GAUTENG Premier Panyaza Lesufi has been accused of using the State of the Province Address (Sopa) to campaign for his political party, the African National Congress (ANC).
Opposition parties in the provincial legislature said the speech delivered by Lesufi on Monday night, 19 February, failed the residents.
Rise Mzansi Gauteng premier candidate Vuyiswa Ramokgopa said the Sopa was nothing more than a campaign speech that would not change the lives of communities and families.
“True to form, Lesufi’s Sopa was a public relations stunt which painted a picture of a Gauteng that is safe and prosperous, and he failed to take stock of the lived experiences of residents. Gauteng is unsafe, poorly governed, and unable to take advantage of being the province with the largest contribution to GDP at 33%,” she said.
Ramokgopa said fewer people were working.
“In 2019, the expanded unemployment rate was at 35%, which has ballooned to almost 40% at 39,3%. Meaning two out of five residents who should be working don't have jobs,” she said.
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She said the province's schools were falling apart, and in too many instances, they resembled ganglands.
Ramokgopa claimed that in the last five years, there have been 40 stabbings, 10 shootings and 16 other violent crimes involving pupils and teachers reported in Gauteng.
She said if Rise Mzansi were to govern, it would appoint capable, ethical leaders in government to ensure excellence becomes standard.
ActionSA Gauteng chairman Funzi Ngobeni said Lesufi made empty promises and false proclamations of progress.
“It's obvious that his administration is deluded and disconnected from reality as millions of residents in Gauteng continue to suffer,” he said.
Ngobeni said Lesufi wasted millions on the Crime Prevention Wardens, better known as AmaPanyaza, failing to fight crime.
“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 an ActionSA government will, among other things, bring an end to the exploitation network created by the ANC by insourcing frontline services like security guards and cleaners and resolve load shedding by working with "our nine municipalities to shift the province’s electricity dependence from Eskom and open the energy market to independent power producers".
DA's Patrick Atkinson said despite many promises made by Lesufi that there are concrete plans in place to curb the unemployment rate in the province, his interventions, such as the Nasi Ispani programme, are not working.
“Furthermore, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development has constantly failed to meet its job creation targets, which also has a negative impact on the unemployment rate.
“Many of our businesses can't operate during load shedding, and when there are higher stages of load shedding, many can't operate for a full day,” he said.
