Lesufi makes big promises

‘Eskom was an opposition political party.’ PROMISES ELECTRICITY TO SOWETO RESIDENTS, JOBS AND BURSARIES

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has called on uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) military veterans to not join former president Jacob Zuma’s party of the same name, but to stay in the ANC and help fight crime in Gauteng.

Lesufi and other ANC leaders were at the Orlando East Communal Hall last weekend for an assembly of volunteers.

Lesufi made several promises to voters, with topics including the employment of youth and MK veterans, and the restoration of electricity in Soweto.

He called on MK veterans to remain members in the ruling party, because it had plans to employ them to fight crime in Gauteng.

“From 1 March, we need veterans of MK and other military organisations.

“We need 3 000 of you to come and join the provincial government to go and fight crime in Gauteng,” said Lesufi. “All combatants of MK do not go to that side. Come to this side. From 5 February, we want to take you to train you to come and work and fight crime.”

The young people hired as teacher assistants at schools, whose contracts ended in October 2023, would also not just sit at home, said Lesufi. “From 1 February, we will start to employ people so that we don’t have young people that are unemployed in our province. “There were 35 000 young people who are employed to take care of our children in our schools.”

Another offer on the table was every pupil who came first, second or third in every school would receive a bursary until they finished their tertiary education.

“I want to declare to you that the government that I have the honour to lead believes in education,” he said.

Electricity was also back in the spotlight for Soweto residents who, according to Lesufi, were being sidelined by Eskom.

Lesufi promised to install at least 500 transformers a week in Soweto until there were 2 500 of them.

“Comrades in Soweto, we knew Eskom was an opposition political party [there].

“I want to declare to you, all the transformers that are not working in Soweto ... the government has got 2 500 transformers [and] we’re going to install all those transformers in all your areas.

“There will not be any area that will not have electricity in Soweto,” he said.

In December, Eskom had to release a statement clarifying that it had not processed any debt writeoffs for either residents or municipalities following Lesufi’s promise that “all” historical debt owed to Eskom had been scrapped.

“We are happy that national government has agreed that all the people owing Eskom for years – all those debts have now been scrapped,” said Lesufi at the time.

Combatants of MK do not go to that side. Come to this side.