Premier’s
ambitions need a capable government to succeed
The following address made by Anthony Benadie MPL, DA Provincial
Leader to the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature on 1 July 2014, during the
debate on the Premier’s 2014 State of the Province Address.
“The DA notes the state of the province address as delivered on
Friday. This address is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious government’s
plans yet and both the Premier and his government will have their work cut out
for them even if only a fraction of the set targets are to be achieved.
“We remain concerned at many of the announcements, especially
those which were merely a re-hash of previous SOPA’s we are indeed pleased that
this SOPA contained many DA policy proposals and it is pleasing that government
has embarked, in some aspects, on a direction which we can support in
principle,” said Banerd.
Hon Speaker, we welcome in particular:
• The
provincial government’s commitment to the implementation of the National
Development Plan, which contains many proposals that supported across party
political lines, and if implemented correctly can go a long way in edging our
provincial economic growth to the mentioned 5% mark.
• Coupled to
that is governments commitment to infrastructure spending, across all
government sectors,
• And the
establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s), which the DA has called for
years ago,
•
The
acknowledgement that school principals are the managers of their schools and
should be held accountable for what happens under their watch, especially in
under-performing schools. That said, it is also important that principals in
good performing schools are recognised, rewarded and granted greater autonomy
to manage their education institutions.
• So too Hon
Speaker, we welcome the acknowledgement that our province is in a health crisis
and it is encouraging that government will place greater emphasis on the core
leadership of health facilities, provide them with sufficient support and to
hold them to account accordingly.
However Hon Premier, the real test of creating a better Mpumalanga does not lie
in your ability to deliver a speech filled with political jargon and rhetoric
aimed at soothing the ears of every listener, but rather in the ability of your
administration to execute and implement the policy announcements you have made.
It is in this light that we firmly believe that you have over-estimated
the competence of your executive and administration, and while you may be
committed to achieving objectives set out in your SOPA, the question is are
they?
And as it stands, the answer is a clear NO!
It is a clear no, because as we speak, hundreds of house
resolutions taken during the previous term remain unimplemented, due to the
tendency of your government to merely ignore and undermine the resolutions of
this house.
While it is bold for you to have diagnosed several government
short comings, the real question is why you have allowed it to happen. It is
under your watchful eye that our health department descended into virtual
collapse because you were too busy settling political scores with your
opponents rather than focussing on the health of our citizens.
It is under your leadership that our education system today
remains one of the most unequal in the world, where the quality of education
afforded to urban learners is in stark contrast to the poor quality education
afforded to rural learners. Hon Premier, what will your government is doing to
eradicate the inequalities in our education system. It is under your leadership
that our performance in the Annual National Assessment remains minimal and is
in fact deteriorating.
Hon Premier, you held accountable for the chaos you have allowed
to develop at the MTPA and MEGA. While you have set an ambitious target of
creating 390 000 jobs by 2019, how on earth are you going to attain that with a
current growth rate of less than 2% and an entity (MEGA) tasked with
facilitating economic growth, in complete disarray.
So too, how are we going to comprehensively market Mpumalanga as a
top tourist destination when the MTPA is embroiled in its own civil war and
tourism facilities and parks in our province continue to fall apart?
Over the past five years you have spoken extensively about the
supply of bulk water infrastructure, the establishment of the university, the
cultural hub, the Moloto rail corridor, the fresh produce market, the high
altitude sport centre and many more, yet today, years after making these
announcements, we still have very little to show for it.
Hon Premier what will be different this time? Where are the
indicators that your executive and administration will awake from this SOPA and
go out to implement a single one of the announcements you have made.
Your previous actions (or lack thereof) speak louder than your
words. While it is clear that you are desperate to portray yourself as the new
saviour of our provinces despair, when in fact you are the very cause of our
province’s poor state.
Hon Speaker, while we in the DA are as committed as ever to see
our province grow and our people prosper, and while we will be there to support
where support is to be given, we will not be fooled by fanfare speeches, we are
watching your every move, we will conduct our oversight over your government
and we will be there to hold you and your government to account, because you
have made the promises you have, and the real test will lie in your ability implement
these and truly bring about a better life for all.
