The FF Plus demands that the provincial opening address of the outgoing Free State Premier, Ace Magashule, which is scheduled to take place on the 20th of February in Parys in the Free State, be postponed. The FF Plus is of the opinion that the event, which will cost the tax payer millions of rands, will turn out to be nothing more than a farewell party for Magashule, says Tammy Wessels, FF Plus MPL in the Free State Legislature.
“The opening address is supposed to communicate the direction that provincial departments are expected to take in the upcoming year. During the opening address, budgets and performance plans are also explained and therefore it is unacceptable that the Premier, who is certainly going to resign within the next month or so due to his new full-time position as Secretary General of the ANC, is allowed to deliver the provincial address.
“A responsible governing party would have made haste to conclude its internal processes after Magashule was elected as the new ANC Secretary General in 2017 to ensure that a new Premier for the Free State is elected as soon as possible. It is unacceptable that the ANC’s infighting is paralyzing the administration of the Free State and preventing important planning for the year ahead to take place.
“The fact that the opening address is to take place in Parys, Magashule’s hometown, is an indication that it may turn out to be nothing more than a farewell party for him and that it will probably end up costing millions of rands.
“The FF Plus addressed an urgent written request to the Speaker of the Free State Legislature to demand that the opening address be postponed and that the costs related to the event must be limited to the very minimum should the event take place.
“The Free State Legislature should follow the example of its national peer and postpone the opening address until a new Premier has been elected. The planned motion of no confidence against the current Premier must surely also be tabled before the opening address can take place,” says Wessels.
;
