Johannesburg - Kenny Kunene has thanked Patriotic Alliance (PA) president Gayton McKenzie and the PA for showing confidence in him by choosing him as the party’s Gauteng premier candidate in next year’s national elections.
The PA deputy president and City of Johannesburg MMC for transport’s candidacy was announced by McKenzie at the party’s victory rally in Ennerdale on Saturday following the PA’s convincing victory in the ward 7 by-elections last Wednesday.
“If he was able to make such a huge impact as acting mayor of the City of Johannesburg in only two days, imagine what Kenny Kunene will do as premier,” McKenzie said to loud cheers.
He was referring to the two days in April when Kunene was appointed acting mayor while mayor Kabelo Gwamanda was away.
In an interview with The Star, Kunene said he was humbled by the PA’s faith in him and said he would change the face of Gauteng in just 100 days, should he be elected into office.
“In 100 days, residents of the province will see that there is a difference; there will be no illegal foreigner sitting in a hijacked building; I will be the premier of the people; and our citizens will come first,” Kunene said.
He will not waste any time, he said, in raiding townships like Diepsloot, Cosmo City, and suburbs including Hillbrow, Rosettenville, Yeoville, Sunnyside, and Turffontein to kick out millions of illegal foreigners who have evicted South Africans and have turned these areas into crime hotspots.
Kunene said he planned to change the face of public administration in the province should he be given a chance to step into the province’s highest office. He said he had already demonstrated major changes as MMC of transport.
“When I got into office, I changed the way that the administration does things, placing service delivery at the heart of my department. Even Discovery has acknowledged that there are less claims due to potholes in the City. This is hugely due to the hard work my team and I are doing to ensure that our roads are safe,” he said.
Kunene said high unemployment in Gauteng was another issue that was close to his heart. Youth employment and opportunities for people with disabilities and those previously marginalised would be central to the government he leads, he said. “I will make sure that people get permanent jobs, not six- and 12-month contracts that will end once a leader has been elected into office.”
While he did not mention Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi by name, Kunene was referring to the thousands of temporary jobs that Lesufi has announced.
“Our people deserve dignity, and that will come with permanent work opportunities,” Kunene said.
He emphasised that he would work hard to make the province business-friendly and create a thriving environment for business in the province. But he called on business to play its part and employ South Africans, not illegal foreigners.
Kunene said he would also focus on unburdening the provincial health system, which he described as disastrous.
“South African women have to go to the hospital heavily pregnant and fight for resources with illegal foreigners who come to give birth in South Africa; the worst part is that there are even syndicates that send some of these people to come and fetch medicine from South African hospitals,” he said.
Kunene said infrastructure was important for the economic growth of the province. He said the province was not maintaining infrastructure, which was detrimental to the economy and the growth of jobs.
“Businesses are moving out of Gauteng, and I want to bring them back here and ensure that entrepreneurs are offered the opportunity to participate in the economy of the province. We have to maintain our infrastructure so that we create jobs for people,” Kunene said.
Education was an important tool for the previously disadvantaged to empower themselves. He said if he gets the job of provincial premier, there will be great emphasis on modernising education in Gauteng and making it of excellent standards.
“Teachers and principals will be held accountable, and I will make sure that the MEC of Education gives me a report indicating that our learners are receiving the best so they do not have to be pushed into private schools,” he said.
“The people of this province and the country at large have been betrayed for the past three decades.
“If they want true change, I’m calling on them to use their hard-earned right to vote to make fundamental change in their lives and vote for the PA, a party that has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt what it is capable of doing once it has been endorsed by the electorate,” said Kunene.
The Star