DA Gauteng leader and premier candidate Solly Msimanga has embarked on a campaign to expose what he says are unkept promises and corruption under the ANC government.
Msimanga said the current state of affairs provides Gauteng residents with minimal cause for celebration ahead of Freedom Day on Saturday, which will this year mark 30 years of democracy.
Addressing the media at Liliesleaf farm, Rivonia, Msimanga broke down the first unkept promise made by premier Panyaza Lesufi in his 2023 state of the province address in which he said he would speed up payments to service providers.
“Yet the auditor-general's report shows that 26,293 invoices for R2.5bn were undisputed but not paid after 30 days or an agreed period. This shows that Lesufi's assurance of prompt payments to service providers has not been met by the Gauteng provincial government departments.”
Msimanga said Lesufi also pledged to provide R500m for the establishment and running of spaza shops by South Africans, but it is still hard to find a South African-owned spaza shop.
“The question is, where did the money go? Despite many promises made by Lesufi that there are concrete plans in place to curb unemployment in the province, his interventions such as the Nasi Ispani programme are not working.
“This is worsened by load-shedding, which affects job opportunities for small businesses, particularly those operating in townships. Furthermore, this government has failed to create a conducive environment to attract investors to the province.”
On crime, Msimanga berated Lesufi's grand promises of making crime an apex priority through the establishment of a five-year Gauteng policing plan and increased resourcing of police stations.
“Between October and December last year, more than 1,700 people were murdered in Gauteng, which has only 143 police stations responsible for the safety of more than 16-million people. Some police stations close at night and are badly maintained, understaffed, and under-resourced.”
On infrastructure, Msimanga accused Lesufi of continuing where his predecessor left off, promising huge housing developments that his administration is incapable of completing, making them vulnerable to vandalism and hijackings by the so-called construction mafias.
“The less said about the provincial housing backlog, which stands at more than 1.2-million, the better.”
On education, Msimanga recalled Lesufi's promise during his tenure as education MEC to ensure that the process of applying to schools online would be glitch-free and hassle-free.
“However, the department fell short of achieving a 100% admission rate in 2023, leading parents and guardians to enrol their children in independent and private schools. Once again, this is a broken promise. Recent oversight inspections in Gauteng schools show that asbestos structures remain, and overcrowding is a major issue.”
Regarding adequate healthcare services, this year's state of the province address promised 18 private hospitals would be bought, which Msimanga dubbed as “absurd and unfeasible”.
“I don't know how do you buy back something that you never sold in the first instance. There is a private hospital in Vanderbijlpark that was given free to this government that was run down and closed because of neglect and mismanagement. And yet, we are being told of 18 new hospitals that will be bought. We know this is a lie, because this government is not only about misleading people, but it is also about channelling money to where they can hide their weaknesses.”
“The pledge to digitise all patient files was made as far back as 2008 when former premier Paul Mashatile was at the helm. However, a recent visit to a Gauteng hospital like Thembisa shows that this promise has not been fulfilled, and there seems to be no hope of it ever being fulfilled.”
On dignified housing, Msimanga said the ANC government had been committing to revamping hostels and changing them into family-orientated residences for a long time.
“The commitment has also been repeated by Lesufi in all his Sopa (state of the province) speeches. To date, Gauteng hostel residents continue to live in squalor. Lesufi has recently shifted the responsibility for upgrading hostels to municipalities.”
Msimanga said the country should forget about the ANC combating corruption, saying the historical evidence in the provincial administration was unmistakable.
“This is the legacy of ANC provincial governance, which now preaches 'less talk, more work', even though empirical data supports the contrary. This is a legacy that has crushed the hopes and dreams of those who stood in lines to vote for their freedom in 1994.”
TimesLIVE
DA's Msimanga 'exposes ANC's broken promises and corruption' in Gauteng
Premier Panyaza Lesufi's government 'has failed to attract investors to the province'
Image: Freddy Mavunda/Business Day
DA Gauteng leader and premier candidate Solly Msimanga has embarked on a campaign to expose what he says are unkept promises and corruption under the ANC government.
Msimanga said the current state of affairs provides Gauteng residents with minimal cause for celebration ahead of Freedom Day on Saturday, which will this year mark 30 years of democracy.
Addressing the media at Liliesleaf farm, Rivonia, Msimanga broke down the first unkept promise made by premier Panyaza Lesufi in his 2023 state of the province address in which he said he would speed up payments to service providers.
“Yet the auditor-general's report shows that 26,293 invoices for R2.5bn were undisputed but not paid after 30 days or an agreed period. This shows that Lesufi's assurance of prompt payments to service providers has not been met by the Gauteng provincial government departments.”
Msimanga said Lesufi also pledged to provide R500m for the establishment and running of spaza shops by South Africans, but it is still hard to find a South African-owned spaza shop.
“The question is, where did the money go? Despite many promises made by Lesufi that there are concrete plans in place to curb unemployment in the province, his interventions such as the Nasi Ispani programme are not working.
“This is worsened by load-shedding, which affects job opportunities for small businesses, particularly those operating in townships. Furthermore, this government has failed to create a conducive environment to attract investors to the province.”
On crime, Msimanga berated Lesufi's grand promises of making crime an apex priority through the establishment of a five-year Gauteng policing plan and increased resourcing of police stations.
“Between October and December last year, more than 1,700 people were murdered in Gauteng, which has only 143 police stations responsible for the safety of more than 16-million people. Some police stations close at night and are badly maintained, understaffed, and under-resourced.”
On infrastructure, Msimanga accused Lesufi of continuing where his predecessor left off, promising huge housing developments that his administration is incapable of completing, making them vulnerable to vandalism and hijackings by the so-called construction mafias.
“The less said about the provincial housing backlog, which stands at more than 1.2-million, the better.”
On education, Msimanga recalled Lesufi's promise during his tenure as education MEC to ensure that the process of applying to schools online would be glitch-free and hassle-free.
“However, the department fell short of achieving a 100% admission rate in 2023, leading parents and guardians to enrol their children in independent and private schools. Once again, this is a broken promise. Recent oversight inspections in Gauteng schools show that asbestos structures remain, and overcrowding is a major issue.”
Regarding adequate healthcare services, this year's state of the province address promised 18 private hospitals would be bought, which Msimanga dubbed as “absurd and unfeasible”.
“I don't know how do you buy back something that you never sold in the first instance. There is a private hospital in Vanderbijlpark that was given free to this government that was run down and closed because of neglect and mismanagement. And yet, we are being told of 18 new hospitals that will be bought. We know this is a lie, because this government is not only about misleading people, but it is also about channelling money to where they can hide their weaknesses.”
“The pledge to digitise all patient files was made as far back as 2008 when former premier Paul Mashatile was at the helm. However, a recent visit to a Gauteng hospital like Thembisa shows that this promise has not been fulfilled, and there seems to be no hope of it ever being fulfilled.”
On dignified housing, Msimanga said the ANC government had been committing to revamping hostels and changing them into family-orientated residences for a long time.
“The commitment has also been repeated by Lesufi in all his Sopa (state of the province) speeches. To date, Gauteng hostel residents continue to live in squalor. Lesufi has recently shifted the responsibility for upgrading hostels to municipalities.”
Msimanga said the country should forget about the ANC combating corruption, saying the historical evidence in the provincial administration was unmistakable.
“This is the legacy of ANC provincial governance, which now preaches 'less talk, more work', even though empirical data supports the contrary. This is a legacy that has crushed the hopes and dreams of those who stood in lines to vote for their freedom in 1994.”
TimesLIVE
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