By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest District Development Imbizo in uMgababa, south of eThekwini, was delayed by nearly two hours due to technical glitches.
Ramaphosa on Thursday met members of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Cabinet as part of the preparations for the Imbizo .
Ramaphosa, who has been engaging with a number of stakeholders in the province since the beginning of the week, led the government’s Presidential District Development Model (DDM) imbizo.
Themed “Leave No One Behind”, the imbizo was attended by the uMgababa residents — the majority of whom are currently without jobs and have not been receiving decent services from the eThekwini Municipality.
Ramaphosa also held a meeting with the presidential working group in eThekwini, which was deployed to the municipality to assist in addressing service delivery weaknesses.
The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill is one of the key issues that members of the public raised with Ramaphosa during an imbizo in eThekwini on Friday.
Addressing Ramaphosa, local resident Sthembiso Hlophe said the opposition to the enactment of the BELA within the president’s cabinet should be neutralised.
“It is a fact that even your Education Minister is opposed to the Bill, and yet you have not taken any action against her. Mr President, you have to be firm and sign the Bill in its entirety,” he said.
Following the BELA Bill approval by the National Assembly, Ramaphosa resolved to delay the signing of two clauses of the measure into law.
The two clauses, the one dealing with school admission policy and the other dealing with school language policy, had met opposition from the DA and other organisations.
When Ramaphosa signed part of the Bill in September, Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who is a DA member serving in the government of national unity (GNU), boycotted the signing ceremony.
Gwarube was part of the cabinet members who attended Friday’s imbizo.
Taking to the podium during the public engagement with Ramaphosa, Sadtu KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza criticised the president’s decision to hold back on the two BELA clauses.
“The objective of the two clauses was to address the imbalances of the past in the education sector, and yet the president decided not to implement those clauses, even after the National Assembly approved the clauses.
Unemployment, water challenges, lack of decent housing, and crime were among some of the issues that were raised by residents of Umgababa.
The residents of Umgababa, like the rest of the country, are faced with a plethora of challenges including severe water shortages, crime and unemployment, especially amongst the youth.
From one speaker to another, residents raised concerns about challenges facing their respective communities.
Some of the ministers who are accompanying Ramaphosa later took to the stage to respond to some of the complaints and issues.
The President said the imbizo was a fairly productive session.
“Today has been a clear demonstration of how our Government of National Unity is also working. I have Ministers from our various political parties that are part of the GNU.
“I would like to thank them all and I want all the parties in the GNU to see the value of izimbizo. They are important because they enable us to interact with our people and hear their views, and answer their questions and at the same time, follow up on their issues that they have raised,” the President said.
The President also drew attention to ongoing infrastructure challenges, particularly highlighting the partial collapse of a bridge on the N2 highway, which has disrupted local transportation.
He expressed confidence in South African engineers, who have devised a plan to restore the bridge, calling it a testament to the country’s engineering expertise.