John Matisonn – Glimmers of hope for GNU as Hlabisa and others get into action

New government ministers are moving quickly to address issues in dysfunctional municipalities, visa processes, renewable energy approvals, and crime. Notable figures include Cooperative Governance Minister Velinkosini Hlabisa, Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber, and Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu focuses on law enforcement reform. Improved parliamentary oversight and strong signals for change, especially from Hlabisa, who promises drastic measures against non-functioning councils, indicate a commitment to urgent reform..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Join us for BizNews' first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA's gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here..By John Matisonn.Early signs of where government is likely to improve include speedier dismantling of dysfunctional municipalities, streamlining the visa process, faster renewable electricity approval, and a renewed fight against "construction mafias". .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.New ministers who have moved fastest to signal greater urgency include the IFP's Cooperative Government Minister Velinkosini Hlabisa, the DA's Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber and Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson, as well as ANC Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who has power over new renewable electricity for the first time, and new Police Minister Senzo Nchunu, who had a good track record in his last portfolio, water and sanitation..While effecting change will be fraught with obstacles, these ministers have each sent strong signals that they appreciate that the public is tired of waiting for reform..The ascension of opposition MPs to chair key parliamentary oversight committees also signals a more business-like tone to parliamentary oversight. They include the powerful select committee on public accounts(Scopa), Appropriations, the crime activist Ian Cameron as chair of the police committee, and opposition chairs at water and sanitation, the auditor-general's office and public service and administration..The most important signal from Hlabisa at Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) came at the weekend when he promised to go a step further than his predecessors by not just putting non-functioning councils into administration. He said poor-performing municipalities will be dissolved and put up for re-election..Speaking between sessions at the Cabinet lekgotla at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, he spoke on the record to several reporters..He said he would draw a line, and if an intervention is not working, he would dissolve the municipality and ask people to re-elect to avoid the five year delay of the election cycle..Read more: Ian Cameron vows accountability and hope as new Police Committee Chair.During the election campaign Hlabisa said he was committed to compelling the implementation of those reforms he considered essential. As an IFP minister, this action will prove politically sensitive where the local governments he might dissolve would likely be dominated by bigger parties, most controlled by the ANC, but Hlabisa has developed a reputation as a mature leader who does not speak recklessly for political effect..The fact that he made these remarks outside the venue of the lekgotla suggests he is confident he has cabinet support for such interventions. He also signalled new urgency about largescale vacancies in many local governments, which he said would be his first priority..His big tests will be in metros that have been dysfunctional, including eThekwini (Durban) as well as Johannesburg, and he referred to the revolving door of mayors in Johannesburg, where five mayors have been in office in three years. .Hlabisa said he wanted to ensure that the country had no dysfunctional municipalities that are engulfed by corrupt activities, where projects start and never finish. Government and residents could not afford to wait until 2026 for the election of new political leadership..New Communications Minister Solly Malatsi also pointed to instability in his ministry when he spoke to Parliament for the first time as minister yesterday. He said that over the past 30 years, there have been 16 communications ministers and 14 directors-general. There is also a staff vacancy rate in the department of 18%..Malatsi has prioritised completion of the digital migration that will free up spectrum for broadband use, addressing the SABC's budget crisis and extending free and cheap wifi..Home Affairs Minister Schreiber's early announcement of an extension of foreign worker visas was consistent with existing policy rather than a new development. However, when he announced it he also signalled that streamlining visa approvals is a top priority, and he has undertaken to revive the moribund Immigration Advisory Board which is a statutory requirement. .Read more: 🔒 'Restless' Keir Starmer and his new Labour cabinet.New Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has also given an impression of more focussed commitment to the key sources of police dysfunction – lack of professionalism, corrupt police, crime intelligence, illegal firearms, attacks on police officers. His reputation for problem solving and his early focus on improving systems, staffing and crime intelligence suggested a more systematic and less flamboyant approach than his predecessor..Mchunu is one of several new executive members focussed on construction mafias, encouraging hope that this time enough of government leadership is serious as to make a difference. Another is Public Works Minister MacPherson. If they are able to cooperate there is a chance this scourge will begin to be addressed..There are also unsurprising signs that some new ministers may struggle to perform in ministries where a lack of experience and the hangover of old guard officials will count. The DA's new Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has set her signature reform on revising the curriculum, but several educationists expressed fear this would produce endless contention, long delays and a distraction from more urgent interventions..They preferred a focus on more immediate problems like ending pit latrines and improving teacher assistance to support teachers and improve teaching quality..The next big event will be President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech opening parliament on Thursday. Even Ramaphosa seemed to have a new spring in his step after the lekgotla, expressing new urgency for the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy..He told a national treasury and World Bank climate change conference in Pretoria yesterday that carbon intensity of South Africa's economy was unsustainable.."For decades our reliance on coal … allowed us to produce electricity cheaply. But the world has changed, and this dependency has come to pose significant risks," he said, especially from carbon taxes proposed by trading blocs like the EU.."When I open Parliament, I will be outlining precisely the issues that we have arrived at," he said, praising the atmosphere in the GNU lekgotla. "There was unanimity on everything. It was an extremely wonderful Cabinet lekgotla," he said..This cross-party Cabinet bonhomie is refreshing, but it masks the certain knowledge in both leading parties that coalitions in other countries have often spelt doom for one, usually the smaller one..Read also:.🔒 Members Only Ep 4 – Gauteng's new government, new voices reshaping media and hot stock picks🔒 John Matisonn: We have a government! – How the President juggled the politics🔒 Who's who in South Africa's new, diverse Cabinet

John Matisonn – Glimmers of hope for GNU as Hlabisa and others get into action

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