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'Queen of Empty Promises'

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane. PHOTO: SIBUSISO MSIBI
Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane. PHOTO: SIBUSISO MSIBI

GAUTENG premier Nomvula Mokonyane yesterday arrogantly dismissed opposition criticism on her failure to achieve her targets from her state of the province address last year.

Mokonyane - replying to Gauteng legislature members' debate on last week's state of the province address - quipped that she already knew what opposition politicians had to say about her performance before they had even said it.

The premier chided the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, for being "petty and cheap", saying they were "chasing lizards when they should be on the lookout for crocodiles out to get us".

However, Mokonyane's colleague and ANC chief whip in the legislature Brian Hlongwa conceded that the DA's leader in the house, Jack Bloom, had raised some indisputable facts.

"Everything you are saying cannot be challenged," Hlongwa said addressing Bloom. "Where we are wrong, hit us hard."

Bloom had earlier called Mokonyane the "Queen of Empty Promises" for a litany of unfulfilled promises he said the premier had failed to fulfil.

Bloom told the house that Mokonyane had promised to fill all vacant posts within "six months" from last year's state of the province address but noted: "Twelve months later the honourable premier tells us that the vacancy rate is 18%."

"That's nearly one in five posts, with painful gaps in critical health posts."

Attention was also paid to recent problems with the province's hospitals, including malfunctioning equipment at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and the delayed Jabulani Hospital which now cost R624-million instead of the initial R256-million

Bloom also highlighted delays of payments to service providers, telling Mokonyane that small companies risked closure for doing business with her administration and that her government did not follow its own laws.

". it's suicidal now for a small company to have a contract with the Gauteng provincial government because of late payment," he said.

"According to the finance department, only 24% of all bills are paid within 30 days. What does one do when the government itself does not observe its own laws?"

He said cadre deployment was "at the root of the failures of this provincial government" and continued to raise the ire of the ANC benches when he sarcastically remarked: "Do you know what cadre stands for?

"It stands for Comrade Appointed to Divert Resources to Elsewhere."

Opposition members roared with laughter, even shouting "Halala Jack, halala."

However Mokonyane and Hlongwa admonished the DA for criticising without offering solutions.

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