#GautengWaterCrisis: Gauteng residents will continue to suffer without water as DA’s water motion has been denied

Today, the ANC in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature has denied the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) urgent motion to debate the water crisis in Gauteng before the next planned major Rand Water outage on 1 April 2022.

The ANC is running away from a debate that will expose the incompetence and failures of both their provincial and national governments to provide uninterrupted water supply to the residents of Gauteng.

The residents of Gauteng will continue to suffer for days on end without water because Rand Water, which is a national entity, unexpectedly cuts water supply to our municipalities. At the same time, no alternative sources are made available to ensure that our people have access to water during that period. The same happens when they are conducting water infrastructure maintenance.

The DA’s motion was aimed at debating solutions that must be put in place before the planned Rand Water outages scheduled from 1-3 April 2022 and beyond due to major maintenance of water infrastructure.

The failure to have a debate and discuss the solutions will result in many areas across Gauteng not having water. The areas that will be most affected are parts of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Mogale City.

This province is heading for a disaster should there be no urgent interventions from the provincial government to ensure that they assist municipalities in providing water to the affected areas. The municipalities are already doing their part in providing water during outages; however, they do not have sufficient water tankers and are unable to deal with this crisis by themselves.

Gauteng faces a medium to long term water crisis because the water supply is not keeping up with the growth in its economy and population. The equation is that demand is rising daily but the supply of water is remaining the same. We must also note that Gauteng also supplies water to other municipalities outside the province such as Thembisile Hani (Mpumalanga) and Madibeng (North West).

In a short time, this province will have a limited water supply just like we have limited electricity supply if Rand Water’s supply capacity is not increased.

We are faced with a critical situation as the national Department of Water and Sanitation is refusing to approve Rand Water’s licence application to increase its water supply capacity in the province.

All these factors will lead to water scarcity in Gauteng and reiterate the importance of debating this matter to find solutions to this looming crisis. If we do not find solutions soon, it will lead to dire economic and humanitarian consequences.

The DA will continue to fight for an increased water supply in Gauteng to avert such a disaster. The DA is petitioning the Premier and COGTA MEC to lobby their national counterparts to declare all water infrastructure national key points to be exempted from load shedding and to engage with the South African National Defence Force to assist with water tankers during the water outages. We also demand a proper audit of all our water infrastructure in Gauteng. To sign or access the DA’s Water Crisis Petition, please click this link: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/gauteng-water-crisis

The DA will hand over a memorandum to the Premier, COGTA MEC and the CEO of Rand Water about the lack of water tankers during water outages, a severe lack of proper and regular maintenance of water infrastructure, and the need for a Water Indaba to discuss issues of investment into water infrastructure and funding as well as vandalism of water infrastructure

The DA will also be engaging with the Department of Water and Sanitation with regard to its refusal to grant a license to Rand Water to increase its water capacity supply. In the past several years, Gauteng has experienced massive growth in terms of the population due to immigration, and there is a dire need to increase Rand Water’s water supply capacity. We will also be engaging with Rand Water in terms of their water infrastructure maintenance plans and their ineffective communication to the municipalities. We will engage with all our municipalities across Gauteng to discuss the water crisis and how they can intervene in terms of awareness campaigns on how to save water as a scarce resource.

The ANC’s refusal to debate the water crisis exposes how they are willing to play political games instead of assisting our residents, who will be severely impacted by the scheduled planned water outages and future water problems. This is exactly what landed us in trouble with Eskom and the country’s electricity supply. If this is the ANC’s attitude, then Gauteng residents must brace themselves for water shedding.

#GautengWaterCrisis: DA Gauteng launches water campaign to ensure access to uninterrupted water supply for all residents

Gauteng residents are faced with a severe water crisis due to Rand Water’s incompetence and failure to provide water tankers to the affected residents during the water outages caused by the maintenance of water infrastructure.

Rand Water has scheduled water outages from 1-3 April 2022 due to major maintenance of water infrastructure. This will result in many areas across Gauteng not having water. The areas that will be most affected are parts of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Mogale City.

The residents will be placed in a dire situation as municipalities do not have sufficient water tankers to provide water to the affected areas. The DA has been reliably informed that the Provincial Disaster Management does not have water tankers to assist municipalities to provide water for the affected residents. This will leave thousands of Gauteng residents without water as Rand Water has on several occasions failed to provide water tankers or an alternative to the affected residents.

Based on previous experiences, some parts of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City have been without water for nearly a week due to the failure by Eskom to provide electricity to Rand Water. This resulted in Rand Water unable to supply water to numerous reservoirs. Electricity was restored; however, it took some days for Rand Water to fill up the water in the reservoirs to a sufficient level to reinstate supply.

It means that our people will suffer without water as Rand Water does not effectively communicate to the municipalities exactly how many days residents will be without water. Rand Water does not include the days that they will be waiting for the reservoirs to fill up in their communication. Our people will be left in the dark and the municipalities will be blamed.

The DA has written to the Gauteng Premier, MEC for COGTA, HOD of COGTA, Provincial Disaster Management and the CEO of Rand Water to urgently assist affected municipalities with water tankers to distribute water to the affected areas during water outages. We also requested that the Premier’s office should assist in ensuring that Rand Water is held financially accountable for failing to provide water during the planned water outages.

We have not yet received responses from all of the above. The DA also posed questions directly to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu last week during a ministerial briefing, where he gave no real commitment as to how they will address the water crisis in Gauteng, but merely shifted the blame to load shedding which is as a result of the failures of Eskom which is a national entity.

The DA will be embarking on the following initiatives to put pressure on both provincial and national government to ensure access to uninterrupted water supply for all Gauteng residents:

• Motion: the DA will table an urgent motion in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to debate the water crisis in Gauteng on Friday 25 March 2022 before the next planned major Rand Water outage on 1 April 2022.
• Petition: the DA will be petitioning the Premier and COGTA MEC to lobby their national counterparts to declare all water infrastructure national key points to be exempted from load shedding and to engage with the South African National Defence Force to assist with water tankers during the water outages. We also demand a proper audit of all our water infrastructure in Gauteng
• Memorandum: the DA will hand over a memorandum to the Premier, COGTA MEC and the CEO of Rand Water about the lack of water tankers during water outages, a severe lack of proper and regular maintenance of water infrastructure, and the need for a Water Indaba to discuss issues of investment into water infrastructure and funding as well as vandalism of water infrastructure
• Engagements: the DA will also be engaging with the Department of Water and Sanitation with regards to its refusal to grant a license to Rand Water to increase its water capacity supply. Gauteng has in the past years experienced huge growth in terms of the population due to immigration and there is a dire need to increase Rand Water’s water supply capacity. We will also be engaging with Rand Water in terms of their water infrastructure maintenance plans and their ineffective communication to the municipalities. We will engage with all our municipalities across Gauteng to discuss the water crisis and how they can intervene in terms of awareness campaigns on how to save water as a scarce resource.
• We will also be conducting oversight inspections of different water infrastructure points across the province to ascertain the challenges.

Based on last month’s experience, this crisis will manifest its self, starting from next week if there are no urgent interventions. The provincial disaster management centre does not have water tankers which means our residents will be severely impacted by the scheduled planned water outages.

Access to water is a basic human right and a Constitutional right. Water is life and people cannot do without it hence it is critical for all three spheres of government to ensure access to uninterrupted water for all residents.

Gauteng residents will not benefit from incompetent DID

The ANC-led Gauteng government is continuing to shield its comrades and the failures of their government in delivering infrastructure projects by bluntly refusing to debate the DA’s Motion on the dissolution of the Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management (DID).

The DA’s motion was meant to stop the continued waste of taxpayer’s money and ensure that Gauteng residents’ benefit from infrastructure projects. This was going to see all DID functions and funds allocated to line departments and its incompetent MEC Tasneem Motora being removed from the executive.

However, the ANC-led Gauteng government has chosen to show its voters the middle finger by opting to protect their comrade at the expense of poor residents who are in dire need of infrastructure to improve their lives and well-being.

It is sad, considering that this department has constantly failed to complete infrastructure projects within the stipulated timelines and within budget.

The infrastructure projects are a crucial component for investment, growth, and socio-economic redress yet this department that they are protecting is not adding any value to the lives of residents of this province.

There are many projects across the province that were initiated years ago by DID that are still incomplete and have costed, and continue to drain, millions from provincial coffers.

The following is a list of some of the incomplete infrastructure projects that have resulted in millions being wasted:

• 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;
• The Special Investigative Unit was granted a court order to preserve R7.9 million against the two contractors who were awarded the contract for this project;
• 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.
• Braamfischerville Primary School initiated in 2017
• Kekanastad Clinic initiated in 2018

The above-mentioned projects are just a few of many infrastructure projects across the province that are still incomplete.

Furthermore, the systematic collapse of public infrastructure as evidenced by the Bank of Lisbon and Charlotte Maxeke fires, highlights the dysfunctionality of the DID and its inability to render quality services to residents of Gauteng.

Gauteng will not progress under the leadership of the ANC and its leaders’ attitudes towards crucial issues that affects the residents. The DA will not sit and allow the ANC to do as they please and continue to waste public funds.

We will also be engaging with different stakeholders across the province who are affected by the DID’s incompetency namely, the doctors, teachers and the general public. The information we will receive from different stakeholders will be used to apply pressure on the ANC government to dissolve the DID and give the people the service delivery which they deserve.

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.   

Gauteng is not a safe place for its residents as shocking high crime statistics raise concerns

Gauteng is no longer a safe place for its residents and their belongings according to the recently released crime statistics. This raises great concern about our resident’s safety while at home and walking or driving on roads. There has been a shocking increase in the following Gauteng crime stats; murder, robbery at residential premises, kidnapping, carjacking, truck hijacking, attempted murder, bank robbery, theft of a motor vehicle/motorcycle and commercial crimes.

This is a clear indication that the lives of Gauteng residents are in danger and law enforcement agencies are unable to ensure their safety and to prevent crime.

This information was revealed in the SAPS crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

According to the crime stats, murder cases have increased drastically by 243 cases in Gauteng from 1327 in the third quarter for the 2020/21 financial year to 1570 in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year. Attempted murder has also increased from 1323 in the third quarter of the 2020/21 financial year to 1397 in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

Carjackings have also increased by 478 cases to 2824 compared to 2346 in the third quarter of the 2020/21 financial year. There is also an increase in robberies at residential premises in Gauteng, up by 51 cases from 1941 in the third quarter of the previous financial year to 1992 in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

Kidnapping cases have doubled in Gauteng from 568 in the third quarter of the previous financial year to 1200 in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

These crime statistics are worrying and clearly indicates that Gauteng lacks adequate policing and police visibility putting the lives of innocent residents at serious risk.

Furthermore, in terms of top 30 stations of community-reported serious crimes, Gauteng is the second on the list with Honeydew police station, number three is Johannesburg Central police station, number nine is Temba and number 10 is Randfontein police station. The Honeydew police station is also leading in Gauteng in terms of a high number of cases of robberies at residential premises.

Gauteng’s Johannesburg Central police station is leading in terms of the top 30 police stations nationally for reported contact crimes. This police station has had a huge increase in contact crime cases of 1079 – an increase of 57 cases compared to the period October to December of the 2020/21 financial year which had 1022 cases. Alexandra police station is at number two with 985 cases and has increased by 107 cases compared to the third quarter of the 2020/21 financial year.

Alexandra police station is also leading in Gauteng in terms of police stations with top murder cases and sits at number eight nationally. Despite a slight decrease in rape cases in Gauteng, the Alexandra police station has recorded a huge increase in rape cases from 39 cases in the third quarter of the previous financial year to 59 in the current financial year.

The only alternative solution to ensure the safety of our residents is to adopt DA’s Community Safety Oversight Bill to improve police intelligence, to fight and prevent crime.

The DA demands that both the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and SAPS Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela intervene in the police stations that have recorded an increase in serious crimes such as Alexandra, Honeydew and Johannesburg central to ensure that these police stations are adequately equipped to prevent and fight crime. They should also equip the crime intelligence unit working on serious crimes with resources and more personnel.

More of the same: Premier Makhura continues to push out the deadlines on service delivery

It is not surprising that there is nothing new in Premier David Makhura’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) today.

We have heard similar promises before of our township economy being revitalized and instead of proactively investing and empowering our entrepreneurs through the current Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) a new bill is now instead being introduced.

While Gauteng is supposed to be the economic hub of our country, our unemployment particularly amongst the youth is at the highest.

In his speech, Premier Makhura claims that the province has exceeded the target set of creating 3228 jobs and instead created 3440 jobs but the Stats SA statistics show a different picture of our unemployment which is now sitting at 37%. So, who is the Premier fooling?

We are tired of hearing about the establishment of various war rooms as these rooms do not yield any results and are just a waste of our taxpayers’ money which could be put to better use by creating employment opportunities for our unemployed residents and youth.

The latest war room established by the Premier is one that needs to assist our province in reigniting the economy, surely our current legislation is supposed to assist with this?

The Tshepo 1 Million programme is meant to create employment opportunities for our youth and should be implemented in all departments, yet we only have the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development that reports on this goal and does not meet the job creation goals set.

For a long time now, we know that the situation with the Vaal River needs to be attended to , yet we are hearing about what provincial government intends to do and not what has already been done. We need action now, not in a few years’ time.

Critical infrastructure projects are not completed on time because the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) is incapable of managing its project properly because of a lack of skills and expertise.

This is not a problem that only existed during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been a problem since the establishment of DID.

This issue with DID should have been fixed a long time ago as our residents are the ones suffering because they are unable to access basic service delivery. The maintenance of our infrastructure like hospitals, clinics, schools, libraries and roads is critical if we want to have an economy that grows and is able to attract investment from the private sector not just locally but also internationally.

Yet the Premier acknowledges that there is a challenge with regards to the delays in infrastructure projects, yet there is no tangible solution, so why establish a war room to assist in reigniting the economy?

Furthermore, Premier Makhura vows that they are not going to do away with DID which is an insult to taxpayers as we are aware of its incompetency.

Premier Makhura, the time for talk is over – it is time to start doing. Our residents cannot wait another two more years for all your pipe dreams to become reality.

We need this to be a reality today. We need asbestos schools to be eradicated now, we need to have sufficient schools in our townships so that our children are not subjected to an environment where overcrowding is the order of the day. Effective teaching and learning can only take place in a conducive environment, and this cannot happen if DID continues to drag its tail on critical infrastructure projects.

Our roads are in a bad state, one pothole after the other, yet there is no time frame as to when the roads that are currently under rehabilitation will be completed and if this will be done within budget.

In terms of crime, the Premier has made no mention of making our Gauteng Traffic Police a 24-hour service. This is critical if we want to reduce hijackings that take place on our roads particularly where spike strips are being used.

Sadly, all the Premier has done is to tweak the words of previous speeches delivered, with a change in programmes acknowledging that his government has failed to provide basic services to our residents in Gauteng. It is high-time that the Premier stops establishing more committees and war rooms and do the work that his appointed MECs should be doing.

Premier Makhura has admitted right at the start of his speech that his government has failed, so it’s time that he whips his government into line and hold them to account and where there is dead weight, he should get rid of that dead weight immediately.

We can change the current situation facing this province by adopting the DA solutions to deliver adequate service delivery and rejuvenate the economy.

#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.

#MakhuraPPE: DA challenges Premier Makhura to reveal action taken on PPE Looters

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is challenging the Gauteng Premier, David Makhura to reveal the actions that he has taken against the Gauteng personal protective equipment (PPE) looters.

So far nothing has been done to the looters as they continue to walk free and enjoy their daily lives despite the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) report exposing all the money that they have stolen from the people of Gauteng.

Premier Makhura claims that he has acted against the former Health MEC, Bandile Masuku, former Acting Head of the Gauteng Department of Health, Professor Mkhululi Lukhele and former Chief Financial Officer of the Gauteng Department of Health; Ms Kabelo Lehloenya. If his claims are true, then why does the SIU report state the following on page 231: 

 No recommendation for disciplinary action could be made against the former CFO, Ms Lehloenya, as she had resigned from the services of the Gauteng DoH with effect from 1 August 2020. No recommendation for additional disciplinary action could be made against Prof Lukhele (the HoD of the Gauteng DoH), because he resigned with immediate effect on or about 3 October 2020.”

The above evidence indicates that officials have resigned as a way of escaping accountability even if the Premier had forced them to resign. 

The fact that the officials have resigned does not mean that the Premier has taken action, criminal charges must be laid against them. 

Furthermore, there are no criminal charges that have been laid against the former Health MEC, Bandile Masuku for the role that he played in irregularly awarding the Royal Bhaca Projects (Pty) Ltd and Ledla Structural Development (Pty) Ltd a contract to supply PPE. 

The SIU report findings also state that the former MEC failed to fulfil his obligations to comply with the Constitution and failed his general oversight responsibilities in respect of his department failing to comply with the prescripts of the Constitution.

In addition, the Premier claims that the pension fund of the former MEC Masuku, Lukhele and Lehloenya were frozen so that the Gauteng government can recoup some of the stolen funds. We demand evidence to support this claim.

If Premier Makhura is serious about acting against those implicated in the Gauteng PPE corruption and those that have failed in their oversight role, why has he not acted on the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi?

The Gauteng Department of Education has irregularly awarded contracts to the value of R427 686 242.29 to 270 service providers for decontamination of Gauteng schools. All this happened under the watch of MEC Lesufi who is the political head of the department. MEC Lesufi, like former MEC Masuku, has failed in his oversight responsibilities to ensure that his department complies with the prescripts of the Constitution and supply chain management processes. Perhaps, former MEC Masuku became an easy victim because he is a political lightweight compared to MEC Lesufi who enjoys the support of a bigger constituency in the ANC across the province. If this is true, then it’ll also expose that taxpayers interest takes a back seat while cadre’s protection is paramount.

 We demand that Premier Makhura must lay criminal charges against all those implicated and recover all the monies that have been stolen from the Gauteng government. We also demand that Premier Makhura provide evidence on what actions he has taken against the looters as a matter of urgency.

#MakhuraPPE: Premier Makhura must be politically accountable for the vast PPE corruption in Gauteng

Gauteng Premier David Makhura must be held politically accountable for the massive looting of taxpayer’s money meant for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and failing to act decisively against the implicated officials across all the departments in the province.

 

The damning SIU report on PPE corruption has exposed the rotten corruption within the Gauteng government departments. Gauteng has the largest amount of money wasted on corruption, all of which happened under the watch of the Premier who is still trying to vindicate himself while forgetting that he has a Constitutional responsibility to fight corruption in this province.

 

According to the SIU report, the Gauteng Department of Education irregularly awarded contracts to the value of R427 686 242.29 to 270 service providers for decontamination of Gauteng schools. The appointment process did not follow the procurement on an emergency delegation; the department did not obtain three quotes from service providers as listed on the central supplier database, and Supply Chain Management (SCM) was not involved in the sourcing and appointment of the service providers. The officials involved contravened Section 217(1) of the Constitution as the procurement processes were not fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.

 

The same applies to the PPE contracts that were awarded to the service providers by the Department of Health. The service providers were not registered to supply PPE, were not PPE manufacturers and were not registered with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). The quality of the goods and services delivered by most of the service providers were of poor quality and substandard.

 

The report also states that out of 87 service providers that were awarded PPE contracts by the Gauteng Department of Health that have been investigated thus far, only 16 service providers has their cases closed because the SIU investigation found no evidence in support of the allegation that the SCM process may have been irregular while 71 have been implicated in corruption.

 

This indicates that officials and the service providers whose cases were not closed took advantage of the plight of our people who are in desperate need of protection against the Covid-19 pandemic to enrich themselves. While all this was happening Premier Makhura did nothing in his capacity to conduct monitoring and oversight of all the departments particularly the Department of Health which was heavily hit by the pandemic.

 

Many department senior officials have been implicated in the PPE corruption while a handful of them have been dismissed and some have resigned thereby escaping accountability. The likes of Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, Acting Head of the Gauteng Department of Health; Ms Kabelo Lehloenya, who was the Chief Financial Officer and Mr A Gwabeni, who was Deputy Director for Human Resources for the Department of Health have been implicated and have resigned from the department.

 

We demand that Premier Makhura act against all the senior officials that have been implicated in this report even though they have resigned from their departments. All those implicated must be dealt with accordingly, criminal charges must be laid against them and those that have illegally benefited must pay back every cent to the state coffers. The companies that have been implicated in this corruption must be blacklisted and penalties imposed for companies that have provided substandard supplies and have made illegal excessive profits on PPE resources.

 

Additionally, Premier Makhura must provide a progress report with regards to disciplinary hearings against the Department of Education senior officials implicated in the PPE corruption which started on 09 November 2021. The proceedings were ongoing and postponed to early 2022.

 

Premier Makhura must also be held politically accountable for failing on his oversight duties to ensure that PPE funds are spent wisely for the benefit of the Gauteng residents. 

We will be using all mechanisms at the legislature to ensure that Premier Makhura accounts for this PPE corruption.

 

Tshwane judgement: Open letter to Premier Makhura

The Constitutional Court ruling delivered on Monday was a damning indictment on the petty political games that COGTA MEC Lebogang Maile was playing at the expense of the residents of Tshwane.

We call for the immediate suspension or firing of MEC Maile for putting the continuing DA service delivery to residents at risk in a poorly veiled attempt to discredit the DA and the work it was doing to uplift and improve the lives of people in Tshwane.

Before ANC administrators took over, DA-led Tshwane had a surplus of R297 million in the bank. By the time the administrators were removed we inherited a budget deficit of over R4 billion.

This cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet like so many other attempts to sabotage the DA as it goes about fixing what the ANC broke. We say that the time for games is over, and those who think otherwise should find a career where their failures do not impact the lives of the most vulnerable.

Acting Justice Rammoka Mathopo’s judgement is very clear:

“This leads me to one conclusion: the provincial government misconstrued its powers and failed to apply itself to the issues faced by the municipality. It is clear to me that the dissolution decision should be set aside and that the municipality should be allowed to do its job. The dissolution decision falls to be set aside on the basis of offending the principles of lawfulness.”

Please allow the DA to do its job. Fire MEC Maile.