Midvaal: Our record on job creation and service delivery is excellent - just ask Gauteng's Premier

I would urge Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and his colleagues to engage with Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane on the findings of her 2009 Gauteng Quality of Life Survey.

On the weekend, Mr Motlanthe claimed that the DA administration in Midvaal is not creating jobs, while ANC spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli claimed "there is a very poor level of service delivery", and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela claimed that there is a lot of corruption in Midvaal.

It is necessary to deal with each of these in turn:

First, Mr Motlanthe attacks the DA's record on job creation in Midvaal, but Premier Makonyane's Quality of Life Survey shows unemployment in Midvaal is lower than in any other municipality in the province, at 26%. Even in Johannesburg, the economic hub of the continent, it recorded unemployment at 41%.

In reality, Midvaal is Gauteng's fastest growing local economy with the lowest unemployment rate in the province, drawing in major investors and employers such as Heineken and Ferrero Rocher, providing stable economic growth and job opportunities for local residents. Of all the municipalities in Gauteng, a resident has a better chance of getting a job in Midvaal than anywhere else.

Secondly, that survey also showed on almost every other indicator available that Midvaal residents experience better living conditions, service delivery and governance than residents living in ANC municipalities. Midvaal has the highest service delivery satisfaction rating for any Gauteng municipality and is the only municipality in the province whose residents express more confidence in local government than in the provincial and national governments. It is also the only municipality in the province where the majority of residents are either satisfied or very satisfied with local government. So much for Mr Ntuli's claim about service delivery.

Thirdly, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela says: "It's sad to see a lot of corruption." What we would like to know is what corruption she is referring to? Under DA leadership, Midvaal has just received an eighth unqualified audit for the 2009/2010 financial year. Midvaal's record in delivering clean and accountable governance in Gauteng is unparalleled.

The most ridiculous comment of all, though, was Sedibeng mayor Simon Mofokeng's claim about the legitimacy of the Gauteng Quality of Life Survey. He said: "Such surveys are done in a skewed way, old ways and apartheid-style". This is a survey produced by a body set up by the ANC's Gauteng Premier, one which Ms Mokonyane called a "brutally honest" account of quality of life in Gauteng when she launched the research findings last year!

If the ANC leadership wants to deliver jobs and basic services to the people of Gauteng, it can start by focusing its efforts on the ANC-run municipalities which lag behind Midvaal in terms of economic growth, job creation, service delivery and effective political leadership.

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko, DA national spokesperson, April 5 2011

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