Note to editors: The following debate was delivered today (Tuesday) by Democratic Alliance (DA)’s MPL, Annerie Weber, in Mbombela during the sitting of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (Debate on Poverty)
Mpumalanga the “place of the rising sun”, The “food basket of the country” “The coal fields of SA. We have rivers, wetlands, agriculture, fuel power stations, aqua culture, dams, mines etc. The province of plentiful, where one can find a job. A Province filled with so many resources and opportunities.
Mpumalanga, home to 3.5 million people BUT shockingly we have a poverty headcount of 3.5 out of 5.
In March 2022 it was reported that 50.8% of people, more than half of the people living in Mpumalanga, are living below the lower-bound poverty line of R810 per month. Mpumalanga have also recorded a ratio of 44.5% of people not in employment and education.
Why? How did we get here?
Is it possible that we can blame the lack of service delivery?
In a capable state everyone would have access to clean and running water, electricity and sanitation. Malnutrition will not exist as everyone will have access to good healthy nutrition. Access to excellent education. A stable house to protect you and your children against violence and danger.
Unfortunately, reality is a little bit different. Our province is ridden with water leaks which leads to water scarcity. Many people do not have access to running and clean water. Unclean water leads to serious diseases and illnesses. People that lives in these conditions cannot afford and have limited or no access to doctors, hospitals and medicine. How often do we not drive through some of our areas in the province and see the sewage running down the roads with children and animals playing in it, as if it is water.
When a learner can’t bath, or wash their clothes, they need to choose to go to school dirty, but get an education or stay home, because they are embarrassed and teased and not getting an education. This has an immense impact on the dignity and self-respect of a person and leads to feelings of insecurity, worthlessness and inequality.
One solution can be that local Municipalities start fixing the water leaks so that so much water is not lost. When there is access to water, sustainable vegetable gardens can be established at every house.
Every time the petrol price rise the food prices rise as well. The Cost of living have become so high that people cannot even access the basic food they used to buy.
One of the solutions to the high cost of living is to add more items to the zero-VAT rated food basket. This will greatly assist the poor and unemployed to put food on the table and will feel more in control of the food insecurity luring at their door step. As it is, people are already skipping at least one meal a day. How difficult can it be to fight and assist the poor to have access to a basic food basket?
The department of education is already giving one nutritional meal a day to learners in schools. But what about children from 0-5 years that do not attend school? Is one meal a day enough? Sadly, many of these learners go home hungry and have no food over weekends and holidays?
As South Africans we take pride in our Constitution but not only pride we actually believe the constitution when it says in its preamble … to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person, when the constitution speaks of equality and human dignity as a human right and most of all everyone has the right to health care, food, water and social security.
Yet people in this province do not have proper housing, living in shacks without water, sewage or electricity. Struggling to get a job to feed themselves and their children. To ensure that their children can move forward and get an education. We need to remember that when children lack education it creates a lack of opportunities. Another solution is to ensure there are enough schools and teachers and that all children are in the position to go to school as a healthy child.
Provincially and locally all these programmes, policies and plans are in place but for some reason there is a major lack of political will to enforce these programmes and policies that it can benefit the residents of Mpumalanga.
Impoverished communities are more at risk for mental illness, chronic disease, higher mortality and lower life expectancy. I am not aware of anyone that want this for themselves or their children. People that are exposed to these levels of poverty suffer long term effects and can have more chronic illness and ill health.
The premier said in his opening of the 7th Mpumalanga Provincial legislature that he “will tackle the high cost of living by strengthening comprehensive social security and intensify food security through our agricultural programmes” and “will invest in the people by ensuring that local government delivers on its mandate and it provides clean water, proper sewer systems that are functional…”
Honourable Premier local government is failing us dismally:
Our policies, programs and execution therefore need to work together to build an inclusive economy and provide social security to the poor and unemployed
Colleagues if we invest in education, support the growth of our economy by investing in small businesses and actually implement our existing social security programs, we can create an enabling environment for job creation, economic growth and sustainable living.
Let us look again at s some of the proposed solutions:
- Ensure and increase access to education
- Improve food and nutrition security by adding at least 10 items to the zero VAT rated food basket
- Increase access to clean water, sanitation and electricity
- Provide quality and affordable healthcare for all.
- Let’s create opportunities for job creation
Colleagues we can ensure that the people in our province do not follow in the footsteps of the desperate mother in the EC killing herself and her 3 children as they were starving and she didn’t have any hope.
Let us adopt
Note: The above motion with notice was adopted by the Mpumalanga Legislature