|
Northwood Crusaders Sports Club: Tuesday, 14 April 2009
We are only a week away from the election that
will change the way KwaZulu Natal is governed today. The IFP will be
the agent of that change as the next provincial government and I
will preside over it as the next Premier.
The ANC has governed KwaZulu Natal for the last
five years. Much of what they promised you in 2004 has never
materialised. Instead, they have left us a legacy of mismanagement,
corruption and inadequate services delivered at a tremendous cost to
the taxpayer: They have not built a single hospital and yet they
overspent the health budget by R2-billion. Similarly, they have
brought the matric pass rate down to its lowest level in history and
yet they incurred another overdraft of R700-million. But all this –
and other examples of
mismanagement - will soon be history.
Over the past few weeks, I have proposed, in broad
brush strokes, how my government will reverse the ANC's legacy. From
the start, I was determined to do away with vague promises. I have
therefore insisted on specific targets and timeframes. Today, I will
take this approach even further. You will be able to judge my record
in just one hundred days! Here is what my government will do within
the first three months of taking power in KwaZulu Natal:
-
We will assemble a forensic auditing team to embark on the
long-awaited investigation into and exposure of mismanagement
in individual government departments over the past five years.
-
We will set up the mini-Scorpions to investigate corruption
in the province over the past five years and we will
approach Transparency International to nominate an individual to
chair an independent enquiry and provide recommendations for a
framework for an accountable and honest government for the future.
-
We will immediately reinstate the Tender Board in order to
oversee and
monitor all future government tenders.
-
Similarly, we will establish an Appointments Board to oversee
and monitor all
future appointments to senior civil service
positions based on merit and competence to avoid any suspicion of
cronyism and nepotism.
-
We will launch a mentorship programme to address the lack of
skills and
competence within both ANC- and IFP-controlled
municipalities. We will co-opt the skills and professionalism of
both retired experts and private sector individuals to assist in
mentoring municipal officers in the procedures of good and
accountable governance in line with the Municipal Management Act.
-
We will call an urgent agriculture indaba with officials
from the Department of Agriculture and Environmental
Affairs and representatives of the emerging and commercial farming
sectors to formulate an urgent strategy to resuscitate agriculture
and renew KwaZulu Natal's food security.
-
We will call an urgent health indaba with officials from the
Department of Health, medical professionals and NGOs to
re-establish partnerships frayed under the outgoing ANC government
and formulate a strategy to address the chronic shortages of staff,
medicines and equipment in state hospitals and clinics.
-
We will call an urgent education indaba with officials from
the Department of Education, teachers' organisations and the public
to formulate a strategy to tackle the staff shortages and lack of
discipline in schools.
I am confident that these measures will provide a
solid foundation for a competent, self-less and accountable
government for the future. They will all be accomplished by the next
IFP-led provincial government within our first 100 days of taking
power and I, as the next Premier, expect to be judged on the merits
of this pledge in mid-August.
My message to the people of KwaZulu Natal is
simple: If you are as serious about securing an honest government
for this province as I am, I urge you to put your trust in me and
mark IFP on both ballot papers come April 22! Let's fix what is
broken about the way we are governed. Let's fix it together!
I thank you.
Contact:
Roman Liptak, 083 256 4902 or
Liezl van der Merwe, 083 611 7470.
| 