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As Premier Alan Winde prepares to deliver the State of the Province Address in Paarl, ActionSA hopes that the Premier will reflect on whether he has taken adequate measures to meaningfully reverse the downward spiral gripping municipalities in the province, with the Knysna Municipality chief among those that have all but collapsed.

ActionSA has repeatedly expressed concern about the evident deterioration of local governance within various municipalities. In the absence of any meaningful intervention, residents suffer the consequences of a near-complete breakdown of governance and service delivery.

Look no further than Kannaland, where the Hawks have conducted raids due to alleged corruption, and where residents are without access to clean drinking water. Similarly, consider Knysna, where just yesterday, Carte Blanche aired an expose on the collapse of service delivery within the municipality.

It is against a backdrop of consistent failures to deliver basic services, and the lack of any plan to arrest the decline, that residents have been left to fend for themselves, highlighting our concern about the absence of a real plan or the efficacy of current strategies. 

ActionSA is particularly concerned that the bulk of the daily challenges affecting residents of the Western Cape have seen no significant improvement.

Day in and day out, we interact with residents across this province who see no end in sight to the stranglehold that gangs have over their communities. Sadly, innocent children are caught in the crossfire between warring gangs who mercilessly have zero regard for human life.

Therefore, we are concerned by shocking reports that murderous gangs, through their associates are securing key contracts, successfully transitioning from extorting government projects to engaging in legitimate business with the Western Cape Government. For instance, known associates of the 28’s gang boss have secured contracts with the Department of Human Settlements for housing developments in Cape Town.

ActionSA believes that the Premier must clearly outline his government's plan to prevent any individual or business associated with the gangs terrorising communities like Manenberg from being awarded a single government contract and profiting from the taxes of law-abiding residents. 

Importantly, while a tough response is required to deal with rampant criminality and violence across the province, ActionSA believes that the government must ensure that we empower our communities to confront the socio-economic realities that have a direct causal relationship with the risk factors leading many hopeless people into a life of crime.

This is why  ActionSA is eager to hear the Premier's plan to address inequality in the province, the quality of education, safe and affordable access to public transportation, access to affordable housing and crucially, to ensure equal access to basic services such as water and sanitation across the province. 

ActionSA believes that the Premier's State of the Province Address must prioritise mapping out a clear plan of action aimed at bringing about meaningful change in the everyday reality of Western Cape residents. 

ActionSA is committed to ensuring that this change guarantees every resident, regardless of their postal code, the opportunity to live in a province where criminals do not dictate the terms, and where the government functions solely to serve the needs and interests of every resident of the Western Cape.

Issued by ActionSA