10 |^22 AUGUST^2019 http://www.drum.co.za

MR FIX-IT

Dubbed the people’s premier, Northern

Cape leader Zamani Saul shares his plans

to overhaul the poorest province

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 the way Northern Cape
premier Zamani Saul wants it. He’s here

to do a job, not splash cash around.
There will be no unnecessary red carpet
events on his watch, no luxury vehicles
for him and his officials and no credit

card 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 has 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
will 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 pro-
vincial leader he’s never had a death
threat and with police in the province

stretched thin already, why should he

commandeer a val-

uable resource?

The Northern

Cape has the high-

est rate of unem-

ployed young peo-

ple and 54% of

households are

poverty- stricken,

with almost 500 000

social grant bene-

ficiaries.

“I can tell you

now, you’re in the

poorest province,”

Saul says.

He has bold planstogethis

province on track bypushingevery

available cent towardsimprovingthe

lives of his people.

First on the agenda wasradical

cost-cutting measuresforgovernment

officials: no longer willtheylivethehigh

life while their constituentsscrapeby.

He put his moneywherehismouth

was from day one, savingR1millionon

the event to mark hisstateoftheprov-

ince address – therewasnoredcarpet,

no fancy décor and the3 000guestswere

served pre-packed food.

“I don’t care what the ministerial

handbook says,” Saul says. “We are dedi-

cating every cent to improving lives.”

T

HERE’S plenty that keeps the

premier awake at night.

For instance, construction

on a new mental health hos-

pital began in 2007 and was

meant to open in 2009 at a

cost of R300m. But that project got

“messed up”, with a cost overrun of R1,

billion and will only be opening next

month – a full decade behind schedule.

“We could have 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

NEWS