ZILLE SETS AGENDA, SOUNDS CONCILIATORY TONE, IN

UNCLAS CAPE TOWN 000129


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SF PGOV
SUBJECT: ZILLE SETS AGENDA, SOUNDS CONCILIATORY TONE, IN
PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT OPENING


1. (SBU) Summary: New Western Cape Premier Helen Zille laid
out an ambitious policy agenda for the province in her May 29
speech that opened the provincial Parliament, noting that
poverty alleviation, infrastructural development, and job
creation will be the Democratic Alliance (DA) government's
primary goals. To do so, she said her government would take
care to work closely with national and municipal governments,
carefully audit provincial spending to cut waste, make the
public tender process more transparent, and cut red tape that
slowed service delivery and hindered private sector
investment. Most notably, Zille made several conciliatory
statements in her speech toward President Jacob Zuma,
suggesting she hopes to move past the verbal sparring with
the ANC that has marked her first month in office. End
summary.

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AN AMBITIOUS, IF REALISTIC, POLICY AGENDA
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2. (U) Speaking to a packed house at the cramped provincial
Parliament chamber in Cape Town, Zille's hour-long address
focused mostly on the DA government's key goals for the next
five years. Zille emphasized that she did not buy into
"gimmicks" like assessments after a government's first 100
days -- the challenges Western Cape faces are too daunting to
be addressed right away. While she noted that the province
is far ahead of many others in terms of economic growth and
service delivery, the DA government cannot afford to stand
still. Because of positive perceptions of Western Cape,
Zille noted, immigrants were flocking in from other parts of
the country and the continent, putting strains on the
province's health and education sectors.


3. (U) The Premier noted that a recent provincial government
legkotla (meeting),the provincial leadership had identified
job creation, poverty alleviation, and infrastructural
development as the key challenges for the province, and Zille
said that her government's policy initiatives would be
focused primarily on addressing those goals. Zille then
elaborated on some of her government's more specific plans:

--Establishing special economic zones for investors, which
would create jobs and develop skills.

--Encouraging industrial clusters, focused on areas wherein
Western Cape has competitive advantages. She cited tourism,
agriculture, services for the oil and gas industry, and
information and communication technology as examples of such
areas.

--Instituting tighter financial management controls to ensure
that money is spent where it is intended and lowering the
possibility of corruption.

--Making the tender process more transparent, including
putting all tender information online.

--Working with municipalities, particularly the Cape Town
metro, to increase their capacities, particularly in the
housing arena.

--Demanding that civil servants adequately perform their jobs
and weeding out poor performers.

--Laying out clear lanes in the road with municipalities and
national government about which level is responsible for
which services. Currently, Zille noted, some issues fall
through the cracks because it is unclear who should be
addressing them.


4. (U) Zille noted, however, that the ongoing global economic
crisis will make service delivery challenging in the short to
medium term. Already, falling revenue projections mean
Western Cape will see its national budget allocation cut by
nearly R900 million (about $110 million) over the next three
years. While she said she would fight to ensure Western Cape
Qyears. While she said she would fight to ensure Western Cape
got its fair share of the budget pie, the province was going
to have to do more with less. Hence, Zille said that initial
audits had found more than R400 million (about $50 million)
in "fat" in the provincial budget, including salaries of
consultants hired by the previous ANC administration who
appeared to bring little to the table. She also noted that
the private sector had a key development role to play. While
noting that her government did not consist of "free market
fundamentalists," they did recognize that the state cannot
overreach in a recessionary environment.

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REACHING OUT TO ZUMA, ANC
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5. (U) Outside of a few swipes at the missteps of the
previous, ANC-controlled, provincial government -- as well as
the controversial transfer of 1000 hectares of provincial
land to national government just a day before last month's
election -- Zille's speech was notable for its conciliatory
language. Having set off a verbal firestorm earlier this
month by criticizing President Zuma for continuing to have
unprotected sex with his wives after having sex with an HIV
positive woman, Zille stated early on that "Jacob Zuma is the
President of all South Africans" and deserved to be treated
with respect. She also addressed another issue causing mild
local controversy, her decision to open provincial Parliament
a week before Zuma opens national Parliament, noting that the
national Parliament had originally set a May 22 date for its
opening, and since the provincial budget had to be passed in
June, delaying the opening would have unnecessarily rushed
budget debate. Zille noted that she had personally explained
this to Zuma and that he understood.


6. (U) Zille also took on the notion of Western Cape
"exceptionalism," noting that she told President Zuma in a
phone call the previous day that he should look at Western
Cape as an opportunity, not a threat. Contrary to popular
beliefs in ANC circles, Zille said, Western Cape was not
looking to "secede" from South Africa or become a minority
enclave. Rather, the provincial government was looking to
solve problems for all of its people, and it needs national
government's support to do so.

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COMMENT
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7. (SBU) Zille's speech seemed very much focused on getting
beyond the verbal fisticuffs of her first month in office and
into the dirty work of governance. Alan Winde, the MEC for
Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism, told Econoff at a
lunch following the speech that the provincial government
understands it cannot go it alone. The South African
Constitution vests extensive powers in the national
government, so a combative relationship with Pretoria will
not be beneficial to the Western Cape. While Zille should be
able to work closely with DA-controlled Cape Town for at
least the next two years (new Mayor Dan Plato told Econoff
he's already seen an improvement in the metro's working
relationship with the province),it remains to be seen how
"cooperative" the provincial-national government relationship
will be -- particularly given the possibility of provincial
amalgamation in the coming years.


PATIN