Makhura’s admission that public trust is lost is a concession of #NotFitToGovern
23 February 2021
Premier, David Makhura’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) today was nothing short of a whitewash, loaded with ambiguity to cover up his own government’s failures.
Makhura started his address with the Covid-19 pandemic that has been dominating the lives of South Africans the past year. While the Premier stressed the need of building pandemic-proof institutions for the future, it is still quite obvious that his own government still needs tender corruption-proof institutions.
The Premier emphasised on the pain and suffering brought upon by the pandemic, but did not completely acknowledge that such pain and suffering was exacerbated by his own Health Department’s irregular and corrupt procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the profound delays in building field hospitals before the first wave.
The enthusiastic accolade for the healthcare workers of the province was warmly welcomed, but was a serious reminder about the need for the provincial government to procure even more vaccines, especially for healthcare workers and other vulnerable residents. The Premier’s goal to have 67% of the provincial population vaccinated, especially within the year, is total pie in the sky. If PPE procurement was ravaged by corruption, the Premier cannot expect the people of Gauteng to still trust his government in rolling out such a bold and ambitious target.