How the premiers of the nine provinces performed in their role in 2023 provides an insight into how successful they have been in addressing critical public issues and where they have made mistakes and failed to deliver on their promises. This can help identify areas for improvement in 2024.
Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (Passop: )
If there’s anything that the Mpumalanga province has managed to do well, it’s the ability to separate party politics from the business of government – at least in the eyes of the public.
While Mandla Ndlovu was elected provincial ANC chairperson in April 2022, he expressed no ambitions to replace Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane as premier, who came into office in March 2018.
On the governance side, Mtsweni-Tsipane had a lukewarm time in office, because her government failed to deliver basic services, mainly to informal settlements lacking ablution facilities, resulting in residents forced to relieve themselves in the veld because the government has not provided the needed infrastructure and basic services.
The situation persists, with some municipalities failing to spend their conditional grants on infrastructure development and maintenance.
Nomusa Dube-Ncube (Passop: )
When an ANC group known as the Talibans endorsed KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, she made a dramatic return to the top echelons of politics.
The ANC’s grouping, which named itself after the Afghanistan Islamic fundamentalist group that returned to power in 2021, made a clean sweep at last year’s ANC KZN provincial conference, electing firebrand leader Bheki Mtolo as party secretary and Siboniso Duma as chairperson.
Dube-Ncube had been on an opposing slate when she was brought in. It later dawned she was beholden to the grouping and had to toe their line.
Due to the frequent dominance of Duma, the MEC for economic development, tourism, and environmental affairs, would be evaluating her one-year term in office. At a key government event, Duma would act as premier, stealing the limelight away from Dube-Ncube.
A memorable stunt pulled by Duma on Dube-Ncube was during the national rugby team victory parade in Durban, imposing himself and lifting the Webb Ellis trophy, with Eben Etzebeth reducing the premier to a spectator.
Zamani Saul (Playmaker: )
Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul is celebrated in his province as one of the leading intellectuals. His fan club proudly calls him “Doctor”, celebrating that he holds a Doctor of Laws in public law and jurisprudence.
On the front, Saul could be credited with making education fashionable, especially in the ANC, where sloganeering could catapult anyone to a top post.
The only stain in Saul’s government relates to his private life.
A plus for Saul is that he takes seriously issues of potential corruption when they are brought to his attention. That level of urgency and responsiveness is what SA needs, including in the central government.
Alan Winde (Passop:)
The DA’s public relations machinery has spared no effort to portray the Western Cape as an island of exemplary governance in South Africa.
Where Premier Alan Winde cannot demonstrate real change in people’s lives, he whips out big numbers on current and future investments made in communities – like a tick-box exercise.
Although statistics can give a general idea of what’s going on, it is critical to remember that they hide a lot of detail.
Winde needs to focus on meaningful change.
Governing should be about creating meaningful policies that benefit ordinary citizens rather than scoring political points.
Winde and the DA should focus on results that regular people can see and feel.
Only then can they be truly successful. Just as a reminder, Winde, South Africa is a unitary state, not a federal one. The stunt you pulled on Putin’s arrest should never again happen.
Bushy Maape (Early shower: )
North-West Premier Bushy Maape came into office as a stop-gap candidate to bring political stability to the troubled provincial government.
The success of his tenure relied on political maturity. Under his leadership, there has been no identifiable squabbles.
For the most of 2023, Maape was on sick leave, leaving the ANC provincial chairperson and human settlements MEC Nono Maloyi in charge in an acting capacity.
Maloyi wasted no time stamping his authority, giving momentum to Maape’s service delivery programmes such as “Thuntsa Lerole”, a Setswana phrase meaning “hard at work”.
But faced with years of dilapidated infrastructure that was hardly maintained, it would take more effort for the North-West province to be restored to its former glory days.
For a pensioner, Maape did his best under the circumstances. The province now needs new blood.
Oscar Mabuyane (Playmaker: )
The unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape province has been slashed and is on a decline from 47.9 % in the fourth quarter of 2020 to the current 38.8 % in the third quarter of 2023 under Mabuyane’s stewardship. Since coming to office in 2019 in the sixth administration, Mabuyane’s provincial government has reduced unemployment by 9.1 %.
Infrastructure development has also been the mainstay of Mabuyane’s government, with multiple major projects rolled out.
This is a good move because it positions the largely rural province as a possible place for investment by foreign and domestic investors, which will help alleviate poverty and create jobs.
Whichever direction one enters the Eastern Cape, the province is a construction site, particularly on roads.
Rail and port infrastructure has also proved an area of growth, with the provincial government partnering with Transnet and positioning the Eastern Cape to offer a solution to the country’s logistic challenges.
Mabuyane has also invested effective time in the education space, which has been the Achilles heel for most of his predecessors.
There has been a consistent increase in the matric pass rate from 68.1 % in 2020 to 73 % in 2021 and 77.3 % in 2022, indicating that the province’s education system is on the right track.
In health, the Mabuyane government has seen the life expectancy of the province improve from 54 years to 66 years, while maternal and child mortality rates have also dropped.
Panyaza Lesufi (Playmaker: )
Arguably the best premier among the current crop, if not ever, Lesufi has proved that with hard work and dedication, any government can achieve anything it sets its sights on.
With just a little over a year in the position, Lesufi has done so much that one would be forgiven to assume he has been at it since the start of the sixth administration in 2019.
The beauty of Lesufi’s energy and hard work is that his provincial cabinet members have had no choice but to join the moving train.
The work ethic and morale across the provincial government are on an unprecedented high. Thanks to Lesufi, employment is the order of the day. His Nas’iSpani campaign of 6 000 jobs every month has been the real game-changer.
For the first time in history, Gauteng now has crime wardens who have come in handy to lessen the burden on members of the SA Police Service. Communities that have not had power for three years or more due to damaged transformers, will have lights this Christmas because of Lesufi’s efforts.
State-of-the-art face recognition cameras are being installed in the province, another big win in the crime-fighting strategy.
Stan Mathabatha (Playmaker: )
After ringing changes in his provincial cabinet last year, many were expecting chaos in the provincial government, but Mathabatha has shown his experience by leading a stable government.
Mathabatha’s biggest bragging rights this year are getting to the negotiation table with his Gauteng counterpart, Lesufi, to discuss the construction of a railway line between the two provinces.
This was a big move for many reasons, but chiefly to alleviate the permanently heavy traffic on the road between the two provinces.
But once completed and fully implemented, this project will serve as a model for other provinces, such as KwaZulu-Natal, which has an excessive number of heavy-duty trucks on the road.
As the cherry on top, Mathabatha finished the year on a high by providing 57 vehicles to traditional leaders in Limpopo.
This will make it easy for the chiefs who are at the coal face of community problems to move around with ease, providing solutions for their communities.
Whoever becomes president is spoilt for choice for ministers with leaders of Mathabatha’s quality – scandal free.
Mxolisi Dukwana (Playmaker: )
For what he lacks in charisma, Free State Premier Mxolisi Dukwana makes up for it with his leadership style of consultation.
His critics say he is big on hosting imbizos and summits that have zero results in changing people’s lives.
But how else would the government implement developmental programmes if it had no proper planning through dialogue and buy-in from communities and stakeholders?
By engaging in meaningful dialogue with citizens and stakeholders, Dukwana can gain a better understanding of their needs and concerns.
He can also create meaningful plans to address them, rather than simply relying on his ideas.
The Free State has been relatively unstable, politically, over the past few years. A consultative government is probably what the province needs to emerge from a period of uncertainty.
