Mabuza promises radical shift in provincial government

HIGHVELD – Mr David Mabuza, Mpumalanga Premier, has promised a radical shift in the operations of the Provincial Government, saying the ruling party needs to speedily respond to the needs of the people.

He said though his party has won the elections, they were not easy because there were a lot of criticism by the opposition parties pointing at their weaknesses.

Mr Mabuza said people told them about many things indicating what worked and what did not work for government during the voting campaigns.

“The voices of the people are still loud and clear in our ears.

“They are calling on us to do things a bit differently and faster and we are going to do just that, we are not going to fail them.

“It is not going to be an easy five-year term for some of us.

“We will have to do some radical thinking in a sense that things cannot be just normal.

“There is going to be a belt-tightening process in a number of areas and we must be able to respond to the call from the people to do things better at the end of the day.”

Mr Mabuza said they will “cut to the bone” the unnecessary spending by Government departments.

“As the public administration, we have been given a responsibility to manage the funds of the public, therefore we have no choice but to be responsible.

“We are going to rearrange our plans, take money from where we think it is not well placed and place it where we think it is mostly needed.

“There will be no more luxury for the government officials.

“Why should the officials have free coffee in their offices when the people out there cannot afford to buy any?

“If they want coffee, they must buy their own, we are going to trim the fat until there is no fat.

“The public service must change, they call us people who are on a gravy train, which means life is merely good for us only.

“It therefore cannot be business as usual.

“I want to call for discipline and focus because if we are all able to stand and face in one direction, we are going to emerge victorious as this government of the people.”

Mr Mabuza said they continue to prioritise education as a major focus.

He said people need to be skilled and employed in order to take part and contribute in the country’s economy.

Provincial Government would double its efforts in terms of skills development, as the creation of decent work opportunities remained more than a priority.

Mr Mabuza said economic growth needs to translate into jobs and poverty alleviation.

“There is no time to waste, all those young men and women who are loitering the streets must be given the skills that would respond to our environment and our economy.

“We cannot continue in the same pace as we did over the past five years where we were inward looking in an effort to get things right.

“It is quite clear that in order for us to try to improve the economic situation, we must get our country working by getting the necessary external investments.

“We are therefore going to firm up our cooperation agreements and possibly begin new ones.”

Mr Mabuza said the ruling party received a message from the people to re-open the land claim process, as they want their land back.

Those who received land were also complaining about the lack of capacity.

Mr Mabuza said they will take part and capacitate those who already successfully claimed land.