Less promises, more action to ensure Gauteng residents get the service delivery they deserve

Tomorrow, Gauteng residents will once again hear a list of promises by Premier Panyaza Lesufi as he delivers his very first State of the Province Address (SOPA).

When Premier Lesufi took office last year, he made a list of promises on how he intends to get Gauteng working again.

Here are some of the key promises he made last year:

  • The speeding up of payment of invoices to service providers
  • To introduce new schools of specialisation
  • Capacitate and refurbish hospitals
  • Allocate R500 million for the creation and operation of spaza shops by South Africans
  • To establish South Africa’s first provincial state bank
  • To change the face of the province’s five hostels
  • To scrap e-Tolls

During his SOPA tomorrow, we expect Premier Lesufi to outline exactly how many of the promises he made have been fulfilled and what tangible difference this has made to the lives of our residents.

Our service providers, particularly those who do business with the Department of Health, do not receive payment for their services on time. This means that our hospitals will have essential services withheld because service providers are not paid on time.

In terms of upgrading Township Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH), we need to see the entire province prioritised, not just a certain section. Furthermore, more support needs to be given to our municipalities that are in dire straits.

A clear financial plan must be put forward when it comes to putting up new infrastructure, we cannot just talk about upgrading hospitals and building new schools when there is no budget for it.

Our roads are not in tip-top condition. Yet last year, Premier Lesufi promised that there would not be a Gautrain expansion but rather spending on townships. In addition, he also promised that e-Tolls would be scrapped. However, we need to know where the money for the scrapping of e-Tolls will come from. Will Gauteng residents be made to pay for this? Will money be taken from other departments to pay for the debt?

Furthermore, we expect Premier Lesufi to announce that the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation will no longer spend massive amounts of money on insignificant events. Instead, the money should be used to maintain and upgrade our provincial heritage sites. More focus should be on turning our libraries into well-functioning institutions that embrace new technological innovations. In addition, they should also evaluate how infrastructure projects are rolled out.

Our hospitals have an enormous backlog of surgeries, with some patients waiting for as long as five years. The Tembisa hospital is facing immense pressure because there is no hospital in Kempton Park. Our residents need to know what progress has been made in finding a suitable site for a new hospital in Kempton Park and by when this will be completed.

A new provincial state bank is supposed to be established, but again we lack an explanation of where this money will come from and what will happen to entities like the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, which are mandated to assist our small businesses in the province.

Loadshedding is crippling our province and has a ripple effect on our supply of water. Our residents deserve to know what plans are being put in place to secure extra electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and if there have been any talks with the national government to establish an inter-governmental task team to look into this and the water crisis.

We no longer want empty promises but want our residents to know that service delivery will improve and that the SOPA is not just a box-ticking exercise.

Cadre deployment needs to end. Corruption must be rooted out.

The time for politicking is over, and service delivery needs to happen now.

Our residents deserve a government that they can trust.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I thank you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This includes hundreds of millions in PPE corruption.

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

It includes R431 million wasted in cleaning schools.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Secondly, implement all the recommendations of the Auditor General.

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

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

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

Premier Makhura lacks political leadership to hold his MEC to account

Good afternoon,

Honourable Premier 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ndza Khensa,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ndza Khensa,

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.

I will not be silenced on Gauteng corruption and misgovernance

This morning I was maliciously removed while speaking on the debate of the Premier’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) at a virtual sitting of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

During my speech I was cut off and informed on my computer screen that “Someone removed you from the meeting.”

I rejoined the meeting virtually and tried to continue but I was removed several times and could not finish my speech.

I raised this with Speaker Ntombi Mekgwe and she said it would be investigated.

It is clear that someone did not want me to finish my speech exposing Premier David Makhura’s lack of accountability for corruption and misgovernance in the Gauteng Health Department.

Makhura has failed to stop massive corruption multiple times. He made the wrong appointments and failed to do the oversight that would have prevented the scandals in which lives were lost and money was stolen.

I will not be silenced in exposing how Makhura is not fit to govern.

The speech  can be accessed here,

Premier Makhura’s SOPA wish list will not move Gauteng forward

Madam Speaker,

Good Morning.

Honourable Members,

Let me start by congratulating all the learners who sat for the 2020 end of year examinations, and especially to the Matric learners. To all teachers who rejected the call to postpone the future of our children, we salute you, well done! 

We are joining you in celebrating the outstanding performance of our learners, schools, districts, and the province during this difficult period of the national lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Honourable Premier, when Covid-19 first hit the country, it created so many uncertainties, however, South Africans gave all their trust to politicians who are the leaders in government to guide them and manage the pandemic. 

When the national lockdown was implemented in March last year, people had hoped that government was doing its absolute best to contain the virus and putting the nation’s interest first.  Little did they know that politicians were taking advantage of this pandemic to enrich themselves.

Honourable Premier, when you said there is no corruption in Gauteng, we almost believed you. Remember the first corruption allegations when Mr. Hamilton Mtshali bought luxurious vehicles which went viral on social media? 

There were also claims that you were blessed with one of the best Jeep cars from Hamilton as a reward for offering him a big Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) tender. You then corrected it and that was when the PPE tender scandals started to be exposed throughout the country. 

Some politicians could not resist the temptation but continued to break the trust. It was difficult for the opposition politicians to conduct robust oversight and to hold the executive to account because of the lockdown regulations. 

Many of these regulations did not even make sense or based on science, but South Africans were informed that it was part of government’s commitment to save lives. 

Many people failed to bid farewell to their beloved ones. Interprovincial travel was prohibited. 

Many have lost income as their companies could not conduct business as a result of the lockdown regulations. Many jobs were lost while some tenderpreneurs were busy at work. They were focused on looting the public coffers.

Real entrepreneurs lost out because they do not have the so-called good network with government. Unfortunately, the tenderprenuers are not creating employment opportunities but they are winning huge tenders. 

It is appalling to learn that the learning and teaching technology deployed in our schools in this province does not match the 4th industrial revolution needs. The Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) is not ready to connect anyone in this province. 

Schools were closed as there were many organizations and parents advocating against the opening of schools during the pandemic. We are proud that the decision to continue with learning and teaching under difficult circumstances was taken. 

We have managed to navigate, and even though while some of us supported this decision, others saw an opportunity to loot from the Gauteng Department of Education and other departments.

The Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi told the members of the Education Portfolio Committee in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) and the residents of this province that he will give each school R15 000 to disinfect all schools and that they had also received free disinfect services from Bidvest to ensure that all schools are safe and sanitized.

Little did we know that R431 million was up for grabs and many schools did not benefit from this money. 

During my recent oversight inspections to different schools across the province, these schools were shocked to learn about R431 million that has been spent on sanitizing schools while they only received R15 000, and some were rendered the free services by Bidvest.

Corruption denies our poor people opportunities. As a province we will never win a fight against corruption until there are consequences. 

Enough with more investigations and hiding of the reports like many forensic audits which are kept inside the locked office shelves. 

Who is taking responsibility and who is being held accountable for all these corruption cases?

Certain officials will tell us that the term of office is five years and there will be a change of leadership. Are we witnessing officials revolting against the current administration knowing that it is your last term? 

We have seen ongoing irregular expenditures worth billions of rand. Every year, the Auditor-General will make findings, but still remains the government’s challenge to date. 

On the other hand, our provincial department consistently underspends on its allocated budget yet there are no consequences while communities are denied quality services they deserve. 

As we speak now, there are so many learners who are sitting at home who have not been allocated schools. 

The department has failed to effectively use the online admission system to plan for more intake in high demanding areas. 

The ANC-led Gauteng administration claims that they prioritize poor people and the working class while the children of those parents are sitting at home unplaced as they cannot afford independent schools. 

This is clearly widening the inequality and poverty gap in this province. There is no definite answer as of when these unplaced learners will be allocated schools. 

I have sent so many emails to MEC Lesufi yet there is no solution as to why these children are being subjected to such traumatic situations. 

These learners are losing contact lessons and are now forced to join those who have dropped out of the system.

While provincial government has returned billions of rand to the Treasury due to under expenditure, many schools across the province are in dire need of adequate infrastructure including eradicating asbestos schools.

For example, Diepsloot Secondary Schools does not have a fence, the school has been vandalized and valuable equipment stolen during the school holidays. This school has again achieved 100% pass rate and you promised to build a brick and mortar school but to date there are still using mobile classrooms.

Many schools have been burgled and vandalized several times, yet there are no measures being put in place to secure and safeguard the schools. There is no effective school safety strategy.

Government has failed to build new schools in areas where there are new developments as well as to eradicate asbestos schools, yet they continue to underspend on infrastructure budget with billions of rand. 

While we congratulate the Class of 2020, learner drop out still remains the biggest challenge facing the province. Gauteng enrolled 157 253 Grade 1 learners in 2009. In 2020, 92 285 wrote the Grade 12 matric examination. 

The percentage of learners who started grade 1 in 2009 and wrote the final exams in 2020 and passed is 58.68%.  This is worrying and there is a need for an urgent intervention to address learner dropouts in the province.

The introduction of schools of specialization is a great initiative, however the pace in which these schools are being built or transformed is slow.

The same day when the State of the Province Address (SOPA) was delivered, Stats SA also released unemployment statistics. Education must respond to the unemployment challenge; however, the main focus is on tenderpreneurs instead of entrepreneurs. 

Commitment to publish evaluation reports of all grades was made last year. When will this start? We are tired of empty promises. Honourable Premier, your SOPA failed to deal with unplaced learners. 

The department is failing to help parents to place learners for the inwards grades, yet these children are of school going age. It is the responsibility of the department to ensure that these children attend school. It also the right of these children to access basic education.

In all these years, you have exposed yourself as a Premier who never took accountability for the provincial government as a whole only your office, but your party always talk about collective leadership. 

The constitutional role of the provincial government has not been upheld, corruption has taken the centre stage because you have never actively set the example for your cabinet and senior officials to follow, which makes it even more obvious that you are not fit to continue governing this province.

Dealing with the Gauteng Pandemic

Ndza khensa mutshami wa xitulu, 

Honourable Members, 

People of Gauteng, 

Fellow South Africans.

We are debating the Gauteng State of the Province address at a time when our country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic. I send my condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones to this deadly virus. I thank all the healthcare workers who have been on the frontline fighting this pandemic, hi khensile. 

On Tuesday, the Premier delivered what was supposed to be the state of the Gauteng Province. It was an opportunity for the Premier to unpack the true state of Gauteng, its challenges, and how best we can emerge from the dire situation in which we find ourselves. The premier used over 8500 words to say very little, if anything at all. Ecclesiastes chapter 6, verse 11 reads “The more the words, the less the meaning and how does that profit anyone?”. The people of Gauteng have not profited in any way from the many words that you said on Tuesday, Sir. 

At the same time that the Premier was speaking, Statistics South Africa released the 2020 fourth quarter Labour Force Survey. The latest quartely Labour Force Survey indicates that over 7 million people in South Africa are unemployed with Gauteng accounting for 2,3 million. Gauteng has the second highest unemployment rate after the Eastern Cape. What we are observing is the urbanization of unemployment and poverty. More people are poor and unemployed in Gauteng than they were in 2014 when you took charge as the premier of this province. 

This was the seventh state of the province address you delivered, and as I sat here listening to you, I asked myself, what would be the best way to measure your new list of promises, the seventh set of promises? For the last seven years, you have done well to deliver promises or wishes to the people of Gauteng. The best way to judge a man and a Premier is not on what they say they will do, but on what they are known to have done. Hi Xitsonga hi ri mintirho ya vulavula. And for you Sir, your empty promises speak for themselves. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe says “Knowing is not enough, we must apply, willing is not enough, we must act.” You Sir, have failed to apply that which you know and your actions have not followed your wishes. 

This is your second term as a Premier of Gauteng; it is supposed to be a term wherein you accelerate building a capable Gauteng that offers an effective response to the challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty that the people of Gauteng face, but you have been a disappointment. Watching you deliver your address on Tuesday, I could tell that you were preoccupied with matters other than the business of being the Premier of Gauteng. 

The boldness you displayed in your first term has been replaced with a lot of inaction. You are leading like you are dancing on eggshells; scared to take decisions that would upset some constituencies in your own organization. By so doing, you have succeeded in disappointing the people of Gauteng by your inaction. 

I know you will dismiss my conclusion as a normal reaction of an opposition Member, but you and I know that even your own comrades are talking about life after Makhura; not in 2024, but sooner than that. Even your own comrades believe that you are no longer fit to lead Gauteng, and not just the ANC. The Makariki faction, which you know very well is busy mobilizing for your ouster. Talk has it that you will not finish the second term. The popular hashtag in Gauteng is #MakhuraNotFitToGovern. 

If I were in your shoes, I would lead like it is my last day, for I don’t know when the Makariki faction will strike. I would do good by the people of Gauteng.

Mr. Premier, you are a likeable man who talks the good talk but can’t walk the talk. What Gauteng needs is a Premier that walks more than he/she talks. More doing and less talking. Seven years later, your legacy in Gauteng is rising unemployment, Life Esidimeni, Covid-19 corruption, a collapsed Gauteng Enterprise Propeller,  and a failing healthcare system.  

There was a time that people used to believe you were different, but we now know that even staff members in your own office have the bravado to engage in corrupt practices that robs the people of Gauteng of important services. The fish rots from the head, and in Gauteng, corruption starts at the Premier’s office. You even went to court to confirm that indeed staff members in your own office facilitated corruption. 

With rising unemployment in Gauteng, these are the urgent tasks that you and your government should be focusing on: 

1.      Urgently lobbying of the Minister of Labour and Employment to make it less problematic for companies or firms to hire the millions of unemployed people of Gauteng. Gauteng should be a special employment zone where it is easy to hire the people of Gauteng. To hire more people in the special economic zones, we need a flexible labour framework. When we talk of SEZ, we must be talking of Special Employment Zones. The Premier should be at the forefront of this lobby and leading the fight to Parliament for the benefit of the people of Gauteng.  

2.      The Gauteng Growth Development Agency (GGDA) together with the national Department of Trade and Industry and Competition, should be leading efforts to open export channels of goods produced in Gauteng. The GGDA and the Department of Economic Development should be looking at taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area.  

 

For the economy to grow, we need capital investment, improved technology, entrepreneurship, labour, and producing goods and services that the rest of the world wants to consume. We know we have available labour; we need to get the labour skilled. The best way to gain a skill is to be employed, hence our SEZs should be Special Employment Zones with flexible labour laws. 

 

3.      Urgently stabilize the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) so it is able to assist entrepreneurs that are starting and running business in Gauteng and ensure the R250 million partnership fund that is in the hands of GEP is distributed to assist small businesses in order to kickstart the Gauteng economy. 

I understand why you did not touch on these matters as your mind is on what the Makariki Faction will do; whether or not they will allow you to finish your term, you chose to hide behind a lot of words to say very little. Even the response to your fellow members in attendance was very, very muted. One could surmise that your heart is not in it anymore, just like your favorite football team. You are just waiting for your last day to come. 

Having observed and lived under your leadership in the last seven years, I have come to the conclusion that you Sir, and your administration, are not fit to govern Gauteng. 

Ndza khensa.