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 The Democratic Alliance in North West today launched our Plan for Growth and Jobs in Potchefstroom. The full plan outlines our policy platform as an alternative provincial government and is available here.

The on-going strikes and terrible living conditions of workers in the platinum belt continue to highlight the delivery crisis caused by ineffective governance in the North West. In fact, as strikes continue to spread, the North West government is failing to show any leadership at all.
 
Over the next few weeks, we will systematically release our growth and job creation proposals. The North-West must become a province of working people and our proposals seek to fill the vacuum created by the ANC’s failed attempts to create jobs in our province. Every corner of our province presents unique opportunities, and a distinct focus of the plan is on improving education for the children of workers, creating more jobs and improving living conditions:

• The DA would increase the rollout of roads and basic service infrastructure through public-private partnerships with the mining and agriculture to fast-track the improvement of living conditions for workers in the province
• The DA would expand training and hands-on support for emerging farmers in the North West by increasing the budget for mentorship programmes. The programmes will include partnering successful commercial partners with emerging farmers who require support to grow their agri-businesses. This is a far more successful model than the current piece-meal training provided by the North West Agriculture Department which does not meet the needs of emerging farmers.
• A DA government in the North West would revisit the tenders awarded to companies for the transport of poor children to rural schools. We would ensure that busses hired for this purpose are, safe roadworthy, on time and not overloaded.  
• The DA will set the ambitious and achievable target of providing every learner with a textbook in every core subject in their grade, on time, every year. This is already being achieved where we govern through methods such as an online ordering that streamlines orders and eliminates corruption as well increased monitoring and support to schools.
• Open specialised secondary schools that focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. These schools will feature highly trained teachers and specialist facilities such as computer labs, mathematics study rooms, physics and chemistry labs and technology centres. These schools will give learners the competitive skills they need to succeed in the job market, or lay the foundation for further higher education and training. This approach would replace the currently ineffective Dinaledi schools programme in the North West. A shining example of success where the DA governs is the COSAT school in Khayelitsha that, in 2011, became the first township school to break into the provincial top 10 schools.

With the launch of this plan, the DA is providing policy substance to our push for better governance in the North West. Over the coming weeks and months we will take this plan to the people of the North West and advocate for the government to change its approach to service delivery which is causing so much suffering for so many.