Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, on Thursday delivered his 2022 state of the province speech, painting a picture of a battling province which, despite its shortcomings, will overcome its challenges.
The address, delivered in Pietermaritzburg in front of guests including Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini and KZN deputy judge president Isaac Madondo, laid out 8 priorities for Zikalala’s administration.
The priorities include job creation; growing the provincial economy; growing small businesses and co-operatives; education and skills development; human settlements and sustainable livelihoods.
However, Zikalala focused on job creation, fighting crime, tackling water and power challenges currently crippling the province (in this regard eThekwini and Msunduzi are piloting producing their own power).
“There is an urgency to decisively address the unemployment rate, particularly among the youth, women and vulnerable groups,” Zikalala said.
Laying the groundwork, Zikalala gave a state of the economy of the province, saying it had been left in shambles by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our unemployment rate has now risen to 28.7%, from about 23% before the pandemic. The increase in discouraged work seekers continues to add to this figure on a regular basis… Our economy is saddled with corporate corruption, failure of companies to invest in self-development, lack of sustainable energy generation, and instability created by criminal activities of some business forums. All this has been worsened by lockdowns intended to keep citizens safe from Covid-19,” Zikalala said.
He expressed disappointment that the province had lost two big investments in the form of Mara Phones (a R1.5 billion investment with 736 jobs) in Durban and the decision to close the Sapref refinery in the port of the same city.
However, in that regard Zikalala said Sapref was more worried about profits and he asked the national government to buy the oil-refining facility.
“For that reason, we have called on the national government to buy Sapref, not only to protect jobs, but to build the capacity of the state. It cannot be that the country will remain dependent on foreign-owned, private conglomerates who are only driven by the profit motive, and owe no loyalty to our developmental agenda,” he said.
In all this doom and gloom, Zikalala said investment in infrastructure was key to growth, and outlined several projects that would achieve that goal.
“Madam Speaker, the provincial government continues to pursue infrastructure-led development. Transport infrastructure is a catalyst for economic growth, job creation and development,” he said.
Turning to the issue of crime, one of the issues that has concerned Zikalala for some time, he said the province could not be a home to criminals who terrorise communities.
“We hear the pain and cries of the people of KZN who are confronted by crime daily. We refuse to allow places like Loskop, Richmond, Pietermaritzburg, Inanda, Umlazi and Plessislaer to be known as the new killing fields of our province,” he said.
“Fighting crime will be the single biggest area of focus this year and beyond. We commend the good work done by law enforcement agencies. Currently, the statistics show that 17 community crimes have decreased, but the concern is that contact crimes overall are on the rise,” Zikalala said.
In the fight against crime, Zikalala said they were working on dealing with the crime issue at Mooi River, where trucks are occasionally used to block the N3, before they were later torched, as well as the issue of the killing of farmers.
He also said the murder of councillors, which he described as an attack on our democracy, would be attended to by arresting the assassins.
“We commend the increase in visible policing at 184 police stations, with a special focus on the high-crime stations. We are implementing the KZN Provincial Safety Strategy, the Safer Cities Framework, strengthening monitoring and evaluation of police stations and services, and firming up community partnerships,” he said.
He also acknowledged the challenges at Ugu Water, and said they welcomed the allocation of R830 million to Umgeni Water to finish the Umkhomazi water scheme that could help with the water challenge there.
Key economic interventions announced by Zikalala:
– KZN Youth Empowerment Fund increased to R100m from R50m to support young people who want to be job creators.
– The first automotive supplier park is to be developed at the old Durban International Airport site, which is now called the Durban Logistics Hub. The park is to be operational by the end of 2023.
– Establishing agri-hubs with the red meat hub located in the Zululand District Municipality, while the Wool, Skin and Hides Treatment Facility will be located in uThukela District Municipality.
– KwaZulu-Natal has developed a comprehensive strategy on rural and township economies. Among others, the strategy seeks to ensure long money circulation in townships and rural areas, and to commit the government to set aside specific township/rural budgets.
– For the next two years, KwaZulu-Natal will increase its EPWP target to 300 000 beneficiaries in order to respond to the increased urgency of job creation.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
Political Bureau