KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has assured residents and businesses that her government will utilise various ways to reduce ongoing power cuts that are affecting the economy.

Addressing day one of the KZN government’s two-day Planning Lekgotla on Friday, ahead of the State of the Province Address (SoPA) on February 24, Dube-Ncube said that the province would also look into utilising its resources, such as the sea, to generate electricity which would, in turn, attract investors to the province.

While more details would be ironed out during the SoPA, she said the lekgotla would look into whether her Cabinet could deliver on government’s mandate as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address. 

The Premier said youth unemployment remained a problem in the province and shared that the lekgotla would also look into whether the province’s programmes had had any positive impact in tackling the issue.

Addressing water challenges she said her government had decided to assist municipalities in addressing the scarcity of water in certain areas.

This after deadly floods damaged various infrastructure last year and forced government to declare a State of Disaster.

The Premier said her government would also focus on crime and take the onus off of national government. She said the KZN government would inject money into crime-fighting technology.

“The businesses are not able to function well and our economy will not flourish if our communities are affected by the criminals. We have seen last week the sad news of the brutal killing of well-known musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes with his friend chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane in the province. We also note the news of the people who were shot in Mariannhill in the same week and various [other] incidents including the shooting that was reported in KwaMashu hostel.

“…all the government’s efforts to revive the economy will go unnoticed if the people of the province live in fear,” she said.

Gender-based violence will also be discussed, as well as existing interventions and new ways that could be introduced to tackle the issue.