:: ADDRESS BY PREMIER MBHAZIMA SHILOWA AT THE OPENING OF THE GAUTENG LEGISLATURE ::

13 February 2006, Johannesburg

Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Legislature
Members of the Executive Council
Leaders of Political Parties
Honourable members
Executive Mayors
Representatives of Salga Gauteng
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Heads of Departments
Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service
Heads of Chapter Nine institutions in Gauteng
Leaders of Faith Communities
Members of the Gauteng APRM Governing Council
Distinguished Guests
Comrades and Friends
The People of Gauteng

The adoption of our democratic constitution ten years ago, following the first democratic elections and years of negotiations, was a critical breakthrough in our struggle to establish a democratic order in our country.

Our new Constitution heralded a new dawn for our country, representing a contract amongst all South Africans to work together for the creation of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

The challenge we face, as we look back at the past twelve years of freedom and democracy, as well as celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution and outline our programme of action for 2006, is to move with speed to ensure the full realization of the rights enshrined in the Constitution in the shortest possible period of time.

As we celebrate and honour the youth of 1976 for their role in bringing about the demise of Apartheid and building a better life for our people, we need to pay more attention to the development of a package of measures to improve the lives of today's youth through among other things, the provision of quality education, skills development and opportunities to participate in the economy.

As we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the women's march to the Union Building in 1956, we are called upon to double our efforts to ensure an increased focus on the provision of their shelter, their healthcare, infrastructure development and financing for women entrepreneurs, and their broader participation in profitable economic activity.

One way of restoring the dignity of people who still use the hated bucket system is to work hard towards its elimination and, in the process, restore the dignity of municipal workers who for years have been doing this dehumanizing work.

In his recent state of the nation address the President spoke about the country having entered its "Age of Hope". This is definitely true of Gauteng.

Gauteng has continued to strengthen its position as an economic engine of the country and the continent. We reached a growth rate of 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2004, continuing the trend of sustained growth over the past ten years.

Most importantly, this sustained growth has led to a sustained reduction in joblessness. According to Stats SA's Labour Force Survey, unemployment in Gauteng declined from 30.4% in September 2001 to 22.8% in September 2005. This despite continued high levels of in-migration.

In line with our strategy to build a smart province, the tertiary sector has expanded significantly and now contributes at least 60.8% to growth.

Gauteng accounts for the bulk of all employees' remuneration in the country, at a whopping 47.7%, and is responsible for 50.4% of all company turn over.

According to a Business Day article published last week on recent research carried out by the Bureau of Market Research, Gauteng's 2.8 million households were last year responsible for more than one third (35%) of the country's household expenditure, spending R302 billion.

Gauteng continues to attract over 52% of the seven million international tourists who come to South Africa. Similarly, domestic tourism grew from 16.6% in the first quarter of 2005 to 22.1% in the second quarter.

Bearing in mind the need to balance social and economic needs, our contribution to the social wage has also kept pace with the needs of our people in that:

96% of households have access to free basic water
77.6% of households have free basic electricity
83% of identified bucket systems had been replaced
Over 80% have access to basic sanitation
Over 80% have weekly refuse removal services
A total of 1 142 172 people benefit from the social grant system, including 883 669 children on child support grants
A total of 310 881 of the poorest children in primary schools were exempted from school fees and 378 298 benefited from the school nutrition programme
35 972 children are benefiting from foster care grants
38 231 of the poorest children in Grade 1 will have received free school uniforms by the end of March 2006
66 318 of the poorest children are on our free scholar transport system
151 236 orphans and vulnerable children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS benefited from 98 community based care programmes and
Between 1994 and March 2005, ownership of 277 367 houses was transferred to Gauteng residents, 381 585 stands were serviced and 225 254 houses were built. This amounts to close to 900 000 housing opportunities, directly benefiting the lives of more th3.5 million residents - more than one third of Gauteng's current population.

Research conducted by CreateSA in 2003 showed that over 40% of all creative enterprises are found in Gauteng. It is therefore not surprising that, Tsotsi, a film created by one of our own and filmed in the streets of Gauteng's townships and suburbs, was nominated in the Foreign Language Film category for the 78^th Annual Academy Awards in the United States.

This is just the latest in a string of awards for the acclaimed film and represents a new wave of homegrown films, music and other creative products which are putting South Africa on the world map while creating jobs and economic opportunities.

The Gauteng good news story has been made possible through the implementation of our local, provincial and national elections manifestos, implementation of our five year programme of action and the programme we outlined during the State of the Province address last year.

A key pillar of Gauteng's economic success has been public investment in strategic economic infrastructure which has stimulated private sector investment, growth and job creation in key projects and sectors such as business tourism, logistics infrastructure, manufacturing and ICT.

Blue IQ in particular, has made significant progress over the past four years, investing over R2.8 billion in various assets between 2001 and 2005. This has resulted in sustainable and successful economic infrastructure, commercial enterprises and success stories comparable with the best in the world.

Development at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is turning the area into a world-class tourism destination, with all the economic benefits that this entails.

In September 2005 the Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka opened new facilities at the Sterkfontein Caves and in December, the President Thabo Mbeki opened the award-winning tourist attraction, Maropeng.

Maropeng was last year voted the best new tourism project worldwide and also won awards for construction and public private partnerships.

Our strategy of investing in the development of roads and bulk infrastructure and in a network of visitor centres in order to encourage private sector investment in tourism business activity is paying off.

Research in 2005 showed that we are successfully transforming the local economy from its past reliance on mining and agriculture to high value tourism. Tourism attractions in the area increased from 68 in 2001 to 275 in 2005, employing about 4 500 permanent and casual workers. More people are visiting the area, over 70 000 per week, and more money is circulating in the area, in excess of R7.5 million per week.

Together with the West Rand District Municipality we are committed to harnessing these achievements to create more jobs and to contribute to a further reduction of poverty in the West Rand.

The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) was launched in April 2005 to provide financial and non-financial support to SMMEs in Gauteng and unleash their potential as engines for accelerated economic growth and expanded participation in the economy. A key focus has been to promote the sustainability of SMMEs and enhance their access to resources.

So far, GEP has assisted over 400 SMMEs in key areas such as productivity enhancement, quality assurance, developing business plans, marketing and human resources development. An additional 1000 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs have been trained and a new SMME portal has been launched to link SMMEs to economic opportunities. Of those assisted, 41% are owned by women and 81% by historically disadvantaged individuals.

The Innovation Hub was launched in April 2005 as Africa's first Science Park destined to nurture and grow enterprises in the knowledge sector of the economy. It has become a landmark in Tshwane, boosting the local economy and exceeding expectations, with over 50 companies and 500 people on site. The Hub has successfully secured the bid to host the 2008 International Association of Science Parks (IASP) World Conference, presenting us with the opportunity to showcase the province, the country and the continent.

On 26 June 2005, we were graced with the presence of the country's top leaders, veterans of the struggle for freedom and tens of thousands of people from across the country at the celebrations of the 50^th anniversary of the Freedom Charter and the opening of the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, which we developed together with Johannesburg as part of the Kliptown urban renewal project.

In July 2005 we launched phase one of the Brickfields housing project in the Newtown precinct, adding to other successful initiatives such as the Nelson Mandela Bridge, Mary Fitzgerald Square and the Metro Mall. These initiatives have helped make Newtown a magnet for creative activities and a dynamic, vibrant, sophisticated and cosmopolitan cultural quarter.

The Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) remains a success story, providing services across the automotive industry and creating employment opportunities. Last year, 292 previously unemployed youths were given both formal and vocational training in the automotive industry, and have been prepared for full-time employment in the sector.

The internationally respected auditing company Deloitte and Touche and the Financial Mail rated the AIDC among the top 20 companies to work for in South Africa and first in the automotive industry. The centre was also named as one of SA's Top 300 Companies for the third year in a row and was a finalist in the Innovation and Sustainability Awards.

Due to our investment in the development of the Dinokeng Game Reserve, tourism attractions in the area have tripled from 90 to 278. The procurement of game for the reserve will start in May 2006 and the project will be officially opened in December 2006. Employment levels are expected to increase from 300 people to an estimated 2800 jobs during construction with a sustained level of about 1 500 direct jobs within the game reserve.

In line with our commitments, we have completed the provincial government's strategy for broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) and are putting in place the necessary institutional mechanisms to implement the strategy. As announced earlier, together with SMME development and support, our aim is to ensure that by 2009, 70% of the enterprises that benefit from GPG procurement will be broad-based black economically empowered.

Notwithstanding the progress we have made to implement our programme of action, more still need to be done to ensure that we deliver on our commitment to the development of the provincial safety plan, strategy to reduce fatalities on our roads, integrated transport plans, province wide indigent policy, review of provincial road networks and the review of powers and functions of provincial and local government.

One of the key issues that the 2006 programme of action should respond to is the expectations of our people for more economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction and accelerated delivery of basic services. In this regard we need to continue to work with various stakeholders to put in place a package of measures to:

increase the rate of productive investment, economic growth and development
reduce the levels of unemployment through the preservation of jobs and job creation
develop micro, small and medium enterprises
promote investment in social and economic infrastructure in a manner that promotes growth and addresses development in underdeveloped areas
vigorously attend to the improvement of our system of education and training, including early childhood development, primary and high school education, further education and training, tertiary education and skills development
improve the quality of life of all our people through improved and accelerated service delivery
reduce the levels of poverty and racial, gender and spatial inequality and
encourage and improve trade with the rest of the African continent.

As indicated in June 2005 in this house, the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy to grow the economy to at least 8% by 2014, contribute to the national effort to halve poverty and unemployment with a focus on specific sectors was launched in April 2005. An amount of close to R8 billion has been allocated for the implementation of this strategy over the next Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) beginning in April this year. Our country's economic achievements have created the possibility for a further massive expansion of public investment in the economy to accelerate shared growth. The Gauteng GDS together with the recently announced Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative - South Africa (ASGISA) and other national initiatives will ensure that we are able to take advantage of the massive opportunities that exist in this regard.

Our growth strategy seeks to not only increase growth rates but to translate this economic growth into job creation and other economic opportunities for those historically denied access to such opportunities.

This is central to the challenge of attacking poverty and underdevelopment in our province, reducing inequality and income gaps and bridging the gap between the first and the second economy.

In the context of our GDS and in line with ASGISA, we will continue to seek to expand investment and employment opportunities in our province. Through the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (Geda) we have facilitated significant new investment in the province, including in the area of business process outsourcing (BPO).

The SA Contact Centre Community (Sacccom) predicts that South Africa will in the next few years be among the world's top three offshore locations providing high value call centre services and that by 2008, we will increase the number of call centre seats by at least 50%.

Last year, 750 jobs in this sector were created in Gauteng by just two companies, with an initial investment of R50 million and plans to employ an additional 500 more people. Many more have received training to enable them to find employment in the sector.

Together with the city of Johannesburg we have been engaged in discussion with Vodacom on a partnership that will involve the development of a call centre, learnerships involving the provincial government and SETA and the creation of the necessary infrastructure. I am pleased to announce that we have now agreed on a partnership which will see Vodacom locate their new call centre in the Johannesburg CBD and creating a further 1500 new jobs.

Another exciting venture is the Eye of Africa development, which promises to bring investment of up to R5 billion into an area to the south of Johannesburg, creating 6 000 employment opportunities over the next three years and 12 000 indirect jobs.

This mega project is yet another vote of confidence in our province by local and international investors and will boost socio-economic development in Midvaal, Sedibeng, one of the province's poorest areas. It will feature a "Statue of Unity" which will become one of the province's key landmarks and is destined to become a major tourism destination.

Following the successful launch of the Johannesburg International Airport road interchange last year and the area's growing potential as an economic hub, we will, through Blue IQ, continue to pursue the further development of the JIA industrial development zone (IDZ) as a specialised export-oriented growth centre with significant potential to bolster investment and high value-add manufacturing linked to the airport as part of the projects outlined in ASGISA.

As a project of national significance, the JIA IDZ has the potential to create at least 40 000 direct and indirect jobs and provide a crucial boost to Ekurhuleni's traditional manufacturing activities.

Linked to the JIA IDZ, important groundwork has been laid in unlocking the country's beneficiation potential through the development of a jewellery manufacturing project. This is another initiative which will have a positive socio-economic impact in the province, bringing an investment of over R30 million in the first phase of the project. In the construction phase, 500 jobs will be created, with an estimated 4 000 permanent quality jobs once the project has reached full capacity.

As promised last year, we have finalised a comprehensive provincial Agricultural Development Strategy to take advantage of the sector's potential for growth, job creation and economic empowerment and will launch it next month. Our interventions will extend support for emerging farmers to boost value added production, particularly bio-technology and agro-processing, as well as make Gauteng a centre of excellence for smallholder farming with a focus on high value and niche market crops.

The aim is to bring previously disadvantaged sections of the population into the entire value chain of agriculture, with a special focus on women, youth and the unemployed.

The Gauteng Film Office continues to make an important contribution in positioning Gauteng as a preferred destination for local and international film productions, creating new jobs and economic opportunities in the process.

In addition to the successes of Tsotsi and other films, a recent innovative enterprise is the "Jozi-H" TV series, a South African and Canadian television drama series which will train over 800 people from Alexandra and Soweto, creating 1 300 jobs.

Last year we adopted the Gauteng Youth Development Strategy which was developed in consultation with young people in the province and which focuses on youth development advocacy, youth labour market and employment strategies, youth citizenship and the importance of youth-friendly government services.

The institutional framework for youth development in the province was revised and the Gauteng Youth Commission Act was passed. The new commissioners will be appointed by the end of April 2006.

Promoting youth job creation and other economic opportunities will be a key focus in the year ahead, including through the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) CDWs, the EPWP and the provision of bursaries, learnerships and internships as well as other skills development and training opportunities, with an important focus on opportunities for unemployed graduates.

I am pleased to announce that, through the GEP, we will ensure that by the end of the 2007/8 financial year, 20% of funding goes to support youth-led job creation activities.

The implementation of internship and learnership programmes by all Gauteng government departments is making a significant contribution in assisting our young people in getting access to jobs. We currently have a total of 6 249 learnerships and internships and we are on course to achieve the set target of 8% of staff by the end of 2006/07 financial year.

In the health sector, young people will benefit from the expansion of intakes at nursing colleges, which currently stand at 790 a year. This year alone, we will have 5 100 beneficiaries on the learnership and internship programme.

We currently have over 4 300 learnerships in the broader education sector and are making strides in linking training and FET curricula to the skills requirements linked to the growth and development strategy.

Within the social services sector, last year we offered 130 people social auxiliary, nursing and IT learnerships. Over the next three years we will offer 35 bursaries to youth in scarce skills areas as well as 125 nursing auxiliary learnerships and internships in the scare skills category to 150 youth and women.

Further learnership opportunities will be provided with the expansion of the Gauteng government and private call centres.

We will also undertake a youth development audit on youth programmes within the provincial government and civil society youth development bodies with a view to streamlining capacity and setting youth development targets.

As part of our commitment to improve the lives of women and ensure easy access to capital, entrepreneurship and overall participation in economic activity, we will accelerate women's empowerment in construction, project management, the cooperative sector and SMME management. Women will also benefit more from contracts awarded by the provincial government and special training will be provided to women in this regard.

We will continue to mainstream gender within all government programmes and address the central issues raised at the provincial Women's Dialogue in March last year. This year, we will again hold regional women's dialogues and women's izimbizo as part of a women's month programme to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the heroic women's march of 1956.

In the coming year GEP will support the establishment of youth and women led cooperatives in Gauteng's six regions and will also pay attention to the provision of financial support to SMMEs.

In February this year we will present the Women's awards for 2005 to the following:

Lydia Ngubane of the Kanana Mental Health Care Centre for the Women Building Safe and Sustainable Communities category
Naomi Ngwenya of the Bestcare Medical Suppliers for the Women in Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation category and
Dr Claudine Storbeck of the Deaf Baby Project for the Women Promoting Transformation and Nation Building category.

May I with your permission honourable Speaker ask them to rise up from the gallery.

The creation of a more efficient, effective and integrated transport system is another key element of our strategy and the building of a globally competitive city region.

Better public transport means easier access to work opportunities, a reduction in the cost of doing business as journey times are reduced and better land use as businesses and residential communities develop closer to public transport.

We continue to make significant progress with Gautrain, which will create an estimated 93 000 jobs over the next five years and boost gross geographical product by up to 1%. National cabinet has endorsed it as a key infrastructure project which will make a significant contribution to economic growth and job creation and which forms an integral part of an integrated transport system in the province.

We will by April 2006 introduce legislation to establish a Gautrain Management Agency to oversee the implementation of the project, which will serve as an important catalyst for an integrated transport system which includes rail, taxis, buses and other road transport.

As a further step to improving service levels on all transport modes, by May this year we will identify the key rail corridors where investment in improved Metro rail rolling stock and infrastructure will be targeted.

We will review bus subsidies so that they effectively support commuters who need them most and are working with taxi operators so that the taxi recapitalisation process leads to reduced public transport costs and improved service delivery while ensuring sustainable returns to the operators. The introduction of dedicated public transport corridors are underway.

Over the past year we continued to upgrade township roads and build major arterials linking new areas such as Cosmo City and previously disadvantaged areas such as Leratong hospital and Soweto. Additional resources have been allocated for the construction and maintenance of the provincial road network over the next year.

A comprehensive public transport management strategy has been adopted to increase access to safe and affordable transport. This will include the promotion of public transport, investing in transport infrastructure, road space management and freight logistics.

As a province we are putting in place plans to prepare for the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This will include the upgrading of stadia and public transport legacy projects, including improved access to the airport, the introduction of intelligent transport systems and the provision of improved passenger information and road signage.

Efforts to make Gauteng a home of competitive sport are also paying off, providing not just sporting entertainment for Gauteng residents but further stimulating jobs and growth. The year ahead will see a significant expansion of this programme, with a variety of major sporting events coming to the province.

To encourage our youth to be physically active, we have awarded 60 bursaries to students who achieved high sport performance levels. The province has two netball players, two swimmers and one rugby player who are part of the Gauteng High Performance programme and who have competed at national and international level.

In line with national policy, we will this year provide financial and other support to SASCOC to develop high performance athletes including through provincial sports academies. Promising young athletes will receive high performance sport training and development, accommodation, and support in medical and sports science and academics. This will go a long way in assisting our country to rise to new heights in international sporting competitions.

Infrastructure development is a key component of successful global city regions. In line with our commitments, in May 2005 we held a Gauteng Infrastructure Summit together with other spheres of government, parastatals and private sector representatives.

We agreed on the need for an integrated approach to infrastructure investment in the province to attract investment and sustained growth in developed areas as well as to use public investment to attract private investment to boost development in underdeveloped and poorer areas.

Joint planning and the pooling of public investment can help maximize the economic and social impact of our investments in social and economic infrastructure and mobilize greater private investment in infrastructure. For the next three years, the provincial government will spend R25.7 billion on infrastructure, including the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure and provision of new infrastructure.

In line with our agreement with Metro and District Mayors, we will create more capacity for the coordination of the global city region and integrated planning. One of the priorities will be the development of an implementation plan on the integrated provision of infrastructure in Gauteng by June 2006.

Honourable Speaker, at the Infrastructure Summit, I spoke about the fact that, despite significant investment in social and economic infrastructure, some communities still face a lack of public amenities and decaying infrastructure. This remains one of the visible legacies of Apartheid.

A particular challenge is the continuing racial and class divide between a wealthy and thriving first economy, characterised by adequate and quality infrastructure, juxtaposed against a poor and struggling second economy, with inadequate and unsatisfactory infrastructure and resources. The spatial manifestation of this is evident in the persistence of predominantly white and wealthy suburbs on the one hand and the predominantly black and poorer townships and informal settlements on the other.

Our challenge in the period to 2014 is to fundamentally alter these settlement patterns and the unequal distribution of infrastructure and amenities that prevailed under apartheid.

We are determined to decisively break the back of Apartheid planning and underdevelopment and continue to transform our townships into vibrant, dynamic and sustainable communities where people live with decent social amenities and access to economic opportunities. We want our townships to be places in which people take pride; where people live, not because they have no alternative, but because they choose to live there.

As a major step towards the achievement of this vision, I am therefore pleased to announce that we will, in the next three years, embark on one of the most comprehensive community development programmes that our province has ever seen. We will invest an amount of R3 billion in 20 major townships in Gauteng to build better communities and upgrade local social and economic infrastructure.

The townships which will benefit from this Gauteng renewal programme, which is called the 20 Township Initiative are: Atteridgeville, Boipatong, Bophelong, Daveyton, Kagiso, Katlehong, (Kwa -Thema, Tsakane and Duduza) Mamelodi, Mohlakeng, Munsieville, Ratanda, Refilwe, Rethabiseng, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Soshanguve, Soweto, Tembisa and Wattville, which together represent a large proportion of Gauteng's people.

Our primary aim is to change the lives of our people for the better by beautifying our townships, providing decent schools, clinics, sport and recreational facilities, lighting, storm water drains, MPCCs, libraries and taxi ranks. In particular, we will ensure that all roads in these townships are tarred by 2009 and that each area has a vibrant commercial and transport hub.

We will with immediate effect appoint a project manager who will oversee a project team with representatives from health, education, transport and public works and municipalities. Implementation will proceed in phases, with the completion of the first set of integrated urban renewal plans in place by September this year.

In addition to provincial allocations, further funding will be sourced from municipalities, national government departments and para-statals. By ensuring an integrated approach we will maximize the impact of our investments in building better communities in Gauteng.

The initiative will not only change the face of these cities of the future but will also boost short-terms jobs through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). More economic opportunities will be created through tenders and contracts which will prioritise youth, women, people with disabilities and unemployed graduates as well as SMMEs and local entrepreneurs.

The 20 townships initiative will be in addition to commitments to upgrade backyard shacks in these areas. A feasibility study and the registration of these shacks is at an advanced stage, and a pilot project to upgrade 1500 backyard shacks in Orlando East and Boipatong has commenced.

The renewal of the 20 identified townships will be in addition to ongoing progress on urban renewal projects in Alexandra, Bekkersdal, Evaton and Kliptown and the implementation of a comprehensive housing strategy.

Extensive progress has been made on the Alexandra Renewal Project, including the upgrading of schools, clinics, sport facilities, parks, cemeteries, roads, electricity, water and sanitation infrastructure, the building of 1200 houses, and the rehabilitation of the Jukskei River.

New parks have been built and a new police station opened. The Edenvale Hospital is being upgraded and the construction of the Nelson Mandela Yard Precinct is in progress. Major new initiatives in the pipeline include the upgrading of the Pan Africa business district and new housing developments.

Plans to convert hostel accommodation into affordable rental accommodation continue. This includes interventions at 54 hostels to upgrade them or convert them into habitable and sustainable living environments which are integrated into local communities.

We have completed the conversion of the Vusumuzi, Khotsong, Daveyton and Ehlanzeni hostels in Ekurhuleni; the Soshanguve and Saulsville hostels in Tshwane and the Dobsonville and Orlando West hostels in Johannesburg. We have made important progress in fulfilling our commitment to formalise informal settlements by 2009 and eradicate informal settlements by 2014. The registration of Gauteng's 392 informal settlements has been completed. Close to 70% of these will be upgraded while others will be relocated to better land.

In the current financial year, 34 000 stands have been serviced with plans to service a further 23 121 stands in the 2006/7 financial year. Through the community builder programme, the people's housing process and formal housing provision, top structures will be built on a further 200 000 stands. The massive Cosmo City project is well on track, with 1 245 houses being finalized and over 400 families already in their houses. This mixed income settlement, which will be launched by April, entails the phased servicing of 8 000 residential erven and the construction of at least 5 000 low cost, 3000 bonded and 3 000 credit linked housing structures.

As I have indicated, the bucket system has been a painful reminder of the indignity and deprivation of the past. I am therefore pleased to announce that the end of the bucket system in Gauteng is in sight.

By the end of June this year, all the more than 12 000 identified buckets will have been replaced, ahead of the 2007 national target set by the President.

All identified owner-built pit latrines will have been replaced with VIPs, except in Zenzele, which is being relocated to a new site with waterborne sewerage.

To assist the province in efficiently managing its land stock, by identifying well located land for economic use, farming, housing and poverty alleviation programmes, a Provincial Land Asset Register audit has been completed. All vacant land owned by the provincial government has been identified in terms of location, value and land use classification. Arising from this, we will by September this year develop clear policy guidelines on the disposal of land in the province.

We will also continue to pay attention to sustainable development and the protection of the environment in line with our WSSD commitments.

This year we will launch our environmental management inspectorate, with 20 designated inspectors who will monitor compliance and enforce the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). This will add more muscle to our efforts to ensure effective environmental management and enforcement in our province.

Arising from the Presidential Municipal imbizo at Emfuleni last year, we are spearheading an initiative to address environmental problems in the area, including air quality, waste management and other sources of pollution. We have already undertaken compliance and enforcement visits to four local companies.

Better environmental management in the area will not only help improve the health of the people of the area but also help maximise its growth potential, particularly in relation to tourism linked to the Vaal River.

We will in the next financial year develop a Gauteng Air Quality Management Plan to improve the quality of air and emission management in the province. Together with our newly established network to monitor Gauteng's air quality, this will ensure decent air quality in the face of rapid urbanisation and densification in the province.

Our strategies to promote growth and economic opportunities for all are the most effective way to fight poverty in our province. In the period to 2014, we will strengthen existing measures as well as explore the introduction of new measures to address the various forms of poverty:

Income poverty, which we will continue to address both through job creation and other measures such as social grants, indigent policies and short-term employment creation through the Expanded Public Works Programme
Asset poverty, which we will continue to address through changes in land and housing ownership including through housing programmes, the transfer of title deeds and agricultural development strategies
Infrastructure poverty, which we will address in an accelerated manner through the expansion of social and economic infrastructure and the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for infrastructure planning across municipal boundaries
Services poverty, which we will address by facilitating a services revolution both within the public and private sector. This will expand and enhance existing public sector initiatives such as the Batho Pele revitalization and development of service sdards.
Knowledge poverty, which we will address through the implementation of a comprehensive human resource development strategy for Gauteng.

The EPWP programme has been successfully implemented in poverty pockets in the province over the past year, with job creation linked to waste management, school sport fields, community infrastructure, economic hubs and roads.

In the year ahead, 1 700 unemployed people will get jobs on a newly created two - year contract. They will also be given training as care givers and auxiliary social workers linked to 98 HIV and AIDS community based care sites.

As a further contribution to addressing poverty and building social cohesion and sustainable communities, we have in line with our commitment, completed the development of a new Social Development Strategy, which will complement the Gauteng Growth and Development Strategy.

Among the key strategic levers identified in the policy are the Gauteng Programmes of Action for Children, social crime prevention, human resource development, poverty alleviation, public health services, integrated HIV and AIDS programmes and the provision of housing.

Our approach is to ensure people-centred and sustainable development working in partnership with communities and NGOs to support and empower people who are unable to work and have special needs, such as the most vulnerable, youth in distress, children, the elderly and those affected and infected by HIV and Aids.

The aim is to restore the dignity of the poor and the vulnerable and provide the basic means for them to effectively participate in our democratic dispensation to improve their material conditions.

We will continue to give the highest priority to making Gauteng a province fit for children and confirm our commitment to protect, care for, develop and provide for children. We have undertaken a review of the Gauteng Program of Action on Children to make sure that children come first in all programmes and projects of the provincial government.

Education remains a cornerstone of our efforts to develop healthy, skilled and productive people in Gauteng and has a key role in transforming society, bringing about social equity, and contributing to the country's growth and development.

This year once again saw a tremendous increase in learner enrolments. This is as a result of our efforts to ensure that all children are in school and place all learners who have migrated to Gauteng over December and January.

While the 2005 provincial matric pass rate of 74.9% showed a decline of 1.8% on last year, we saw qualitative improvements. We have improved universal access to education, gender equity and performance in "gateway subjects".

More learners are sitting for higher grade subjects and more are getting matric endorsements. Matric endorsements increased from 15 774 in 2004 to 16 114 in 2005, while distinctions increased by 9.8% from 10 484 in 2004 to 11 509 in 2005.

At the end of last year, we were proud to announce that a young black girl learner, Duduzile Nhlapho, from Esokwazi Secondary School in Sebokeng, had scored an incredible 100% in mathematics, science and biology. Jana de Lange from Hoerskool Florida scored the highest marks in the province. Dudu and Jana's achievements are testimony to the fact that we are today indeed capable of providing quality education in both our townships and suburbs.

Once again, congratulations to Dudu and Jana. May your success inspire many more girls to rise to these heights.

Girls continued to shine, with an increase in the number of girls who wrote physical science in the higher grade. Close to one million learners and 22 000 educators, many from the poorest communities, have access to the most up-to-date computers with internet access and email. In line with national policy, we will this year extend the implementation of the new curriculum statement to Grades 10-12 as well as implement the last phase of the curriculum transformation into a seamless outcomes-based education system.

2005 saw the implementation of outcomes-based education in Grade 10 as the first grade of the Further Education and Training Band. We have also trained over 12 298 Grade 10 educators and 8 543 Grade 7 educators through Higher Educations Institutions in Gauteng. Additional resources have been allocated to teacher training in the year ahead.

The revised national curriculum has been introduced in Grade 7 and teachers in Grades 8, 9 and 11 have undergone training. I am happy to announce that Gauteng is implementing the revised norms and standards of school funding. We have, since January this year, eliminated school fees in poor schools and will in the year ahead seek to upgrade schools in poor communities and ensure adequate equipment and learning support materials.

We have expanded our early childhood development sites, Grade R in particular, by 200, bringing the total to 784 and will continue to expand this sector as the need arises. ABET has also been expanded and its programmes aligned to job creation programmes.

The promotion of access to caring, responsive, affordable and quality health care by all our people remains a top priority. We will continue to implement strategies to retain our doctors and nurses, provide ongoing training and recruit 2 300 of the best healthcare professionals every year.

Additional 1 000 community health workers will be trained this year to reach our target of 3 000 by 2007. Another 1 000 health workers will be trained on comprehensive HIV and tuberculosis clinical management and care.

To address the challenge of reducing waiting times in hospitals and clinics, 80% of sub-districts will have access to extended hours of service by the end of this year. We will also make additional resources available to district health to cover the shortfall arising from the reclassification of municipal health services.

The hospital revitalisation programme will continue together with the construction of three new hospitals in the Kathorus area, Mamelodi and Zola. By April 2007, we will complete ten new clinics in Eersterus, Orange Farm, Eldorado Park, Randfontein, Atteridgeville, Evaton, Orlando and Cullinan Community Health Centre. This year will also see the official opening of the New Pretoria Academic Hospital.

At the end of last year we reported on the progress we have made in implementing the Gauteng Aids programme.

In the period ahead, the HIV and AIDS comprehensive care and treatment programme including anti-retrovirals will be implemented in all hospitals, community health centres and sub -districts. By the end of this year, 60 000 patients will be on anti-retroviral therapy treatment with 54 operational sites.

It is however important to once more reiterate the point that there is currently no cure for Aids and as such all of us need to take steps to avoid infection through rigorous prevention campaigns and changes in lifestyles.

As part of our commitment to put in place measures to assist victims of sexual abuse, five additional Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) facilities will be established by the end of this year.

Honourable Speaker, we have noted with growing concern the number of victims of seasonal flooding, fires in informal settlements and children losing their lives in dolomite sinkhole formations. To address some of these concerns, we will introduce a Provincial Disaster Management Centre by the end of this year.

We remain committed to ensuring that individuals, communities and businesses go about their business in a safe environment. As part of our response to crimes such as bank and retail store robberies, we have facilitated partnerships with shopping centre managers, and heads of cash-in-transit companies. In the year ahead further work will be undertaken with this sector.

Together with communities we need to ensure that crime against women and children receives continuous attention beyond the 16 days of no violence against women and children. We will work with the police to increase visibility and engagement with various stakeholders in our quest to build a safer Gauteng.

In building a longer-term plan, we have developed provincial policing needs and priorities, and new guidelines on community policing.

These will form the core of the Provincial Safety Plan and the Road Safety Plan to be concluded by July 2006.

Together with municipalities, we have continued to advance our vision of building Gauteng as a globally competitive city region. We are pursuing this strategy from a developmental perspective, to increase our ability to effectively confront our socio-economic ills such as unemployment and poverty and to increase Gauteng's contribution to the national economy.

We are already one of Africa's most economically productive regions and rank high in connectivity to global city networks and global flows of capital, information, and goods. In the period to 2014 we seek to work together with other stakeholders to further enhance our global competitiveness as a city region.

Following further consultations with the newly constituted local governments later this year, we look forward to releasing the strategy to this house.

Among the key priorities in implementing the global city region perspective will be the finalization of a Gauteng spatial development framework in line with the National Spatial Development Framework. This will help to integrate the local integrated development plans into a coherent provincial framework.

To give full effect to the social and economic development of the province, we will support the development of Growth and Development Strategies in each metro and district. In this regard we will set aside resources to assist metros and districts in their new terms of office to engage and consult with stakeholders by holding Growth and Development Summits by no later than October 2006.

Within the context of the province's growth and development strategy, our strategic position within the African economy and our status as the host of the Pan African Parliament, we will by June 2006 this year develop a provincial Nepad framework, which will inter alia address our trade and investment relations with the rest of the continent.

A number of key strategies to boost economic growth including the GDS and ASGISA have highlighted the need for improved governance and institutional interventions to improve service delivery.

In line with a similar initiative at a national level, we have undertaken a review on building the capacity and organization of the state to determine the gaps and means to enhance capacity. The study highlighted, among other things, the need to strengthen our capacity to analyse and respond to the changing social, economic and political environment and the importance of innovation and strengthening our knowledge base, including in the area of social services delivery. We are currently developing an implementation plan, which will include better institutional knowledge management.

We will also develop an integrated Human Resources Strategy for the provincial government by the end of June 2006 and seek to position the Gauteng government as an employer of choice and attract, develop and retain quality human resources.

In 2004, we revised our gender and race targets for the Gauteng public service, setting 70% representivity for black people and 50% for women in senior positions, by 2009. By December 2005, 63% of senior management was black and 30% were women.

We have undertaken a study to review the first five years of local government, outlining the key achievements and challenges faced by Gauteng municipalities in carrying out their mandate since the inauguration of the new system of democratic local government five years ago.

Many municipalities in Gauteng have taken important strides in building better communities in the province, including enhancing social infrastructure and improving the lives of our people through the provision of basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation.

Through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant alone, R841 million was allocated to initiatives to address backlogs in the provision of clean water, sanitation, roads, storm water drains and pipes, street and community lighting and solid waste projects in the current financial year. Taxi ranks, sports centres, parks and cemeteries were also provided.

Indigent policies have been implemented and residents have actively participated in the development of IDPs, ward committees and many local izimbizo.

However, significant challenges remain to be addressed. The provincial government has continued to work with municipalities, including those designated under Project Consolidate. Of particular importance is ensuring they have the necessary managerial, professional and technical staff to implement developmental programmes. A total of 70 professionals including project managers, senior engineers, and chartered accountants have been deployed in Kungwini, Mogale City and Emfuleni to provide the necessary support.

We have taken important steps to capacitate local government financial management. An Advisory Committee made up of financial management experts has been established with the purpose of establishing the status of municipal finances and giving appropriate advice, including on Municipal Financial Management Act compliance. The committee is expected to complete its work by June 2007 so that all municipalities in Gauteng produce clean audit reports by 2009.

The CDWs are a key prong of our efforts to build an effective and caring government which at all times acts in service of the people to improve their lives. We already have 200 CDWs deployed as full-time public servants and will by April 2007 have at least one CDW in each ward in Gauteng. In ensuring that this is achieved, 319 new cadets will start a one-year learnership programme, which will be undertaken in partnership with the Local Government SETA from March 2006.

Our efforts to improve the delivery of services to our people have taken important steps forward with the launch of the Batho Pele revitalisation campaign over the past year. This included a Public Service Week and the development of minimum service standards throughout the provincial government which will enable members of the public who use Gauteng government services to hold public servants accountable.

We are on course to achieve our target of launching 40 MPCCs by 2009 and already have 20 MPCC operating in the province. In addition to continuing the rollout of new MPCCs, we are, together with local and national government, developing mechanisms to improve the management, monitoring and evaluation of existing MPCCs.

In June this year we took a further leap towards the achievement of our vision in which all Gauteng residents' have easy and free access to government information and services with the launch of GautengOnline, the Gauteng portal. The GautengOnline portal is inspired by the Batho Pele service delivery principles and forms part of the province's e-governance strategy.

In the future we are committed to roll out 50 Information Kiosks within MPCCs and other service centres in and around Gauteng as well as 70 Digital Lounges within government departments. In addition, 200 CDWs will be given remote access to government information by June this year, rising to 500 by the end of the financial year. This will help make government information and services available to those who don't have access to the internet.

The GPG-wide call centre, which currently seats 150 people, will be further expanded to accommodate 600 people by the end of July 2006, providing a "one call" service to all Gauteng citizens who want to access government. The first 150 seat call centre in Wynberg will be launched by the end of March 2006. The other two 150-seat centres in Sedibeng and the West Rand respectively will be launched in July this year.

In line with our commitments, we have over the past year interacted directly with well over 100 000 Gauteng residents and visited over 70 communities as part of the Gauteng izimbizo. This has given us an invaluable opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with our people to hear from them what in their view should be done to improve their communities. We have, in the process, made a significant contribution to strengthening ward committees, local delivery and democratic participation in governance.

We hosted Project Consolidate izimbizo involving Ministers, the Deputy President and President in the West Rand, Metsweding and Emfuleni respectively. A key focus has been on strengthening delivery by municipalities as well as developing plans on what the three spheres of government can do to fast-track development in these areas.

A widespread process of consultation with the people of Gauteng was undertaken over the past few months to review Gauteng as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

The process was spearheaded by a Provincial Governing Council consisting of representatives of government and civil society. Tens of thousands of people responded to the APRM questions to evaluate Gauteng in the areas of democracy and political governance, economic management and governance, corporate governance and socio-economic development.

Arising from this a Gauteng APRM report will by the end of the month be forwarded to the National APRM Governing Council for incorporation into the APRM country assessment report.

The review has enabled us to emerge with a common perspective on the developmental challenges we face and the manner in which all stakeholders need to address these. The recommendations emanating from the report should be taken into account in the further development of our respective programmes of action.

The process has also underlined the critical role of civil society sectors in the success of our communities and our democracy and the need to continue to strengthen civil society organisations and organs of democratic participation in general.

We have today outlined a wide range of past and future programmes that are evidence that a better Gauteng is possible and in the making. These are the activities that give concrete expression to the rights enshrined in our constitution. Together with the various stakeholders in the province we are committed to ensure

that we succeed in achieving our goal to create a better life for all our people;
that our goal to contribute to the national effort to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014 is realised;
that notwithstanding the challenges of in-migration and the absorption of more people arising out of the abolition of the cross boundary municipalities, we will succeed in making Gauteng a globally competitive city region;
that we will continue to grow the economy to the benefit of all our people;
that we will succeed in making Gauteng a home of tourism, competitive sport, children, youth, women, the elderly and people with disabilities and above all,
that we will make a meaningful contribution to the realisation of the goals outlined in ASGISA and the GDS.

I thank you.

Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:

Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)";
If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website;
The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form).

Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400



	WHO TO CONTACT \| RESIDENTS \| BUSINESS \| TOURIST GUIDE \| E-SERVICES \| SITE MAP \| NEWS ARCHIVE