Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng debated the 2024/25 annual reports for various departments, including the Office of the Premier, Finance, Economic Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Environment.
These annual reports reaffirm the well-known concern that Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government is failing to turbocharge the economy to stimulate enterprise and create sustainable jobs, while addressing the endemic corruption holding the province at ransom.
The current expanded unemployment rate of 38.9% is four points higher than last year’s rate; this means the situation is worse, not better. The Department of Economic Development, its entities, and above all, the MEC who oversees them has no solutions.
Furthermore, the reports demonstrate the failure by Lesufi’s minority government to improve infrastructure to deliver quality services. This was captured by the Premier’s statement on eve of the G20 Summit when he said “I don’t want rain because it will reopen the potholes, it will create problems that need to be attended.” This statement underscores the Premier’s fixation on quick fixes and his lack of vision beyond headline-grabbing events that leave Gauteng residents worse off than before.
Where the DA governs, cities want to take over national functions like the railway and police, yet here in Gauteng, the provincial government has to step in to fix potholes.
Nowhere is the lack of capacity more evident than in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which has received an “unqualified with findings” audit for the fourth consecutive year.
The DA economic policy is clear. It set out to unleash businesses, grow the economy, and create jobs. This is the DA difference that will rescue Gauteng residents from a government of empty promises, failed projects, and corruption cover-ups.
Below are the speeches delivered during today’s Annual Reports debate in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL):
- Dr Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Member of the Office of the Premier Portfolio Committee.
- Ruhan Robinson MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance.
- Madeliene Hicklin MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Spokesperson for finance.
- Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC For Economic Development.
- Ofentse Madzebatela MPL, DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Economic Development.
- Bronwynn Engelbrecht, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Jade Miller MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Environment.
- Leanne De Jager MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Environment.