Edwin Macrae Bath - MP

📸 Durban - 20 April 2026

Final Provincial Executive Committee (KZN) before Provincial Congress on the 9th May 🗳️

Looking forward to voting for leaders who strive to unite us (not divide), Leaders who show true care for our public representatives, members and activists, Leaders who seek to empower, develop and support the Values and Principles of the Party, and the party system as a whole. Leaders who have a proven track record of delivery, honesty, integrity. These are the types of leaders I will be voting for on the 9th May.

A better, stronger KZN DA = A better more functional KZN 💙🇿🇦🚀

The handover of the new SAPS Forensic Lab in Mayville is a welcome and necessary step forward, and credit must go to Dean Macpherson MP and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for getting this critical project delivered after years of delay.

When infrastructure fails it affects the ability of the state to do its job, and in this case, it has meant delays in justice.

This facility must now play its full role in reducing forensic backlogs, supporting investigations, and strengthening prosecutions. But the job doesn’t end at handover. It must be properly maintained, staffed, and resourced to ensure it delivers real outcomes.

Many people don’t fully realise what the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is, or how important it is for our people.

EPWP is a government programme that provides short-term work and skills development to help South Africans access future job opportunities. It has the potential to create real jobs and open doors to opportunity, but too often that potential is lost to political interference and mismanagement.

Every instance of misuse is a missed opportunity.

Under Dean Macpherson, a reform agenda is underway to restore integrity, ensure fair access, and make the programme work for those who need it most.

See my statement below:

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) will no longer be an easy patronage programme for political abuse - the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has fairly put EThekwini Municipality on terms to clean up their negligent management of the programme or have its funding suspended.

Let this be a message to all municipalities and departments mismanaging the programme countrywide. We need EPWP to work if we want to help get South Africans to work.

THE DA IS TAKING ROOT (GROWING) IN WARD 11 uMNGENI 🌱

It was awesome attending the Ward 11 uMngeni DA branch meeting in Mpophomeni and to receive such a warm welcome from members and new members. It was especially encouraging to see many new members receiving their DA t-shirts for the very first time and officially joining the DA.

While Ward 11 is currently an ANC ward, the DA has a wonderful PR councillor Nompumelelo Buthelezi who represents our party in Ward 11, together with a committed branch executive, members and activists. They have been working exceptionally hard to make sure the residents of Ward 11 are seen and heard (and are well represented). We are so lucky to have good people looking after residents and growing the party across all areas.

Fittingly, this meeting took place in a member’s vegetable garden, surrounded by healthy spinach. We joked that the DA in Ward 11 is growing just as strongly and quickly as the spinach surrounding us.

This is an encouraging sign of what’s to come as the DA continues to grow in areas that were once considered non-DA areas.

The momentum is building, and the future looks bright. 💙

🚧 MOOI-RIVER MUNICIPAL ROADS ARE F*%?K*D

This past Easter weekend I took a drive through Ward 1 (Mooi-River CBD) - What a Horror Show.

Potholes are everywhere. In many areas, only vehicles with high clearance can safely pass. Some roads are even blocked. Roads that were recently resurfaced are already wearing.

Local Municipalities are responsible for the basics:
• Municipal Roads
• Streetlights
• Waste collection
• Basic services

If Mpofana Municipality can’t even get its neighbourhood roads right, how can its leader be expected to run a municipality?

Literally all the roads look like this - Residents deserve better. With the next local government elections approaching, Mpofana residents will have an opportunity to choose a better future 🗳️

💧 DISTRICT WATER FAILURES, RESIDENTS SUFFER

Yesterday I invited DA National Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, to uMngeni to conduct oversight into the growing water failures affecting our communities.

We visited Howick West, Mpophomeni, Lower KwaChief (Ward 😎, Ebumnandini (Ward 13), eNguga, Howick and Hilton, where residents are increasingly being impacted by ongoing water shortages.

In Mpophomeni, despite water infrastructure having been installed in many areas, some communities have not had water for up to 20 years. This is unacceptable and highlights the scale of the District Municipality’s failure.

It is important to be clear, responsibility for water and sanitation lies with the ANC-run uMgungundlovu District Municipality, not the DA-run uMngeni Local Municipality. Unfortunately, the District’s incompetence and lack of political leadership are leaving residents without this basic human right.

Despite not having the legal mandate, the uMngeni Local Municipality, together with its councillors and staff, have stepped in to communicate with residents and coordinate relief efforts where possible.

Our residents deserve better, and we will continue to put pressure on the district to do its basic job - ensure water provision💧

EPWP AND ITS MUCH NEEDED REFORMS 🦺

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is meant to create jobs, build skills, and give hope to vulnerable South Africans.

But too often, we are seeing allegations of political interference and patronage in who gets selected (See the latest attempt in Limpopo below). When opportunities are handed out based on politics instead of fairness, it defeats the purpose of this important programme.

Despite this, I remain hopeful. The 7th Administration of Parliament presents a real opportunity to strengthen the EPWP, progress is already being made. With reforms, better oversight, and stronger safeguards, we can remove political interference and ensure the programme serves those who need it most.

The EPWP must be about people, not politics. I as a portfolio committee member on Public Works and infrastructure am committed to protecting and strengthening this vital programme.

See statement below:

A SMALL MOMENTS OF PROGRESS 💙🇿🇦

After a full day of back to back performance assessments with our public representatives in the uMngeni constituency, I managed to squeeze in a quick 4 km run tonight.

Running through the streets after dark was actually a small reminder of what good local government looks like. The streetlights worked, the roads were in good condition, and the town felt safe and cared for. I only passed two faulty lights on the route, both of which I’ve already reported to the municipality to have checked and fixed.

These may seem like small things, but they make a real difference in daily life. Good governance should make communities work, even on a quiet run at night.

REFORMING HOW SOUTH AFRICA MANAGES PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Yesterday the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure received a briefing on important legislation currently being developed to improve how South Africa manages state properties.

As someone who spent more than a decade working in this sector before entering Parliament, these reforms are particularly significant to me.

I welcome the review of the Government Immovable Asset Management Act, which has become outdated and needs to be modernised to better manage government’s vast property portfolio.

The review of the Council for the Built Environment Act is also an important step to strengthen the governance of the built environment councils and ensure professionals are properly registered and supported.

The forthcoming Public Works Bill will also be an opportunity to modernise the sector and potentially support the proposed South African Property Company, a model aimed at managing state property more commercially and generating value for the country.

The committee appreciated that the Minister personally engaged with the Committee to respond to questions on these important reforms.

Progress like this matters. The real work now will be in ensuring these laws translate into better delivery on the ground.

REBUILDING THE PEOPLE’S PARLIAMENT

This week I had the opportunity to view the rebuilding progress of the National Assembly building at the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town. Seeing the site today alongside the architectural renderings of the completed project is both fascinating and sobering.

When the rebuild was first discussed after the devastating 2022 Parliament fire, the estimated cost was around R1 billion. Today, the picture is far less clear, with estimates suggesting the final cost could be between R2 billion and R4 billion, and no consistent public figure confirmed.

It is also important to clarify that this is not a project being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI). The mandate was taken away from DPWI and the rebuild is being overseen directly by Parliament itself, under the Secretary to Parliament and the Speaker, with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) appointed as implementing agent.

There is also uncertainty around when MPs will return to the National Assembly chamber, with timelines shifting and some questioning whether it will be completed during the 7th administration.

Parliament is often referred to as the People’s Parliament, the place where the voices of South Africans are meant to be heard. Rebuilding this institution therefore carries great symbolic importance.

If delivered well, the final result could see a restored and modernised Parliament rise from the ashes of the 2022 fire, once again serving as a proud home of South Africa’s democracy.

(Photos below show the current rebuild and the vision for the completed National Assembly.)