Face-to-face with KwaZulu-Natal Public Works MEC Martin Meyer

8 Sep 2024

“Honestly, nothing could ever prepare you for this job,” said new KZN MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, tasked with helping to clean up his department – and the province. Within weeks of being sworn in, a used bullet shell was found in his official vehicle.

New KZN MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, was a surprise addition to the executive during the composition of the thin-majority government of provincial unity made up of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the ANC, his (Meyer’s) DA and National Freedom Party (NFP).

It is said that in one of the recent government functions in KZN, at which Meyer was a speaker, one guest was heard asking, “Ekse, manje ubani ngampela logqongqa?” which, loosely translated, means: “Who, exactly, is this white man?”, to which he was told that Meyer was the new political chief of the department, with whom the buck now stops.

Baptism of fire

He is also the first openly LGBTIQ+ person to serve in the KZN province’s Executive Council.

Meyer describes himself as white Afrikaner gay man and a progressive politician who is “passionate about working for South Africa, and I am passionate about LGBTIQ+ rights. I have a long track record of human rights work,” said Meyer, who spent many years as a social worker prior to taking political office.

Last year, Meyer criticised the South African government for not condemning the controversial Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, saying this failure was a betrayal of South Africa’s queer community and their struggle for equality.

Relatively unknown, even in KZN, Meyer has been a growing influence in the DA structures, with more than 18 years of political office experience, having served as the councillor of the Morningside area in the eThekwini Municipality, being deployed to other DA-run municipalities in the country, and being a member of the KZN provincial assembly and of the National Assembly.

But if this long tenure has not taught him that it is much easier to shout instructions from the grandstands than to be in the ring — and be required to throw, defend and take punches from opponents — the three months or so he has served in the KZN provincial government certainly has, opening him up to the vagaries and intricacies of government administration, some of which are unheard off in matured democracies but are all too familiar in banana republics.

Read more: Construction mafia sends a bullet surprise to KZN minister

“It was a big surprise, even to myself, that I was appointed the MEC. I didn’t have the time to wrap my head around it as I have had to get stuck in and get on the learning curve. I have been learning every day from the very supportive staff in the department. Honestly, nothing could ever prepare you for this job,” he said.

Tender-loving care warning

After his inauguration on 18 June, Meyer debuted by making powerful statements, such as being on a mission to root out the rampant corruption in his department, ensuring that contracts are awarded fairly and to competent companies and/or contractors, cutting the fat in government spending and, more importantly, promising to put an end the siege that the “construction mafia” has had on the provincial economy by sending heavily armed men to target both public and private sector construction sites, demanding a slice of contracts and stopping all work until their demands have been met.

Meyer’s statements instantly put him on a collision course with politico-tendepreuner-criminal vested interest groups, which have come to regard his department, with its billions in budget and a long list of projects, as a golden goose that has never failed to lay eggs.

Just weeks after assuming his duties, a used bullet shell was found in the official vehicle he was using to travel from his office to another government function — a warning that he must not interfere with and/or interrupt their neat and lucrative arrangements.

The incident immediately jolted his risk profile to a high level, which is reserved for cases of those facing immediate or imminent danger.

https://youtu.be/3uYfkU7wCZ4

“I was shocked and surprised to find that bullet shell next to where I sit. That matter as to how the bullet got into that vehicle, and why, is being investigated by a highly specialised unit, and I don’t know how far they are with it. That matter is beyond my control. But I didn’t and still don’t feel threatened or intimidated at all because when I took this job I knew about the dangers involved and I have a department to lead and people to lead, and I have to do it to the best of my ability,” he said, adding that there had had to be a change in members of the VIP protection unit guarding him.

If anything, he says the threats have made him more eager to clean house, even if it means facing off with the construction/extortion mafias. MEC Meyer says he has realised the importance of cooperation between the government, law enforcement and judicial officers in ensuring that the scourge is stopped, and those arrested are successfully prosecuted.

Read more: End of the road for extortionists and tenderpreneurs in KZN, vows new MEC

Unlike his national counterpart, Minister of Public Works Dean McPherson, who pronounced recently that it might be necessary to bring in the army to guard projects under threat from construction mafias, Meyer said: “I know that the SAPS is under-resourced but I still have full confidence that the police can handle this matter. What was lacking in the past was the political will. Now we have enough political will as Premier Ntuli has also made this matter one of his priorities,” he said, adding that the courts should give long jail terms to those who were found guilty.

Sboniso Majola on corruption wrap

Just weeks after helping Meyer learn the ropes, Sboniso Majola, the head of department of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, was placed on precautionary suspension by Ntuli, who explained that the suspension was due to serious allegations facing Majola and other officials in the department.

Although Meyer said he believed that Majola was innocent until proven guilty, the allegations he faced were so serious that they warranted the suspension.

“This matter is being handled by the office of the Premier. Mr Majola has promised to cooperate fully with all authorities to ensure a swift and comprehensive probe into these serious allegations. If he is cleared, I will be ready to welcome him back to his job,” he said.

War on corruption

Meyer said he was aware that many people regarded his department as being riddled with corruption, but he could act only where there was sufficient evidence. He said his department was also reviewing all the contracts awarded recently, and those that were awarded under suspicious circumstances would be stopped and readvertised.

“I want people to know that legitimate companies and contractors will continue to get contracts from this department, but these will not be awarded on the basis of being close to so and so, but on merit, and companies that are awarded will be competent to finish the job timeously and within allocated budget,” he said.

No quick fixes

He said he would like to leave a legacy of a clean department that would play its role as an economic behemoth that helps to drive and grow the KwaZulu-Natal economy.

“It is very unfortunate that this department has a reputation as one of the most corruption riddled in the province. We want to change that. I appeal to the people of this province to give us a chance. We know they deserve decent services, and that is what we are going to deliver,” he said.

What the DA brings to the table

Since the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), it has come under fire, particularly from left-leaning quarters as the government of sell-outs and apartheid apologists, and that it (the GNU) will do nothing but worship big capital, derail or stop the transformation project, protect white privilege and leave the majority to fend for themselves.

But Meyer says such labelling of this government was unfair and misguided, maintaining that the GNU, and its smaller reincarnation in KZN, offered South Africa the best opportunity to move away from racially based politics and governance to a truly non-racial society, founded on good and competent governance and racial equality and harmony.

“Those of us from the DA, we bring a new perspective, we bring an excellent track record of service delivery and clean government to the national GNU and the KZN government of provincial unity. We built that track record from governing the Western Cape provincial government, supported by a team of experts.

“I think what the people of South Africa showed, through the outcomes of the last elections, is that they do not care much about the racial division that some people talk about, and they want a government that is competent and will deliver for them. The people show that there are more things that unite us than those that divide us. In KZN, the four parties in the coalition bring their own values and experiences, and that is the strength that we see now prevailing in the provincial government headed by Premier Ntuli,” he said. DM

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