Safety, support, substance abuse - the pressing issues of the Western Cape
Parties who have thrown their hats into the election ring battle are out in a debate focussing on the needs of the residents of the Western Cape.
Ahead of the forthcoming elections, Lester Kiewit moderates another debate with candidates representing the ACDP, ActionSA, Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah and Patriotic Alliance.
Click below to listen to the full debate from Good Morning Cape Town
Many South Africans are struggling to afford basic things such as food and electricity, due to the high cost of living.
According to a recent report, 40% of adults are borrowing money to buy food and in the last 12 months, 20-million adults have gone without electricity because they couldn’t afford it.
'Every year, the poor keep getting poorer. We have been calling for years for a basic income grant.'
A caller to CapeTalk's Good Morning Cape Town asks panel members representing various parties what financial support they plan to offer those South Africans struggling to make ends meet.
'More and more people are living under the poverty line,' says the caller.
Action SA's Angela Sobey, says the party has a policy on economic justice.
"The state has basically converted everybody to a point where they are dependent on grants as a result of unemployment.
We want to wean people off grants. Those that can work need to work and those that need to be on grants are better cared for...grants they can actually live off."
Angela Sobey, Action SA
Safety was another issue tackled by the panel.
Delf in the Western Cape has long-held the unenviable title of 'Murder capital of SA'.
The DA wants to see the devolution of police powers to capable municipalities.
What are parties doing to ensure the Western Cape is a safer place to live and work?
Rise Mzansi's Axolile Notywala, says more 'boots on the ground' isn't the answer. Instead more needs to be done to deal with social ills such as substance abuse which leads to crime.
"What they [current WC government] have done is move crime around and not deal with crime. They've displaced crime from one community to another when they deploy law enforcement.
The issues that we have to deal with are the issues that education and health can deal with, we have a drug abuse problem and that's a health and social problem. You need to rehabilitate young people."
Axolile Notywala, Rise Mzansi
Click the link below to listen to the first part of this debate from Good Morning Cape Town in which the parties addressed issues relating to Employment Equity in the Western Cape.
Winning the race: Which party is the best option for coloured voters in the WC?