Gauteng ActionSA chairperson Bongani Baloyi believes despite premier Panyaza Lesufi’s “grand plans to tackle crime, grow the economy and improve healthcare”, history has shown the ANC is unable to deliver on its promises.

This criticism comes just hours after Lesufi gave his maiden state of the province address (Sopa) on Monday, where he announced his government’s strategy to get “Gauteng to work again”.

However, Baloyi believes these are empty promises.

“There is no shortage of ideas in South Africa. The fundamental issue is that the ANC always fails on delivery. Its rapacious appetite for kleptocracy and political expediency seems to always eclipse the promises it makes to the people of South Africa. The Gauteng province unfortunately is not immune to this deeply ingrained impulse,” he said.

Baloyi admitted that his party was “cautiously optimistic” about Lesufi’s promises to “decisively address crime in the province, support those affected by drugs, formalise township communities, and bring an end to load-shedding,” citing that they requested the premier address these issues.

“While we welcome these proclamations, we appreciate that these line items will require inter-governmental co-operation, particularly [with] national government.”

He said it was disappointing that after months of repeated pronouncements, the formal end to e-tolls had still not been announced, while the conclusion of corruption investigations at, among others, the department of health, has still not been concluded.

“It is this dilatory track record that does not inspire confidence in the ANC government’s commitments. 

Baloyi expressed great concern as to how Lesufi’s grand plans, however encouraging, would be funded, adding that with just a year left before national and provincial elections, it was impossible for the premier to make drastic changes to the provincial budget and performance plans without incurring exorbitant amounts of wasteful expenditure. 

“The devil is in the detail and we look forward to the budget, when we come one step closer to how all this will be achieved.”

Like his predecessor’s Sopa last year, Lesufi promised to address the declining living standards in Gauteng, address the township economy and end corruption, said Baloyi.

The party predicted that like his predecessor [former premier, now ANC NEC member David Makhura], Lesufi would likely be “unable to execute and deliver on those promises due to the deep-seated mismanagement and corruption tendencies among Lesufi’s peers in the ANC”.

Baloyi said his prediction of doom and gloom could only end through ethical leadership and Gauteng could once again become the beacon of hope for South Africa if his party was at the helm.

“ActionSA, as a government in waiting, will do everything in its power to keep premier Lesufi accountable to the promises he has made, and ensure that misuse of public funds doesn’t occur.”

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