Gauteng DA chairperson Solly Msimanga has blamed the ANC for the decline of the province.
Msimanga said Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi was right to identify the challenges facing the province and appeared to fully understand how they are affecting residents.
Msimanga was speaking during the state of province address (SOPA) debate.
However, he did not acknowledge that his party was responsible for them.
During his SOPA on Monday, Lesufi highlighted 13 challenges in Gauteng. He said he believed these needed to be addressed for the province to succeed.
These included water shortages, growing informal settlements, high unemployment, lack of schools, potholes, and drug abuse.
Lesufi repeated things he’s said before
“Let me start by saying to ntate (Mr) premier Lesufi, o bosso wena (you’re the boss) of telling lies. O bosso wena of telling lies that we had to sit for an hour and a half listening to things we have heard for quite a number of times and for years that have gone by,” said Msimanga.
He argued that the problem is not the availability of water, as dams in the province are currently at 100% full.
He also criticised Lesufi’s promise that the Lesotho Highlands Water Project would bring change by 2028, calling it a hard ask.
“You then go and talk about the water challenges. Bathong ba Modimo (oh my God), this is nothing new. We have been saying to you that Gauteng is losing a lot of water. Sixty percent of water that is coming through Rand Water, we are losing, whether it is due to technicalities, burst pipes, or people who are connecting illegally,” said Msimanga.
Municipalities lack the capacity to manage large amounts of water
Msimanga stressed that municipalities, which are expected to receive the large water supply, do not have the infrastructure to manage it or the funds to improve existing infrastructure.
He also said it was a grave mistake to assign City Power the responsibility of ensuring water supply.
He claimed that Lesufi had allowed buildings to decay to the point they are now being hijacked. Msimanga also said they had long suggested offering people serviced stands since the government was unable to build houses for everyone, but this was dismissed by Lesufi, who claimed his government was unwilling to do this.
Old ideas presented as new
“Now you introduce this like it’s the next best thing to sliced bread. Something that we have been telling you since 2015—this is something that we needed to do. Now that we are sitting with a 1.2 million demand for housing, you come out and say you are going to roll out 667 stands in the West Rand.
“While in the West Rand, we already have Montrose [Mega City Project] as a project that could be benefitting thousands of people, yet you are not saying anything about that. These are some of the projects in this province — 46 of those projects, mega projects — that have been announced as having started, but some of them have been abandoned,” said Msimanga.
He added that some are being vandalised, but this was never mentioned. Msimanga also criticised the new 11 000 units to be built between Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and Johannesburg, claiming this was a lie because no land had been identified for these buildings.
Visit SW YouTube Channel for our video content
