Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Dr Roy Jankielsohn MPL, Leader of the Opposition in the Free State.
Recent service delivery protests have already taken their toll on local economies, and the Free State cannot afford more violence, unrest or looting such as that experienced in recent days in other provinces.
Every violent protest in the Free State comes at a cost for local economies and jobs. With a population of 2,9 million people in the province, only 745 000 are employed while 494 000 employable people are unemployed and 678 000 economically inactive. This constitutes a 33,4% unemployment rate that increases to 40% under the expanded definition that includes disgruntled job seekers.
The Free State already has over one million people dependent on social grants who are supported by a mere 190 363 registered taxpayers in the province. The Free State province only contributes 3,2% towards our national taxes which works out to R11,7 billion. With a provincial government budget of R38,66 billion the province has a tax deficit of R26,96 billion which implies that the province is income dependent on grants from national government.
Within this already dire economic situation, the Free State cannot afford for a single business to close or shed jobs. The DA therefore pleas with Free Staters to resist the temptation to follow the destructive and unpatriotic examples of criminals in other provinces who have plundered their local communities and their own families into starvation.
The political dissatisfaction over poor services in the Free State can be solved at the voting stations where voters can hold politicians accountable for the delivery of their promises during previous elections.
Furthermore, the DA will continue to hold politicians accountable for the unemployment and poverty in the Free State due to their theft of our provincial resources. Every corrupt politician and official who is charged for corruption is a confidence generating boost for investment in our local economy.
The DA looks forward to further court appearances of leaders of crime syndicates in the provincial government, such as among others the former Premier Ace Magashule, and requests the people of the Free State to celebrate accountability and equality before the law with us. There should be no sympathy for looters in the Free State, whether they are politicians or frustrated citizens.