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The recent visit by the ANC National Working Committee to KZN and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's comments that “the party could not deliver if there was in-fighting, purging, patronage, and corruption,” as quoted in The Mercury dated May 16, 2023, vindicate the DA’s stance in the province of KZN.

The province, towns, and cities under the ANC have all fallen victim to exactly what is raised by Mbalula. The reality is that the ANC in the province is not capable of delivering effective services. To deliver effective services, a capable and ethical state is required, a concept that remains foreign to the ANC.

A prime example of a failed state under the ANC in the province is the fact that the eThekwini metro was unable to spend R322 million it received in grant funding, this money has now been returned to the National Treasury, at the cost of the residents, who continue to struggle daily with collapsing infrastructure.

Now the ANC in KZN wants R2 billion from the Infrastructure Office, which is housed in the presidency. One must question if the Metro could not manage to spend over R300 million of grant funding how on earth will it manage to spend R2 billion ? Why would a political party such as the ANC request a bailout from an ANC President? Surely this money is government money, not ANC money.

The problem and the reality are quite simply not money, but the ability to spend the money effectively and ethically, something the ANC cannot and will not get right. Just think back to the “blanket saga”, the PPE corruption, and the recent National School Nutrition Programme disaster, where 5 400 schools were left with no food for weeks, while children starved. The absolute failure by the eThekwini Metro during the riots and the floods that ravaged our province.

ANC Provincial Secretary Bheki Mtolo is rightly concerned by the DA-led “Moonshot Pact” in the province of KZN. The voters of KZN have seen through the thin veneer of empty promises, poor service delivery, and the failing state of KZN under the ANC.

2024 will offer voters a choice to remain under the failed ANC state or to move into an era of building a capable and ethical state under a DA government. The DA’s track record in this regard is undeniable.

Issued by Francois Rodgers, MPL - DA KZN Leader