National
Western Cape DA government 'governs better' only for some - ANC─── 04:48 Fri, 10 Jun 2016
Cape Town - The DA in the Western Cape has not done enough to improve the lives of the poor communities it serves, ANC leader in the provincial Legislature Khaya Magaxa said on Thursday.
"It is consistent in one thing – how it caters for its white coffers while leaving the poor people in the province destitute," he said during a debate on local government service delivery."Since the DA came into government in this province, youth jobs have gone down. Housing delivery has declined; water and sanitation services have deteriorated."
Magaxa said according to the latest General Household Survey, in 2002, 98% of households in the Western Cape had access to piped water. In 2014, the same percentage was recorded, he pointed out."In the Eastern Cape it's very different. In 2002, 56% of households had access to piped water. In 2014, it was 78%. In 2002, access to sanitation in the Western Cape was at 92.2%. It only rose to 94.2% in 12 years."
The number of people nationally without access to basic services was declining under the ANC, Magaxa insisted."The ANC has been responding to needs of the people in other provinces, the DA in the Western Cape is making the lives of our people worse off," he said.
"The DA claim where they govern, they govern best. Yes, where the DA governs, they govern better for some."'Dignified life'Anton Bredell, MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, countered that according to data from Stats SA’s latest non-financial census, the province came out tops in terms of the provision of free basic services such as electricity, sanitation and water to poor and indigent communities.
"This speaks to the dignified life of our people,"he said."We can't focus on one sector of our communities; we focus on the whole of society. We need to provide services to all our people because all our people deserve a dignified life."ANC members jeered shouting "bucket system" and "service delivery in Constantia".
In response to Bredell's emphasis on the province's clean audit, the ANC's Carol Beerwinkel said there was a big difference between good financial management and service delivery."What is most important is to educate, listen and respond to the people's needs," she argued.
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