Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane says government needs to communicate better with citizens to avoid unjust expectations.
“We need to use honesty when communicating with our people. Saying things in bulk must come to an end and we must unpack our programmes,” Mokonyane told the National Press Club in Pretoria on Thursday.
Mokonyane was responding to questions by journalists on what her thoughts were about the escalating service delivery protests in the province.
The Gauteng premier said government appreciated the right of the citizens to voice their discontent through protests and marches but warned that it must be done within an ambit of the law.
“The fact that we are a constitutional democracy does not imply that disgruntled citizens must do as they want even if they infringe on other people’s rights,” she said.
Protestors were only hurting themselves when they destroyed community facilities, she added.
“Destruction of community facilities does not hurt anyone more than the protesters themselves because what they destroy belongs to their community,” she said.
This kind of behaviour results in government having to spend repeatedly the scarce resources on the same projects or facility, she said.
She said some of these actions, camouflaged as service delivery protests, may be caused by people who lost out on government tenders.
“The blatant disregard of the law will not be tolerated and those who are hell-bent on causing havoc and chaos in our communities will be dealt with harshly,” Mokonyane warned.
Mokonyane said while genuine grievances had to be attended to; incidents of opportunism should also be guarded against.
Furthermore, Mokonyane noted that government had limited resources.
As government we want to stretch the rand and cut the slices of cake thinner so that all our people benefit, she said.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
12 March 2010
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gautengonline.gov.za/)
