The Democratic Alliance have once again set it sights on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi whom it has been trying to oust since he excluded the party constituting his cabinet in July last year.
The DA on Thursday delivered what it called the ‘ real state of the province address’ at its headquarters in Johannesburg where it accused Lesufi of failing to deliver on many of promises he made in his previous State of the Province Address in 2024.
“In 2024, Premier Panyaza Lesufi made big promises to the residents of Gauteng. A year later, he still hasn’t delivered on any of his promises,” said the DA in a broadcast preceding the speech by Provincial Leader Solly Msimanga.
Msimanga who has already lost elections twice as the DA’s Premier candidate said among others Lesufi failed to act on crime in the province.
“To date, Gauteng only has 143 police stations responsible for the safety of more than 16 million people. Many police stations are poorly maintained, lack sufficient staff, and are under-resourced. This indicates that crime is not a priority to Premier Lesufi,” said Msimanga.
Challenged about policing being a national competency, Msimanga said Lesufi had to convey his frustrations to the central government and join the DA in its calls for decentralisation of services including policing.
“He then need to speak up because we have been calling for devolution so that some decisions can be made by provinces looking at their own unique circumstances instead concentrating all the power in the national government,” he said.
Msimanga also called for the formalisation of artisanal mining, currently outlawed and under the control of criminal syndicates.
“We can’t just look at it as a problem. We can do what is already happening in countries such as Tanzania where billions of dollars are being collected by the state from this kind of mining. We can actually turn it into an opportunity,” said Msimanga.
The DA leader also accused Lesufi of prioritising Johannesburg over other districts alleging that is where his support within the ANC was concentrated.
Lesufi’s office meanwhile confirmed on Thursday that his State of the Province Address will go on as scheduled on Monday.
The clarification was in response to speculation that followed the unprecedented last minute postponement of the budget speech by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.