‘We need inclusive growth, skills development and small business funding’
● As the 2024 elections draw closer, The Herald will provide space for political leaders in the province to unveil their plans to tackle some of the most pressing issues. The ACDP’s premier candidate and GOOD Eastern Cape chair kick off this series
The Herald asked GOOD Eastern Cape chair Siyanda Mayana the following questions:
What strategies does your party propose for addressing job creation in the Eastern Cape, the province with the highest unemployment rate?
Unemployment is the greatest barrier to the pathway out of poverty.
People are suffering, with millions relying on social grants because the economy is simply not growing enough.
Not enough has been done, and GOOD proposes an inclusive economic growth plan that focuses on skills development and small business funding.
But it also starts with getting the basics right, like filling funded vacant posts, as too many have been left open for too long in municipalities such as Nelson Mandela Bay.
Apart from access to funding, we need to look at further steps to assist small businesses, like ensuring the rezoning of properties for business purposes is accelerated in cases where it has delayed potential successful entrepreneurs.
How does your party plan to address rising crime? The biggest metro, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Mthatha are dealing with a huge surge in crime. What policies or initiatives do you propose to enhance safety and security in the city?
Across SA, and in hotspots like Nelson Mandela Bay and Mthatha, there is a need for better policing and co-operation with local communities to address the challenge.
But as GOOD we say we also need to address the conditions that make crime prevalent in SA: poverty and inequality, in particular in this province.
In many cases, heavy-handed policing is not the answer, and we need properly trained, professional, demilitarised and community-centric policing, along with the upliftment of our youth and broader communities
to avoid them being pushed into a life of crime.
Despite improvement in the matric pass rate in the Eastern Cape, schools grapple with many challenges. How does your party intend to provide support to address persistent and historical issues?
Most importantly, we must ensure equity in standards and the quality of education in all state schools.
The quality of teaching in key subjects and the full availability of learning tools and technology must be prioritised in every classroom, regardless of its location. This should be done along with urgently improving the standards of all school infrastructure, including the total eradication of pit toilets.
The healthcare system in the province is ineffective and unreliable. How does your party plan to overhaul it?
Every South African has a right to access quality health care, yet tremendous colour-coded disparities in the quality of life and services remain, in particular when it comes to health care.
We need to address inequality and scarcity of healthcare resources, and improve healthcare services for all, starting with eliminating exploitation [in] the private health sector and improving access and quality of care for those who rely on the public health sector.
As GOOD, we support the principle of universal health care and call for potential barriers to implementing this, including corruption, to be addressed so we can ensure a better future for all.