DA MPL Dr Imraan Keeka
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) acknowledges the breadth of Premier, Thami Ntuli’s recent State of the Province Address (SOPA) and the stabilising intent behind KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
Investment pledges, infrastructure commitments and skills development initiatives signal forward movement. Stability matters. Direction matters. Cooperation matters.
But the progress announced must now become progress that KZN’s people can feel - because unemployment will persist without policy execution and firm accountability at every level of government.
Our province faces a 33% unemployment rate, broadly speaking. That is not an abstract statistic; it is the alarm on KZN’s heart monitor. Two percent growth will also not absorb the many people who are unemployed. Investment pledges, without disciplined execution and removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks, will not translate into sustainable jobs. Young people are bored with speeches - they desire opportunity, which the state has a duty to enable.
Handouts, while handy, are not always a hand up.
KZN has approximately 4 292 140 social grant recipients. Against a population of 12.4 million, that means roughly 34.6% rely directly on social assistance. Only about 11% -approximately 1 364 000 residents - have medical aid coverage. Almost nine out of 10 depend on the public health system. More than 11 million citizens encounter that system daily, often facing long queues, medicine shortages and strained infrastructure. And when they call an ambulance … they wait.
This is not sustainable.
There is no dignity in dependency when opportunity is possible. Employment is also not merely an economic metric - it is social stability, reduced crime, improved health outcomes and hope.
This is what the DA means by an Open Opportunity Society for All - a province where government removes barriers rather than creates them, where enterprise is enabled, where education unlocks work and freedom expands through opportunity. Our economic policy is straightforward: cut red tape, ensure transparent procurement, support small and township businesses with real market access, accelerate infrastructure delivery and create regulatory certainty that attracts investment. Growth must be inclusive and relentlessly jobs-focused.
But policy without enforcement is paper. Implementation without consequence is merely suggestion.
Accountability must apply to MECs, Heads of Department, Mayors, Municipal Managers and their subordinates. Performance agreements must be measurable and published. Underspending on capital budgets must carry consequences.
Delayed infrastructure delivery must trigger review. If infrastructure is the catalyst for growth, then leaders must interrogate why funds remain unspent and why projects stall. Developing regions require infrastructure investment approaching 15–20% of GDP to drive meaningful multipliers. If government is serious about jobs, it must be serious about delivery.
The DA welcomes the new financial dashboard presented KZN Finance MEC, Francois Rodgers and his team - a practical tool to monitor implementation and hold officials accountable. That is what reform looks like.
As the Ancient Roman philosopher, Seneca observed, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.” The KZN GPU’s port must be clear: jobs, functioning healthcare, safety, dignity and opportunity. Without that clarity, investment conferences become theatre. Talk, as they say, is cheap.
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, urged citizens to “hold us, the Governments, accountable… to hold our feet to the fire.” That is democracy at its strongest. There must be a desire for leaders to be held accountable if KZN’s GPU is to stick together stronger than surgical glue. For it is through being held accountable, that our citizens benefit most. Accountability strengthens partnership; it does not weaken it.
There are those who confuse accountability with hostility. As Bertrand Russell – the philosopher, logician, mathematician and public intellectual noted, “A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says is never accurate.” And as the renowned Greek playwright Euripides warned, “Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
The DA will not be distracted by the theatrics by the MKP or any formation that mistakes noise for leadership or family fiefdoms for governance. Our responsibility is to the people, not to populism.
When it comes to Health and Education in KZN, macro allocations must become micro results. Clinics still have to meet waiting-time targets. Medicine stock-outs and accruals, while monitored, have consequences. Patient experience must improve and Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane, has embarked on a solid programme in this regard. A strong matric pass rate must translate into apprenticeships, industry-linked skills pipelines and employment pathways. Education cannot end in mere certification; it must end in opportunity. The state has a responsibility to create this environment.
KZN’s GPU has laid a framework. Stability is returning. Investor confidence is rebuilding. But the next phase demands measurable reform, disciplined spending, modernised systems such as the Finance MECs dashboard and, visible consequence management, a dearth of which currently exists.
Growth must be implemented. Accountability must be enforced. Only then will dignity replace dependency and opportunity replace uncertainty.
MPL Dr Imran Keeka is a Chief Whip to the DA in the KZN Legislature. His views do not represent those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL.