By BAKANG MOKOTO
6 March 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Northern Cape said the Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, must address growth and jobs in the province with even greater speed. The DA provincial leader, Harold McGluwa, who is also a Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) in Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, said they have noted Saul’s announcement of the 60 000 jobs master plan in his State of the Province Address (SOPA) today.
McGluwa further said they welcome all initiatives that can take the four out of every ten people in this province from unemployment and poverty into jobs. He added that it is high time that they see the maximum potential of fisheries formally unleashed.
“We anticipate that the upgraded Upington airport must become a central transport hub. The long overdue upgrade of our power grid through the mentioned Eskom investment will also be a gamechanger for renewable energy and the green economy and must be stubbornly pursued.
“We do, however, urge Saul to move with greater speed. He has only four years left to change course from a poor, broken province, to a thriving and vibrant provincial economy,” said McGluwa.
He said they want to see the province capitalizing more on the state-owned construction company, in conjunction with provincial and national Public Works, to transform the provincial landscape, and especially the capital city of Kimberley, into a massive construction site with the R2,5 billion investment into water infrastructure. McGluwa said Saul must also guard against turning the state into a giant employment agency and must ensure that ongoing insourcing initiatives are properly budgeted for and sustainable in the long-term, to avoid a potential salary-induced debt crisis in the future.
“On the services front, much more must be done to stabilize the health department, starting with the overdue appointment of a fit-for-purpose Head of Department and decisive action against corrupt officials, who are robbing the poor and vulnerable of health care.
“Improved financial management must also be prioritised in Education, to mitigate the current funding crisis facing schools across the province,” he said.
The Guardian 