Gauteng – Tonight, Premier Panyaza Lesufi will get his chance to try and impress residents of Gauteng when he delivers his very first State of the Province Address (SOPA). When he took office last year, he made a list of promises on how he intends to fix the province. Tonight is his chance to outline how he will do that.
Lesufi has already won some residents over when he announced the scrapping of e-Tolls. With confidence in the ANC at an all time low, it is vital Lesufi sticks to the promises he makes at the SOPA, said Sandile Swana, Political Analyst.
“In any event, the ANC has an established brand in the field of non-performance. Even when they perform, if they are supposed to achieve 100% they will achieve 10%. At the same time they do want to prove to be an asset for coalitions. They are going to lose Gauteng in 2024. They do want to do something that shows they are productive and they are repenting for their sins.”
Addressing the issue of crime
The city of Johannesburg has done well to introduce four star and five star hotels and facilities. However, this hard work is slowly deteriorating because of the high crime rate and other lawless activities. A serious issue Lesufi must get a grip on .
“They had succeeded in revamping the CBD of Johannesburg. Those places are starting to rot again. They don’t have a grip on land invasions, they don’t have a grip on building hijackings. Lesufi, when he took power, he said he will get cops who are dedicated to restoring law and order and making sure the hijackings of buildings and land evasions and all of that is brought to a halt. It seems like he is stammering and stuttering and not getting to it.”
Another issue to address is the high murder rate. According to Swana, statistics published recently indicate that more people have been killed in South Africa this year than in the Ukraine war. “The crime that is there is as if we are a nation at war,” said Swana.
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Dealing and growing the economy
Places like Soweto, Eldorado Park and Lenasia have had a negative economic growth rate. Places like Randburg and a few of the “old white industrial areas” have grown economically, said Swana. The African Development Bank has said South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are going to bring the overall economic growth of Africa down. Gauteng in particular is in a depressive state and Lesufi must address this.
“We must hear Panyaza Lesufi saying how he is going to generate economic growth. How he is going to generate different jobs for decent ages and so on and so forth. So the economy is going to be a big part of the country.”
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Lesufi must bring a plan to end the energy crisis
Solving the energy crisis will take considerable work but it must be done. Lesufi needs to address this matter as it is costing the economy millions everyday. One thing he must do is make it more affordable. Find ways to ensure every resident can stop relying on Eskom.
“Lesufi has got to come with a program that makes it financially affordable for people to move into other systems. It’s no longer negotiable anymore. Eskom is not there. Whether you like it or not, it’s not there. So the only thing now is that we need clever engineering, food and economies and sharp accountants to come up with highly affordable solutions.”
Residents must also take matters into their own hands by finding alternative ways to power their houses, said Swana. Major businesses are already working on alternative energy solutions to ensure the lights stay on during loadshedding.
This is a tough time for the ANC and Lesufi. It is crucial that he addresses the needs of the people and fulfils them. If he fails to do so properly, the ANC could see themselves losing Gauteng come the 2024 elections.
To hear what other issues Sandile Swana believes Lesufi needs to tackle, listen to the podcast here
