Lerato Mbhiza
Political parties say they were not impressed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s State of the Province Address which they said was nothing but a list of populist elections promises.
It was an evening filled with drama with EFF Gauteng Deputy Chairperson and Party Leader, Fighter Phillip Makwala raising repeated ‘points in order’ to demand answers on why the Crime Prevention Wardens were attending SOPA and not dealing with crime in the township.
Inside Politics spoke to some political parties after Lesufi delivered SOPA in which a new date for the scrapping of the unpopular e-toll system was also announced.
The DA’s Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said Lesufi has once again sold the people of Gauteng pipe dreams instead of providing proper solutions to the constant service delivery issues faced by the residents.
“As expected, the economic corridors were at the top of the Premier’s list. According to the Premier, each of the corridors has attracted investors and created jobs. However, the reality on the ground is that many of the Special Economic Zones are not operating properly,” he said.
Msimanga said Lesufi’s speech was similar to the one he made in 2023 because he had not fulfilled his previous promises
“Last year, we were told that the panic buttons, within three months of the announcement, will be up and running. Now we are told that by April we will start the process of rolling it out. Who is fooling who here,” he added.
EFF Gauteng Chairperson Nkululeko Dunga said the party attended the last address by outgoing Premier Panyaza Lesuf, and the ANC government and we unfortunately sat for two hours for Lesufi to sell the people of Gauteng a dream.
“He mentioned many of the things from last year that are still to be done- for example, the e-panic button that he glorified but still to be delivered on,” he said.
Rise Mzansi’s Vuyisa Ramakgopa said: “It’s very problematic to me that we have entered an era where it is more important to do PR and propaganda than actually deliver.
“Let’s talk about jobs as well – we have 2.2 million young people that are not in employment, in education, or training. The Premier is unable to provide any plan or guidance about how we’re going to fix structural issues of transformation.
“Furthermore, he promised that small businesses would not struggle to access the internet; however, we tend to question this as the Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) has not yet been fully rolled out across the province. Many residents still struggle to access the internet.”
Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson said when one looks beyond the abhorrent conduct displayed in the chamber on Monday evening, the harsh reality is that, since his last SOPA, Lesufi, just like his predecessor, has failed to respond decisively and deliver on his promises to improve the declining living standards of many in Gauteng, who are plagued by unemployment and ongoing loadshedding, among several other challenges.
He said instead, millions have been wasted as the Crime Prevention Wardens, better known as AmaPanyaza. “Premier Lesufi’s private militia, who are a law unto themselves, are being paid to listen to a speech rather than serve their purported purpose of fighting crime.
“The Premier is misguided if he believes that ActionSA is against the government’s creation of jobs for the youth. We, however, maintain that any efforts to fight crime and create employment should be done within the confines of the law.
“We further demand that the wardens be pulled from the streets to receive adequate training from accredited institutions while drawing from the thousands of skilled SAPS reservists with years of experience,” he said.
Sanco’s provincial chair, Abram Mashishi, however, said he is happy with the Premier’s speech as he has done more in reducing unemployment rate and assisted a lot of youth with opportunities.
INSIDE POLITICS
