Chaos erupted in the Gauteng legislature when a DA leader disrupted the State of the Province (Sopa) debate response on Thursday.
DA Gauteng chairperson Solly Msimanga regularly interrupted Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s response.
“Madam speaker, when people enjoy the limelight of television and radio to paint a bad picture about our government and our presence… when we come here so that we can respond on our own, they cannot even stomach our answers.
“They can hide behind accusations and they can hide behind insults. Our mission is very clear, we are prepared to be subjected to any form of test. And I’m challenging those that are on our left to appoint any independent institution to verify all the issues,” said Lesufi.
Demand exceeds demand for water in the province
The premier responded to criticism, particularly on water supply in Gauteng. He emphasised that the demand for water in the province exceeds supply.
Msimanga had claimed that Gauteng’s problem was not water availability. He instead pointed the finger at poor storage and distribution infrastructure in municipalities.
And during the Sopa debate he was unrelenting. He criticised Lesufi for saying the Lesotho Highlands Water Project would improve provincial water supply by 2028.
In answer, Lesufi said his diagnosis was accurate.
He said he and minister of water and sanitation Pemmy Majodina had established a war room. It will include municipalities in the monitoring, resolution and protection of water supply in the country.
Lesufi says he is on top of the situation
“We have been monitoring the situation, and I want to once more thank the convenor of this subcommittee war room, MEC Mamabolo,” Lesufi said.
“We are joined by the Minister of Water [and Sanitation] on March 1 to finally deal with the issues of the two pumping stations so that we can finalise them.”
Lesufi added that the minister’s visit would help identify the underlying problems. This reinforced that his government’s approach to resolving the problem was right, she said.
“If the minister is coming to identify them, it is quite clear that our diagnosis was the right one,” said Lesufi.
