Gauteng Legislature
Johannesburg, 21 February 2005
The tens of thousands of people from all walks of life who put forward their
demands as part of the campaign leading up to the adoption of the Freedom
Charter in June 1955 could not have fully comprehended the magnitude of
their actions.
Yet it was they who, fifty years ago, rose above the daily oppression and
suffering of apartheid and declared "Freedom in our Lifetime". They dared
imagine a new social order and boldly stated that "the people shall govern"!
In the face of oppression and indignity, they dared speak of freedom. While
the apartheid state sought to deny black people their birthright and banish
them to the bantustans, they asserted that: "South Africa belongs to all who
live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim
authority unless it is based on the will of the people".
To that generation we owe a great debt of gratitude. Their vision, hopes and
aspirations inspired the struggles of generations to come in the knowledge
that apartheid would be defeated and that a non-racial democratic South
Africa would prevail.
Even today the Freedom Charter remains a document of all the people of South
Africa. Its vision is embodied in our Constitution, in the Reconstruction
and Development programme and the programmes we are implementing today. It
is this vision which continues to inspire us as we continue our journey in
the second decade of freedom and democracy.
In this year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Freedom Charter we pay
tribute to the generation of the 1950s that helped show us the way and
rededicate ourselves to the full attainment of the ideals articulated in
this visionary document.
To celebrate this historic occasion, we will on 26 June this year open the
Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown. We call on all South
Africans, the people of Gauteng especially, to join us as we renew the
pledge, in the words of the Charter, "to strive together, sparing nothing of
our strength and courage, until the democratic changes here set out have
been won".
Like the generation of the fifties, we have, in the face of apparently
daunting challenges, dared imagine a better future for all our people. We
are conscious of the fact that too many of our people still suffer from
poverty and homelessness; that there are still too few of our people who
have access to economic opportunities; that our people's health and skills
levels are not yet good enough; that HIV and Aids remains a serious threat
to our well-being; that rapid urbanization brings significant social and
infrastructure challenges and that public service capacity and delivery
needs to be improved.
Yet we know that we have made enormous strides in the first decade of
freedom and that Gauteng is now a better place than it was eleven years ago;
we know that we have had sustained economic growth, which has now reached
unprecedented levels and is creating more jobs; we know that we are creating
more opportunities for black people, women and people with disabilities;
that more and more people have their own homes and security of tenure; we
know that the quality of our health and education system is improving; that
more people have access to water, sanitation, electricity and refuse
removal; that we can turn urbanization into a positive force and that more
of our people have access to public services close to where they live; we
know that, increasingly, all sections of our society and our communities are
ready to put shoulder to the wheel to work with government to build a better
Gauteng.
In addition to celebrating 50 years of the Freedom Charter, this year also
marks 50 years of the launch of SACTU and 20 years of the establishment of
COSATU, two trade union movements whose thinking is rooted in the congress
tradition. One of the people influential in ensuring that these two
federations remained rooted in mass struggles was Raymond Mhlaba, who
unfortunately passed away last night. May I with your permission ask the
house to stand up and to observe a moment of silence in honour of this
gallant freedom fighter.
In June last year we placed before you our five year strategic programme,
which is our roadmap to fulfill the overwhelming mandate we received from
the people of Gauteng in the April 2004 election. We committed ourselves to
work tirelessly with the people of Gauteng to achieve the following
objectives, to:
* Stimulate faster economic growth and drastically reduce unemployment
* Fight poverty and build secure and sustainable communities
* Develop healthy, appropriately skilled and productive people
* Deepen democracy and nation building and realise the constitutional rights
of all the people and
* Build an effective and caring government.
Today we take stock of the steps we have taken since that time, as well as
set out the work that we will do in the next period to attain these
objectives, as our contribution to the people's contract to create work and
fight poverty.
Last year we reported that we are working closely with local government to
build Gauteng as an integrated, globally competitive city region and to
promote the province as a home for investment, tourism and business in
general.
Guided by the National Spatial Development Programme (NSDP), we have done
further work in this regard. After an intensive process of discussion with
local government we are now ready to outline our thinking as local and
provincial government on how together we can build Gauteng as an integrated,
globally competitive urban region.
In the process we drew on the experiences of other urban regions such as
Greater London and Sao Paolo. Like Gauteng, they have large urban
populations, a clustering of cities and are dynamic economic engines driving
not only national and regional growth but they are also key drivers of the
global economy.
We learnt from them that only through co-operating internally would we be
able to compete more effectively externally.
At a meeting with mayors and municipal managers last week, we agreed that
our success in effectively tackling the twin challenges of unemployment and
poverty increasingly depends on our ability to position and grow ourselves
as a successful global city region within the global economy.
Furthermore, we agreed on the need for a common vision and strategy. Rather
than continue to act separately within the global arena, we committed
ourselves to improve urban management and governance as well as
significantly enhance co-operation and co-ordination across spheres of
government and between government and other sectors of our society.
In the next few months, through a process of consultation with key
stakeholders in our province, we will be looking at the relative strengths
and economic development potential of the various cities and municipalities
in the province and aligning these in a mutually reinforcing manner.
Our challenge will be to 'think regionally' as we decide which parts of the
province should constitute growth nodes and development corridors, reduce
duplication between spheres of government and seek improved ways of
integrating or co-coordinating service delivery.
A centerpiece of our plan to make Gauteng a globally competitive city region
is our growth and development strategy.
The country's recent economic performance has been widely acclaimed as
impressive. Not only is it the best since the dawn of our democracy but we
have seen sustained growth for a decade.
Gauteng's contribution to this sustained growth has been based on a range of
deliberate and ambitious initiatives to intervene in the economy to
stimulate growth and job creation and to create conditions conducive to
greater investment in the productive sector.
Key among these have been the Blue IQ strategic economic infrastructure
projects which are already impacting positively on the economy and
contributing to a better Gauteng in the making.
The challenges we now face are firstly to ensure that this growth is
sustained, consolidated and further strengthened. Secondly, we need to take
the necessary steps to see to it that this growth leads to direct
improvement in the quality of life of our people, particularly the poor. In
particular, this economic growth must make it possible for us to fulfill our
commitment to contribute to the national effort to halve unemployment and
poverty in the next decade.
Gauteng's position as a key regional economic powerhouse, contributing over
one third of the country's GDP and one tenth of Africa's GDP, places
enormous responsibility on us to optimise the economic growth and
development in our province. While most of the country's business
headquarters are based in Gauteng, we are increasingly also becoming the
starting point for international investors who wish to enter Africa.
Towards the end of last year we held the Gauteng Growth and Development
Summit, which brought together a range of stakeholders to develop a
consolidated multi-sectoral strategy that will position us to achieve this
objective.
The summit identified six key growth sectors and clusters in Gauteng, based
on their potential for investment and value-added growth as well as job
creation and productivity. These sectors, which will be targeted for focused
support and investment, are:
* Smart Industries, including ICT, and pharmaceuticals
* Trade and services, including finance and film
* Tourism
* Agriculture including agri-processing and bio-technology
* Manufacturing including steel-related industries, automotive parts and
components, beer and malt and
* Infrastructure expansion and investment.
The success of our Growth and Development Strategy, which we will launch in
March this year, will require the active involvement of all sectors of
society and will serve as a guide in the achievement of integrated and
sustainable growth and development in our province.
We believe that the implementation of our new Growth and Development
Strategy in the context of our strategy to make Gauteng a globally
competitive city region by all stakeholders will put us in a strong position
to achieve an economic growth rate of 8% by 2014.
The flagship projects under the banner of Blue IQ have attracted and will
continue to attract new investment, stimulate GGP growth and help realise
the potential we have to become a foremost global city region. Many of the
projects have both helped stimulate growth in key areas, while also meeting
the infrastructure and other needs of this expansion.
Another first which signifies that a better Gauteng is in the making is the
Innovation Hub, South Africa's first internationally accredited science
park, which we will launch in April this year.
The hub is creating a high-tech cluster to support the growth of
knowledge-intensive industries through a combination of custom-designed real
estate and value-added services that support the needs of high-tech
enterprises.
The science park includes two core buildings, a multi-tenant enterprise
building and an innovation centre, which houses the Maxum business
incubator. The anchor tenant is Sappi's major new Technology Centre and
Paper Academy and a number of other companies are already operating from the
centre, including two emerging black economic empowerment ICT companies that
graduated from the pioneering pre-incubation programme.
Road infrastructure around the Johannesburg International Airport is proving
to be an effective stimulus to business growth in the area. According to a
leading industrial, commercial and retail property group, Gauteng's
industrial property market is experiencing a significant boom, with the
demand for quality industrial space currently exceeding supply. The
emphasis, according to the group, has now shifted to land to develop,
particularly to the east of the Johannesburg International Airport. They
state that, "This area was previously considered too far, but Blue IQ's new
highway infrastructure being built to the north and east of the airport has
made it much more accessible."
The group also refers to "a substantial increase in demand for new
residential and retail accommodation in the cultural hot spot of Newtown in
recent months" as a result of government's development strategy in the inner
city precinct.
In addition to the now popular landmark, the Nelson Mandela bridge, and
other developments implemented as part of the inner city renewal
initiatives, social housing such as that at Brickfields is also playing a
key role in revitalizing the area.
The Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) has achieved numerous
successes, the recent one being support given to SME and BEE companies in
becoming part of the mainstream supply chain competing for local and export
orders.
The AIDC launched the Market Access Coaching (MAC) programme to support our
objective of socio-economic development, and to help smaller entities within
the automotive and other industries become export ready.
Among the new investments that we are attracting are two, announced recently
by the Automotive Supplier Park, that will provide new technology previously
unavailable within the country. The first is Rieter Feltex, which will
operate a long glass fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite technology
facility. The second is Fleetguard, a subsidiary of the American Diesel
Engine Powerhouse Cummins, which will also join the ASP to produce truck and
bus exhaust systems and which is the company's first facility on the African
continent.
Film productions, including some award-winning ones, have been an important
growth area for the Gauteng economy. Through the Gauteng Film Office we have
facilitated R308 million direct investments in new film productions in this
financial year.
The Film Office was also the key driver in bringing the filming of Hotel
Rwanda, an epic about Africa's holocaust, to Gauteng. The film won the
prestigious audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival in
2004 and was nominated for three Golden Globe and three Oscar awards. The
film was shot in Modderfontein, Alexandra, Tembisa and Soweto and hired an
estimated 10 000 extras over three months, with a direct investment of R55
million into the Gauteng economy.
To cater for the growth of local movie productions, the GFO has also
facilitated a partnership between a local car company and the Johannesburg
Metro Police to form a specialized film and TV unit.
Growing the tourism sector with its potential for job creation and
investment remains a priority. Gauteng remains the country's leading
business tourism destination, receiving over 40% of this segment per annum.
Our focus in the future is to grow both domestic and international tourism,
particularly from Africa, which constitutes about 70% of all international
visits.
A top priority will be to see to it that the benefits of this tourism growth
are felt by those previously excluded from participation in the sector.
Arising from the decisions of the tourism summit held last year, and the
establishment of a Gauteng Tourism Forum, the Gauteng Tourism Authority has
partnered with a range of organizations to train tourism planners, officials
and guides, including 140 tour guides from previously disadvantaged
communities.
We have taken great strides towards developing the Cradle of Humankind World
Heritage Site as a major tourism attraction.
Next month we will be opening the world-class Interpretation Centre Complex,
at Sterkfontein. On 2 December this year, on the 5th anniversary of the
declaration of the area as a World Heritage Site, we will launch the iconic
five story exhibition and entertainment space at Mohale's Gate. This centre,
which is partially underground, includes a journey through an underground
lake, experiencing the elements of earth, air, fire and water which brought
about the formation of the planet.
Sustained economic growth needs to translate into a better quality of life
for the people of Gauteng. To fulfil the Freedom Charter's vision that the
people shall share in the country's wealth and our commitment to contribute
towards the national effort to halve unemployment and poverty in the next
decade, we need to see to it that more of our people, especially the poor
and marginalized, black people, women, youth and people with disabilities,
become active participants in economic activity.
Our strategies to promote broad-based black economic empowerment and
intensify our support for small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMME) are key
in this regard.
After months of planning and discussion, we are now ready to launch the
Gauteng SMME Agency which will incorporate Gaumac. The agency, which will be
launched in April this year, will offer both financial and non-financial
support to emerging enterprises. An amount of over R200 million will be
allocated to the agency over the next three years.
The agency will build on the experiences of Gaumac, which since its
inception has assisted 916 small and medium enterprises, leading to an
average 11% increase in jobs created and an average 20% increase in turnover
of the firms assisted.
By the middle of the year we will have finalized our work on a comprehensive
broad-based black economic empowerment strategy for the province in line
with national legislation and policy.
This strategy will ensure that, by 2009, between 60% and 70% of government
procurement will be done through broad-based black economically empowered
companies. This will happen at all Gauteng institutions including schools
and hospitals.
On the one hand, this will require support for small and emerging
enterprises so that they are increasingly able to tender for government
work. And, on the other hand, this will require that established companies
increasingly comply with the requirements of BEE charters in their sectors
if they want to do business with us.
We need to send a clear message that the time for white monopoly capital to
pay lip service to economic transformation and empowerment, especially for
women is past and will not be rewarded in Gauteng.
The development of an integrated and sustainable transport system is
critical to Gauteng's success as a global city region. By November 2005 we
will have put in place the key pillars of a transport system that will be
able to meet the challenges of the Soccer World Cup, ensure the speedy and
cost-effective movement of goods and people around the province, promote
effective land use and promote broad-based black economic empowerment. This
will include:
* a review of the current road network and development of a revised road
network
* the development of an affordable, accessible, reliable and safe public
transport system
* a review of the current public transport subsidy system and
* the introduction of intelligent transport systems and mechanisms to
co-ordinate and align various modes of transport.
This process will take into account the considerable implications and
opportunities of the Gautrain for the rest of the transport system.
We will continue to improve our road network in Gauteng. Ten kilometres of
the targeted nineteen kilometres of roads planned for construction in the
current financial year has been completed and the balance will be finished
by March 2006. By August 2005, the upgrading of the K109 from Benoni to
Heidelberg into a dual carriageway will be completed.
The upgrading of the K60 in Sunninghill, Sandton, will begin in May 2005 and
is scheduled for completion by March 2006. Construction of the K29 at Cosmo
City will begin in August 2005 and be completed in June 2006.
Honourable Speaker, I am pleased to announce that on 26 January 2005 we
received the best and final offers (BAFO) for the Gautrain. We are
evaluating these and expect to be in a position to announce the preferred
bidder by the end of April this year.
Together with national government, we remain committed to ensure that this
important project is completed in time for the FIFA Soccer World Cup in
2010.
The World Cup Local Organising Committee has thrown its full weight behind
the Gautrain project. CEO Danny Jordaan said: "We cannot have a successful
World Cup without an efficient transport system, particularly in the
Johannesburg-Midrand-Pretoria area - which will be the hub of the World Cup.
A successful World Cup is dependant on the Gautrain as the Johannesburg
International Airport is the entry point for visitors and Gautrain will make
a huge contribution to the efficient moving of people in 2010."
He goes on to say, "In actual fact, the Gautrain will be the nerve of the
nerve centre in delivering a successful tournament."
Cities in Gauteng, like most in the developing world, are experiencing rapid
urbanization. Urban growth when associated with the provision of adequate
services and infrastructure, contributes to prosperity and can spur
socio-economic development. However, when infrastructure development fails
to keep pace with urbanisation, its positive role becomes overshadowed by
urban decay, a burgeoning of unplanned and unserviced settlements and poor
quality of life due to the widening of the gap between demand and supply for
services and infrastructure.
It is thus critical for global city regions to invest in socio-economic
infrastructure if they are to function as centers of growth and opportunity
for all.
In June last year we announced that the provincial government would spend
R15 billion over three years on comprehensive infrastructure development,
including housing, schools, healthcare facilities, sports and recreation
facilities and roads. We remain committed to the continued implementation of
these projects, which both contribute to economic growth and job creation
and improve the conditions under which our people live and work. However, we
have taken note of the fact that our performance in this regard has been
tardy in certain areas. We have therefore agreed on a set of measures
including institutional mechanisms which will be implemented in the new
financial year to improve delivery on our infrastructure projects so that
they are on time and to scale.
We will in the year ahead be working and co-coordinating with local and
national government and parastatals to continue to find innovative ways to
address infrastructure backlogs, boost institutional capacity, including
project management and technical skills, develop appropriate financing
models and improve integrated planning.
Before the end of May this year, we will convene a Gauteng intergovernmental
summit on infrastructure development. The summit, to be attended by all
spheres of government and parastatals operating in Gauteng, will look at how
we can pool our combined resources on infrastructure projects.
Together with municipalities, we will also look at how we can over the next
five years focus our combined resources to pave all untarred streets in 20
established townships and build commercial hubs at taxi ranks and other
transport nodes.
In addition to providing much-needed infrastructure and beautifying
communities, this initiative will also focus on providing short-term work
opportunities and skills development for young people and women within local
communities.
We are proceeding to implement the four sectors of the Expanded Public Works
Programme in our province. We have consolidated Zivuseni, Siyasebenza,
Siyakha and Community Based Public Works Programmes into the infrastructure
sector of the EPWP. The environmental sector has also been consolidated and,
by the end of April this year, the social and economic sectors will be
consolidated, with an EPWP Unit set up to monitor and co-ordinate the
ongoing implementation and expansion of this programme, including at a local
government level.
The consolidation process has highlighted the different methods used to
calculate the number of jobs that we have created in our different
programmes. We have agreed with the relevant Departments that by the
beginning of April, a uniform method of measuring jobs will be introduced
along with annual targets.
As part of our commitment to maximize job creation, we will by April next
year also ensure a minimum labour content of 15% in all our public works
programmes. This will increase to 40% by 2009.
To address the skills shortage in the construction sector, by June 2005 we
will finalise our Contractor Development Programme and sign an agreement
with the Construction Education and Training Authority and Umsombomvu fund
to implement 30 000 learnerships over the next three years.
Last year we launched our campaign to make Gauteng the home of competitive
sports. The province has hosted, among other events, the Vodacom Challenge,
the Mandela Cup, Telkom Charity Cup, CAF Women's Soccer Tournament,
Tri-Nations rugby at Ellis Park and the finals of the Kay Motsepe Cup, a
soccer development event, the Soweto and the City to City marathons and the
94.7 Cycle Challenge.
We are planning to hold a series of meetings, which will culminate in a
sport indaba in May 2005 with the respective sporting codes on how together
we can strengthen and broaden participation by players, supporters, sponsors
and other sport stakeholders in making Gauteng a better home for competitive
sport.
One of our top priorities will be to work with the Local Organising
Committee, other spheres of government and soccer stakeholders to undertake
the necessary preparatory work that will ensure the success of the 2010 FIFA
World Cup tournament. By the end of July, a high level political committee
including three MEC's and local government representatives will have
finalised a plan of action to ensure a common approach to implement the
commitments made during the bid process. It is important that all spheres of
government move from general commitments to specific commitments.
We are committed to ensure effective and increased investment in sport,
transport and tourism infrastructure so that the event does South Africa
proud and that the people of Gauteng are able to share in the economic
benefits that the World Cup will bring to our country.
I wish to congratulate various sporting teams from our province who
continued to excel in various competitions:
* Moroka Swallows (the Dube birds) for winning the ABSA Cup
* Blue Bulls for winning the Currie Cup
* Highveld Strikers, who took the honours in cricket.
* Supersport (Mantsantsantsa a Pitori) for winning the Supa 8 Cup and
* Kaizer Chiefs (Amakhosi amahle) who took both the league honours and the
Coca Cola Cup.
As regards football, the irony has been that, even though both teams in the
finals of all three cup events were from Gauteng, the people of Gauteng were
forced by the PSL to go and watch all three cup finals from outside of the
province under the guise that there is a need for a neutral venue. Yet this
was not the case when Santos and Ajax Cape Town were finalists. In fact it
was considered prudent to play the game in Cape Town, a view I share.
I am sure that, like me, the majority of football fans in the province who
at all these times are expected to spend their meager salaries on travel,
accommodation and tickets, would want the PSL not to treat them as poor
cousins in this people's game. To their credit, our teams have continued to
perform well, regardless of the venues they have been sent to.
In our Five Year Strategic Programme we committed ourselves to maximize the
use of agricultural land and increase support to emerging black farmers.
We have put in place plans to ensure that, by the end of March 2006, 100
farmers receive the farming infrastructure grant, 112 new farmers are
settled on farms through the national Land Reform for Agricultural
Development Programme and we have business plans in place for 120 new
farming enterprises. We will also train 1 250 farmers on financial
management and marketing by the end of the next financial year.
By July this year we will finalise a comprehensive provincial agricultural
development strategy which will take advantage of the sector's potential for
growth and job creation in the context of our Growth and Development
Strategy.
Last year we announced a significant shift in our approach to housing
delivery, with a strong focus on upgrading informal settlements and
densification to ensure housing is located close to economic opportunities.
This approach, to ensure "Houses, Security and Comfort for all", is in line
with the national policy announced subsequently by the Minister of Housing.
We indicated that we would formalize and upgrade 51 000 stands by the end of
March 2005. By the end of December last year we had already serviced 43 480
of these stands. We have also registered 372 informal settlements, or 70% of
all those which are earmarked for formalization. We are on track with
planning and design to formalize 145 020 stands in 98 projects in the next
financial year.
We have completed a further 12 307 formal houses in Olievenhoutbosch,
Refilwe, Diepsloot, Golden Triangle, Braamfischerville, Palm Ridge, Esselen
Park, Tsakane and Tsakane Ridge extension, Sinqobile, Ratanda, Heidelberg
Ext and Johandea.
As part of the rejuvenation of Kliptown, we are on target to complete 1 400
units in Kliptown by May 2005. In Brickfields in the Johannesburg inner
city, 646 units are nearing completion. New beneficiaries are expected to
take occupation during the second quarter of this year.
Our urban regeneration projects are on course in transforming key
communities.
In Bekkersdal, our projects, including the provision of water and sanitation
facilities, are proceeding. The tender for the upgrading of two clinics in
the area has been awarded. Procurement for the upgrading of the Bekkersdal
taxi rank and CBD is underway and the project will be completed in the next
financial year.
Planning on projects which form part of the Evaton renewal programme is
progressing well and construction will begin in the next financial year. The
programme will include the rehabilitation of roads, the upgrading of the
sewerage network, elimination of pit latrines and installation of lighting.
A comprehensive socio-economic survey was undertaken to provide accurate
data on the number of informal dwellings, hostels, backyard shacks and
formal housing in the area to enable effective planning and implementation
of the project.
In Alexandra, the relocation and formal housing of over 800 families has
been completed and 6 000 households have been connected with electricity.
A planning framework for the upgrading of the Pan Africa business district
has been completed and land around the precinct has been bought for
redevelopment. The project includes the construction of a taxi rank, a
retail, commercial and entertainment complex, facilities for small and
informal traders and the creation of an open space which will serve as the
gateway to Alexandra.
At the Edenvale Hospital, which serves the Alexandra community, the plans
for the extension of the casualty section have been approved and
construction will begin in the next financial year.
After numerous delays, the contractors are on site at Cosmo City for the
construction of 8 000 houses. Water and sewage for 1400 stands is scheduled
for completion by the end of March this year.
We have provided security of tenure through the transfer of 219 679
properties that were in the past subject to 99-year leases. This year we
have also begun to systematically transfer properties in areas previously
administered by the so-called own affairs departments under apartheid. We
kick-started the transfers with a ceremony to hand over title deeds in
Eldorado Park in September last year and to date we have accomplished 550
transfers.
A further 56 488 properties, sold via long-term instalment sale agreements,
have been transferred to beneficiaries who successfully complied with their
obligations in terms of the agreements.
Our ten year review identified the need for us to more effectively address
apartheid settlement patterns where the marginalized and the poor live far
away from areas of economic opportunity.
We have made a strong commitment in this term of office to promote
densification and mixed land use and over the last year an important study
was undertaken to look at the cost benefit implications of doing so.
The study demonstrated that, while the delivery of low-cost housing in well
located mixed income settlements at a higher density than at present may
require more resources in the short term, it is less expensive and more
beneficial for both government and households in the long term.
In promoting mixed income settlements, a number of our new developments such
as those at Lotus Gardens, Kliptown, Brickfields and Cosmo City include
housing for different income groups. Cosmo City, for example, includes
bonded and rented houses as well as subsidized houses for lower income
groups. Already, thousands of Gauteng residents from all variety of racial
backgrounds are applying for homes there.
Sustainable development requires that planning for new housing by both
government and property developers takes into account the needs of different
income groups. The government is of the view that the time has come to put
in place mechanisms that will ensure that all new developments include
housing for different income groups. A team headed by the MEC for Housing
will look at a package of incentives and disincentives as well as possible
legislation and regulations to take forward our commitment to changing the
existing apartheid human settlement patterns which continues to confine the
poor and the middle class to the periphery.
We are continuing the drive to provide our people throughout the province
with water and sanitation. The bucket system has so far been eliminated in
5727 households in Evaton, Masetjaba View, Bekkersdal, Rietvallei, Kokosi
and Khutsong and funds have been transferred to deserving municipalities to
ensure the removal of a further 6000 buckets from identified areas in the
course of this year.
At present all households in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Westonaria and Emfuleni
receive a basic amount of water free. The same can be said for 67% of
residents in Ekhurhuleni, 83% in Kungwini, 92% in Nokeng tsa Taemane, 41% in
Lesedi, 87% in Midvaal, 72% in Merafong, 63% in Mogale and 92% in
Randfontein. Our target for 2005/6 is to ensure that 95% of all residents
receive free basic water and that 82% receive free basic electricity.
Our primary strategy to address poverty and underdevelopment is through
ensuring sustained economic growth and job creation. Within the context of a
social developmental agenda, we also need to continue to look at effective
strategies to provide a safety net and empower the most vulnerable and the
poor.
We need to build strong and caring communities in which the efforts of civil
society, families and other social institutions are geared towards
supporting those in need as well as enabling increasing numbers of people to
move beyond dependency to development, dignity and self-reliance.
A strong focus on social inclusion is particularly important for Gauteng
with its high levels of in-migration and to pre-empt and counter the
tendency of city regions towards the urbanization of poverty, growing
inequality, dysfunctional families and communities, the disruption of social
support systems and social problems such as gangsterism, street children and
the sexual exploitation of women and children.
The transfer of the provision of social security grants to the new South
African Social Security Agency gives us an opportunity to review our social
development programme and emerge with sustainable strategies to effectively
address our social development challenges. Clearly, government is one player
among many in addressing this issue and government needs to define its own
specific role distinct from those that could better be played by the family
and civil society.
Some of the specific challenges that we will address in the next period
include:
* Ensuring effective programmes such as public works programmes, support for
co-operatives and micro-enterprises
* Responding to the impact of the HIV and Aids epidemic on children,
families and communities
* Focusing on the specific needs of children, particularly the poorest and
the most vulnerable
* Continuing to address social wage issues such as the provision of free
basic services such as water, electricity, affordable health care, public
transport and schooling
* Improving the efficiency and equitable provision of the statutory services
that we provide, such as adoptions and support for young people on
probation.
The provision of social security grants will be transferred to the new
national agency over the next three years. We are working closely with the
national department of social development in this regard and are confident
that the move will not inconvenience grant recipients.
By the end of 2004, a total of 1 142 172 social grants were paid, of which
254 873 were old age pensioners and 674 605 caregivers who received child
support grants.
Our commitment to the people's contract to eradicate hunger and to alleviate
the plight of poor families and communities, has also included household
food security projects to help ensure that those who do not have incomes are
at least able to put food on the table.
Building on the experiences of our pilot phase in establishing homestead
food gardens, by the end of March this year, 6 500 people would have
benefitted from the programme. We are now in a position to target 9 000
beneficiaries in 80 projects around the province in the 2005/6 financial
year.
We will also continue to support 117 established community food garden
projects and establish 32 new projects in the new financial year. These
projects target the elderly, unemployed people, women, people with
disabilities and people affected by HIV and Aids.
Last year we committed ourselves to the development of a package of services
to improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable children of our
province. The single window project will be finalised by the end of the
financial year and will be launched on Children's Day on 1 June this year.
All children eligible to receive the child support grant will be entitled to
free health care at clinics and hospitals, free screening for the early
detection of disabilities and special needs as well as free psycho-social
support by social workers.
Children who attend schools in the poorest communities will also be exempted
from paying school fees and will receive free meals at school. Those going
into Grade 1 will receive free school uniforms. Local entrepreneurs will
become the preferred suppliers of school uniforms and feeding, thereby
providing further income to poor communities.
We will continue to provide free and safe scholar transport to those
learners who live more than 5 km away from the nearest school. Over the next
three months all buses and taxis used by government to ferry learners will
be tested to ensure that our kids are not exposed to dangers associated with
the use of unroadworthy vehicles. Such testing will in future be carried out
annually and upon renewal of contracts.
While many of the services to be provided through the single window are not
new, more children will benefit from the extension of the programme and
particularly from the integrated approach to identifying, referring and
tracking beneficiaries and the establishment of a common database of
children in need in our province. Such information will also be made
available to municipalities to incorporate into their indigent policies.
Last year we provided regular meals to 356 264 learners through our school
nutrition programme and 51 321 learners were transported as part of our free
scholar transport initiative. A further 58 404 pre-school children received
meals in 1695 crèches across Gauteng, while 8 000 children benefited from
the school uniform project. We also provided psycho-social services to 31
000 children.
To further increase our investment in our youngest citizens, from April 1 we
will begin implementing our early childhood development (ECD) strategy
focusing on children at risk and in the most disadvantaged communities.
The strategy, which will be rolled out over five years, includes expanding
our ECD services, increasing the number of qualified ECD practioners,
advocacy and awareness programmes focusing on parents and care givers.
In year one we would have consolidated staff responsible for ECD services in
the departments of Health, Social Development and Education into the
Department of Education, and they will begin a process of integrating and
consolidating existing ECD service delivery including developing uniform
norms and standards.
One of our top priorities for the remainder of our five year term of office
will be to continue to improve the quality of school education. This is
crucial if we are to secure the necessary educational foundations to become
a successful global city region with a growing, job creating economy and a
decent quality of life for all its inhabitants.
Through the implementation of a multi-faceted Mathematics, Science and
Technology Strategy, we have increased the number of schools that are able
to offer these learning areas. Today more than 90% of our schools offer
mathematics, physical science and accounting.
We have also increased learner enrolment in these subjects. Last year 64% of
our grade 12 learners wrote mathematics with about one quarter taking the
subject in higher grade. While this is encouraging, it is not good enough to
write mathematics standard grade. We want to move to a situation where all
our learners study mathematics higher grade. This year 56% of our learners
will write mathematics higher grade.
As part of the revised curriculum, mathematics literacy has been introduced
as a compulsory component for all learners.
We are on track to ensure that all public schools in Gauteng will have fully
equipped computer laboratories linked to the cyber community via satellite
by the end of 2006. To date, uninterrupted power supply units have been
installed at 1067 schools and there is ongoing orientation and advanced
training of educators.
In line with our commitment to deepening democracy, we have also embraced
the national initiative to improve awareness and appreciation of our South
African heritage and this year will see us expand our activities to raise
awareness of the values enshrined in the Constitution and the Freedom
Charter amongst learners, educators and parents.
In line with the President's commitment that all schools will have access to
water, sanitation and electricity by March 2006, I am proud to announce that
only four schools in Gauteng do not have electricity and this is due to the
fact that these schools are situated in areas without access to the
electricity network. We are presently investigating alternative sources of
power to correct this situation. We have also replaced nine mud schools and
by the end of March this year we will have completed a project to treat 50
schools which were built using harmful asbestos.
By the end of last year, as promised, we had merged or closed approximately
60 farm and rural schools and consolidated teaching at 149 schools.
Multi-grade teaching has been phased out. Plans for this year include
improving the capacity of educators, piloting five schools as multi-purpose
centres and rolling out a food garden project to all rural and farm schools.
At the beginning of the school calendar, there were once more a large number
of children who could not find accommodation on the first day of school.
While we have a total surplus of 380 classrooms in our province, we also
have a shortage of 5 359 classrooms, especially for secondary school
learners and particularly in new settlements and informal settlements.
The shortage of secondary schools is due in part to the fact that increasing
numbers of learners are staying at school beyond Grade 8. The other reason
is population growth and settlement shifts.
It is clear therefore that we need a medium term programme to address the
provision of schools in the areas where they are needed. This includes
improving development planning as well as intensifying our campaign to
ensure that parents register their children timeously so that the necessary
arrangements can be made to accommodate the children.
In the meantime we are addressing this problem through transporting
scholars, converting under-utilised primary schools into secondary schools
and providing mobile classrooms. In this financial year, 187 mobile
classrooms have been put in place.
By March 2005, we will have completed the building of 31 new schools, 1088
classrooms, 160 toilet blocks, 38 administration blocks and 32 media centres
and rehabilitated 59 schools.
Critical to achieving our status as a global city region, is the need to
improve post school education and training opportunities such as Further
Education and Training and learnerships.
We are presently reviewing the curriculum offered at Further Education and
Training (FET) colleges as well as our Adult Basic Education and Training
(ABET) programmes to align them with our provincial growth and skills
development strategies.
A further challenge that needs to be addressed is the recapitalization of
FET colleges with modern and appropriate equipment. During the second
quarter of this year, we will convene a meeting bringing together the FET
colleges and the captains of industry in the areas in which they train to
look at partnerships to fast track the recapitalization of these colleges.
Already FET colleges are linking up to the learnership and SETA system in
line with national policy. In our FET colleges, 4 358 students are
participating in one or another learnership, including in areas of tourism,
hospitality, hair care, mechanical and electrical engineering.
According to preliminary figures released by the National Department of
Transport, there was a 1,58% decrease in the number of fatalities resulting
from traffic accidents in Gauteng in 2004 compared to the previous year.
While this decrease in fatalities is relatively small, it is an indication
that we are beginning to make progress in meeting our target of reducing
road fatalities by 30% in the next five years.
Achieving this target will require significant behavioural change by drivers
and other road users and a comprehensive approach to road safety. A new
revamped provincial road safety plan will be implemented with effect from
April 2005.
Key components of the plan include education and awareness, enhanced use of
technology and training of traffic officers, more extensive enforcement and
overload control, rooting out corruption in licensing and vehicle testing
stations and improved inter-governmental co-ordination.
As part of our oversight role, we will be taking a closer look at the
quality of policing in our province and will be setting policing priorities
for the South African Police Services in Gauteng.
Our Provincial Safety Plan, which will be completed by the end of August
this year, will establish a clear set of goals for provincial and local
government, as well as the law enforcement agencies in the province.
To tackle the scourge of substance abuse, we will be intensifying our
awareness campaigns at schools and working with the SAPS Youth Desks.
Together with the SAPS we will focus our attention to the increasing
problems of drug abuse and peddling and related problems at schools in a
pro-active manner.
Our hospital revitalization programme is continuing apace. The end of March
2006 will see the completion of the construction of the Stanza Bopape,
Soshanguve Block L and Stretford Community Health Care Centres.
In a further effort to improve the quality of health care, we have
identified hospitals which need urgent attention to strengthen management
and further improve patient care. Certain hospitals have been found to have
inadequate management capacity, serious adverse events or patient complaints
and a high staff turnover. Our strategies to address this unacceptable
situation include focused interventions to ensure quality, a rotation or
redeployment of managers, mentoring and coaching and the initiation of a
management development programme for CEOs. We will also not hesitate to take
strong action in cases of non-performance.
The introduction of free health care for people with disabilities has
resulted in more people having access to assistive devices. For the first
time, a package of assistive devices including Braille writers and white
canes has been made available to people with visual impairments. In the
current financial year 2 237 assistive devices were issued, with an increase
of 25% for hearing aids and 15% for battery operated wheelchairs, as
compared to the previous financial year. In the next financial year we will
continue to improve comprehensive access to facilities for persons with
disabilities.
Towards the end of last year we tabled before the house the annual report on
work we are doing together with civil society to implement a comprehensive
HIV and Aids strategy in line with national policy.
We will continue to give priority to programmes to realize our vision, where
prevention and awareness has dramatically reduced the incidence of HIV
infection; where everyone knows their status; where the stigma of HIV and
Aids is removed and where Aids is not a death sentence; and where all our
people have access to decent health care facilities and comprehensive care
and treatment.
We are on course to exceed our targets in the provision of anti-retroviral
therapy (ART), which we started in April last year. To date 19 hospitals and
community health centres are implementing the treatment programme. By the
end of March this year 26 sites will be operational, more than our original
target of 23 sites. These facilities have already assessed a total of 68 393
people, including 55 161 adults and 13 232 children and 10 020 people have
been put on ART. This means our target of 10 000 will be exceeded by the end
of the financial year.
In the next year we will further improve access to comprehensive care and
treatment and an additional 14 sites will become operational. This will
bring the total number of sites to 40, targeting a cumulative total of 25
000 clients on treatment.
As indicated previously, HIV sero-prevalence rates are showing that our
initiatives against Aids are having an impact. HIV sero-prevalence rate
decreased from 31.6% in 2002 to 29.6% in 2003, while the rate for people
under 20 years of age was 17% in 2003. The antenatal care syphilis rate was
also reduced significantly, from 6% in 2002 to 2.1% in 2003.
Together with national government and in line with the intergovernmental
relations framework bill, we will continue to work with local government to
strengthen their capacity to fulfill their mandate of effective service
delivery, people centred local economic development and the promotion of
participatory democracy including through ward committees and public
hearings.
This will require a concerted focus on revenue enhancement programmes,
improving the efficiency of billing and metering administrative systems,
disaster management, performance management, human resource capacity and
financial management and the strengthening of ward committees.
As part of a strategy to have a focused approach on specific municipalities,
Project Consolidate is being implemented in Mogale City, Merafong, Emfuleni,
Kungwini and Joburg.
Together with the IEC and municipalities, we aim to increase awareness of
the rights and responsibilities of citizens as well as reinforce voter
education and the ID and voter registration campaign as part of entrenching
democracy in our province ahead of the local government elections. We call
on all political parties, faith communities, trade unions, business
organizations and other civil society organizations to also do the same. We
must not as Gauteng accept the view that, because voter turn out is usually
low internationally in this important sphere of government, it will
therefore be low in our local government elections.
Government at a national level has taken a decision that seeks to do away
with cross boundary municipalities because of their negative impact on
service delivery and development. This is likely to impact on the Tshwane
metro and two District municipalities which have certain local
municipalities that straddle two provinces. We will soon be engaging in
processes to empower affected communities to engage with the Municipal
Demarcation Board on an informed basis.
We call on political parties and community organizations to engage with this
process on the basis of the need to improve service delivery rather than
sentiment and perception of effective and efficient service delivery by one
province in comparison to the other.
The Freedom Charter envisions a society in which "All shall enjoy equal
human rights" and where "All shall be equal before the law". Fifty years
later, we have made tremendous strides in realizing the human rights of our
people, which are today enshrined in our constitution. However, we are also
aware that many of our people are yet to fully experience these rights in
their daily lives.
It is for this reason that our Five Year Programme emphasizes programmes
that will ensure that all our people, in particular women, youth, children
and people with disability are able to realise their constitutional rights.
Last year we held, in co-operation with local government, six regional
Women's Dialogues where a total of 1570 women participated. The regional
dialogues served to bring to the local level the process of the provincial
dialogue that took place in December 2003, and explored strategies to
implement the framework programme of action that had been developed at the
provincial dialogue.
Women at the regional dialogues were able to share experiences, learn and
network with women in their regions as well as develop local programmes of
action.
We also held Women's Imbizo in seven different communities across Gauteng,
attended by tens of thousands of women, who were given an opportunity to
raise with MECs and councilors issues of direct concern to them and to
access government services and information.
This year on International Women's Day on 8 March, we will host the second
provincial Women's Dialogue where the province and all regions will table
reports on their plans and progress regarding implementation, as well as
developing multi-stakeholder programmes of actions on key issues affecting
women. MEC Ramokgopa will continue to lead this process.
Last year we launched our campaign to mark 16 days of activism against
violence against women and children in Tsakane, followed by many awareness
activities at taxi ranks and train stations throughout the province and
other activities. We will be continuing our campaign against violence and
abuse of women and children.
To improve access to information about government services, we last year
published the second edition of our Women's Directory of Services as well as
a Directory of Services for People with Disabilities for the first time. We
will in the near future be updating and reissuing a Directory of Services
for Children.
We were overwhelmed by the response to our International Day of Disabled
Persons celebration on 3 December last year, which was attended by over 2800
people. This year we will be accelerating the implementation of the GPG
strategy to effectively hire, train, and retain people with disabilities. We
will also revisit our accessibility audit and increase the number of GPG
buildings that comply with the national building regulations for disabled
persons.
Two years ago we established the Gauteng Commission on Youth Development,
whose members were drawn from a variety of different backgrounds to work
with the government on the development and implementation of a comprehensive
youth development strategy. We are now in a position to roll out the
strategy which aims to ensure that government develops youth friendly
approaches to service delivery, involves greater numbers of youth in
development programmes and forms partnerships with youth on issues of HIV
and AIDS, social crime prevention and moral regeneration.
We are now undertaking a review on the work of the commission over the past
two years to ensure the strengthening of the commission with the commitment
to table legislation in this regard not later than June this year.
The 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter is an important opportunity to
take stock of how far we have gone in implementing the Constitution,
especially the promotion of human rights, equality and worker rights. The
legislature needs to work together with all sectors of the community to
ensure all our people are aware of their rights and work for their
realization.
Further areas of the Constitution that require implementation are the
formulation of a provincial language policy and intergovernmental relations.
Language is a central part of our culture and our heritage and our first
duty remains to protect and promote all the 11 official languages of the
country as well as sign language, particularly in schools, where we should
seek to ensure mother tongue instruction as far as is practicable. We will
by September 2005 finalise a provincial language policy which will take into
account our constitutional rights and obligations, the cosmopolitan nature
of our province, considerations of the most commonly spoken languages, as
well as issues of equity and redress.
Implementing the Constitution is also part of a broader project of nation
building. We will continue to build our national identity through the
commemoration of national days.
This year we will be taking forward plans to host a revamped Gauteng
Carnival as part of an annual event in Heritage Month to showcase our arts,
culture and heritage while simultaneously developing skills and promoting
tourism, investment and business opportunities in the province.
The Carnival will not only build social cohesion and national identity, it
will also provide a platform for the development of skills in diverse art
forms ranging from performance skills and visual arts to costume design and
events management.
The foundation of all our programmes rests on having an effective and caring
government. Among the key issues which need to be addressed in achieving
this are:
* Increasing the capacity of the state to plan, deliver, monitor and
evaluate the impact of programmes
* Increasing citizens' access to information about government services and
improved communication between the people and government
* Empowering citizens to act in a disciplined fashion to ensure that we
build a dynamic people's contract
* Improved intergovernmental relations including, where appropriate,
integration of services.
Critical to increasing the capacity of the state is skills development. Our
goal is to put in place recruitment, retention and capacity building
measures to set Gauteng as an employer of choice.
Improvement in transformation of the public sector must have as its
cornerstone the aggressive implementation of affirmative action. While
national government has set targets of 70% representivity for black people
and 30% for women in senior positions in the public service, we are today
setting ourselves the target of 50% women by 2009. As at December 2004, 29%
of senior management was women and 57% black. However, more still needs to
be done to meet the national target of 2% with respect of people with
disability.
This year will also see us implementing the Batho Pele Revitalisation
Programme in our province. Already four departments have service delivery
charters in place with clearly defined service standards. To address
complaints and queries from citizens, call centres are in operation in the
departments of Housing, Education and Health.
In October last year we held the first Public Service Summit where we agreed
with our trade union partners to build the developmental state in a
partnership for transformation and to create jobs and fight poverty in line
with our five year programme.
Some of the common areas of action which we agreed to are skills
development, joint public education and awareness programmes on issues of
HIV and Aids, children and women's rights, volunteerism, creating a
conducive and supportive working environment for staff and anti-corruption.
This year we will be working together to put in place a detailed, concrete
programme of action of joint initiatives as well as a mechanism to monitor
and evaluate progress.
Also critical to improving the performance of the state is the prevention of
fraud and corruption, creating an environment in which members of the public
and public servants are encouraged to blow the whistle and taking effective
action against fraud and corruption. Our work in this are will be linked to
our joint action with the Gauteng moral regeneration movement.
To increase access to information and improve communication, we will be
launching the GPG Portal by April this year. The portal will be an important
tool for community development workers and other government officials to
provide community members and structures accurate and appropriate
information about government services. In addition, the portal will provide
public access to certain e-government services.
In line with the approach adopted by national government, we will be
publishing quarterly updates on the internet on progress in the
implementation of our Five Year Strategic Programme and the programmes of
actions outlined today.
This year, in fulfillment of our commitment to deepening democracy and
ensuring effective and interactive communication with the people of Gauteng
on an ongoing basis, we will intensify our Imbizo programme and will be
visiting more than 70 communities.
The legislature needs to define its role in helping the government implement
the programme we have outlined today, as well as hold us accountable to our
own undertakings.
Together we need to look at how we can make reality the adage that this is a
government for the people by the people. As the provincial government we
will continue to account to the people of the province by providing regular
reports on the progress we are making in fulfilling our commitments.
As part of our commitment to ensure enhanced access to information and
services by communities, we will be deploying 204 community development
workers in 108 wards with effect from April 2005. A further 120 community
development worker-cadets will undergo the learnership programme during the
same period.
The CDWs are already playing an invaluable role as roving public servants in
assisting communities with accessing services and speeding up service
delivery.
In the next few months we will establish a number of working groups to
engage with ourselves on how we can give effect to our commitment to develop
a people's contract in motion and to ensure that together we develop and
shape a shared vision of where we want Gauteng to go in the next decade.
A new and better Gauteng is in the making. The pillars and building blocks
are in place. All the people of this great province are ready to join hands
and put shoulder to the wheel to tackle the challenges that lie ahead and
achieve the objectives that we have set to realise our shared vision of a
better life for all. We call on members of the legislature to join us as we
too put shoulder to the wheel for a better Gauteng.
Ke roma mo
For media releases, speeches and news visit the Gauteng Provincial
Government's Website at www.gpg.gov.za
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