Citizens speak about their expectations of incoming admin

As make-or-break talks to form the next government by political parties enter the final hours before tomorrow’s first sitting of parliament which will elect a president and a new speaker of the National Assembly, South Africans speak about their concerns and expectations of the new administration. Jeanette Chabalala, Koena Mashale and Malibongwe Dayimani bring you this report.

• Kota business owner Siphiwe Moorosi of Jabavu, Soweto, said the next administration should focus on reducing food prices and offer support to small black businesses.

Moorosi, 39, said: “My wish is for the government to reduce food prices because that for me is very stressful. Bread and eggs are expensive, and my business relies on those, so if the food prices go down that would be a relief.”

Moorosi said the small business portfolio should educate small business owners about funding opportunities.

• Vusi Khumalo, the manager at SUD Restaurant along Vilakazi Street in Orlando West, Soweto, said he was quite stressed about the new government.

“I am not sure if they will be supporting black businesses. With the ANC we had a bit of support in terms of hosting their functions that were keeping us afloat. So, we don't know what is going to happen now that they are not the majority.

“We don't know if they [new government] will be prioritising township economy and not just focusing on the suburbs, to ensure that we get business from them.”

• President of the township economic commission SA, Bheki Twala, said the 6th Gauteng administration “seriously ignored and sidelined the township economy constituency and its leaders by not implementing the Township Economic Development Act (TEDT)".

“A lot of people don't know what TEDT, which seeks to make a difference in the lives of people, especially the business community, is all about.”

• Kganki Matabane, CEO of the Black Business Council, said they were anxious and worried about the new government because these were “unchartered waters”.

“We are anxious that whatever arrangement [from coalition talks] comes may not prioritise socioeconomic transformation because in the past 30 years, the country has not moved as far as socioeconomic transformation. When we look at CEOs of JSE-listed companies, almost 70% of them are white males.

“If you look at the socioeconomic transformation, everything else is still according to the colour line, which then tells you that we have not seen much as far as economic transformation and supporting of black businesses and women-owned businesses, as well as supporting businesses owned by youth and people living with disabilities.”

• Tinashe Njanji, People’s Health Movement SA's coordinator, an organisation that advocates for improved healthcare services for communities, said: “I don’t know how to feel about the incoming government but hope the incoming administration will be available to listen to health workers and communities on the ground. Community health workers [CHW] are the cornerstone of our primary healthcare and yet they are not permanently employed by the health department.

“They are the lowest-ranked health workers, are always the last to receive adequate PPE and are not regularly provided with uniforms and protective gear.   

“Despite working under stressful conditions, CHWs do not have access to social-psycho support. Budget cuts began impacting CHWs significantly over the past few years, leading to increased workloads and stress. As a result, many CHWs have left their positions, and the department has been slow to replace them. This has affected a substantial number of workers; it is known that the delays in replacing CHWs have exacerbated the strain on the remaining staff.”

• John Molape, chairperson of ThusaNwaganaGeno, a Soshanguve organisation that assists disadvantaged youth with education-related matters, said: “I am sceptical about the change in administration because we are already struggling to obtain resources to further help their cause in the current administration.

“I hope the new government will prioritise policies that focus on improving education and supporting non-profits. It must prioritise youth empowerment and education which will lead to available funding and resources so we can enhance our capacity to assist more students and expand our services because we do everything ourselves and most of the schools these pupils attend don't always have resources like libraries or just access to public books.”

• Diepsloot Community Policing Forum deputy chairperson Doctor Chavalala said the incoming government should clampdown on undocumented nationals who, he said, also contribute to crime in his neighbourhood. 

“The best advice I can give is the incoming government should make sure that everyone in the country is properly registered and have maintained their legal status in the country,” he said.

• Advocacy group Masimanyane Women’s Rights International said political figures need to be held accountable for corruption and added that lack of accountability contributed to the ANC's poor performance in the recent elections.

About gender-based violence (GBV), Masimanyane director Dr Lesley Ann Foster said the new government needs to focus on setting up a council on GBV.

“That is the legislation President [Cyril] Ramaphosa just signed. It is important to have this council in place. We need a statutory body that will actually provide guidance and leadership to fight against this GBV pandemic.

“Rooting out of patriarchy and then the changing of attitudes and behaviour in society is a critical thing we need to see happening. We need a countrywide sustained programme focusing on changing attitudes and behaviours,” Foster said.

She said NGOs alone can't do this work as they would need government support including funding.