We want a cabinet that puts us first

KZN leader for the DASizwe Mchunu says the State of the Province address failed to inspire. This is his abridged response in the legislature this week

I’M AWARE it is not customary for this House to engage in a debate on the official opening speech by King Goodwill Zwelithini.

However, I respectfully wish to convey the DA’s appreciation to His Majesty for the address, which tackled many critical issues that confront our province.

It saddens me to think of the many calls he has made to this provincial government – requests which have largely been ignored over the years.

These include giving the people of KZN what is deservedly theirs without trying to loot their votes, rooting out corruption from within government and broader consultation with stakeholders and role players on matters that affect them.

I can only hope that one day sanity will prevail and some of these critical calls will be heeded.

The premier urged us to give due respect to matters relating to the royal households. The DA is in full agreement but such action should start with you.

It is you that did not consult His Majesty about your intention to have the Royal Household department dismantled.

It is officials in your office who have not heeded the invitation from His Majesty to engage him on staffing and financial management matters relating to the royal household.

Mr Premier and the ANC, you must lead the way in giving the deserved and due respect to His Majesty and affairs of the royal household.

I now come to what was meant to be a State of the Province address – but what was in effect a “state of the KZN Provincial Growth Development Plan over the past five years”.

I hasten to add that, as residents we should be grateful we do not live in the North West or Limpopo – the two worstperforming ANC provincial governments.

By the same token, I could also say it is unfortunate we don’t live in the Western Cape or Gauteng – the two best-run as per the Auditor-General’s findings in the 2013/14 audit.

Instead, we live in KwaZuluNatal, a province which, if governed properly, has the potential to be up there along with these two top-performers.

The premier’s speech and my role as leader of the opposition in KZN prompted me to use this platform to convey the pleas of thousands of our residents and voters.

They are crying out for a government that “listens to the people”. Today, I want to ask you to hear their voices.

Last week’s address showed just how out of touch the premier is with the reality of the daily lives of ordinary KZN residents. His speech failed to inspire people in our province; instead, it was depressing.

The premier, by implication, has admitted his party and his leadership have failed the people of the province. In his speech it emerged:

Despite having taken office 10 months ago, he has not managed to achieve some of his own “100 days in office” promises. One wonders if he will meet any of the latest commitments.

The premier indicated there had been a significant increase in the number of people receiving social grants, which means more people are state-dependent. This, in effect, means the poverty gap is widening rather than closing.

He said the number of people/households living below the poverty line had increased in KZN – this under ANC leadership.

He pointed out 42 percent of our roads were regarded as bad, yet did not regard this statistic as worrying.

He indicated there were still households that don’t have access to 75 litres of running water a day.

The premier told us that, according to recent statistics, serious and violent crime such as murder, attempted murder, rape, assault, arson and stock theft were still high.

He told us the rate of farm murders in KZN was also high.

He spoke of the high rate of failure of small, medium and micro enterprises and cooperatives.

The Premier was notably silent on:

The matric results cheating scandal and teacher colleges.

The DurbanPietermaritzburg business train.

Pupil transport in the province.

Mr Premier, while your address was far from inspiring I would not go so far as to call you a “broken man”. Instead, I would warn you that the cracks are starting to show.

The question I want to put to you today is: How do you want KZN to be perceived – at the top of the list with the Western Cape and Gauteng or down at the bottom with all the nonperformers?

The success of our province and the overall test must lie with employment figures. This is the barometer by which we can measure the success of the ANC’s rule – and it is not a good indicator.

At a recent KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs portfolio committee, the department revealed more than 40 percent of people in KZN are unemployed. To make matters worse, our youth make up 70 percent of this.

These damning figures point to a bleak future.

The ANC government has much to answer for. There are 1.6 million more unemployed people in South Africa than when Jacob Zuma became president in 2009. About 730 more people become unemployed every day that he remains in office.

The only province to buck the trend is the DA-led Western Cape where the broad unemployment rate is 23.6 percent – 12.5 percent below the national rate.

The Western Cape also has the lowest number of discouraged work seekers, at 22 000 compared with KZN’s 616 000, Limpopo’s 403 000 and Gauteng’s 379 000.

This statistic more than any other shows how the DA government in the Western Cape has, with sound economic management and policy leadership, built a province of hope and opportunity.

The unemployed in the Western Cape feel they have a reasonable chance of getting work and, indeed, many of them are able to find work reasonably soon. We have shown that it can be done.

We challenge the premier to put his pride in his pocket in the interests of the people of KZN and do the same.

Issues the DA believes are critical to unleashing the potential of our province and making it a better place to live and work include:

Achieving energy security – promoting rapid growth in three key economic sectors with the highest potential for new jobs.

Ensuring the delivery of high-speed broadband internet access across the province.

Testing effective e-learning models in our schools.

Creating after-school opportunities for young people to participate in sport, cultural and academic activities. Tackling alcohol abuse. Providing water and decent sanitation that exceeds the basic national minimum standard.

Pioneering an integrated living model to restructure the apartheid legacy of our cities and towns.

On these issues, we expect the premier to release plans which have measurable outcomes and defined timelines – to improve the lives of the people in our province.

It was difficult to single out the challenges KZN needs to deal with because there are just so many.

I narrowed them down to: service delivery; health; fraud and corruption; housing; economic development and tourism; and ongoing administrative bungling.

The ANC messages on billboards around the province will no longer wash. One reads: “Be patient we are at work 24/7.”

Another says the KZN government has a master plan in place intended to eradicate poverty by 2030.

The question is how much longer must the people of KwaZulu-Natal be patient?

It is almost two decades since the start of ANC rule in our province, yet poverty is endemic and many still don’t have basic services.

The people of our province are not asking for much. All they want is a government that hears their concerns and responds to them

All they want is a cabinet and officials who put our province before their political careers and bank balances.

The challenge is to make this happen and not settle for mediocrity in any way, shape or form.