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Gauteng budget pays little attention to premier’s TMR agenda: Where are the jobs?

Desperately Waiting

Public confidence in government is based on the past performance of the administration, and how effectively people’s service delivery needs are met.

Gauteng’s people are desperately waiting for government to help create jobs and to attend their health and housing needs, roads and their maintenance, economic development and social development, crime and corruption

Sadly, Gauteng’s people will see provincial government departments spend over R90 billion on programmes that are yet to reflect Premier David Makhura’s vision of Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation (TMR).

Little Transformation

Since the premier announced TMR, very little information has been forthcoming about its implementation, despite a host of DA questions requesting more detail.

  • Very little knowledge exists of large-scale housing projects, their location and implementation timelines;
  • No evidence exists of programmes to reinforce modernisation and re-industrialisation programmes; and
  • Government hijacks private initiative and tries to take credit.

Of great concern is the premier’s promise of jobs and job creation, where are the jobs going to come from?

Currently, Gauteng’s unemployment rate stands at 28,4% – and the province urgently needs realistic programmes geared towards job creation and economic growth.

To date, bodies such as the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), Gauteng Funding Agency (GFA) and the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency have been unable to present programmes or job creation targets for the financial year, despite being the premier’s so-called engines for growth.

Increased Public Unhappiness

The fact is that Premier Makhura tells a story of a new Gauteng but the budget tells the same old story of past failures, and will only increase public unhappiness with this administration.

While the DA will support a programme of action that delivers on TMR, the lack of plans and processes of the 2015/16 departmental budgets will bring Gauteng no closer to the Premier’s vision.

In short, the budget doesn’t talk to the vision and the vision, and doesn’t tell us how many jobs will be created.

Gauteng’s people need a bold plan that is executed boldly to serve their needs, and the DA cannot in good conscience support provincial department budgets that don’t.

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance

082 492 4410

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Gauteng Premier Refuses to Participate in Parliament’s Human Rights Day Debate

The DA today wrote to Gauteng Legislature Speaker Lenteng Mekgwe questioning Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s refusal to send a provincial delegation to the joint sitting of Parliament for a debate on Human Rights tomorrow.Moriarty-Mike1-240x300

Apparently, the premier based his decision on cost concerns.

The DA is highly concerned over the Speaker’s support of the Premier’s decision, as Rule 37 of the Rules of Order designates the function of appointing special delegates to the Programming Committee and not the premier.

If the Premier was not available to lead the delegation, then somebody else could have led, especially as there are plenty of important human rights issues in Gauteng, including the matter of xenophobia.

It is foolish to suggest xenophobia was not a factor in the violent looting that occurred recently, as it is without question that the victims were predominantly people from abroad.

The victims too were entitled to human rights, and the riotous behaviour that occurred arose from a mind-set that foreign citizens are a legitimate target.

This can be described in one word: xenophobia. And this is a violation of human rights.

There is an obligation on national government and cabinet ministers to address this matter with all due seriousness, especially those of International Relations and Home Affairs.

And while national government dithers, Gauteng citizens bear the brunt.

Premier Makhura and the provincial government must do everything possible to prevent national government action or inaction from prejudicing the rights of Gauteng’s people.

Clearly premier Makhura is not prepared to challenge his national counterparts in an appropriate forum such as the National Council of Provinces.

By not debating on Thursday this province is missing an opportunity to hold national government to account for its failure to safeguard the rights of people in Gauteng.

This clearly shows that the ANC in Gauteng is not willing to fully defend our citizens in the face of their national colleagues: not on xenophobia and not on e-tolls.

To this end, the DA requested the Speaker to make the necessary arrangements to have this matter discussed in the Programming Committee and to obtain guidance from the Legislature’s legal advisors.

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Chief Whip in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

082 492 4410

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Gauteng Profits R276 million from Underperformance

In the recently tabled Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) budget it was revealed that the province had “earned” an additional R276m of revenue that it did not anticipate.

This arises from interest earned on credit in the province’s accounts.

The province originally budgeted for R86.55m from this source, but at the end of the year they discovered that the interest that had accrued was actually R362.36m.

It must be noted that while additional income is welcome, the fact is that billions of rands have lain unspent in the province’s coffers.

This money should have been spent on capital infrastructure projects.

Perversely, the province has been rewarded for under-performing by failing to implement much-needed projects.

These projects could have provided better service-delivery to hard-pressed Gauteng citizens who battle with dilapidated hospitals, poor roads and under-maintained schools.

Not only do infrastructure projects contribute toward service delivery, they also form a vital part of job creation in the economy.

This additional revenue is not a cause for celebration.

It is an indicator of a government that disempowers its people through not providing adequate service delivery and not recognising the plight of those who are jobless and poor.

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance

082 492 4410

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SPEECH ON THE DEBATE ON PREMIER’S STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS BY MRS. MIKE MORIARTY DELIVERED IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON 26 FEBRUARY 2015

Madam Speaker

 

I’d like to begin by quoting from John Lennon’s song, “Imagine”

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

On Monday the Premier dared us to imagine a future state of our province.

He was honest enough to admit to a few “challenges”. The ANC doesn’t admit to problems, only challenges. They certainly don’t admit to any failures.

But, the Premier told a good story of our province’s future. I truly hope that he succeeds in delivering this future. Indeed, we should all hope for this.

It is easier to tell a good story of a future we can imagine and hope for. It is harder to tell a good story of a present reality.

A newspaper described the Premier’s words as “bold”. That is certainly true.

Because the Premier staked his reputation on billions of rands of infrastructure that must be built by municipalities and PRASA and others. But he has no control over their success or failure. He has stated with certainty that private investors will commit billions and bring jobs. But investors are driven by confidence. And confidence is born of sound and consistent policies and good governance. These are largely in the hands or President Zuma. Whether you consider our president broken or not, he is not inspiring confidence. This too, is beyond the Premier’s control.

But what is within the Premier’s control?

Roads? Yes, certainly. Mr Premier you’ve told us about corridors, how about telling us about improving the roads; roads that will get our citizens in Merafong to and from those places where you said jobs would be created in the West Rand.

Moreover, do you want to put R8bn into our economy? Then forget about shifting the burden of ETolls from one lot of citizens to another. Scrap them entirely. Then all road users would save the extraordinary cost of collections and all this money will be invested back into our economy by consumers. R8bn worth of jobs would be created. Imagine that!

I applaud the Premier’s focus on the economy, the economy and the economy. I applaud his recognition that the bulk of new jobs will come from high-tech industries. But this requires a skilled and educated workforce. Mr Premier, this is within your control. You need to go beyond paperless classrooms and show how you will get educators and principals to get a bigger cohort of Grade 1s to actually write matric. Get them to improve on the university pass mark and the pass rates in maths, science and accounting.

Mr Premier, your R32bn infrastructure budget is no more and no less what than has been budgeted each year for the past 5 years. It is nothing new. In fact, due to inflation, you are spending less in real terms than you have before. It is “business as usual”. With respect, the provincial government cannot be about “business as usual”; it has to be about “radical change”.

Mr Premier, get your MEC for Economic Development to finally give value for the R1bn budget he spends and then we will see real jobs.

Finally, your promises regarding corruption will not be convincing until you actually deal radically with those guilty or even tainted. You need to ensure that officials or politicians feel the consequences, no matter how well connected they are.

Deliver on those things the province actually does then we won’t have to imagine. The good story will be a reality.

 

I thank you.

 

 

082 492 4410

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E-tolls: Whose interests do they serve, Minister Nene?

Finance minister Nhlanhla Nene needs to face the public and spell out exactly who stands to benefit by continuing to impose e-tolls on motorists.

 

During his budget announcement yesterday the minister said that but that e-tolls would remain the principal funding mechanism of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

 

After the newly announced cap, e-tolls are now projected to earn R2 billion per year, based on the assumption that every motorist would pay. This of course is not happening.

 

Of that amount, half would service the GFIP debt while the other half would go to the collection agent.

 

It makes no sense to R5 to an agent to collect R10 when by using the fuel levy you can collect for free and save.

 

This of course begs the question: Why not scrap e-tolls in their entirety, ring-fence 10 cents a litre of the fuel levy, and service the debt?

 

All taxpayers eventually pay the e-toll via the passing on of costs through every loaf of bread and every litre of milk.

 

Government’s ongoing insistence to levy e-tolls, only to lose half to a collection agent, increases perceptions that certain individuals have interests in the e-tolls contract, and are benefitting at the expense of Gauteng’s citizens.

 

It is now the only logical conclusion. But is a perception and Minister Nene must address it.

 

It is time for minister Nene to come clean and state Treasury’s reasons behind the refusal to ring-fence a portion of the fuel levy to fund GFIP, when clearly this would be the cheapest way of paying for the roads.

 

Media enquiries:

Mike Moriarty MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance

082 492 4410