Limpopo SOPA: Premier's speech fails self-reflection test

Image: courtesy of FF Plus

Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba failed the test of self-reflection with her State of the Province Address (SOPA) as she completely overlooked the ANC's own shortcomings by focusing on the past and external factors instead.

Thus, Limpopo communities are once again deprived of honest leadership and transparency – both of which are essential for effectively addressing the province’s challenges.

Although the Premier highlighted the devastation of the recent floods – which claimed 27 lives and caused billions in damage to infrastructure – she failed to present a concrete action plan.

She painted the ANC as the “saviour”, but it is the very party that caused the decay which the floods merely exposed.

Historical references, such as the 1956 Women’s March, are once again used to keep residents trapped in fear of the apartheid past, rather than bringing about real breakthroughs in the present.

The Premier boasts of a decline in unemployment and Limpopo’s significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the reality is that poverty and poor service delivery continue to define residents' daily lives.

Likewise, the lack of proper support for commercial farmers amid the foot-and-mouth disease crisis is a serious governance shortcoming, which threatens food security.

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) will keep calling government to account for its failure to make Limpopo work well.

The province deserves more than lip service. It deserves decisive action; and an administration that priorities the future above the past.