The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng could not in good conscience support the budget votes debated last week in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) because of the continuation of false promises and no tangible solutions to improve service delivery, severely affecting the lives and livelihoods of our residents.
The budgets presented looked good on paper but also took away valuable money needed to deliver services to the residents of this province. This is not what our people voted for last year, when they headed to the polls in May 2024.
It is disheartening that political parties who purported to have the best interest of our residents at heart had instead decided to sell their soul by supporting Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s minority government’s budget.
Instead of delivering on their promises to fix service delivery issues such as potholes, sinkholes, broken traffic lights and, resolving the water and electricity crisis, they have chosen to continue with the same old that is affecting the residents. This is a missed opportunity that we could have used as a collective to fight for our residents who continue to endure the service delivery crisis.
The DA Gauteng has not turned its back on the people of this province, and we have continually shone a spotlight on the problems within this provincial minority government of unity.
We have been fighting for the funding for NPOs and NGOs to be increased, disciplinary action to be taken against officials for alleged corrupt activities, and the road maintenance budget to be used properly so that potholes, sinkholes, and traffic lights can be fixed. In addition, we have been calling for the completed lifestyle audits on the current executive and the outstanding forensic investigation reports to be made public.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government will be able to steer the ship in the right direction and get back to the basics of ensuring that our residents are given the services they deserve. We would publicise all the forensic reports and act on corruption by holding those implicated accountable.