Find solutions to improve province

IT is not at all comforting to learn that the Eastern Cape has been named the worst province in the country in which to live, based on a number of economic and social factors which include the highest unemployment and lowest income levels.

But to be fair, there can be little surprise in the findings of the South African Institute of Race Relations, given that we are only too painfully aware that we live in an extremely poor province wracked by poverty, malnutrition and crippling service delivery issues.

With joblessness in the province in the second quarter of this year sitting at 44.4% compared to 29% in Gauteng and 25.4% in the Western Cape, it becomes patently clear that living in this region – for many hundreds of thousands of residents – is a daily struggle.

Education was also a factor in the rankings and with this year’s matric results expected in just a few days, we will know exactly whether we are making any headway in overcoming the deficiencies in schooling which have seen the province post such dismal pass rates year after year.

Access to piped water and regular refuse removal were just some of the other aspects of daily life where we ended up bottom of the pile.

The government has to take well-researched findings like these seriously.

ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane says the province is well on its way to turning things around through the promotion of small industries and paying more attention to agriculture. But such efforts need to be fast-tracked like never before.

While job creation is paramount to alleviate poverty and hunger, there has to be a concerted effort by government to tackle every negative aspect listed by the institute and introduce strategies which will address our most pressing service delivery and education needs. It is high time for the ANC to come up with workable solutions.