When Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi delivers his first State of The Province (SoPA) address tomorrow evening – less than six months after he replaced David Makhura – he should not attempt to announce populist plans but instead focus on getting the basics right such as economic recovery, crime, and corruption.
Premier Lesufi should also not seek to use his maiden SoPA as an attempt to separate himself from Makhura as he was in Makhura’s cabinet when Covid-19 PPE corruption occurred; he was there when Life Esidimeni occurred where 144 died, and he was there when whistleblower, Babita Deokaran, was killed.
It will furthermore be impossible for Lesufi to radically change budgets and performance plans with national and provincial government elections roughly a year away.
ActionSA, therefore, urges Premier Lesufi to focus on the basics by announcing a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic recovery and reindustrialisation plan after Makhura’s plans delivered little to no results.
Among these may include using the existing expanded public works programme (EPWP) to provide work opportunities to more people, especially young people, to help fix the potholes in our roads, clear public spaces and improve service delivery.
A provincial strategy to address load shedding should also be announced as it is one of the biggest obstacles for the provincial economy, while corruption investigations should be completed, and unethical public servants should be held accountable.
Furthermore, the e-tolls question should finally be resolved by possibly using the gantries as a traffic enforcement tool, and the spiraling crime rate in the province should be addressed by, among others, partnering with community policing forums.
There is no question that the Gauteng Province is falling behind its peers, with the Western Cape consistently surpassing it in terms of approved building plans and private investment. Gauteng is in crisis with the provincial unemployment rate shooting up from 29.5% in 2016 to 33.7% last year.
But, ActionSA believes that if Premier Lesufi addresses these basics, the province can once again get back on track and become the beacon of hope for South Africa, driving economic growth everyone can benefit from.
As a political movement committed to ethical public leadership and social justice, ActionSA will keep Premier Lesufi accountable to ensure that he does not get swept up by populist rhetoric but deliver the basics our people desperately need.
Gauteng SoPA: Lesufi Must Not Get Distracted with Populist Plans – but Focus on Getting the Basics Right
When Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi delivers his first State of The Province (SoPA) address tomorrow evening – less than six months after he replaced David Makhura – he should not attempt to announce populist plans but instead focus on getting the basics right such as economic recovery, crime, and corruption.
Premier Lesufi should also not seek to use his maiden SoPA as an attempt to separate himself from Makhura as he was in Makhura’s cabinet when Covid-19 PPE corruption occurred; he was there when Life Esidimeni occurred where 144 died, and he was there when whistleblower, Babita Deokaran, was killed.
It will furthermore be impossible for Lesufi to radically change budgets and performance plans with national and provincial government elections roughly a year away.
ActionSA, therefore, urges Premier Lesufi to focus on the basics by announcing a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic recovery and reindustrialisation plan after Makhura’s plans delivered little to no results.
Among these may include using the existing expanded public works programme (EPWP) to provide work opportunities to more people, especially young people, to help fix the potholes in our roads, clear public spaces and improve service delivery.
A provincial strategy to address load shedding should also be announced as it is one of the biggest obstacles for the provincial economy, while corruption investigations should be completed, and unethical public servants should be held accountable.
Furthermore, the e-tolls question should finally be resolved by possibly using the gantries as a traffic enforcement tool, and the spiraling crime rate in the province should be addressed by, among others, partnering with community policing forums.
There is no question that the Gauteng Province is falling behind its peers, with the Western Cape consistently surpassing it in terms of approved building plans and private investment. Gauteng is in crisis with the provincial unemployment rate shooting up from 29.5% in 2016 to 33.7% last year.
But, ActionSA believes that if Premier Lesufi addresses these basics, the province can once again get back on track and become the beacon of hope for South Africa, driving economic growth everyone can benefit from.
As a political movement committed to ethical public leadership and social justice, ActionSA will keep Premier Lesufi accountable to ensure that he does not get swept up by populist rhetoric but deliver the basics our people desperately need.