Athol Trollip, chairperson of ActionSA in the Eastern Cape, believes that farming and tourism are sectors that could turn the fortunes of South Africa’s worst-performing province.
Trollip was talking to Sunday World during a telephone interview. He said that the province needed to grow its agricultural and tourism industries to create employment in rural areas. He, however, stated that in order for jobs to be created in Eastern Cape, this required competent leadership, expertise, and properly trained practitioners.
Trollip said this during a wide-ranging interview, as the country heads to the polls next Wednesday.
Launched attack on the ANC
He then launched an attack on the ANC government, accusing it of being responsible for the record-breaking unemployment rate. Also blamed it for the catastrophic downfall of the province’s rural economy.
Trollip, who is ActionSA’s Eastern Cape’s premier candidate, said this was especially true in the two former homelands of the province. These are the Transkei and Ciskei. He said the two have high levels of abject poverty because of unemployment soaring.
The province has surged to unemployment figures exceeding 40% for the first time. This makes it the most unemployed province in the country.
Just last week, the Daily Dispatch newspaper in the Eastern Cape reported on the subject. It said that unemployment in the province continued to rise, and that it recorded the worst jobless rate at 42.4%.
“There is not one successful and sustainable agricultural project initiated and run by this government,” he said.
“This has led to record urbanisation, with tragic and unimaginable misery for those who find themselves living in twilight zones of socioeconomic deprivation on the outskirts of metro cities.”
The former DA leader announced that his new political home, ActionSA, will be contesting every ward in every municipality in the province in the upcoming election on May 29.
He said the electorate had an opportunity next week to change the situation in the province. This they can do by voting and making their voices heard through the ballot.
He touched on the recently signed National Health Insurance (NHI) Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week to much fanfare. Trollip said this was nothing but a political gimmick ahead of next week’s elections.
Turning on crime in the province, Trollip said there needed to be an overhaul of the whole crime-fighting strategy. This in order for the campaign to make an impact.
“Ethically accountable leadership, border integrity, respect for the rule of law, and specialist crime prevention units with specialised courts to combat violent crime, GBV, corruption, and treasonous destruction of economic infrastructure,” he said.
Crime capital province
“We are the crime capital province with NMB (Nelson Mandela Bay) and KSD (King Sabata Dalindyebo) Municipality, the worst two cities.
“We say crime must be expeditiously detected and prosecuted. Those sentenced [for] these crimes must serve a full sentence without remission and must work to pay back to society.”
He said they were ready for the upcoming national and provincial elections. This after spending the past two years and three months setting up party structures across the province.
“We have hung every poster and distributed every leaflet with our own members and activists,” Trollip said.
He expressed his anguish at the hollowed-out, dysfunctional shells of all government service delivery institutions. These include offices, municipalities, and provincial departments. They not only grossly neglect and vandalise state assets but also fail to serve the people they should.
He said that 30 years into the country’s democracy, the people of this nation had nothing to show for it.
“Democracy is more than the right to vote, which everyone now has. It’s about having a caring, responsive government that you vote for. We don’t have that. This government has developed a tin ear that can’t hear, and they have no compassion,” he said.
Aims to change traditional voting patterns
“Their arrogance is that the majority of people in this province will continue to follow historical and traditional voting patterns. Regardless of how neglected they are, [and] this will change drastically.”
He said that people needed the most basic human rights, such as health, education and the right to work. Also the right to safety, access to clean water, and healthy living conditions. Violations of these human and fundamental rights occur daily he said.
He said the current government, run by the ANC, was completely overwhelmed and must be replaced.
Trollip said waste water treatment dereliction was our next big catastrophe in the making. He added that the government did not care about people’s health or the environmental and economic impact of their neglect.
