2007 State of the Province 'More of the Same'

February 13, 2006

The IFP has been largely disappointed by the Premier’s 2007 State of the Province Address promising merely “more of the same”.

“The Premier’s attitude sadly continues to be one of self-congratulation and self-promotion. Both in letter and spirit, it is more of the same bloated personal and professional ambition which bears little fruit on the ground,” said Leader of the Official Opposition in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Lionel Mtshali.

Dr Mtshali also said:

“The Premier and his administration are clearly more interested in organising prestigious and opulent once-off events than running an efficient and frugal government on the ground.

“The provincial government’s determination to start building a new parliamentary complex in Pietermaritzburg in 2007 against all prerogatives of common sense and at the expense of structural development, poverty alleviation and fight against HIV/Aids and crime.

“At the same, the Official Opposition despairs at the provincial government’s lack of determination in practice to avoid the mistakes of the recent past, particularly the dismal failure to distribute school textbooks across the province in 2006.

“On the whole, the ruling party is incapable of transcending its own ideological limitations, which it has, over the past thirteen years, imposed on South Africa with sad consequences for the country’s poor, unemployed as well as the infected and affected by HIV/Aids.”

Contact: Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902