Picture: North West Premier, Bushy Maape took his shoes off/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
The call for embattled North West Premier, Bushy Maape to resign has intensified. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West is the latest political party to call for Maape’s resignation.
Other political parties are F4SD and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). DA Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) and Caucus Leader in the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL), Freddy Sonakile said the remarks made by Maape about the state of roads in this province and service delivery in his hometown, Vryburg was irresponsible and have left residents rightfully aggrieved.
“Maape failed to provide a concrete and clear plan during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Friday on how he intends to turn the tide in this province.
“His speech had little to offer the residents of this province, despite the falsehoods he made in parliament during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate on 9 February 2023,” he said.
Sonakile said, as if that was not enough, Maape went onto Motsweding FM on 17 February to continue with his assertion that service delivery in Vryburg was at its peak. He added that, yet Maape was able to come to the North West Provincial Legislature and give a vague and embarrassing SOPA.
“However, the blame does not lie solely with Maape. The African National Congress (ANC), which deployed him to the Office of the Premier, is a problem in this country. It has run out of ideas on how to improve the lives of the residents of this province.
“The Members of the Executive Council, Heads of Departments, CEOs, and Boards of Entities convened for a two-day Lekgotla in Rustenburg to make inputs to Maape’s 30-minute SOPA. But it was empty and had no concrete plans,” said Sonakile.
He said Maape’s address shows,” there is no leadership in the ANC.
“While residents continue to be in the grip of rolling blackouts, Maape in his address spoke about an energy strategy that still needs to be kick-started.
“Load shedding is not a new phenomenon and provinces like the Western Cape in their SOPA, set aside R1 billion to counter load shedding. Yet North West businesses and residents have been left on their own. They have been instructed by Maape to go and buy their own generations,” said Sonakile.
He said, water and sanitation have been an issue in the province. According to Sonakile, over a million residents still do not have access to water and sanitation.
“Maape talked about a steering committee, meaning his government is still in the boardroom trying to find solutions. In the meantime, residents shouldn’t expect their lives to improve anytime soon.
“Maape in a radio interview alleged that he was aware of high-ranking officials who are responsible for the water infrastructure sabotage in Naledi. We call on him to lay charges against those who tamper with water infrastructure,” he said.
Sonakile said Maape should remember that, access to clean drinkable water is a basic human right, and sabotage of that is a human right violation. He said the province has continued to degenerate under Maape and that is why they call him to resign.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Maape is expected to respond to the MPLs. In his SOPA, Maape said 2023 is the year of ‘service delivery’.
The Guardian 