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Opposition parties are often accused of politicising issues in KwaZulu-Natal. Yesterday, however, during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) it was the Premier that fired the first salvo, clearly indicating the ANC’s policy of “do as I say and not as I do”.

Yesterday, the Premier intimated that the ANC was responsible for the delivery of houses. This statement is the epitome of opportunism. The ANC does not deliver or prioritize houses, the ANC cannot even pay its staff salaries, let alone supply housing.

Yesterday’s Address was full of content but desperately short on deliverables. While some credit must be given to the Premier for having the ability to identify and acknowledge the challenges, there is no merit in not having defined and workable solutions to those challenges

Looking back at the Premier's earlier promises in his 2021 SOPA has highlighted that this event is unfortunately much ado about nothing. At that time, the Premier identified that his government would address the following;

Re-igniting economic recovery and job creation
Building social cohesion, fighting crime and corruption
Delivering basic services in particular water
Building a capable and ethical development state.

Premier – what happened to these grand plans for last year?

Today;

There has been no re-igniting of our economic recovery and job creation. In fact, KZN’s unemployment rate has increased to the point where almost half of the working population are unemployed. This while business and investment is pulling out of our province or collapsing every single day. Perhaps the Premier needs to take a leaf out of the book of the President and publicly admit that industry and business must create jobs, not government. It is government’s responsibility to create a conducive environment, with less bureaucratic red tape to allow business to flourish and create jobs.

There has been no building social cohesion, fighting crime and corruption. Instead, KZN’s people were left abandoned in July 2021. According to a report into the insurrection, ANC factional issues played a key role. The same report indicates that it is not a matter of ‘if’ this kind of unrest will happen again but indeed “when”.

There has been no decrease in KZN’s murder rate – the highest in the country. This while SAPS remain incapacitated by appalling working conditions, insufficient resources and a lack of proper training.

There is no evidence of proper consequence management when it comes to corruption. This applies particularly to the blatant theft of PPE during the pandemic, the so-called blanket saga within the Department of Social Development, the e-procurement tool forensic report - the list is endless.

Just yesterday, the Premier told us about consequence management and alluded to the number of officials having been charged. Does this mean no politicians are ever involved in fraud and corruption?

Today, there has been no significant improvement in delivering basic services in particular water. The lack of success in this area is representative of the enormity of failures under the Premier and his government. The very city we find ourselves in today, the city of choice is just one example of water failures. eThekwini has now joined the cities with water woes in the province. Add to that Ugu, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality and UMkhanyakude district and one is left questioning what delivery service was the Premier talking about?

The Premier refers to 80% of KZN having access to water. The DA challenges that statement - perhaps 80% of our province has the infrastructure but 80% of our people certainly do not have a constant supply of water. An example of this is the eight-year saga in Ugu. Yesterday the Premier seemed to wake up to this situation but his undertakings were weak and without solution. The Premier implied that once the current infrastructure works are completed that the water crisis will end. This is not correct at all. The infrastructure backlog is so bad that it just kicks the crisis further down the pipeline to the next plant in the water infrastructure.

By June 2022, Eskom should have completed the new high voltage power line to the Umtamvuna Waterworks. However, this waterworks does not have the low and high-level pumps in place to pump the extra 20Ml needed to the water shortages there. Additionally, there is no budget in place to procure these pumps.

In October 2022, the upgrades at the St Helens Rock Extraction Point should be complete. However, the Bhobhoyi Waterworks needs a massive R100 million upgrade to the plant to handle the additional water that it will receive. There needs to be a new berm on the Umzimkhulu River, new clarifiers and debris filters at the waterworks.

The Mkhomazi Water Scheme - implemented by Umgeni Water - is to build a new dam and water infrastructure on the Umkomaas River is a long-term project that will only be completed in 20-50 years’ time. Additionally, current Umgeni Water infrastructure only extends as far south as Pennington so this dam will not assist the water crisis in Ugu South.

Today, there has been no real movement towards Building a Capable and Ethical Development State. For far too long this mantra has been tossed around by the ANC with little or no improvement. A capable and ethical state starts with the premier and his cabinet. Leading from the front, leading by example and not the continual empty threats of accountability and consequence, nothing will change. Our province remains trapped in its own incapacity and captured by political opportunists out to enrich themselves at the expense of service delivery.

It has been a very rough year for the people of our province. They certainly don’t need the Premier to tell them that. As I stand here today, the safety of our people remains at risk following the July 2021 insurrection - President Ramaphosa and Minister Bheki Cele have called it just that.

Earlier this week, the DA set out its expectations ahead of yesterday’s Debate. We outlined the areas where we wanted to see intervention. At the top of our agenda were;

The safety of KZN’s people. The Premier should have outlined in his SOPA what he and his cabinet are doing to ensure that KZN’s people are never again abandoned in their hour of need as they were during the week of insurrection and anarchy in July 2021. According to a report into the carnage, ANC factional issues played a key role. The same report indicates that it is not a matter of ‘if’ this kind of unrest will happen again, but ‘when’. Yesterday, the Premier missed the opportunity to tell us how many people have been arrested and convicted for the attempted insurrection.

SAPS. Given that these are the very individuals tasked with protecting KZN’s citizens, the Premier should have informed us as to how he is going to capacitate SAPS to do so. Recent oversights conducted by KZN MPLs showed appalling working conditions, insufficient resources and a lack of proper training leaving them ill-equipped to save anyone, let alone themselves.

Provision of Housing. Yesterday, the Premier referred to the ‘glorious revolutionary movement of the people of South Africa, the ANC’. Today I have invited some special guests to this House - my hosts and residents of the Mathe Transit Camp in Lamontville. I recently spent two days and nights in this transit camp hosted by the local community. Today I extend my gratitude and thanks to the family that hosted me and the warm reception from the community. This transit camp was built in 2006 and the residents were told that they would receive formal housing within six to eight months. Twelve years later, they still live in the most horrendous condition. If you need to see inequality, then this is the epitome of inequality. Families live in a one-room tin roofed shack, which is a living room, kitchen and bedroom - no privacy whatsoever. In my hosts’ home, both parents share the one room with four children, ranging in age from eight to 15 years old.
The transit camp has one ablution and shower facility for all residents - men woman and children. The doors to the toilets and showers are missing or broken, there are only two toilets working and only one cold water shower and there were no basins. The area stank as sewerage flowed down the steep street forming pools of sludge.
Today, I would like to introduce my hosts at Mathe Transit Camp to the Premier and his Cabinet as I sincerely doubt that they will deign to go there for themselves and give answers to this community.
Yesterday, the Premier told us that there would be no transit camps remaining after 2023. Perhaps in his response he can tell the people of Mathe transit camp when they will be moved and where they will be moved too? And, who is funding this project and when will a formal housing list be commenced?

Knowing the Premier and the comrades in this House, I do not expect any response, other than calling the DA out as opportunist, racist, neo liberals and all the other rather sad innuendoes that we have become accustomed too. Now the people can see for themselves what the glorious revolutionary movement thinks of their plight.

Local government. Just last week the Premier admitted that the ANC had failed the residents of Msunduzi. We all knew that. What we wanted to hear was why the Premier and his cabinet had allowed the city to collapse under there watch? What we want to hear is accountability and consequence for those cadres deployed who have failed the people. The reality is this will never happen under the watch of the Premier and the ANC - 28 years is proof of this fact.
What is the Premier going to do to ensure that municipalities all comply, so that effective service delivery becomes the sole focus of local government? Running a provincial project to assist with the replacing of streets lights is ludicrous. Placing dysfunctional municipalities under administration is a failure; Msunduzi speaks for itself on that count.

Residents of KZN are sick and tired of paying local government for services that are non-existent but the bloated bureaucracy continues to grow unabated. The DA wants action plans with time frames.

We want accountability and consequence - as the Premier so often prides himself and his cabinet with implementing. Just last week, the Premier mislead the people about the cost of the Royal wives’ motor vehicles. Then, to make matters worse, he threw his own officials under the bus, claiming that he, the Premier had been misinformed. The Premier would do well to remember that he took an oath of office and that the buck stops with him.

In just two years’ time, the people of KZN will again go to the polls. With this in mind, the DA has developed a Blueprint (view here) for a DA-led KZN.

This is a document which puts the needs of KZN’s people first, prioritising their safety while creating economic prosperity and ultimately providing jobs and services. It also provides feasible solutions to the key challenges within KZN’s provincial government departments.

Premier – the DA’s message to you is this. If you and your ANC cannot do a proper job of running our province - then step aside and allow those with the political will the opportunity to do so.

Issued by Leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature, Francois Rodgers, MPL