Speech by Minister Meyer during debate on the SOPA Address by Premier Winde

Honourable Premier

Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Honourable Members of the Provincial Cabinet

The Honourable Leaders of the Opposition

Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature

Special guests, the media, and members of the public

Ek groet die inwoners van Genadendal  en almal in die Overberg.

Yesterday, the Premier was leading from the front during his State of the Province Address. Genadendal, was the perfect place to deliver the State of the Province Address because it reminded us of the values of the former SA Statesman President Nelson Mandela. Going to Genadendal was a journey back to values dear to our people. The Western Cape Government has six core values which are rooted in the value system of the Governing Party in the Western Cape.

The first value is Caring

A global pandemic of this nature requires a caring government, a caring culture, and a caring mindset. Nothing is more important than showing in word and deed that you are caring.

It is this caring culture that we saw multiplied in communities, civil society, religious organisations, community-based organisations, businesses, farmers, and farm workers during the C-19 pandemic.

It was the caring culture of our health care workers that turned values into action.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience a caring government?

Clearly not, judging from the recent actions of the National Minister of Social Development as she addressed SASSA Grant applicants in Bellville from the comfort of a police Casper and then helplessly looked on as police unleashed water cannons on the most vulnerable in our society – those applying for disability grants.

 A Minister of Social Development must have, like Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, a soul for the poor. Unlike Lindiwe Zulu, an uncaring woman.

The second value is competence.  Nowhere in South Africa, was this value more explicitly seen in action than here in the Western Cape.

It is fair to say that we have seen how competence embodied by Dr Keith Cloete, his health team, our clinical team, our doctors, nurses are bearing fruit in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.  They have displayed absolute competence.

It is also fair to say that our government is one of the few governments in South Africa, that appoints people that are fit for purpose. The Premier as the Executive Authority of this Government is leading from the front by appointing HODs that are fit for purpose.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience a competent government?

Clearly not, if one considers the testimonies of witnesses appearing in front of the Zondo Commission.  President Cyril Ramaphosa was the Chairperson of the ANC cadre deployment committee. He is responsible for those crazy appointments at all the SOEs. He is responsible for the appointment of Dudu Myeni and Brian Molefe and many other ANC cronies.  

The third value of the Western Cape Government is accountability.

Accountability is not reduced to mere numbers and cases, but an analysis of the post text, the narratives and human reflections involved.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience an accountable government?

Clearly not, if one considers the testimony of the DA Chief Whip in the National Assembly, Natasha Mazzone at the Zondo Commission. She gave a detailed account of how the ANC MP’s shielded ministers from accountability and protected them in the National Assembly.

 The State Capture Commission has heard from several witnesses that Parliamentary oversight was compromised by the organized criminal syndicate, the (ANC). The Zondo Commission heard of an unwillingness by the ANC MP’s to hold its Members of Parliament and Ministers to account.

And today, we are sitting with the Chief Looter of the State Capture Party, defying even the Constitution Court’s ruling that he must account for his actions and appear before the Zondo Commission.

And all our dear President says: “Please give Mr Zuma space to think about the Constitution” .

The fourth value of this Government is integrity.  Integrity, also known as moral uprightness and strong adherence to honesty in public as well as in private life, does matter. 

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience a government that has integrity?

Clearly not. The State Capture Party has thus far displayed no true

 desire to implement its own step aside resolution for corrupt

members.  Zuma has an Ace up his sleeve.

We know that people generally have low levels of trust in governments.

Our strategic communication unit in the Department of the Premier does regular polling to test the trust levels of our citizens, in how the Western Cape Government performs in managing the pandemic.

Although having high levels of fear and mixed feelings during different periods of the pandemic, the citizens of the Western Cape now have higher levels of trust in how the Western Cape Government and our Health Department is performing. This is because Premier Winde is leading from the front. Even the national government has trust in the Western Cape. So much so that the President took his vaccine injection, yesterday, right here in the best run province in SA.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience a government they can trust?

Clearly not.  There is no trust in the State Capture Government of Ramaphosa.

We therefore call on President Ramaphosa and his National Government to resign. If you have no trust, you have no legitimacy. Resign with dignity Mr President. This is a call from us to the President: “My fellow South African - Do the honourable thing and resign.”

The fifth value is innovation.  Leading in turbulent times, require innovation and speed. 

We have seen much innovation in the Western Cape as outlined by our Premier during his State of the Province Address.

The health department has together with the Department of the Premier, developed an online real time Covid-19 dashboard.  This is a ground-breaking innovation that has been receiving international recognition.

High flow nasal oxygen as a substitute for ventilators, is also an innovation that is continuing to save lives in the Western Cape.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience any innovation in their provincial governments?

The ANC provincial government in the Eastern Cape procured ambulance scooters to transport patients in rural areas. What a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Even Health Minister, Dr Mkize described the ambulance scooters as being inappropriate in the fight against Covid-19.

The ANC is always finding innovative ways to line their own pockets and to steal taxpayer’s money. This is where ANC innovation goes.

The last and sixth value of this Government is responsiveness.

Nowhere during adult working life, have I seen this level of responsiveness from a Premier, Health MEC, HoD, doctors and nursing and health staff.

Leave was cancelled, working long hours, weekends, across geographical and functional boundaries, is all testimony of the level of responsiveness.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience a responsive provincial government?

No, we rather see provincial governments looting Covid-19 money and when confronted the President simply says: “I am shocked…”

While the President is shocked, Premier Winde is leading from the front, by being the only Premier whose government has published Disclosure Reports on spending of Covid-19 funds in the Western Cape.

Honourable Speaker, do people outside the Western Cape experience value-based leadership in their provincial government?

The answer is no.

Honourable Speaker, values help us to navigate turbulent times.

The Democratic Alliance Government of the Western Cape and wherever it governs, offers the voter:

-       Value based leadership

-       Data led governance

-       Evidence based decision-making

-       The integration of faith, reason and emotion and

-       Leaders with empathy and compassion.

-       Servant leadership and

-       A caring government.

The voters of the Western Cape have a clear choice in the upcoming local government elections and that is to vote for a value-based government with integrity.

Honourable Speaker, it is time for SA to exit the party of toxic leadership.

It is time for SA to exit the party of unethical leadership

Honourable Speaker, it is time to facilitate the EXIT of the state capture party from government in SA.

The people of the Western Cape have already issued the ANC a one-way ticket to oblivion, for them never to return to govern the Western Cape.

I now call on all voters in South Africa to do the same.

Use the LGE 21 to send the ANC criminal syndicate out of your streets, towns, municipalities, districts and regions all over SA.

Let them never return to your town to steal, your district to steal and your region to steal.

South Africa – now is the time to clean this country and experience real hope and real change NOW in 2021.

To free the country, we must vote the ANC out and get a new government in the Union Buildings.

The ANC brought down SAA at great costs to the taxpayer. SAA’s remains lies scattered across the runway of corruption across this country.

The Black Box is safely with the Zondo Commission and each day another bit of the puzzle of state capture is revealed.

Now is the time to destroy the State Capture Party and dispatch its wreckage to the steps of Luthuli House.

The time is now!

I thank you.