By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
6 March 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Northern Cape said it expects the Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul to focus attentively on growing jobs and the economy during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) today. The DA’s provincial leader, Harold McGluwa, who is also a Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) in Northern Cape Provincial Legislature said, they want to see more outcomes of the State-Owned Construction Company that Saul announced at the start of his first term in 2019.
McGluwa said it must turn the entire province into a large scale construction site. He further said Saul must break the silence on the State-Owned Mining company to stop illegal mining costing the province millions in lost revenue.
“Ongoing late payments to SMMEs must be curbed from harming small businesses because they cause critical services like health to suffer when suppliers hold back on medicine deliveries and the repair of service vehicles gets put on ice.
“We hope that growing water crises across our towns will be announced as a provincial priority. We welcome the R2,5 billion investment into Sol Plaatje’s water infrastructure and want to see it transform the capital city of Kimberley into a building site of its own, ending the Kimberley water crisis once and for all,” he said.
McGluwa added that corruption must be acted on, not only spoken about. He said Saul must explain the government’s response to the disciplinary recommendation that Roads and Public Works CFO, Bradley Slingers, be fired.
“Where disciplinary hearings haven’t taken place for HODs and senior management members implicated in wrongdoing, this must be corrected. Saul must also give us a report on lifestyles audits conducted with the Special Investigative Unit (SIU), as well as consequence management implemented to address uncovered irregularities.
“The Northern Cape needs hope, the repair of basic services like health and education, and movement on the Premier’s promises made over the last six years. He must focus more on selling vandalized government buildings and moving ahead with initiatives, like the mega city and convention centre, promised in Upington,” said McGluwa.
He said they anticipate that Saul will come with tangible solutions and express a genuine willingness to work together for the betterment of all the people of the province.
The Guardian 