Emerging from the State of the Province Address by the premier last Friday left me a bit disappointed by the ongoing criticism of opposition parties who choose forever to stick to their negative stance instead of looking at the intent to do delivery of services during the next five years.
Be that as it may, methinks the ruling party is this time around pressed for time with the local elections looming in 2016. where their support will be really tested to the limit.
Secondly, the premier is serving his last term as head of the province.
Incidentally, he is also serving a second term as the chairperson of the ruling party. One thing comes to mind: he certainly wants to leave a legacy that will live forever in people’s minds that there was once a leader by the name of David Mabuza who became the first premier and chairperson in this province to serve two consecutive terms.
Obviously, he cannot achieve this by resting on his laurels and thinking all will automatically fall into place. It really needs very hard work for him to leave a lasting legacy of his reign that will set an example to his successor.
As he said during his address, he will remain loyal and strive to take their best interests to heart. On the same note, he pledged his commitment towards implementation of the priorities that the people raised during the ANC’s manifesto launch in January.
These include job creation, improving the quality of education and increasing the life expectancy and quality of life of all the citizens of this province. He has further committed himself to striving towards an economic growth above 5% per annum which he said would yield 390 000 additional and sustainable employment opportunities – in essence,
78 000 jobs would be created annually.
All it calls for, right now, is a dedicated team that is prepared to go the extra mile in achieving their objectives.
The people have had enough of philosophising, Mr Premier. Your ideas and intent are good on paper, but we need to see the practicality of what has been laid out before the citizens of this province for the next five years.
The challenge ahead of you is to make your opposition parties eat humble pie as you deliver the services and really improve people’s lives. The ruling party has had more than 20 years to run the country.
Granted, there were numerous wrongs of the past that had to be corrected. However, that cannot take forever because people need to realise the fruits of this freedom they fought so hard for, by ushering in meaningful change and opening up opportunities for all. The time to do it is now, or else you shall have lost the battle.
