Angry premier warns DA of ‘blood in house’

SATURDAY STAR

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane raged at DA members on Friday.

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Johannesburg - Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane raged at opposition members on Friday, warning them not to get “personal” because they could leave the house “dripping with blood”.

Mokonyane said on Friday she was “provoked” by the DA during debate of her state of the province address.

“Don’t be personal when you deal with this government,” she snapped at the DA bench that was interrupting her while she was addressing the house.

“If you want to be an opponent of Nomvula then fine. I am part of the collective leadership of this government… If I wasn’t, you would go dripping with blood out of this house,” she said.

“You are not the worst inflictor of pain on me. You make me tougher, because I am not a sissy girl. I don’t appreciate it when people become personal.”

Her response was sparked by several DA MPLs, including Glenda Steyn and caucus leader Jack Bloom, labelling her the “queen of empty promises”.

The DA asked Mokonyane to apologise to the youth of Gauteng after the R90-million Township Enterprise Hubs scheme imploded. The scheme was meant to create 100 000 jobs.

Last week she suspended Khulu Radebe, the Department of Economic Development head charged with implementing the project, as a precautionary measure because of a forensic probe into the scheme. Radebe allegedly produced no progress reports on the hubs.

Mokonyane said more jobs were created in Gauteng than in the Western Cape. She said 196 000 jobs would be created in 2013/2014.

She said Gauteng provided people with decent toilets – unlike the Western Cape.

Mokonyane said the province was on course with the work they wanted to do through vision 2055 – a long-term plan to decrease the Gauteng economy’s reliance on mining.

The premier said her government’s promise to pay suppliers within 30 days had improved from last year and that accruals of more than R4.8m had now been paid.

“A new procure-to-pay process has been established,” she added.

Bloom accused Mokonyane of painting “a very rosy picture of accomplishment but ignoring glaring failures and commitments not kept”.

Saturday Star