commandeer

valuableresource

The Norther

Cape has th

highestrateofu

employed you

peopleand54%

householdsarepo

erty-stricken,w

almost 500000

cialgrantbene

ciaries.

“Icantellyou

now,you’reinth

poorestprovinc

Saulsays.

Hehasboldp

provinceontrac y p g y

availablecenttowardsimprovingthe

livesofhispeople.

First on theagenda wasradical

cost-cuttingmeasuresforgovernment

officials:nolongerwilltheylivethehigh

lifewhiletheirconstituentsscrapeby.

Heputhismoneywherehismouth

wasfromdayone,savingR1millionon

theeventtomarkhisstateoftheprov-

inceaddress– therewasnoredcarpet,

nofancydécorandthe3 000guestswere

servedpre-packedfood.

“Idon’tcarewhattheministerial

handbooksays,”Saulsays.“We’rededi-

catingeverycenttoimprovinglives.”

T

HERE’Splentythatkeepsthe

premierawakeatnight.

Forinstance,construction

ona newmentalhealthhos-

pitalbeganin 2007 andwas

meanttoopenin 2009 ata to-

talcostofR300million.Butthatproject

got“messedup”,witha costoverrunof

R1,3billionandwillonlybeopeningnext

THERE’S WORK

TO BE DONE

No-frills Northern Cape premier

Zamani Saul has rolled up his sleeves,

determined to cut costs and create jobs

BY GABISILE NGCOBO

H

IS office on the sixth
floor of the provincial
legislature building in
Kimberley is strikingly
unremarkable.
There are no portraits
of the new premier on
the wall and nothing
flash or fancy about the place – the desk,

strewn with documents and files, is like
every other hard-working person’s space.
And this is exactly the way Northern
Cape premier Zamani Saul wants it. He’s

here to do a job, not splash cash around.
There’ll be no unnecessary red-carpet
events on his watch, no luxury vehicles
for him and his officials and no ex-

pense-account splurges.
His predecessor, Sylvia Lucas, used her
state credit card to buy R50 000 worth of

fast food during her first 10 weeks in
office but Saul is cut from a different
cloth. And it’s been getting him plenty of
attention.

Ever since the 47-year-old was ap-
pointed leader of the country’s largest
and poorest province, he’s made it clear

he’s here to get the job done, not feather
his own nest.
His administration will be cutting back
on all unnecessary expenditure – and

Saul is leading by example.
He brings his own lunch to work,
there’ll be no more luxury five-star hotel
stays for him and his administration and

when he travels, he shops around for
deals. “I’m going to Tanzania next week
and I’m using Mango, not SAA,” he says.

And he doesn’t need police guards, he
adds. In his 11 years as the ANC’s provin-
cial leader he’s never had a death threat.
Also, with police in the province

stretchedthinalready,whyshould he

month – a full decade behind schedule.

“We could’ve built at least three more

hospitals with that money,” Saul laments.

“That’s reality.”

Despite all this, he remains hopeful

about the challenges facing his province

and the country.

“We can make a major dent; we just

need to be focused.”

Saul is aware that some people are

sceptical about his promises and it’s

understandable, he says, given the

trust deficit between politicians and

a

e?

rn

he

un-

ng

%of

ov-

with

so-

fi-

u

he

e,”

planstogethis

ckbypushingevery

10 | 22 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^

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