The FF Plus in Gauteng welcomes the provincial address delivered earlier today by the province’s premier, David Makhura, in part and is disappointed that certain critical matters were not addressed.
In his speech, the premier pointed out very serious problems in the province. The FF Plus hopes that the premier did not only make mention of these problems in order to score political points before the next elections, but that he really wants to solve the said problems.
The FF Plus is also worried about the fact that the premier once again accepted accountability for the Life Esidimeni tragedy, but that he does not deem it necessary to resign. The premier also failed to indicate whether the Gauteng local government will lay criminal charges against Qedani Mahlangu, Barney Selebano and Makgabo Manamela.
The fact that the Emfuleni municipality is on the brink of a crisis with regard to power and water supply and the R770 million that disappeared during its 16/17 financial year are two issues that the premier seriously needed to address, but that was given no attention at all.
The FF Plus laments the fact that the MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, was not reprimanded for his attacks on Afrikaans schools and for inciting violence at schools in Gauteng. By being silent on the matter, the premier conveys the message that he approves of such behaviour.
The premier was unable to say what his government was going to do about the housing crisis and merely announced that the housing backlog currently stands on 540 000 residences. The FF Plus had hoped that there would at least be an indication of how the problem is going to be solved and that feasible plans would be put on the table.
The FF Plus welcomes the premier’s concern about municipalities in the province wasting water and his statement that infrastructure and maintenance need to be improved.
The premier’s announcement that e-toll is not feasible in Gauteng proves that the FF Plus has been right all along with regard to this illegal toll system. The FF Plus wants the threatening SMS’s sent out by SANRAL to motorists that don’t pay their accounts to stop immediately and no further accounts must be issued and sent out.
The party does not welcome the premier’s announcement that his provincial government supports the ANC’s policy of land expropriation without compensation. The FF Plus is totally opposed to this policy and will fight it on all fronts in Gauteng.
When it comes to fighting crime in the province, the FF Plus feels positive that Makhura does indeed want to do something about the problem.
As a result of the Black Monday campaign, which took place on 30 October 2017, the FF Plus met with the premier on 16 November 2017 to discuss the problem of crime and various other positive discussions also flowed forth from it.
The FF Plus and the Gauteng government are now working together to formulate an anti-crime plan that will aim to bring farm murders and murders in communities to an end. The FF Plus is overjoyed that the premier admitted today that farm murders are a serious problem in Gauteng.
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