The State of the Province Address (Sopa) for KwaZulu-Natal, delivered by premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Friday was big on promises. But ugly truths such as declining investment, high unemployment, regular blackouts and rampant criminality still took centre stage.

In her maiden speech as premier, Dube-Ncube mixed a degree of pragmatism — such as a call for the urgent devolution of powers to provincial government, particularly to deal with KZN’s excessive crime rate — and practical steps to get the province to a state of energy security.

But there was also a wholly unconstitutional proposal of requiring every South African to be forced to provide the state with a DNA sample in the fight against crime. 

She said the KZN government proposed that every man and woman “between 15 and 65 submit themselves for DNA profiling” and that this data would be kept by the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority for investigation purposes.

Dube-Ncube spoke extensively about helping KZN attain energy security, saying that the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone would now become a key energy hub, with an emphasis on gas-to-energy projects. 

Among the Sopa attendees was Zulu monarch Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who officially opened the provincial legislature on Thursday, and former president Jacob Zuma. Misuzulu was forced to leave after disruptions from EFF members, two of whom were carted away by police before the start of the session.   

Power to the people?

The premier’s speech, once it finally started, was littered with action words, ostensibly an attempt to garner confidence in a province that is still dealing with the aftershocks of the 2021 riots, last year’s flooding, political infighting, and ubiquitous corruption in its only metro and other municipalities. 

To drive her positive message in an otherwise very negative environment, she said: 

“Our generation must notice the silver lining in the clouds and choose faith over anxiety about the common future we are carving together. Today and tomorrow, we must remain anchored in the oasis of faith so that in time we can reach the pinnacle of our dreams and fulfil our potential”.

But the realities of the province could not be ignored. Dube-Ncube soon admitted that the low growth of KwaZulu-Natal was primarily driven by low investment demand, most likely driven by the July 2021 riots and rolling blackouts due to the rot at Eskom.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “‘People are broken’ — Daily Maverick readers describe toll rolling blackouts take on their health and businesses”

She tried to claim that economic growth over the second and third quarter — from 0.3% to 0.9% — as a victory, but simultaneously had to acknowledge that the province has a 30.6% unemployment rate which, if expanded to those no longer looking for work, sits at 46.4%.

Dube-Ncube said the province would soon be setting up a “KZN Energy War Room” and would appoint a “panel of energy experts to coordinate and help accelerate the implementation of the KZN Energy Master Plan”.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Gradually going green

The experts would facilitate the rollout of rooftop solar panels, review building standards to include greater energy efficiency, and it would be required that all new social housing projects would include solar geysers.  

“All departments and municipalities have been instructed to finalise registers of water infrastructure, hospitals, clinics, schools and other key assets that will be exempted from load shedding. This includes an energy security plan by sector departments for facilities which cannot be exempted from the grid.” 

She said the province’s sugarcane industry could also provide KZN with an edge in the biofuels industry, adding that the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone was to establish itself as an energy hub. Among the projects to be established in the area are a R97-billion Eskom Gas to Energy Plant producing 300MW.

Among other ongoing initiatives in the province is Eskom’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in Elandskop which, once completed, will have a capacity of 8MW and could power a small town such as Howick for four hours.

Elandskop is part of Phase 1 of Eskom’s Bess project, which includes the installation of approximately 199MW additional capacity, with 833MWh storage of distributed battery storage plants at eight distribution substation sites throughout the country. 

She said the provincial government would be meeting with business and industry experts next week to further explore solutions as KZN’s energy security plan is being finalised. 

Targeting crime

The premier acknowledged, as all of her predecessors have, that the high levels of crime in the province needed to be addressed.

“We refuse to have our province defined as the rape and murder capital of South Africa because of the killing of ordinary citizens, artists, Amakhosi and Izinduna with impunity,” said Dube-Ncube. 

She said the provincial government would call for tighter gun control, particularly on how many rounds an individual would be allowed to purchase. But there would also be focus on “unlicensed guns, fake gun shops, and guns which are in the hands of illegitimate firearm owners due to deceased estates”. 

Further investments would be made in widening the installation of CCTV networks and entering public-private partnerships to rapidly extend this network. Drones, she said, would also be used. 

“We will commence educational projects such as positively messaged TV and radio dramas, workshops, camps to drum the message that crime does not pay, and criminals should not be idolised. Each department in the province will contribute at least R10-million towards the fight against crime and provincial entities will do the same.”  

She said the province was drafting a memorandum of agreement with Sanral and KZN municipalities “to ensure that their camera systems are synergised for maximum impact. The MOA will facilitate integrated control rooms, sharing of information and response plans”.  

Provincial government would use its resources to ramp up efforts against criminality, including supporting the police and working closely with private security, she said.  

“We will engage national government for greater powers and involvement as a province — and just in case we are misunderstood, this is not an argument for the backward idea of federalism but an indicator of the urgency of the task at hand.” DM