Premier Phumulo Masualle has pleaded with government officials to deliver efficient services, warning that failure to do so will see the protests springing up across the country spreading to the Eastern Cape.
Masualle was addressing a conference of Bhisho senior managers at the East London International Convention Centre on Thursday to firm up a strategy to roll out the government’s priorities towards next year.
He said next year’s provincial and general elections would be a testing ground for the government across provinces including the Eastern Cape, to assess whether they had delivered on the promises made in 2014.
“The leadership in government will be severely tested and required to account if we don’t change the situation for the better,” Masualle said.
“The growing servicedelivery protests countrywide are indicative of what we must expect closer to the next year’s vote.”
His comments come a day after ANC chief whip Fundile Gade expressed concern about the Bhisho government’s failure to speed up the construction of the multibillion-rand Umzimvubu water project, which former President Jacob Zuma launched 10 years ago.
Addressing the media during his state of the province address earlier this year, Masualle said the project had stalled as there was still no breakthrough on the funding model.
The conference, which was attended by members of his cabinet, senior state officials including heads of department and senior managers of parastatals, was held as disgruntled residents in Mahikeng, in North West, took to the streets and looted a mall and shops over poor service delivery. These included poor roads infrastructure as well as claims that there were no drugs for patients in some public hospitals.
Masualle said it was important that the bureaucrats attending the conference ask themselves critical questions, and say, “what are those things that we need to do to change people’s perceptions and bring about public confidence?”
Also of concern were municipalities which were not functioning properly and failing to service residents.
Masualle said, however, he was also aware that in some cases, politicians also played a role in making such municipalities non-functional.
“I’m mindful that at political levels we need to correct certain things that also impact on the proper functioning of the municipalities and our institutions generally.”