Opposition parties in the Free State accuse Premier Sisi Ntombela of running out of ideas

Opposition political parties in the Free State say Premier Sisi Ntombela has run out of ideas. This after they accused her of delivering the State of the Province Address which they say was full of repetitions and lack of implementation.

Ntombela has committed to creating more job opportunities and to assisting struggling municipalities.

Free State Premier, Sisi Ntombela says the state of municipalities in the province remains dire.

She says they are working around the clock to mitigate the crisis. This after the province experienced several service delivery protests.

Ntombela says they are determined to arrest the slump. She says close to R700 million of the municipal infrastructure grant has been spent.

“We will create a service delivery technical team made up of civil electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, town planners and ICT specialists in the premier’s office by July this year. This will strengthen the capacity of municipalities to operate and maintain critical infrastructure essential for service delivery,” says Ntombela.

Opposition parties have vowed to hold Ntombela accountable for all the commitments she has made.

“Many of our towns are without water; sewer is running through the streets; our roads infrastructure in our towns is still a serious issue, especially for our business community who are supposed to be providing the jobs for all the unemployed people out there,” says Roy Jankielsohn, DA leader in the Free State.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Chairperson in the Free State, Mandisa Makhesini says tough action should be taken against unscrupulous contractors who abandon infrastructure projects.

“We also want to see the premier going to the police station and open the case against her comrades, because these are the people that are being appointed to build the roads. The next thing they don’t finish the roads. So, she must make sure that she acts. She must act and stop talking. We don’t understand why a contractor will be appointed. The next thing you’ll just disappear on the side and there’s nothing that is happening. The same person you’ll find in another region doing the same work in another department,” says Makhesini.

Freedom Front Plus’s MPL, Armand Cloete says it’s disturbing that farmers have to fix the roads for themselves and that a lot of people are losing their lives because of ailing road infrastructure.

“She is also in denial about our roads. She is not just an inconvenience to our residents. It’s also that people are dying on our roads and it is creating a big problem for us. We are not seeing enough money going into it or efforts going into our road. Farmers are expected to fix roads themselves,” says Cloete.

Free State ANC Chief Whip Thabo Meeko is adamant that the province is on the right path.

“The priorities that have been outlined by the premier is the economic recovery development and reconstruction dealing with matter of unemployment especially amongst youth we have welcomed that greatly,” says Thabo Meeko.

Ntombela says government is prioritising young people, women, and people with disabilities.

VIDEO: SOPA Free State – Premier Sisi Ntombela delivers the State of the Province Address