Silence is not always golden
C Pilane Majake
When President Zuma recently outlined the successes of service delivery of the ANC Government in just 18 years, much criticism was forthcoming from the opposition. It is easy and cheap politicking to constantly negate the achievements made when one is not responsible for improving the lives of ALL South Africans after decades of apartheid. The strides made by the ANC Government in the past 18 years in the provision of housing, water and electricity to millions of homes, as well as extending social protection to millions of South Africans through the provision of social grants can be backed up by solid research rather than selective memory.
The Institute of Race Relations has revealed that between 1996 and 2010:
The number of households living in formal houses increased from 5.8 million to 11 million or by 89,9%;
The number of households wih access to electricity increased from 5.2 million to 11.9 million or by 127.9%.
The number of households with access to piped water increased from 7.2 million to 12.7 million or by 76.6%. The proportion with access to piped water increased from 80% to 89%.
However, the ANC believes that there is still much to do to reach our goals as new challenges have arisen. However, by building upon our achievements and learning from our experience in government since 1994, we are committed to improving the quality of education, health care, sanitation, and to accelerate the delivery of houses to millions of our people and achieving a better life for all.
