Speech by Mr Mhlati, leader of the UDM in the Eastern Cape Legislature
The Honourable Speaker, Honourable Premier, Honourable Members of the Executive and Honourable Members, the Premier has been a Member of this Legislature for over 12 years as least, which clearly shows that he is well aware of the shortcomings facing the provincial government, he had been pulling the strings of power behind the curtains as chairperson of the ruling party in the Province.
The UDM does not expect the premier to re-invent the wheel, government policies are there and no one can fault them, we expect effective and efficient rendering of services to our people which are accompanied by value for money and transparency principles which are enshrined in our Constitution.
South Africa is where it is today because of the struggle fought and sacrifices made by the Leaders produced in this province without which we should not be enjoying this freedom we are having, let us not fail them. It is the honourable belief of the UDM that the Eastern Cape should take its rightful place of being the centre of good governance in South Africa.
For that to happen we need you as Premier to display a will and commitment to pull the strings in the administration of the departments who are expected to provide quality services to our people on the ground.
I for one do not doubt your humility but your position now needs the adoption or cultivation of the strong character to enable you to enforce compliance with the prescripts for good governance.
Given the calibre of the Members of the Executive who form nucleus of this administration, the UDM hopes that their elevation is based on merit and nothing else, we do not need tokens but people who will add value to the onerous task lying ahead.
When accountability gets hot in Committee Rooms there should be no cry-babies to Calata House. The call for accountability on the Executive is not the sole responsibility of the opposition parties.
We are in this Legislature for the same common purpose of providing quality services to our people and to see to the compliance with laws and regulations governing the use of public resources.
The failures of your team Honourable Premier in the execution of your responsibilities will compromise our integrity among the communities as we are all painted with the same brush of being Members of the Eastern Cape Legislature.
You must deal decisively with issues of maladministration, corruption, incompetence and flouting of supply chain procedures without fear or favour. I can assure you Honourable Premier of our full support in all the endeavours you undertake to uplift the living conditions of the people of the Eastern Cape in all aspects of their needs.
Of cause Honourable Premier you will only be able to achieve this if you can devote more attention on the performance of Municipalities which are on the verge of collapse due to corruption and maladministration.
To take this crusade of good governance further the Honourable Premier should consider the advisability of getting time slots from the Public Broadcaster on certain days where the people can air their views on issues of service delivery by departments. This will promote transparency and accountability.
Honourable Speaker, the Honourable Premier should please indicate to this Legislature what are his short term achievable goals and long term goals in this menu of goals so as to monitor whether the targets are met or not.
We are termed a Province of Legends and our performance should commensurate that status.
I thank you
