by Andrew Louw, MPL – DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader ![]() Date: 26 June 2020Release: Immediate While the additional challenges of the coronavirus pandemic on top of the recession and the looming depression, have added to the woes of the already underperforming Northern Cape provincial government, there is no doubt that the Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, needs an A+ team to help him navigate the deep waters that the province and the country finds itself in.The DA, however, fears that the premier has once again sold himself short with his choice of certain cabinet members.The DA cautiously welcomes MEC Maruping Lekwene’s appointment to health. Lekwene proved to be quite astute in the finance portfolio and we do have confidence in him. He may just get right what his predecessors before him have failed to do. In this regard, he may bring some desired relief to the health department, which is in dire need of decisive leadership to tackle the parallel issues relating to financial mismanagement and underperforming health care services. We wish Lekwene well in this very difficult task, as he has a huge job ahead of him and the wellbeing of over 100 000 citizens of this province are depending on him.The shift of MEC Mase Manopole away from health into agriculture is, however, cause for concern. We are sceptical as to whether she, much like her predecessor Nomandla Bloem, actually possesses the necessary experience to support the very important agriculture sector, which has been faced with the double disaster of the drought and the pandemic. The agriculture department is in critical need of unbiased leadership to ensure that all farmers, regardless of their race, get the support that they need to sustain the country’s food basket. We can only hope that Manopole is up to this task.The placement of newcomer, Desire Finies, in the department of sport, arts and culture, is a surprise. Finies lacks experience as a member of the provincial legislature, and only time will tell as to what her competencies entail.While most of the other positions are neither here nor there, it is interesting to note that MECs Bentley Vass and Mac Jack have remained in charge of COGHSTA and Education respectively. While they appear to have the backing of the premier, they are going to have to become much more responsive to their mandates if they are going to win the confidence of the public. This, at a time when more and more Northern Cape municipalities are collapsing and issues of learner safety are increasingly under the spotlight as schools re-open in the midst of the pandemic.The big surprise is the return of MEC Fufe Makatong to the provincial government. It is public knowledge that she failed dismally to turn the health department around and it is questionable as to what she can actually contribute to the provincial government.Regardless of who is who in the premier’s cabinet, we can only hope that they get to work quickly. We are in serious trouble as a country and as a province and if they do not act now, the provincial government, like our municipalities and Eskom, runs the very real risk of a breakdown. Media Enquiries Andrew Louw, MPLDA Northern Cape Provincial Leader082 383 6914 Shelley De WittResearcher0828471387 |
