GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
31 July 2024
The Western Cape Premier clearly has no coherent plan to change the lives of those who need government’s support the most: the poor, the marginalised, and the homeless.
Unlike the 2019 Opening of Provincial Parliament address, when Premier Winde spelled out four clear areas of focus for his first term, he failed dismally today to present a roadmap with the necessary and relevant governing priorities.
The lack of a vision for changing the lives of those who live in diabolical and inhuman conditions was evident from the absence of any acknowledgment of his obligation and commitment to do so.
A simple example of his lack of vision was laid bare when he lamented the bureaucratic process of accessing “emergency kits” – for shack dwellers to rebuild their shacks destroyed by fire or flooding – instead of focussing on how his government planned to eradicate shack-dwelling and upgrade informal settlements.
The Premier’s lengthy focus on a well-functioning administration, which has won awards for the use of technology and being a preferred employer, was self-indulgent.
All of this is meaningless to those who continue to live in abnormal and unacceptable circumstances 15 years after the Democratic Alliance took over governing the province.
A well-oiled, and happy, administration is an undeniable foundation upon which the Western Cape Government can dismantle the legacy of apartheid which stubbornly persists across the Western Cape – with poor, mostly people of colour, living on the margins of our society spatially, socially and economically.
The Premier failed the people of the Western Cape today because he was unable to see that he could harness the power of a functional government for the benefit of those who need government the most.
A so-called well-run government is of no value to those who need that government’s support when there is no plan to change their lives.
Media Enquiries:
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 073 367 1223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za