Note to Editors: Kindly find attached soundbite in English by DA North West Caucus Leader, Winston Rabotapi.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West noted Premier Mokgoro’s recent announcement that he has completed an assessment of performance of his Executive Council, which will be followed by a cabinet reshuffle.
Following our recent call to fire MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Gordon Kegakilwe, after municipal audit outcomes indicated a further regression, we are of the view that now, more than ever, is the time to remove the bad apples from the basket.
Just over a year after the Members of the Executive Council (MECs) have been appointed by the Premier, no significant strides towards clean governance were made.
We hold Premier Mokgoro to his inauguration speech made on 27 May 2019, where he pledged to uproot corruption. The procurement irregularities pertaining to food parcels, water distribution and lack of accurate Covid-19 statistics during the lockdown period, testify to his failure to achieve this goal and validates our reservations about the seven recycled Members he appointed.
The three newcomers, MEC Keneilwe Mosenogi for Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT); MEC Tsotso Tlhapi for Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation and MEC Gordon Kegakilwe for Department COGHSTA, have also not served this province well.
MEC Mosenogi failed to improve the profit margins of Schedule 3 State-Owned Entities such as North West Development Corporation (NWDC), North West Gambling Board and North West Parks Board.
MEC Tlhapi got entangled in a dispute with the bid adjudication committee late last year on the awarding of a R70 million contract to manage the Mahika Mahikeng Cultural Festival. The festival was subsequently cancelled, depriving the local Mafikeng economy and artists of much needed economic stimulation.
MEC Kegakilwe’s tenure is characterised by ineptitude, poor leadership, lack of accountability, party patronage and cadre deployment with no turn-around strategy for municipalities.
We expect Premier Mokgoro to carefully consider his cabinet’s performance over the past year, and more specifically, during the lockdown period before making the necessary changes.
We will keep a close eye on developments to ensure that the upcoming cabinet will serve the interests of the people and not the pockets of the politically connected.