Rise Mzansi's Joburg mayoral candidate on what they're promising
Lukhona Mnguni stressed that they were against privatization of critical state assets.
Vicky Stark
FILE: Picture: X/RiseMzansiYouth
X/RiseMzansiYouth
What is Rise Mzansi’s plan for fixing Joburg?
702’s John Perlman asked Lukhona Mnguni, who is the Joburg mayoral candidate for that party.
Perlman said he’s looked at their manifesto, and a tightly run government making sure that money hits the mark seemed to be the central thread through the manifesto.
He asked Mnguni to elaborate on why they say they will insource workers and that contracts will not be renewed.
“You don't need to outsource grass cutting contracts because you'll always need to grass cut,” said Mnguni.
He used the example of waste removal company Pick It Up, which contracts a number of trucks.
“Then you keep some of these casualized workers moving from contractor to contractor. And one worker moved from a previous contractor into a new contractor, and their income was slashed from about R10,000 to R5,800. And yet a person who is employed in the city full-time, who's doing the same work on the same truck... is being paid about 18,000 rands with benefits and all of that.”
Mnguni said they want to make sure that the city employs people in a dignified way and that people who work are not underpaid.
“What we know from analysis, whether it's security, whether it's whatever, people are actually underpaying the workers who are permanently needed by the city. And taking away a lot of money through this contract - siphoning money and not giving value back to the city.”
Mnguni also stressed that they were against privatization of critical state assets.
“Let's talk about water, where privatization of water assets in Bolivia led to a revolution. And that's simply because when you privatize, you then remove the city from being able to set policy to give incentives or waivers, particularly for indigent households.
“There is no private company that is in its first and foremost logic wanting to make profits that's going to worry about indigent households, and therefore your social packages as a city that you currently have to absorb high costs of living, high costs of receiving services, particularly for poorer households and pensioners, you will not be able to have control over that. And that will mean that people will be priced out and then suddenly they'll not be able to receive something as basic as water and that cannot be a fair proposition.”
Mnguni said the reason why we keep inviting privatization is that we look at problems through the prism of state failure and yet
“As Rise Mzansi, what we are emphasizing, we are the new leaders that are going to build a capable state. We are the new leaders that are going to restore sanity into government. We are the new leaders that the residents can bet on to have their services delivered, but a government that works for everybody and does not leave poor people behind because privatization of those assets, critical assets of the state, of the municipality, will leave poor people behind,” he said.