Opposition parties have slammed newly elected premier Mandla Ndlovu following his address during the opening of the Provincial Legislature on Wednesday.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), which is the official opposition, together with the DA and the EFF, let it rip at Ndlovu, saying his speech was a “wishlist” and he was “emulating” his predecessor Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane with promises that have been broken.
The parties were reacting to Ndlovu after he officially opened the Mpumalanga Legislature in Mbombela on Wednesday.
Some of the promises was a brand new agricultural hub worth R25 billion and the opening of clinics for 24 hours while creating employment opportunities in the province.
Ndlovu was elected premier after the May 29 general election after his party in the province, of which he is chairperson since 2022, got 51% of the vote.
“First on my agenda is to implement the manifesto of the governing party and the statement of intent, adopted by the Government of National Unity (GNU).
“We are going to work, and use our incumbency to give services beyond self, to the people of Mpumalanga. There will be no stagnation.
“We thank the millions of South Africans of all races who went to the polls on the 29th of May 2024 to exercise their democratic right and voted for the political parties of their choice.
“We accepted the will of the people and I feel honoured and humbled by the confidence the governing party has bestowed upon me to be the premier of Mpumalanga province... I would like to thank all our political parties for deploying credible public representatives to the legislature. They committed to work with us, and that the chamber will not be reduced into a circus but a place for robust engagements,” he said.
He added that the MPLs had assured him that they would unite to achieve a common purpose.
“To assist one another, to strengthen one another, to complement one another, to offer and give support to one another, bound by a common vision of find working together... We all agree that it is in the course of doing work that human error is committed. We will own up and correct our mistakes.”
Ndlovu thanked previous premiers including Mathews Phosa, Ndaweni Mahlangu, Thabang Makwetla, David Mabuza and Mtshweni-Tsipane, who is now the chairperson of National Council of Provinces.
“All these capable leaders made an enormous contribution to the development and growth of Mpumalanga,” he said.
He said he had already met with all departments to understand the current state of their readiness to serve the 7th administration and deliver quality services to the people of Mpumalanga.
However, EFF party leader in the province, Collen Sedibe, dissed Ndlovu’s speech as a wishlist.
“The speech is as a wishlist which lacked plans and strategies. He made remarks that were made by the previous premier which were never implemented.
“There has also been budget cuts so it remains to be seen how he will implement anything additional to that of the previous premier,” he said.
Sedibe said Ndlovu’s stance on the GNU was not in order with the province.
“He keeps appreciating the Ramaphosa government of national unity... There is no GNU here. They barely won the elections with 51% of the vote, constituting government.
“He didn’t speak about when they are going to eradicate pit latrines... Even the corruption and crime he just highlighted it in passing, meaning it’s not serious for him which is off concern indeed,” he said.
Official opposition leader, MKP’s Mary Phadi, said she was also disappointed.
“We are disappointed now that the premier is referencing to the speech of his predecessor. We were expecting the premier to take us into confidence in that he was now taking the role of governing the province,” she said.
“Instead of him telling us that the former premier had said...He was supposed to let us know what the plan would be... and how he is going to finish what the previous premier left.
“We need a sustainable way of how he is going to defeat unemployment and poverty in the province.”
The DA’s deputy leader in the province, Trudy Grove-Morgan, mirrored Phadi’s assertions, saying Ndlovu had no solutions to the province’s problems.
“We are very disappointed by the speech, he acknowledged that the province had a lot of issues. But he has not come with solutions and what to do with these problems. The pit toilets. He is not sure what he is going to do about that.”
She said he could barely mention what he had found to do with the problems.
“His speech had no substance. He speaks of dreams and no specific dates on what he is going to do. People must know which month and what date he will implement his progress,“ she said.
The Star
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