KZN premier’s Sopa promises are ‘too little, too late’ – DA

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has slammed KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s State of the Province Address (Sopa), saying it is too “little too late” from an ANC government that has betrayed the people of KZN.

Honesty

Francois Rodgers, leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature, said in a statement on Friday that the citizens of KZN deserved an honest assessment of the true state of the province and they deserved to hear how ANC plans to address the vast number of challenges that exist, which in their view did not happen.

“Instead, they got one of the worst Sopas in recent history, one that degenerated into a circus, with two EFF members removed from the House by SAPS after causing chaos in a pathetic attempt to remain relevant.

“Regrettably, the disorder led to the exit of the Zulu King, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who was also present to hear what the Premier had to say.”

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Awaited plans

“Instead of a proper Sopa, the people of KZN got a thinly-disguised ANC pre-election campaign speech with more grand plans including a smart coastal city, summits and war rooms. This is while many of the plans announced by the premier’s predecessors are yet to be implemented,” said Rodgers.

According to the DA, the KZN province got more empty promises from the ANC-run government that ‘cannot even get the basics right’.

DA added that during the Sopa, ANC leaders dressed up in their finery while people in the province are without water, without work and – most importantly – without hope.

Expected areas:

These are the party’s eight key areas they say they expected Dube-Ncube to address:

• Infrastructure collapse and KZN’s water and sewage crisis.

• The abysmal state of municipal service delivery.

• KZN’s crime epidemic including politically-motivated killings.

• Growing unemployment and the absence of an economic recovery plan.

• Ongoing cadre deployment corruption.

• The collapse of KZN’s roads and the lack of a plan to address this.

• Runaway over-expenditure within critical provincial government departments.

• An alternate energy plan for KZN.

No solutions

The DA admitted that the premier touched on the challenges but failed to provide lucrative solutions.

“While it all looked good on paper, at the heart of the problem remains a crippling lack of political will. This as a result of an ANC in KZN that is inherently self-serving and a party at war with itself. Ultimately, KZN’s people are the biggest losers.

“Yesterday, during his address, the Zulu Monarch made a pointed comment about conscious leadership linked to morals and integrity. The reality is that KZN has not been able to create the capable state that the King spoke about because these very virtues are missing.

Sopa drama

Meanwhile, EFF MPLs in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature were on Friday booted out of the provincial parliament.

This was after the party’s MPLs had disrupted Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s State of the Province Address.

The MPLs who were removed by members of the SAPS from the venue where the Sopa was being delivered, at Pietermaritzburg’s Oval Cricket Stadium, had refused to be addressed by Dube – Ncube, whom the red beret claimed is a “liar”.

READ MORE: WATCH | EFF disrupt KZN’s Sopa after accusing premier of being a ‘liar’