Cuba obsession a slap in the face of the unemployed

18 February 2020

A new chapter in the Cubanization of South Africa was introduced with a bilateral agreement to improve water sources. In terms of the agreement, 26 Cuban engineers will be deployed across the country as from April to do maintenance work on water infrastructure in South Africa.

Cuban engineers are, however, not registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). Their qualifications do not have the necessary accreditation as required by ECSA and, thus, they may not sign off on any plans.

The FF Plus addressed a parliamentary question to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, in the National Council of Provinces requesting her to indicate whether her Department consulted with the Engineering Council of South Africa before the agreement was entered into and whether her Department made any attempt to first make use of the services of local engineers.

The FF Plus also wants to know how much her Department budgeted for the engineers and whether the agreement will contribute to job creation.

This new agreement with Cuba follows the failed Cuban engineer scheme of the former Premier of the Free State and Secretary-general of the ANC, Ace Magashule.

In 2015, Magashule appointed 37 Cuban engineers in the Free State as part of a technical advisory programme to improve service delivery. Five years later, only three of the engineers were still in South Africa.

Service delivery did not improve and the R80 million that came out of taxpayers’ pockets went to waste.

The ANC's obsession with Cuba is costing South Africans money and job opportunities. If the ANC really was committed to ensuring economic growth, it would employ its own people. The agreement comes down to a slap in the face of unemployed South Africans as their government apparently has no regard for them.

The FF Plus will keep a close eye on the progress of the engineers and will ensure that the Minister is held accountable so that more Cuban failures can be averted.

Issued by Armand Cloete, FF Plus MP in NCOP: Free State, 18 February 2020