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ID Western Cape Provincial Secretary Rodney Lentit says ‘the Independent Democrats has very high expectations from Western Cape Premier Helen Zille in her State of the Province Address tomorrow (Friday, 29 May 2009).

‘The ID wishes to emphasize that we are expecting honesty, responsibility, accountability, good, clean governance and efficient delivery to the people of the Western Cape,' Mr Lentit says.

‘The ID wants the Premier to focus on unemployment and job creation, poverty, housing, crime, and health, including the HIV/Aids pandemic.'

UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOB CREATION

‘We want the Premier to tell us what her plans are for the thousands of unemployed people across our province, to ensure that they too will have jobs and enjoy the benefits of employment.

‘The Premier must also tell us what she plans to do to ease the burden of the fishing communities. We want to know what her plans are for Sustained Economic Growth for the Western Cape.

‘We would also want the Premier to report back on the local economic development initiatives which were implemented by her predecessors, and who has benefited from these.

‘We need an assurance from the Premier that her administration will not be biased towards those already employed in government and the private sector, or those who have already benefited from government contracts.

‘The ID's wish is that her focus will shift to the working poor and the unemployed and those small and medium enterprise businesses that stand in line for a long time when contract opportunities arise.'

POVERTY REDUCTION

‘We would like to hear the Premier say that she will prioritise the reduction of poverty, as too many people are still living in abject poverty and the gap between the rich and poor is widening.

‘Our people in rural areas, female-headed households, people with disabilities, farm workers, aids orphans and the aged are the most vulnerable groupings in our society, and we expect the Premier to make their needs one of the main priorities in her address.'

HOUSING

‘The ID understands the plight of our people who have been on the housing waiting list for many years. Our people are living in backyards and shacks and the need for proper housing has become another pandemic that subjects our people to TB and related diseases.

‘The Premier must tell us what alternatives and solutions are in place for those that do not have homes in places like Elsies River, Plettenberg Bay, George, Paarl and Delft.'

CRIME

‘Crime, drug abuse and gangsterism remain problems for many communities in the Western Cape. We need a comprehensive solution to these problems through consultation with communities.

‘The ID expects the Premier to address the high rate of gangsterism and drug abuse, which needs "intensive action", such as in Mitchells Plain, Paarl, Khayelitsha, Manenberg, Hanover Park, Nyanga and Elsies River.'

HEALTH

‘Access to specialized healthcare services for residents living outside the greater Cape Town area needs to be urgently addressed. Hundreds of our people who are in need of care are forced to spend many hours traveling to to Provincial Hospitals to receive treatment.

‘In addition, the conditions in these hospitals need to be improved as they are often unhygienic and the quality of service is very poor. We want to know what plans the Premier has to truly provide decent healthcare to all our people.'