DA's Msimanga calls for devolution of powers for Gauteng

JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng wants national government functions like policing, rail and infrastructure development to be decentralised to the provincial government. 

This is one of the party’s election campaign promises in the hotly contested swing province. 

On Thursday, DA Gauteng leader and premier candidate, Solly Msimanga, delivered what he termed the true State of the Province Address (SOPA). 

The event is a precursor to the official SOPA which will be delivered by the Gauteng premier next Monday.

Devolution is one of the DA’s main policies. 

The party has been pushing for it in the Western Cape and now in Gauteng. 

Msimanga said it was clear that the national government had failed at ensuring crucial government functions run smoothly.  

"If we are going to wait for a plan coming from national, that is really not going to help us, we need to have a devolution of power from national to province so that provinces can then say this is the kind of economy we want to be chasing and for us to be able to chase that we are going to invest in this infrastructure, we are going to invest in the police and we can say to investors out there 'look at the investment we're putting into our infrastructure, safety and security and therefore you can come and invest in this province.'"

The governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), has so far resisted these attempts from the DA, calling the policy divisive.