Burning government building in Johannesburg the making of poor Gauteng government

6 September 2018

The FF Plus is laying the blame for the cause and the consequences of the burning government building in die CBD of Johannesburg at the door of the ANC government in Gauteng.

The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure and Development's inability to properly maintain and manage government buildings is a given and probably played a significant role in the fact that the Bank of Lissabon building, which belongs to the government, did not comply with the minimum building and fire regulations.

Mr Jaco Mulder, FF Plus leader in Gauteng, who served in the Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure and Development in Gauteng himself (2009 and 2014), says that ever since the Department's establishment in 2009, it has not been functioning effectively as vital management positions were not filled and objectives were not reached.

Ever since 2009, the Department has also been plagued by a constant change of political heads, something that is indicative of the instability in the ANC government in Gauteng. The FF Plus demands a thorough investigation into the Department's functioning.

The ANC government in Gauteng has failed in many ways and must be replaced in the 2019 elections by a multiparty government consisting of opposition parties that are better equipped to govern the province, as is the case in the Johannesburg and Tshwane Metro councils.

Issued by Jaco Mulder, FF Plus provincial leader: Gauteng, 6 September 2018