During the debate on the State of the Province Address (SOPA) by the North West Premier, Job Mokgoro, the FF Plus once again emphasised that the indiscriminate implementation of Affirmative Action (AA) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as well as the associated corruption are the main reasons for the province’s decline.
The true scope of the decline, corruption and the collapse of services on all levels of government were laid totally bare by the Covid-19 crisis.
In his SOPA, the Premier merely rehashed his previous promises to eradicate corruption and rectify maladministration in the province without offering any concrete results of improvement.
Municipalities still get qualified audit reports, infrastructure is deteriorating at an alarming pace, key positions are vacant and not filled with competent individuals and corruption has only increased during the pandemic.
The fact that the provincial government is still under the administration of the national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) undermines the oversight role of the Legislature while there also seems to be a lot of confusion in the government about the current powers and duties of the Premier and his provincial cabinet.
The Premier provided no clarity on the matter in his SOPA and simply ignored the issue. The FF Plus specifically asked the Premier whether the SOPA was his own or the national Department’s.
During the debate, the FF Plus made a point of honouring community organisations, like AfriForum and Solidarity Helping Hand, as well as farmers’ associations, businesses, churches and all individuals who had to step in and come up with special initiatives to help provide emergency relief during the lockdown.
There was even more pressure on these organisations because government aid is usually delayed due to poor planning and incompetence. It is lamentable that the Premier did not give any recognition to the enormous role that these organisations played in providing relief in the province.
North West communities co-operated spontaneously during this time despite the racially divisive statements constantly made by some politicians in the province.
The FF Plus will continue to expose and oppose the corruption, mismanagement and destructive consequences of AA and BEE in the North West. The party will insist that the recently appointed managerial committee, tasked with evaluating the national intervention in the province, must conduct its investigation quickly to restore stability to the province.
In the upcoming elections, voters will have the opportunity to pass judgement on the decline of the once prosperous North West province, which the ANC has failed on all levels of government.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by De Wet Nel on FF Plus
