Rise Mzansi launches 'Tsoga Gauteng plan'

Rise Mzansi launched its provincial election manifesto for Gauteng on Monday, kick-starting its campaign and revealing its plan for the province should it emerge victorious at the polls.

Party premier candidate and national chairperson Vuyiswa Ramokgopa said it was devastating to witness the province's collapse from being a bustling economic and cultural hub due to years of neglect, mismanagement and poor leadership.

“Our province has such extraordinary potential. I have witnessed first-hand the impact of poor planning, corruption and poor leadership on its dreams. 

“Too often, when I visit communities, I am overwhelmed by a growing sense of hopelessness. Over 2.5-million of our 16-million Gauteng residents are unemployed. Of these, over 600,000 people have simply given up and stopped looking for work.”

The third-generation Gauteng-born native, born in Hillbrow, recalled how her mother's family was forcefully removed from Sophiatown to Meadowlands, rendering her family victims of the Group Areas Act.

“My parents were among the first black people to move into Hillbrow in the 1980s, resisters of the Group Areas Act. It breaks my heart that in Gauteng most people still live in functional group areas, far-flung and disconnected from opportunity — forgotten and neglected by this uncaring government.”

Ramokgopa told party supporters she has a plan to turn things around for the province should Rise Mzansi win big at the polls.

“Out of the overarching vision of the Rise Mzansi people's manifesto, I am proud to present the 'five Cs' that we have developed uniquely for Gauteng, which will be our pillars for good governance.”

1. Connect

“We will connect Gauteng residents to one another and to economic opportunities.

“Geographically, Gauteng is South Africa’s smallest province. People live on top of each other. They need land to build homes. People spend on average 40% of their incomes on transport. They can no longer even afford to go to work or look for work. People also spend way too much of their income on data which has become a basic need. In dealing with spatial injustice and land hunger Rise Mzansi will:

“Conduct an urgent land audit to improve spatial, land use, and housing plans, identify priority areas for inclusive planning and zoning, such as the N1 corridor and the old inner cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane.

“We will address the cost of public transport and cost of living by putting buses and trains back at the centre of all our urban transportation systems. These can be complemented — but not replaced — by taxis, ride-sharing incentives and cycling lanes.”

2. Clean

“The people of Gauteng, live in filth and squalor. Rise Mzansi will prioritise cleaning up our streets and clean up this corrupt government, so we will stamp out corruption by ensuring that all tender processes are digitised, transparent and open to scrutiny, insist on full routine lifestyle audits, and actually act on them.

“Build resilient and protected platforms for whistle-blowers and ensure the safety of those who bring forward cases to clean up procurement and we will govern with excellence and elect people on merit and capability.

“To contribute to a cleaner environment, we will conduct an annual audit of the condition of all public spaces and work with local governments, the private sector, and neighbourhood improvement districts and civic associations to fix the problems.”

3. Care

“A Rise Mzansi government will prioritise care for the citizens of this province from the cradle to the grave — and give them the tools to take care of themselves — this includes, health care, childcare and physical and mental wellbeing.

“To realise this vision, we will implement a five-year plan to strengthen ECD and build new childcare facilities for ECD programmes in areas where existing facilities and infrastructure are lacking, with priority given to poor and underserved areas.

“Ensure that there is access to quality and affordable substance abuse rehabilitation in all Gauteng’s regions.

“For the education of this province, we will improve foundational learning so that every learner in Gauteng can ‘read for meaning’ — especially in their home language — by age 10, ensure that all schools are safe and supportive, by working for zero tolerance of weapons, drug use, bullying and especially sexual and gender-based violence.”

4. Create

“We will target the creation of 600,000 new permanent jobs in five years by making Gauteng an attractive invest destination, prioritising manufacturing and industrial development and supporting the growth of SMMEs that will:

“Drive industrial development, launch special economic zones for manufacturing, green energy and business process outsourcing and promote localisation by offering development incentives to manufacturers to invest in facilities in or near under-resourced communities, that employ local residents.”

5. Co-operate

“We will govern cooperatively across all spheres of government and in partnership with communities, and business stakeholders to stabilise local municipalities and ensure effective and stable coalition governments. In government, our conduct will be about putting the interests of the people first, over any other consideration, in forming and working within coalitions.

“This means prioritising good governance as necessary for stability over political point-scoring, restoring trust in government by promoting participatory democracy and obligatory regular public meetings for MECs, at which they are obliged to report back to communities and stakeholders in their sectors, and to canvass their responses on key legislative and administrative initiatives.”

Ramokgopa said she believes the plan presented for Gauteng's electorate will not only enable her party to reignite the struggling economy, but it will also bridge the wealth and income inequalities.

“Our plan will also directly address the rising cost of living, promote equitable access to quality jobs, and uplift marginalised communities.

“With this plan we say we declare that Gauteng will rise from the ashes of disrepair and neglect, from corruption and poor leadership!”

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