ekurhuleni (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The Tambo Springs Inland port development will have an estimated R7.5 billion investment over five years. This project will create a total of 110 000 jobs over fifteen years (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Bus Rapid Transit System in Ekurhuleni whose first phase will be operational by March next year. Over the next five years, more than R 500 million will be invested in the BRT system in Ekurhuleni (NOT ACHIEVED);

· More than 100 000 housing units will be delivered over the next five years in areas such as Chief Albert Luthuli, John Dube Extension 2, Tsakane Extension 22, Germiston South, Leeuwpoort, Rietfontein and Clayville Extension 45 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The City of Tshwane will invest R525 million to establish a Business Process Outsourcing Park in Hammanskraal. The Park will offer on-site training, technical support, incubators for SMMEs. The project is expected to create over 1 000 jobs during construction and over 1 000 indirect jobs (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We continue to support the automotive sector in the Rosslyn cluster through the Automotive Industry Development Centre. In the coming months, the AIDC will launch its second incubation centre in Rosslyn, Tshwane, to accelerate the development of sustainable SMMEs within the vehicle assembly industry (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· We are working with the West Rand municipalities and private sector partners to unlock the potential of the Lanseria Aiport logistics hub. Thus far the private sector is injecting at least R 500 million in Capex for the development of the airport, with over R10 billion expected to be invested in Lanseria over the next 15 years (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED)

· We are partnering with the private sector to upscale the aquaculture potential of this Corridor, in particular, in the breeding of prawns. This initiative will create a total of 6 512 jobs in the West Rand over three years (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will work with the University of Johannesburg and other partners around the deployment of solar technologies and solar manufacturing plant or solar farm in the Western Corridor as an area earmarked for renewable energy industrial development 45 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· .With regard to human settlements, more than 160 000 housing units will be built in Syferfontein, Chief Mogale, Kagiso Extension 13, Leratong, Westonaria Borwa, Thusang, Waagterskop, Kokosi Extension 6 and 7, Droogeheuwel, Mohlakeng Extension 11, Khutsong South Extension 1, 2 and 3 and Vaarkenslaagte 45 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The second area of focus is to unlock the agricultural potential of Sedibeng as the food basket of the Gauteng City-Region and position the region as an Agropolis.In this regard, we are working with the private sector to support 32 black farmers to plant barley and maize to be supplied to the nearby Heineken Brewery. The project will create 1 000 permanent jobs per annum over three years (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· Over the next five years, the City of Johannesburg, a component of the township economy, has set aside

· R3 billion, Tshwane R22 million and Ekurhuleni has made available more than R150 million to support the township economy and township entrepreneurs (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· We have now committed to set aside 30% of the public procurement budget for township enterprises over the next five years (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will strengthen three existing township economic hubs in Mohlakeng, Winterveld and Tembisa in the coming months. Seven new township hubs will be established in Ennerdale, Hammanskraal, Mabopane and Reiger Park. We will also revitalise the Industrial Parks in Katlehong, Orlando, Residentia, Khutsong and Ennerdale (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In Diepsloot, about 160 township entrepreneurs involved in light manufacturing and other productive activities will benefit from the R1.6-billion investment in the Riversands/Diepsloot SMME Incubation Hub, with state-of-art facilities (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We have been working with municipalities to finalise plans to bring in additional 1200 megawatts of electricity by increasing the generation capacity of the current coal-fired power stations in Tshwane (Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power) and Joburg (Kelvin Station) (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We are installing rooftop solar panels for all our government buildings. We estimate that we have available 8 million square metres of rooftop space suitable for this and will be able to generate 300-500 megawatts of electricity (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We are implementing a programme to retrofit our coal-fired boilers with natural gas. We are implementing the Tri-generation programme in six hospitals. Tri-generation is a technology that can produce electricity for heating and cooling using gas. We are initiating the waste to energy programme. This programme is aimed at converting waste from our facilities into bio-gas (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will continue our energy efficiency programme through which we aim to replace existing lights in all our facilities and government buildings with LED lights. We have thus far replaced 45 000 lights in our health facilities (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· We will also focus on encouraging rainwater harvesting in households, government and business premises and eradicating water leakages through focusing on infrastructure maintenance (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Our target is to create 500 000 decent and sustainable jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people by 2019 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We have designed a prototype treatment centre that will serve as a one-stop centre to provide integrated and comprehensive treatment of substance abuse and improve access. In addition to in-patient and out-patient treatment, the centre will also provide skills development, and serve as a halfway house to ease integration back into society. Building of the first centre will commence in 2016 and we will complete centres in each of the province’s five regions (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will continue to expand access to victim support services and places of refuge for victims of abuse, bringing the total number of green doors in the province to 50 over the next few years (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Our work includes the provision of food parcels to the most vulnerable and children in the poorest wards support for small-scale farmers and cooperatives and the training of 14 500 youth beneficiaries through our 40 job centres in the province. An additional 4000 beneficiaries will be provided with economic, entrepreneurial opportunities and skills (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· The Integrity Management and Anti-Corruption Unit will be fully operational by the end of this year (NOT ACHIEVED)

2016

· I would like to report that we have reduced the time taken for the approval of the environmental impact assessment from 18-24 months down to three months. We are confident we will reach our target of approving all EAIs within 30 days (NOT ACHIEVED);

· This year, the Innovation Hub will expand its Start-up Weekends and Bootcamps to train at least 100 entrepreneurs in all our five development corridors including youth from suburbs (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· The Katlehong, Soweto and Kagiso township industrial hubs will be accredited and open for business before the end of the 2016/17 financial year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In Ekurhuleni, the construction of 3.6 km of dedicated lanes and stations has been completed. The first phase of Ekurhuleni’s BRT system, Harambee, from Tembisa to Isando, is underway and will be operational in July this year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In response to the growing demand for Gautrain services, we are adding 48 new trains to the fleet, at R 3.5 billion, underwritten by the Development Bank of Southern Africa. This investment will create more than 9 000 jobs (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In Ekurhuleni (the Eastern Corridor), we are upgrading Heidelberg Road from Leondale Forsdick Road to Barry Marias Road from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway. The project will improve accessibility for future developments in the Vosloorus, Leondale and Southern Ekurhuleni areas (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· Broadband connectivity is growing faster covering all parts of the City Region. Through our partnerships with the municipalities and the private sector we will reach our goal of 100% connectivity by 2019 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The provincial government’s Kopanong Precinct is back on track. It will contribute to the revitalisation of the Johannesburg central business district which will receive a major boost when Kopanong Precinct begins operation during the next financial year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We are on track with the modernisation of our public health services. The digitisation of patient files is currently underway and will be completed in all public hospitals in Gauteng by 2019. The e-health initiative is already improving efficiencies and drastically reducing waiting times (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We have exceeded the 30% target with regards to the empowerment of women through our procurement policy and we are well on our way to reaching 50% by 2020 (NOT ACHIEVED);

2017

· The feasibility of a logistics hub on N12 between Rand-West and Merafong has been completed and work will begin this year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We know full well that to significantly decrease unemployment, we need to double this number and reach at least 600 000 new jobs over two years from 2017 till 2019 (NOT ACHIEVED);

2018

· The Gauteng Provincial Government has invested public money in the creation of broadband infrastructure towards the goal of 100% broadband connectivity in Gauteng by 2020 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Currently, the Gauteng Provincial Government spends 23% of the goods and services budget on women-owned businesses. We would like to achieve a target of 30% by 2019 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· A total of thirty-one new mega settlement projects have been approved for all the five development corridors of the Gauteng City Region. These projects will yield more than 700 000 housing opportunities over five years (NOT ACHIEVED);

2019

· Targeting and enforcing procurement from businesses in townships to the value of 30% of Gauteng Provincial Government’s procurement budget (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Ensuring that all SMMEs and township businesses contracting with the Gauteng Provincial Government are paid within 15 days to boost their sustainability (NOT ACHIEVED)

· Continuing to invest in infrastructure that supports clusters of township businesses to expand, access markets and prosper. This will include rejuvenating township industrial parks, agri-hubs and local produce markets (NOT ACHIEVED)

· Releasing land and unutilised buildings to allow those who can create real jobs and businesses in our townships to apply for leases from the provincial government for properties where they can start those businesses. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The 9 Ekasi Labs will be expanded to provide hot-desks with desktops and high-speed broadband in all townships where young people can practice new digital trades and learn through existing programmes such as Tshepo 1 Million (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In partnership with the Taxi industry and municipalities, we will transform taxi rank facilities to become vibrant economic nodes in all townships and CBDs (NOT ACHIEVED)

· Giving township enterprises, SMMEs and co-operatives the opportunity to maintain and repair government facilities, equipment, furniture and infrastructure. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Repositioning and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller to provide funding and business development support for the growth and sustainability of SMMEs and co-operatives (NOT ACHIEVED)

· We will also set up a joint township economy innovation fund with the private sector. This is in line with the announcement by President Ramaphosa of the establishment of the Township Entrepreneurial Fund (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within 12 months, I would like to see huge improvements in the maintenance of existing government buildings, including schools, clinics and hospitals in the implementation of the Government Immovable Asset Management Act (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within the first 12 months, I would like to see real improvements in the coordination, integration and optimal integration of all modes. The responsibility of the Gauteng Transport Authority is to deliver on this goal (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within six months I also want to see significant improvements in the conditions and operations of major intermodal public transport nodes such as Mabopane station, Marabastad, Park Station, Bree Street Taxi Rank, Germiston Station and Vereeniging Taxi Rank (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Accordingly, I will appoint an advisory panel that will advise the provincial government on the fourth industrial revolution in the first 100 Days (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Place 250,000 young people into long term jobs in the various growth sectors of the economy in partnership with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator and the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Place 250,000 young people in public works employment programmes that are long term – including maintenance and repair of public facilities and infrastructure, cleaning and greening initiatives, safety and the care economy (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Expand the welfare-to-work programme to reach 100 000 unemployed young women who are currently dependent on child support grants and empower them with skills to become employed and self-employed (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Continue with a mass digital learning and digital skills programme to reach over 1 million young people, especially out of school youth (NOT ACHIEVED);

· All vacant positions of CEOs of hospitals will be filled in the first 100 days and all critical posts in our health facilities will be filled by 2020 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Action and collaboration between municipalities and the province to make available 100 000 serviced stands with minimum building standards, over the next five years (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· In the next five years, crime should be reduced by 50% in the 40 high priority police stations (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In the first twelve months, we will deploy 10 patrollers per ward in all 508 wards in Gauteng and revive and professionalise Community Policing Forums in all police precincts (NOT ACHIEVED);

· To support victims of gender-based violence, during this term, we will ensure that no less than 50 000 victims of gender-based violence access psycho-social support (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Over the next five years, our food security programme will be expanded to 2 million food-insecure people, while the school uniform programme will be expanded to 1 million learners from poor households, together with the distribution of 7 million dignity packs to girl learners (NOT ACHIEVED);

· The welfare-to-work programme will be upscaled from 30 000 to 100 000 young women who will be empowered with skills that will enable them to graduate from social grants to work for themselves (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Financial support will be provided to 1700 centres to reach 200 000 more children over the next five years, in addition to the 480 000 that are currently having access to early learning opportunities (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within 100 Days, all departments will identify priority social and economic interventions that must be implemented in the erstwhile Indian or classified Coloured townships across Gauteng (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In September, I will sign performance and delivery agreements with all MECs and HODs based on the implementation plans of Growing Gauteng Together (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within the first 100 Days, we will re-establish the Policy Unit in the Office of the Premier in line with what President Ramaphosa has done is doing at a national government (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Within 100 Days, the MEC for Finance and the MEC for Co-operative Governance will present a report plan to the Executive Council on implementation of Emfuleni recovery plan (NOT ACHIEVED);

2020

· In April this year, the provincial government together with SALGA will be requesting a Ministerial determination from Minister Gwede Mantashe to enable us to unlock renewable energy projects, in line with the window of opportunity opened by the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) (PARTIALLY ACHIEVED);

· Over the next five years, the provincial government will rehabilitate, upgrade and construct 18 major arterial roads in the five development corridors, especially in Sedibeng and West Rand (NOT ACHIEVED);

· As part of our commitment to provide 100 000 service stands to qualifying Gauteng residents who want to and can build their own homes, we will release 10 000 serviced stands spread across the different corridors between April and June this year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· In response to the rising demand for new schools, we will build 100 new schools in the next 10 years, 50% of which will be built in the next five years (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will also re-open the 70 schools that had to be closed during the years when township schools were avoided by parents and were not attracting enrolment numbers (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We have appointed new CEOs for 12 hospitals. The remaining three hospitals will have new CEOs in May this year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We committed to releasing bi-annual audits of the performance on the reduction of priority crimes for each of our 142 police stations. The report is ready and will be released to the public in April this year as the new financial year commences. (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We will employ 400 additional traffic police officers over the next three years, to increase visibility and enhance road safety (NOT ACHIEVED);

· All officials who are part of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Human Resource (HR) processes must be vetted with effect from April this year (NOT ACHIEVED).

2021

· The Vaal SEZ company has been established to ensure that the feasibility study, master plan and the regional spatial development framework and SEZ are approved by the end of this year (NOT ACHIEVED);

· 157 traffic officers have been employed. We will add more officers this year until we reach our target of 400 in 2022 (NOT ACHIEVED);

· We have finalised a total of 73 forensic investigations and 66 cases were referred to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation and civil recovery processes (NOT ACHIEVED);

· Members of the Executive Council have submitted their details for the lifestyle audit that are being conducted by the State Security Agency. The outcome of the lifestyle audit will be made public (NOT ACHIEVED)

Enough is enough with empty promises, it is the time to deliver, and the DA has the solution to accelerate service delivery, curb corruption and prioritize economic growth above stealing. A DA-led Gauteng government will do the following:

· Conduct lifestyle audits on all government officials.

· Ensure that all schools have the proper infrastructure in place and that asbestos schools are replaced with a proper brick and mortar structure as a matter of urgency.

· Allow our youth to empower themselves with skills needed to enter the job market so that they can start their businesses or seek long-term gainful employment

· Ensure that the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller provides the necessary support to small businesses and entrepreneurs and that the budget they are given is spent.

· Ensure that all the residents in Gauteng have access to a reliable internet connection at various government buildings like libraries and community halls.

· Always hold MECs and government officials to account by ensuring that all the checks and balances are put in place to ensure that proper procurement procedures through an open tender system are followed.

In terms of certain portfolios:

Social Development

  • 12 buildings were given to the Gauteng Department of Social Development in Gauteng (6) and Western Cape (6), of these none have been occupied in Gauteng.
  • The department constantly underspends and this amount currently stands at R1.3 billion. There is a dire social need in this province. In terms of the president’s ECD stimulus package, the department has not yet spent a cent of that money.
  • This department continues to be a delinquent payer when it comes to paying NGOs on time.
  • Unfortunately these NGOs then became victimised by the department and worked out of the system when raising concerns over the late payment.

Community Safety

  • There are 1169 police vehicles that are out-of-service which means that police operations are severely impacted.
  • The Ga- Rankuwa police station was out of electricity for six months and just got switched on this week after pressure from the DA.
  • It should be noted that Eskom is the direct provider of electricity and failed to provide electricity while the Provincial SAPS is failing to provide alternative sources of power such as a stand-by generator.
  • There is also a shortage of social workers to deal with victim centres at the police stations; in certain instances one social worker is responsible for a number of police stations.

Infrastructure Development

  • Not a single cent has been spent on Charlotte Maxeke Hospital as all the work being done is being paid by the Solidarity Fund
  • There is a disconnection between hospital leadership and the department
  • Anglo Gold Ashanti has been built but only has three patients

Human Settlements and COGTA

  • There is a one million housing backlog and only 30 000 housing units are built per year
  • The department underspends by R2 billion and the money is returned to Treasury
  • The Hostel Redevelopment plan only exists on paper (Dube, Alexandra, Bekkesdal, Sethokwa , Winterveld)
  • Formalisation of informal settlement is not happening and there is a continuous mushrooming of informal settlements
  • Housing Mega projects have been blocked by red tape and contractors not finishing on time and within budget.

Education

  • The online application process for Grades 1 and 8 must be reviewed to ensure that it guarantees parental choice.
  • The department must employ more teachers
  • The school infrastructure must be taken from DID and be placed back in the hands of the Department of Education to ensure the speedy building of schools.
  • There are many schools that are still incomplete and on hold namely, Mayibuye Primary School, Nokuthula Special School, Braamficher Primary School, Nancefield Primary School and Semphoto Secondary School

Transport

  • We are not building or expanding existing roads, yet we have an ever increasing number of cars on the roads.
  • We need to invest heavily in public transport infrastructure
  • Gauteng has massive rail infrastructure that should be devolved to the province and be incorporated under Gautrain.

Economic Development

  • Gauteng is losing 93 jobs every hour which means that poverty has mushroomed in Gauteng
  • The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller continues to sit with R250 million which is supposed to assist small businesses.
  • The Gauteng Growth and Development Agency still struggles to attract local and foreign investment

Premier Makhura is increasingly missing in action which clearly shows that he is buckling under the pressure and can no longer maintain the pretence of good governance in Gauteng. Premier Makhura you are only left with two SOPAs, then you are out. The old saying goes that ‘a fish rots from the head’.

This litany of broken promises shows that Premier Makhura is incapable and is not fit to govern. He will mark the history of the end of the ANC administration in Gauteng come 2024.

The residents of Gauteng do not have to be fearful as the Democratic Alliance is here and we are ready to fight for our Province and fight for our residents. Where we govern, we govern well. We are the party that will ensure that the Gauteng province will work better, Kuyasheshwa. We are the government in waiting and we are ready for 2024. We will demonstrate to the residents of Gauteng what it feels like to be governed by a government which cares for its residents; a government which puts the needs of its residents first; a government that stands for the people, a government that that stands with the people.

I thank you.

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Department of Community Safety not doing enough to protect victims of GBV and femicide as it fails to achieve its set targets

Madame Speaker,

We are fast approaching the end of the annual 16 Days of Activism of No Violence against women and child abuse for this year. A time of the year, where we normally reflect on gender-based violence ( GBV) and femicide. A time where we reach out to our vulnerable communities and speak out against abuse, and often end up making empty promises as to how we can or will fight for the prevention of further abuse. It is also at this time, where we find ourselves debating the annual report of the Department of Community Safety and reflecting on what the department did in this financial year to prevent and support victims who suffer abuse from perpetrators who should belong in jail.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is disappointed that the Department of Community Safety used the lockdown regulations as an excuse for not meeting or amending their targets as the lockdown also locked in many victims for ongoing periods in their homes with their abusers, holding them hostage at the hands of their abusers with nowhere to go.

The department stipulated in this report that the primary purpose is to undertake a proactive approach in ensuring the prevention of social crimes. This is coordinated through the Safety Promotion programme that provides professional and volunteer-based victim support services to victims of crime within Gauteng, with a special focus on victims of sexual and domestic violence and survivors of gender-based violence.

With a vision like this for the department, it is so much more important to ensure proper monitoring and evaluation and not to use the lockdown as an excuse to ensure that the job gets done and that our most vulnerable are safe and protected. Yet, if we look at this annual report and the targets set and achieved in this section relating to GBV, it is concerning to note that none was achieved.

It is also within these visible policing and safety awareness departments, where we find the highest percentage of vacancies not filled. Areas that require additional safety officers to ensure that the department can indeed achieve its targets and reach its goals in solving the social crimes of our communities.

The DA believes and fights for the protection of our basic human rights as enshrined in our constitution. This includes the basic human right of safety.

As this 16 Days of Activism campaign draws to a close, I ask the MEC, a woman, a mother, and a leader of this province to do some serious introspection and ask herself if she is protecting and showing the necessary care when it comes to the safety of her fellow sisters and children of this province. Is the MEC truly proud of the achievements of her department? I hope that she will answer those questions truthfully enough to take some serious actions in 2022, that we will not need to judge this department next year this time with the same criticism as we did today. Listen to the DA and prioritise the safety of our people, don’t just talk safety and awareness, walk the talk as well!