By Jody Hendricks
On Monday the DA released their annual score card for President Zuma
and National Government Ministers. As a part-time journalist and
full-time Cape Tonian I thought it would just be fair to rate the
performance of the Western Cape Provincial Government for the work
they’ve done in the past 12 months.
The Province has a lot of good, bad and ugly to deal with but there
are some issues that need to be addressed at once. Crime, health,
education and economic development are all failing the people in the
Province.
Certain communities the Western Cape have a higher TB rate and areas
in Zimbabwe, take note Theuns Botha. The World famous Cape Winelands
contributes a lot towards tourism and the economy of the Province but
there are still far too many reported cases of farm workers being
exploited and abused by farmers as well as several reported cases about
the “dop system” being used as a form of payment. Shame on you Gerrit
van Rensburg, MEC for Agriculture for allowing this to happen.
The Western Cape has a lot of potential but the political, economic
and social system is slowly starting to fail the people in the Province.
Premier Helen Zille needs to address these issues and find a
sustainable solution if she wishes to stay in power in 2014.
Premier Helen Zille gets a C for Clever but not Cool
Helen Zille had a busy 2011. Not only is she Premier of the Western
Cape, Leader of the Opposition and cheerleader for Lindiwe Mazibuko. As Premier, Zille rules the Province with an iron
fist… “Godzille” as she is affectionately known to her political
opponents have done an “OK” job of running the Province, but can still
do lots more… The Majority of the people in the Province still lives
below the bread line and their quality of life have not improved in the
last year. The Premier seriously needs to address issues like crime,
health and unemployment in 2012. Zille will have to start showing the
people of the Western Cape that her government has a workable plan to
deal with the above mentioned issues. An integrated community is also
needed as too many areas in the Province are still segregated around
racial lines.
Anton Bredell, MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and
Development Planning, Donald Grant, Education MEC, Bonginkosi
Madikizela, MEC for Human Settlements, Ivan Meyer, MEC for Cultural
Affairs and Sport, Gerrit van Rensburg, MEC for Agriculture, Theuns
Botha, MEC for Health and all get a D for Do more.
While Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism
gets a B for Better than expected. In tough economic times he has
managed to keep the Western Cape a preferred destination for
international visitors (sometimes at the expense of locals.) Cape Town
has been named World Design Capital for 2014 and Table Mountain voted as
one of the seven natural wonders of the World. Achievements like that
will boost the tourism and economic sectors in the Western Cape and he
deserves some credit for that.
Robin Carlisle, MEC for Transport and Public Works gets an F for Failure
Road safety in the Western Cape is a serious problem. In high profile
cases MEC Carlisle will be the first on the scene, promising the media
and those affected that his department will do everything in its power
to ensure something similar does not happen again. “ Buttskop taxi-train
crash and Knysna Bus accident cases in point” To date very little has
been done at the Buttskop level crossing despite 10 kids being killed
there last year… Carlise is not doing enough to make the roads safer
and to minimize the number of road deaths in the province. He should
resign or be fired by the Premier as he has a poor track record and the
number of road deaths that has happened on his clock totally
unacceptable.
Dan Plato, MEC for Community Safety gets a G for Go
The former mayor of Cape Town should be held responsible for all the
senseless killings in the Province. Crime is a serious problem in our
Province and Plato does not have the ability to deal with it. Our
townships are among the most dangerous and deadly in the world. Even
former Springbok Flank Solly Tyibilika was the victim of a senseless
murder in the Province. In Lavender Hill and Hanover Park gangsters are
killing innocent people and selling drugs to school kids. What does the
MEC do? He hands out pamphlets asking gangsters to stop the killings.
He has also been unable to get a specialized gang unit to investigate
gang activity in the province, instead he asked National Police
Minister, Nathi Mthethwa to solve the problem. The community safety
portfolio needs someone who can take control of the crime situation in
the Province and sadly Dan Plato is that that person.
Jody Hendricks is a Freelance Journalist/Writer/Blogger
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