​Lerato Mailoane
Gauteng Premier Makhura has called for a bigger legislature to deal with the rising population in the province. 
The Gauteng legislature currently has 73 seats which the Premier Makhura wants it increased to 80 seats.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday, 17 September 2019 during its four-day programme of Taking Parliament to the People in Gauteng.
Premier Makhura urged members of the NCOP to ensure this is one of the priorities from this visit resolves.
"I want to say on behalf of the delegation from Gauteng province, one of the first things we would like NCOP to look at is that Gauteng in terms of population, the size of our legislature is not optimal," said Makhura.
"We have the largest population in the country. "We want to say it should be the among the first priority of the sixth NCOP."
Makhura also bemoaned the state of local government in province in failing to cater to the influx of people that come into Gauteng annually seeking better healthcare, housing and education.
"We need to respond to the challenges faced by these communities; large sections of our people are unemployed, access to housing or land, levels of poverty and inequality. We want to deal with these issues because they are the underlying sources of tension.
Permanent delegates of the NCOP will hold public hearings and conduct oversight as part of the week-long program.
The multidisciplinary delegation will hold the said public hearings at the Alberton Civic Centre and conduct site visits in Sedibeng District Municipality and in Tshwane Metro.
The public hearings present an opportunity for members of the public to draw the executive's attention to service delivery challenges they experience in matters related to the theme.