Sopa: ‘Lesufi is an extension of Cyril’ – Can he save Gauteng?

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi is set to deliver his first and much-anticipated State of the Province Address (Sopa) later today, which has left opposition parties and experts wondering if he can turn the “crumbling and stumbling Gauteng around”.

While many have argued that coalition governments in metros were a major concern, some experts have said crime, the energy crisis and unemployment will be at the top of his list of priorities.

Lesufi’s first Sopa

ActionSA chair Bongani Baloyi said Lesufi should not attempt to announce populist plans, but instead focus on getting the basics right, such as economic recovery, crime, and corruption, as there was no question Gauteng was falling behind its peers – and was in deep crisis.

“Lesufi should also not seek to use his maiden Sopa as an attempt to separate himself from former Gauteng Premier David Makhura as he was in Makhura’s cabinet when Covid corruption occurred,” Baloyi said.

“He was there when Life Esidimeni occurred, where 144 died, and he was there when whistleblower Babita Deokaran was killed,” he added.

‘First listen’

However, political analyst Dr Levy Ndou said “it’s too early to say whether or not he would get the job done. Let’s first listen to what he says”.

“Lesufi is not representing himself, he had a lekgotla a few days ago and obviously that is where the programme of action of government was applied,” Ndou said.

“You don’t need a strong premier for service delivery, you need strong MECs. His role is to see to it that the MECs are performing their responsibilities because they report back to him.

“This is his first Sopa. The best thing is for everybody else to be as patient as possible, allow him to outline his plans, and then judge him on what he has outlined. I think it’s unfair to criticise him before doing so.”

Ndou also said Lesufi was previously hailed by a number of people as “one person who did his best in education, why would we now judge his potential as premier?”

‘Focus on the basics’

ActionSA urged Lesufi to focus on the basics, by announcing a comprehensive post-Covid economic recovery and reindustrialisation plan after Makhura’s plans delivered little, to no, results.

“These may include using the existing expanded public works programme (EPWP) to provide work opportunities to more people, especially young people; to help fix the potholes in our roads; to clear public spaces and improve service delivery,” Baloyi said.

“A provincial strategy to address load shedding should also be announced as it is one of the biggest obstacles for the provincial economy.

“Furthermore, the e-tolls question should finally be resolved by possibly using the gantries as a traffic enforcement tool.”

‘The truth … ANC failed’

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Gauteng leader, Solly Msimanga, said Lesufi will try and paint a picture of a thriving province in his Sopa, “but we all know what the truth is: the ANC failed to provide adequate service delivery to Gauteng residents”.

“Yes, load shedding is not only a Gauteng problem but a national one. But if we look into the strides made by the Western Cape government, we can reduce the number of times our power goes off,” Msimanga said.

Load shedding not a quick fix

“We can become less reliant on Eskom if we engage independent power producers.

“This is not a quick fix, but one that we will reap the benefits of in the future,” he said.

“In terms of the water crisis in the province, the task team that we are proposing to be set up will also look into declaring all water reservoirs a national key point.”

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Gauteng leader Nkululeko Dunga said the party was planning to disrupt the Sopa because “Lesufi is an extension of President Cyril Ramaphosa”.

Dunga stressed that he and his party did not have confidence in the leadership of the ANC government.