Premiers of three failing provinces should go
The national government's intervention in three provinces highlights both the state of collapse in South Africa's provincial administrations and the need to hold the political leadership accountable. It is a massive vote of no-confidence in the three provincial premiers.
The near meltdown in Limpopo which could not pay November salaries indicates that Premier Cassel Mathale is unable to run a provincial administration and should not continue to occupy his position.
Gauteng has had to plead for money from the national government as its continued failure to control spending in the Health Department has meant the poor people of the province have continued to suffer. That this situation has lasted so long unresolved is an indictment of the failed leadership of Premier Nomvula Mokonyane.
Spending in the Free State is highly influenced by Premier Ace Magushule and his Project Hlasela. So any attempt by him to distance himself from these failures would lack credibility. He should pay the political price for his administration's failure.
But these are not the only provinces that leak public money. The intervention of national government gives rise to the question as to why these three provinces were chosen and why others like the Northern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal were not, when they are equally, if not more troubled, financially.
The answer to that can most likely be found in the internal politics of the ANC.
Limpopo's Finance MEC has angrily attacked the intervention as a political vendetta. It is no secret that Premier Mathale is an opponent of President Jacob Zuma. In contrast, both the Free State and Gauteng actively sought help from the national government. It seems likely that these interventions were designed to help political friends and hinder political opponents.
Although billed as a move to control spending, the intervention by national government does not automatically mean that will happen. National government interventions at a municipal level have often made situations on the ground even worse because of the tendency to deploy party apparatchiks rather than disinterested experts.
The situation throws into sharp relief the contrast between the DA-run Western Cape and the eight ANC-run provinces. The Western Cape is the only province where all the provincial departments achieve unqualified audits; showing again that where the DA governs, it governs better than the ANC. The 2014 general election will give all South Africans a chance to bring the same standard of good governance to their province.
Statement issued by James Lorimer MP, DA Shadow Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, December 6 2011
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