Summary extract of Speech by Jack Bloom MPL in State of the Province Debate in Gauteng Legislature on February 28 2012
GAUTENG PLANS WILL FAIL UNLESS CADRE DEPLOYMENT IS ABANDONED
What is the real reason why Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has broken so many promises?
She was quoted in the press saying that incompetent officials in key positions in the Gauteng departments of health, roads, transport and public works are to make way for "skilled people who know what they are doing". So now we know. All along we have had unskilled people who don't know what they are doing.
This is really why all the wonderful announced plans just don't fly. Many projects are actually phantoms, mere dreams that will not be implemented. And many claimed successes are not what they appear to be.
The policy of cadre deployment is at the root of the failures of this provincial government. Do you know what cadre stands for? It stands for "Comrade Appointed to Divert Resources to Elsewhere."
The problem starts at the very top. We have non-performing MECs who are not removed, but are there for purely political reasons. This is not what the people of this province deserve. They deserve the best people for the job at every level.
Turn-around plans will amount to nothing unless the very best people are recruited and given the power and authority to do their jobs. They must be held accountable so that objectives are achieved and public money is effectively spent.
The Auditor-General warns us that you shouldn't pour water into a bucket that is full of holes.
Madam premier, your administration is full of holes. This is why good plans are not implemented, and vast amounts of money are wasted. I am not impressed by your efforts to fight maladministration and corruption. Time and again, senior officials implicated in serious irregularities walk away without being criminally prosecuted.
They must know that they can end up in jail under section 86 of the Public Finance Management Act. According to this section, wilful or gross financial negligence can lead to five years in jail. Last year the former head of the Roads and Transport Department signed an illegal R3 billion contract for Driver Licence Testing Centres.
She was warned by her own MEC and the Finance MEC not to sign it, yet she went ahead. This looks very much like wilful and gross negligence, yet she was allowed to leave without being prosecuted. This is why I laid charges against Ms Benedicta Monama, but this should be your job, not mine, madam premier.
Madam premier, if you don't act, we will act. The Democratic Alliance has its own programme of action that we will pursue in this Legislature. We will support good government programmes, oppose bad government measures, and promote alternatives that will improve the lives of people in this province.
Issued by Jack Bloom, DA caucus leader in the Gauteng legislature, February 28 2012
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