MBOMBELA – Opposition parties in the legislature were dissatisfied with premier Mr David Mabuza’s state of the province address (Sopa) on Friday.
DA provincial leader Mr James Masango said citizens needed more than promises.
“Mabuza failed to inspire confidence in his administration’s ability to turn the province’s economic situation around,” he said in a statement.
Masango said he set the bar high by committing his government to a range of promises.
“However, the real test for Sopa will lie in its implementation, and the capability of our provincial administration to deliver on the promises made.”
The DA welcomed the premier’s admission that the bloated administration put a strain on the provincial fiscus.
“We hope that this is an indication that he will trim the fat to ensure that we have a lean and efficient administration and public service with no overlapping mandates.”
“While we welcome the premier’s promise to continue investing over R2 billion to improve access to clean water and sanitation, it is concerning that he has been singing this tune for over five years with very little to show for it,” Masango added.
He criticised the pace of delivery of houses as well as Mabuza’s reliance on MEGA as an implementing agent in infrastructure projects due to their past poor performance.
“(SOPA was) a compilation of announcements that lack the detail of how they will be implemented. The premier also announced that all schools in Mpumalanga would have toilets by December 2016.
“We sincerely hope that these toilets will have the adequate water and infrastructure to be utilised.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Mr Collen Sedibe charged that Sopa offered nothing new.
He said the health department remained a mess, with a continued backlog in treating patients needing orthopaedic surgery.
Sedibe added that Sopa didn’t contain enough concrete plans on how to address service delivery backlogs across the province, according to him. “There are too many people who still don’t have water.”
He added that people also needed jobs, as especially the mining sector was bleeding employees, but no measures were announced in the Sopa to really stimulate the economy.
The EFF wants more and better low-cost housing units had to be delivered to the people, and that more classrooms were needed at overcrowded schools.
Mr Cleopas Maunye, MPL for the Bushbuckridge Residents Asssociation (BRA) said the party would engage the premier on the province’s drought relief measures for commercial and small-scale farmers.
“We welcome his report back in terms of agriculture, but we can do better with the Fortune 40 Incubator Programme.
“It needs more money and more programmes. We need to see the produce, it can’t be that we are still sitting at the initiation phase now.”
The party also welcomed giving MEGA funding initiatives, but warned that outside help from treasury would be needed to ensure it made progress.
BRA was also not happy with the lack of progress made on the planned High Altitude Training Centre and International Convention Centre nor International Fresh Produce Market.
“We want to see people doing business and the economy growing.”
Maunye also welcomed initiatives to fund additional schools and roads in Bushbuckridge.
“The people have been underprivileged for 20 years.”
