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Lesufi should cooperate with law enforcement rather than weaponise GP’s government against the DA

The DA in Gauteng notes the hypocrisy of the leader of the ANC-EFF coalition in Gauteng, Premier Panyaza Lesufi, in seeking to use the Gauteng provincial government as an instrument of his own political agenda to undermine DA governance in the province.

During the fraught Council session earlier this week when the Tshwane Council Speaker was elected, Mr Lesufi sat in the gallery of the Council chamber while DA councillors were subjected to physical violence at the hands of ANC-EFF councillors, leaving Cllr Shane Maas of the DA with a fracture in his hand (see media here, here, and here). Mr Lesufi made no objection to this anti-democratic thuggery.

Not a word of objection or condemnation came from Mr Lesufi when ANC-EFF councillors seized ballots from the hands of DA councillors, leading to the nullification of the first round of voting in the election of the Tshwane Council Speaker.

In his SOPA last month and subsequent remarks, Mr Lesufi made unapologetically clear his intention to undermine local governments in Gauteng, not under ANC-EFF control, yet now has the audacity to seek to portray himself as a champion of democratic processes.

Mr Lesufi is yet to come clean on what he knows regarding allegations of bribery that saw several ActionSA Tshwane councillors vote with the ANC-EFF coalition. He has a legal and moral duty to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter and would be wise to prioritize this over his latest attempt to weaponise the provincial government of Gauteng against the DA.

The DA in Gauteng will not allow Panyaza Lesufi and his coalition of corruption to gain through political thuggery and sabotage that which the voters of Tshwane have denied them: control of the City of Tshwane and the ability to loot and leech at the trough of the City’s finances.

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#RealGPSOPA: DA to outline plans to fix Gauteng and accelerate service delivery

On Thursday, 16 February 2023, the Official Leader of the Opposition in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga MPL will deliver the Real State of the Province Address (RSOPA) at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

Unemployment is rife in our province and thousands of residents are struggling to make ends meet due to the high cost of living. The current government is not doing enough to create a conducive environment to attract investors.

Our public health institutions, schools, museums and libraries are in a terrible state due to a lack of proper and regular maintenance. Our residents are being exposed to terrible living conditions, yet they have been promised dignified housing. Our provincial infrastructure is old and dilapidated. NGOs and NPOs who are meant to assist in poverty alleviation struggle to get their funding from the current government and all our residents do not have access to the Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN).

The public purse has been looted during the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to be looted by corrupt politicians and officials in this province.

The list of the challenges that our residents are faced with daily is endless, however they must not lose hope because the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has solutions to all the challenges. Our residents are tired of empty promises and a lack of action. Together we can and will fix Gauteng.

Our plan to fix this broken province will be outlined during the DA’s RSOPA

Details of the Real State of the Province Address are as follows:

Date: Thursday 16th February 2023

Venue: Gauteng Provincial Legislature, DA Caucus Room, 3rd Floor

Time: 11:00

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DA to embark on a fact-finding mission at Eikenhof water reservoir

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 24 October 2022, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Provincial Leader, Solly Msimanga MPL and the DA Leader of the Johannesburg Caucus, Cllr Mpho Phalatse, will conduct an oversight inspection of the Eikenhof and Hursthill reservoir.

During the oversight inspection, we will be assessing the current state of the Rand Water Eikenhof water reservoir. For the last few weeks, Gauteng residents have had to endure very low water pressure and at times no water.

It is time that Rand Water comes clean about the real reasons why our residents in this province have had their human rights infringed upon.

Access to water is a basic human right and currently, our residents are being denied this right.

Furthermore, the ongoing issues with the supply of water will ultimately impact our water infrastructure. Continued water pressure is needed to ensure that raw sewage is pushed through the water pipelines and into wastewater treatment plants. If there is not sufficient water pressure in the pipes, this will lead to a build-up and could cause sewage leaks and burst pipes.

Details of the oversight inspection are as follows:
Oversight 1
Date: 25 October 2022
Time: 12pm
Address: Eikenhof Water Reservoir

Oversight 2
Date: 25 October 2022
Time: 1:30pm
Address: Hursthill Water Reservoir

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Makhura dumped before facing DA MONC

Reports in today’s Sunday newspapers suggest that Gauteng Premier David Makhura has been fired and is about to be replaced by MEC Panyaza Lesufi.

This move does not surprise the DA as Makhura has lost the support of his own party in Gauteng. This means there was a good chance he may have been voted out as the Premier as a result of the DA Motion of No Confidence (MONC) submitted to the Gauteng Legislature recently.

The DA already received support from various opposition parties for the MONC and we also expected some of Makhura’s own colleagues to vote against him if a secret ballot was to be allowed.

Makhura has become known as the no action Premier. Full of promises but very empty on delivery. The DA has built a very strong case as to why Makhura is unfit to continue as Premier of Gauteng as he continues failing to arrest corruption in his administration, curb crime and stimulate economic growth in the province.

The DA does not expect a better performance from MEC Lesufi who is mooted to replace Makhura. He will try and start off with a bang, but that will be the only action we can expect from him. Gauteng residents can expect more of the same from Lesufi as he will be a hamstrung premier who will not be allowed by his party to act against corruption. He would ultimately have to answer to a PEC controlled by his rival, MEC Lebogang Maile, rendering Lesufi a lame duck premier.

The only way to deal with constant failing ANC premiers is by voting the ANC out of power in Gauteng in 2024 and replacing it with a capable DA government.

 

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Motion of No Confidence: It’s time for Premier Makhura to go so that our residents get the service delivery they deserve

Note to editors: The following remarks were delivered today during a media briefing.

Attached is a soundbite from Solly Msimanga MPL in English here

After nearly eight years of Premier David Makhura being the leader of Gauteng, one must ask: Is this province getting better? Is there hope? Are we heading in the right direction?

Simply put, the answer to all the above is a hard no.

Crime is at an all time high.

No one is spared, not our mother, sisters, children fathers or brothers – not you, not I.

Don’t take my word for it – look at the latest crime statistics.

Gauteng SAPS Stations dominate the top 30 of all crime stats across the country with a severe increase in crimes like hijackings, murder, and sexual offences. From January 2022 to March 2022, the following cases have been reported; 1403 murder cases, 2936 hijackings and 2267 cases of sexual offences.

And why is crime so high?

Because little to nothing has been done to arrest unemployment in this province. Poverty and desperation are the foundations on which criminal activity is borne.

Currently, there are 2.6 million unemployed Gauteng residents, while 680 000 people have given up on looking for work.

If you are a young person in this province, your chances of finding sustainable employment to support you and your loved ones are slim to none.

If you live in an informal settlement, you more than likely not only face the indignity of living in filth and squalor, you are the main recipient of both crime and unemployment.

Millions upon millions of Rands are lost to corruption in building projects across this province.

Projects aimed at building houses, schools, clinics – all of which are imperative to a prosperous society, are strangled by the tentacles of corrupt cadres.

None of this money has ever been recovered because there is simply no political will to do so.

I am tired, just as you are tired of not only the excuses for this failure – which are endless, but of the lack of accountability and transparency exuded by this provincial government under David Makhura.

Go back at least 4 State of the Province Addresses ago and you have heard about all the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) reports – the outcomes of which are imminent.

Its 2022 and the outcomes of these are still unknown.

And while these have been finalised – more have been added to the list.

R500 million worth of funding amounted to wasteful expenditure on the white elephant, Anglo-Ashanti Hospital which was never used to remotely to its capacity.

The Department of Health saw R2.2 billion of public funds devoured by well-connected cadres, one of whom served in Makhura’s cabinet, through the hyperinflation of the price of PPE at the height of a global pandemic.

The decontamination and sanitising of schools at prices beyond reason is another – this at a time when barely any teacher or learner was physically in attendance at school.

This R431 million wasteful expenditure could have been put to better use than lining the pockets of tenderpreneurs.

The unyielding desire for theft by this government knows no bounds.

Six years and two administrations on, we are still awaiting the outcome of the “game-changing” lifestyle audits on

Members of the Executive – Makhura himself included.

What ill-gotten gains are being squirreled away? This is the only logical reason for these not yet being released.

Gauteng residents are still awaiting the long overdue outcome into the criminal investigation into the Bank of Lisbon Fire.

If there is nothing to hide, then why has the Premier not released the findings?

At the time of the fire, then MEC for Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo indicated that the building was only 21% compliant. More than likely, the delay is an attempt to shield implicated cadres.

This is more than likely true for the delay in releasing findings relating to the fire at Charlotte Maxeke hospital.

It is beyond thinkable that such a crucial institution could catch fire in the first place. It is criminal that to date no one has been held to account.

I could go on endlessly about the challenges facing residents under this government. There is a myriad of reasons why Makhura must go.

As a party of action, I will not drone on incessantly.

The DA in Gauteng will be tabling a motion of no-confidence in Premier David Makhura.

It is time this province and its people were served by someone who legitimately wants to make a change and improve their lives.

The days of vapid leadership are numbered.

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DA thanks Makashule Gana for his service

Note to the Editors: Solly is only available on WhatsApp.

The DA notes the resignation of Makashule Gana from the party and as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) today.

We would like to thank him for his immense contribution to the party the past twenty years.

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Maile illegally intervenes in motion of no confidence against ANC Rand West Mayor

It is very disturbing that the tabled motion of no confidence against the ANC Mayor of Rand West City Local Municipality, Gladys Khoza will no longer go ahead because the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lebogang Maile has decided to call for an “urgent meeting” to discuss a possible intervention.

The council sitting notice was served to councillors last week and a motion was submitted last month which was supposed to be debated and voted upon tomorrow, 27 July. The fact that MEC Maile has called for an “urgent meeting” is once again a way of trying to illegally intervene with council business which he does not have a legal right to do so.

It is known that the ANC lost a ward in Bekkersdale in the recent by-elections, Maile therefore acutely aware that there they do not have the numbers to defend the motion if it is processed tabled. Hence MEC Maile has decided to abuse his office to play party politics and continue to protect his own comrades.

This so called “urgent intervention meeting” could have taken place on any day of the previous week or even today but is so unsurprisingly taking place on the day when Council is meeting. This is also yet another way attempt to keep a failing Mayor in office. Instead of MEC Maile concentrating on his own work he opts to rather get involved in party politics.

The DA is demanding that Premier David Makhura intervenes in this matter urgently and fires MEC Maile for overstepping on his core mandate. This is not the first time that MEC Maile has overstepped, in 2019 he illegally placed the Tshwane Metro Municipality under administration. The DA proceeded to take the matter to court and won the case while he lost at every court in the country.

It is unfair that our residents are put in a position where they are unable to get the basic services they rightfully deserve as they religiously pay their rates and taxes. The DA will use all the mechanisms at our disposal to ensure that this motion of no confidence goes ahead.

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DA is saddened by the passing of renowned poet Don Mattera

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply saddened by the passing of the renowned poet and struggle icon, Don Mattera.

Mattera played a pivotal role in the Black Consciousness Movement and was banned for eight years, spending three years under house arrest.

In 2006, he received the Order of the Baobab for his outstanding contribution to literature and journalism.

Mattera helped form the Union of Black Journalists and the Congress of South African writers.

Earlier this year, Mattera was honoured with the 2022 Artfluence Human Rights Award for his continued commitment to human rights, activism, and community development.

The DA extends its condolences to the family and friends of Mattera.

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Police visibility needs to be increased following Alexandra shooting incidents

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that there must be an increase in police visibility in Alexandra following a series of shootings over the last two days.

This is the latest incident involving firearm violence in the province. On Sunday 14 people were killed during a shooting incident at a tavern in Soweto.

In the latest shooting, well-known Alex FM DJ, Joshua Mbatha was killed as well as four other people. In addition, seven people were also injured.

It’s believed that the victims were killed in separate robberies while getting out of taxis.

It is unacceptable that our residents have to live in constant fear of falling prey to criminals.

We demand that Premier David Makhura must urgently liaise with the MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and the Gauteng Provincial SAPS Commissioner, Lieutenant General, Elias Mawela, to beef up police visibility in the area.

Furthermore, we also call on the community to assist the police in finding these criminals so that they can face the full might of the law. In addition, we urge them to report any person in possession of a suspected illegal firearm.

The DA extends our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones over the last two days in Alexandra during these shooting incidents.

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Tavern carnage: It is time to adopt the DA’s Gauteng Community Safety Oversight Bill

Gauteng continues to become a lawless society, and many innocent lives have been lost due to a lack of political leadership to ensure that the law enforcement agencies execute their mandate of preventing crime and ensuring residents’ safety.

This past weekend two people were killed, and four others were wounded in a tavern shooting in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni on Friday night. In the early hours of Sunday morning, fifteen people were shot dead in yet another tavern shooting in Soweto, leaving several others injured in hospital.

Soweto and Katlehong are among the high crime spots areas in the province, yet the Gauteng provincial government is not doing enough to ensure that police stations in those areas are well-equipped with much-needed resources to fight crime. The leadership of the current Gauteng government has admitted that we are living in a lawless society, but they do not have a plan to turn the situation around.

It is now time to adopt the DA’s Gauteng Community Safety Oversight Bill to improve the police intelligence to fight and prevent crime. The Bill would give effect to the province’s constitutional mandate and regulate the Gauteng Provincial Government’s powers and functions regarding its oversight function over the police services.

The taverns shootings have created unnecessary anxiety about the ability of the SAPS to ensure business safety through visible policing, with people now being scared to visit taverns and these businesses being at risk of losing their clientele base. Taverns like many small businesses that operate in townships play a critical role in the economy and creating local employment which makes their safety even more critical for the economic stability of these communities.

The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and the Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela must immediately engage with the tavern’s associations and the Gauteng Liquor Board to ascertain the root of these violent incidents. They must also implement a crime prevention strategy to ensure the safety of taverns across the province.

The DA is embarking on its own oversight inspection of the 144 police stations in Gauteng to assess the challenges that the police stations are faced with on a daily basis as well as provide solutions to ensure that the police can execute their work without any hindrance.

Our residents deserve a police service that is adequately resourced to keep them safe in their homes and everywhere they go, and the DA will continue to advocate for the safety of Gauteng residents.