MEC Mashatile selling empty promises in Thokoza

25 July 2017

Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Paul Mashatile has sold hostel dwellers in Thokoza, Ekurhuleni more empty promises yesterday when he indicated that the upgrade of the Thokoza hostel would take place with immediate effect.

What MEC Mashatile conveniently omitted is that the department has not set aside any budget to upgrade this hostel in the current financial year.

The department has only provisioned to get around to fixing the hostel in the 2019/20 financial year.

Given that Ekurhuleni remains the only Metropolitan Municipality that the ANC still governs in Gauteng, it is no surprise that the MEC has gone on the charm offensive.

With the ANC having dipped below 50% in last year’s municipal elections, campaigning on empty promises ahead of the elections in 2019 now appears to have begun in earnest for the ANC.

Recently the MEC exposed himself as a service delivery-denialist, claiming that not all protests are genuine.

However, when people who have been waiting for services from this ANC-run provincial government for 23 years, and see no change, they often turn to violent mean of having their voices heard. It is not hard to understand why the MEC would want to live in a distorted reality.

With a provincial backlog of over 600 000 housing units, MEC Mashatile has a tough task ahead. The time for talk ended long ago – the people of Gauteng are waiting for action.

The DA will continue to address the concerns of Gauteng’s residents and champion the plight of those that this government has left behind.

Issued by Mervyn Cirota, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC Human Settlements, 25 July 2017