(Debate on Limpopo State of the Province Address)
The Premier of Limpopo, Stanley Mathabatha, appears to be living in some fantasy world where he is dreaming big for the future while using Covid-19 as an excuse for the present-day corruption and deterioration of the province.
Plans without action mean nothing. The Premier should rather focus his attention on finding the reasons why so many of the projects in the past were never completed or simply failed.
He made no mention of taking decisive action against corrupt officials or how the millions of rand that were stolen will be recouped. Instead of being prosecuted, corrupt officials are awarded by being deployed in even better positions.
This has led to the demise of municipalities and departments in the province.
The lack of water supply in towns is an infringement on basic human rights and is the result of maladministration and poor planning. And regardless of the projects that are already underway, a lot more needs to be done because various towns in the province do not have a constant supply of water.
The roads are in a terrible condition and maintenance work either happens very slowly or not at all, which results in financial losses for residents, farmers and businesses.
The Premier is wrong to believe that the cosmetic changes made to, among others, the Mogalakwena Local Municipality will improve service delivery. In reality, the situation is deteriorating fast.
Limpopo's Department of Health failed to adequately prepare provincial hospitals for the Covid-19 pandemic. And in general terms, healthcare in the province falls short.
Crime is at the order of the day and specific crimes, like farm murders and crimes against women and children, must be urgently addressed.
The Premier provided no details regarding his plans to speed up Limpopo's economic recovery. There seems to be no intention to stimulate entrepreneurship or to eliminate the needless red tape that hampers economic growth and the creation of job opportunities.
Developing the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is controversial because of the region's sensitive environment.
The FF Plus wants to see that all industrial areas in the province are declared SEZs to facilitate entrepreneurship and attract investments to the province. Thus, the FF Plus also proposes that some of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Limpopo must be liberated from all government interference and then the development results of those SEZs must be compared to those of other SEZs that are still subject to government interference.
The party welcomes the signing of service delivery agreements with MECs and requests that these contracts must be made readily available to facilitate oversight.
The FF Plus will not stand idly by and look on as persistent corruption and incompetent officials hold the province hostage and stand in the way of clean, effective governance. The time has come to hold these people accountable for their actions.
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