Madam Speaker
Honourable members
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Gauteng, the powerhouse of the nation, remains at the heart of the economy of South Africa. The 2010 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook public by the Gauteng Department of Finance, report that the province is still the single largest contributor to the national economy. However our economic strength did not insulate us against the impact of the global recession. Although our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment levels declined but his global insight, a provider of econometric data, anticipates that GDP growth will improve this year and every year leading up to 2014.
Gauteng remains the most populous province and it continues to grow. We have made significant gains over the last few years in the provision of basic services, the provision of formal housing and access to education and health. The Human Development Index (HDI) of the province is significantly higher than that of the country as a whole. People in Gauteng have longer and healthier lives and looking at literacy and poverty rates are more little and less poverty stricken than the citizens of many other provinces. Our development indicators however show, that there is still work to do. The Gauteng Department of Finance’s Socio-Economic Review for 2010, show that the inequality index for the province, the Gini Co-efficient is at 0.64, indicating that inequality remains a significant feature of our society.
All of us here have a single purpose; the development of our nation. Through your robust and honest engagements, we have seen how your contributions have shaped some of our programmes; improved those with potential and discarded those which do not add real, lasting value to the lives of our people. We once again call on you to engage this report with the honesty and thoroughness that you have displayed before. It is only when our monitoring and evaluation is effective, that we can deliver services better, and work faster and smarter.
Madam Speaker,
The year 2010 has been a mixed bag for our country and one that many South Africans will not easily forget.
On the one hand many will remember the year as the time that our country, and indeed our entire continent, can look back on with pride after successfully hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is a year that Africa claimed its rightful place among the family of nations of the world. As government, we should again doff our hats in praise of the people of this wonderful province of ours, for welcoming the world in such a warm and electrifying manner. We always maintained that the 2010 FIFA World Cup belonged to the people of South Africa and the continent. We are very happy that our people heeded the call and took ownership of the global spectacle.
Recent information from the Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, show that our province was very popular among the 340 000 tourists who visited for the month-long football tournament.That many of those who visited, said they would return in the near future, is testimony to the hospitality displayed by Gauteng citizens and our officials through the Gauteng Gateway Project and other similar projects.
Our recent successful hosting of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Championship was further proof that we are committed to keeping the 2010 World Cup legacy alive and ensure that facilities upgraded for the global showpiece, remain useful to our country and continent.
On the other hand, Honourable members, 2010 will be remembered as the year that our country experienced one of the most protracted and destabilising public sector strikes in our history. Service delivery was hampered; innocent lives were lost and schools were severely affected.
We saw – with disbelief – the creeping tendency of needless destruction of government property, again rearing its ugly head. This property does, after all, belong to the citizens of this country. Much as we respect the rights of workers to protest, we appeal for restraint and constructive engagement.
One of the areas which suffered the most from the public sector strike was the healthcare sector. During that period, government health facilities were severely affected and many services suspended. Some facilities were brought to their knees and rendered ineffective by acute staff shortages.
We acknowledge and applaud the efforts of some of the members of this house and members of the public, in volunteering their services and providing a helping hand, especially in health and education facilities.
The Department of Education on behalf of the provincial government acted swiftly and organised study camps and supported learners in their preparations for the final exams. We know that learners and communities appreciated the intervention and took full advantage of the services offered in those centres. The GDE organised no less than 90 study camps, and the classes focused on curriculum completion, revision, exam preparation and study techniques
Indeed, 2010 was – to take the words of the English novelist Charles Dickens – “the best of times, the worst of times”.
Madam Speaker, below is the progress realised on the seven priorities since the beginning of this calendar year.
Quality basic education
The world over, it is well-known that competitive modern societies are built on the back of an educated and skilled workforce. All globally-competitive regions of the world have quality education as a common denominator. As an aspirant globally-competitive city region; Gauteng has taken a leaf out of the experiences of successful similar economies and has began to invest heavily in the education of our children. This includes paying particular attention to the quality of educators, who are shaping these young minds.
In that light, a few months ago the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) launched the Cellphone and Teacher Laptop Initiative in Midrand. The GDE handed out cellphones to 2 200 principals and 160 district officials to help them communicate better with the school community. The cellphones, which were provided free of charge by Vodacom, are loaded with curriculum-support material and will definitely go a long way in improving the quality of education at our schools.
We promised to begin work on the development of residential facilities for scholars in rural and peri-urban areas of our province. In that regard, we can proudly pronounce that the pre-feasibility study for a boarding school in Magaliesburg has been completed and the designs have been developed. The project has now been handed over to the Department of Infrastructure Development, which will start building the facility in the new financial year.
Still on school infrastructure, we are happy to report that the auditing of schools to determine the level of compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act has proceeded well. To date, 286 schools have been audited and 900 officials trained. In terms of fencing, an audit of the fencing needs of the 1066 under-performing schools was done. A total of 703 schools have fencing in good condition. The department is currently in the process of compiling works orders at 343 under-performing schools to erect palisade fences.
Madam Speaker,
One of the areas in which we saw steady progress during this calendar year, was the expansion of secondary school nutrition to quintile 3 schools. The roll-out of the School Nutrition Programme to secondary schools is phased-in progressively. Accordingly, the programme was rolled out to secondary schools in quintile 2 as from 1 April 2010 and will be extended to secondary schools in quintile three as of 1 April 2011.
The province has also made some headway in the area of skills development. We have achieved our target of ensuring that 30 percent of participants in artisan training are young people. Also, a total 4918 learners have undergone Generic Training, exceeding the original target of 3 000.
We are aware that the Class of 2010 faced enormous challenges ahead of their final matric exams. However, we have faith that despite all the stumbling blocks, the learners will perform well as many took advantage of the extra-support given by the Gauteng Education Department in the month leading to the final examinations.
We are ready for the 2011 school year and the planned education izimbizo in January will assist the Executive Council to keep a finger on the pulse in the first few weeks of school.
As the Gauteng Provincial Government, we would like to again thank all the stakeholders – from parents, educators and communities – for rallying behind our matriculants ahead of their exams.
Madam Speaker,
To mention the achievements listed above without touching on the challenges we faced in the past twelve months would be to short-change this respected house. As this report-back exercise is not about singing our own praises but strengthening our accountability to the people; we have to be honest about where we fell short so that we can make timeous interventions.
One such area where we struggled to make meaningful inroads has been our inability to enrol more than 4 000 young people into training areas such as Information Technology, electrical work, plumbing and life skills. Also, our efforts of providing over 3 000 bursaries to young people in critical skills areas, such as engineering and medical science only yielded a total of 740 learners. This, among others, is obviously an area of concern, which is already receiving attention.
We will hold public meetings with our stakeholders in the education sector, to ensure that we are all committed to the same goals, ahead of the new school year.
A long and healthy life for all South Africans
The Gauteng Provincial Government has since January been hard at work in order to ensure that all residents have access to quality healthcare that would allow them to lead long and healthy lives. This is based on the position that healthy residents are able to contribute meaningfully to the goal of making Gauteng a better place for all.
In the current financial year, much progress was made in achieving the targets as per the Programme of Action. This was particularly true in the area of “mortality and life expectancy” where 98 percent of fixed primary health care facilities have managed to implement the integrated management of childhood illnesses programme; providing Vitamin A and food supplements to children under five years and increasing the percentage of maternity care facilities, which review maternal and peri-natal deaths.
Progress has also been made towards increasing the percentage of pregnant women who book for ante-natal care before 20 weeks gestation, from 24.7 percent in 2009/10 to 50 percent in 2010/11.
The province has also made strides in its fight against HIV and AIDS. For instance, the number of patients on treatment has increased to 317 977 while male medical circumcision was at 1 176 in 10 hospitals.
The rolling-out of provider-initiated Voluntary Counselling and Training is expected to increase the percentage of people who know their status from 51 percent to 70 percent.
Madam Speaker,
A lot of work has been done in the fight against HIV and AIDS in the past year and the results are clear, with a national drop in HIV and AIDS infection rates. However, there has been challenges as well ,our plans to increase Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) sites to all health facilities by the end of March 2011, are not going as well as we had hoped. By the end of September this year, we had only managed to have 186 facilities – instead of 280 – providing lifesaving ART.
We have also not met our targets of initiating ART for all HIV positive children under one year. Our goal was to place 20 000 children on the programme by the end of this financial year, however only 652 children are currently on treatment. Needless to say, work is already underway to turn the tide.
The Gauteng province has also made some progress in dealing with tuberculosis (TB). The TB cure rate is currently at 79.9 percent against the target of 80 percent. Also in managing the suspect registers, 16735 cases were identified and 2 642 were confirmed cases out of a target of 20 000.
In addition, we have increased the number of Community Health Workers (CHWs) trained as Directly Observed Treatment (DOTs) supporters. So far 1 850 CHWs have been trained on TB and HIV collaboration.
To achieve a long and healthy life for all South Africans, the health system needs to be as effective as possible. There has been good progress made in many areas that relate to infrastructure. We have also finalised the priority list for Phase 2 of the rolling-out of 40 more replacement lifts and finalisation of Phase 2 of installation of back-up power supply.
Plans for the completion of the Braamfischerville Clinic; Ratanda/Magagula Height Clinic; Cosmo City Clinic; Diepsloot Clinic and Finetown Clinic are going well. Construction of the Zola/Jabulani Hospital and Natalspruit Hospital continues. Work at the Germiston Hospital is at 84 percent completion.
Long queues and waiting times have been reduced through the establishment of functional help desks in all hospital entrances, to direct patients to appropriate sections. Critical to this is screening of patients to ensure that the appropriate level of care is provided to patients.
Honourable members,
Decent employment through inclusive economic growth
Following the approval by The Provincial Executive Council (EXCO) of the recommendation to rationalise the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) Agencies into three clusters, Growth and Development, Business Regulatory and Tourism Promotion Agency, the department set out to implement this mandate.
In this regard, the GDED has adopted a phased implementation approach prioritising the establishment of the Growth and Development Agency that will come into effect in the new financial year 2011/12. The Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) will come into effect as a result of the process of the reconfiguration of the Blue IQ, Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA) and Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP).
A business case for the new Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), together with the proposed policy and the draft bill have been completed for approval by the Executive Council (EXCO). Once approval has been granted, all due processes leading to the legislative enactment of the bill will be followed.
In detailing the design of the business and target operating models of the GGDA, specific attention will be given to the overall improvement of the efficacy of the enterprise development in the manner in which support is rendered to small medium and micro enterprise (SMMEs) and cooperatives in the province.
Therefore, at the outset the enterprise propeller functions will be overhauled to improve efficiency of service, transparency in the funding and decision-making processes. Furthermore, relevance of the support provided to the needs of the SMMEs and Cooperative sectors of the Gauteng economy will be enhanced. This approach will ensure that both SMME’s and Cooperatives play meaning roles in the growth of the Gauteng economy.
Planning in this regard is at an advanced stage and the specific details will be made known in policy announcements regarding the 2011/12 Programme of Action (POA).
Pronouncements will also be made on the road-map for the implementation of the Business Regulation Agency as well as the Tourism Promotion Agency, as the second phase of the reconfiguration within GDEDs agencies.
The finalisation of the Gauteng Economic Growth and Development Strategy (GEGDS) was a significant milestone achieved and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) strategy has been revised as one of its central objectives. It is this blue-print which will guide our province’s efforts to create more jobs and achieve faster economic growth.
We have also made progress in road infrastructure with the completion of Phase 2 of K29 Malibongwe Drive - which starts from Cosmo City to the N14. The work on phase 3 which starts from the N14 to Lanseria airport is more than 50 percent complete.
The construction and maintenance plan for 1500 km of provincial roads has been developed and will be tabled at Exco in the next cycle. While the target date for the completion of the upgrading of the K29 Malibongwe Drive has passed, great progress is clear on phase 3 of K29, at 75 percent complete and is complemented by the 95 percent progress on the bridge over N14 and 65 percent completion on road works. Layer works on the other 5.7km long lane of the dual carriageway, is now 85 percent complete.
This week, the Gautrain reached another key milestone with the delivery of the last of its 24 coaches. The importance of this train to the improvement of Gauteng public transport system cannot be over-emphasised. Recently the Gautrain carried its millionth passenger. Twenty-eight thousand six hundred direct local jobs have been created to date, and a hundred thousand indirect and induced jobs have resulted from this project. Procurement to the value of R4,5 billion has been invested in B-BBEE firms in the country and R1,2 billion invested in black-owned SMMEs.
There is some progress regarding launching a massive community works programme within the 50 poorest wards. Although delays have been experienced in Metsweding, most sites have started to employ community workers who have begun with their initial work projects.
There has also been a marked improvement in the implementation of the Creative Industries Strategy. Many areas have seen success, including the Puisano Live Music events, Visual Art events, Craft Enterprise, Arts and Culture workshops and the Moshito music conference and exhibition.
Furthermore, the implementation of the Competitive Sports programme is progressing steadily with the support for a boxing tournament; the Soweto Football Museum and the utilisation of public viewing sites in the promotion of social cohesion, being some of the highlights.
Progress on the implementation of a targeted support programme is noted with the first women support networking session having taken place.
Annual exhibitions, expos and shows have seen the following being realised:
- Participation in the World Tourism Day
- Production of the TV series on domestic tourism,
- Right to host the World Tourist Guide Conference 2013 and Airports Cities 2013.
All people in South Africa are and feel safe
We have said it before and we will say it again: crime is robbing our people of their hard-earned freedom.
In our province, the trio crimes of house robberies, business robberies and vehicle hijackings are dominant types of crimes which affect our people the most. In that light, we have taken an effective and holistic approach involving all stakeholders – driven by the newly-appointed Gauteng Police Commissioner, Mzwandile Petros.
Many of you will agree that there has been a marked rise in visible policing in our towns and cities.As the festive season begins; we are confident that our law enforcement agencies will be able to effectively administer the rule of law. We have provided the tools of trade by securing additional 119 patrol cars to help increase visibility and fight crime especially in crime hot spots.
There is a marked improvement in areas of Social Crime Prevention. Also, noticeable progress has been recorded in the management and supervision of victim empowerment and support centres. In measuring crime perception, preliminary results of a study on victim satisfaction show that 88 percent of the victims surveyed were satisfied with the services offered by Ikhaya Lethemba.
In rolling-out localised victim support services in line with the Ikhaya Lethemba model, special visits were conducted in four police clusters, namely Johannesburg, Hillbrow, Pretoria and Bronkhorstspruit. Special action plans have been developed for these clusters to improve services to victims.
The establishment of Youth Crime Prevention Desks is also being prioritised. A set of standardised youth crime prevention activities have been put in place to ensure that youth desks have an establishment purpose and are sustainable at every police station. These include: drug awareness, house numbering, child safety awareness, and street surveillance.
The Department of Community Safety continues to receive monthly reports from stations where the patroller programme exists, the reports highlight the significant contribution being made to improve safety levels. An analysis of the patroller programme will be conducted before the end of the financial year.
However, while it has been acknowledged that an integrated approach into fighting crime is the best way forward for the province, weneed to do more in this regard.
Vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all
Sustainable land reform in Gauteng has advanced in many areas. These include improvement that has been made in training and supporting 131 farmers through study sessions. Also 498 farm visits were conducted during the second quarter in an effort to visit all land reform farms and establish the extent of unused farms.
Two hundred farmers were targeted to be assessed in relation to the extension revitalisation plan but only 94 farmers have been trained on hydroponics production. One hundred and twenty-three farmers were provided with extension and advisory services. 46 farmers were trained on goat farming and hydroponics vegetable production, a total of 263 farmers received training.
The National Rural Youth Service Corps Programme has started. 1 100 rural youth have been selected in Gauteng for a two-year employment and training programme.
Plans are underway for the roll-out of the production inputs to the Maize and Poultry Cooperatives. Six major cooperatives have been awarded contracts to supply Gauteng Provincial Government institutions with fresh eggs for a period of three years.
Great strides were also realised with the distribution of tools, seeds, compost, materials and equipment (vegetable production packs) for the development of 977 homestead gardens during September. For the second quarter of the fiscal year, 3 021 packs were distributed. In expanding food distribution; 3 021 homestead gardens developed and nine (9) community food gardens were implemented.
The Maize Triangle Strategy which is jointly facilitated by the DED and GDARD was launched last month with the aim of assisting emerging farmers and exploiting our strength in this type of agriculture. The support we have received from local farmers has been encouraging and we will be following up on the matters raised. In 2010, 12 tractors, ploughs, harrows and planters were handed over, benefitting 30 farmers in the Sedibeng area.
Furthermore, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) and Department of Forestry and Fisheries are providing training of trainers for strengthening capacity to 292 agricultural cooperatives in Gauteng.
Madam Speaker,
Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life
Gauteng’s plans to develop sustainable human settlements and improve the quality of life for its residents gained momentum in the past few months.
In August, the province launched the Lufhereng Housing Project in Soweto - a large scale, mixed income, mixed type and mixed tenure housing development. Once complete, it is expected to yield 24 000 houses, with schools, clinics, sports fields and recreational amenities making up a sustainable community. The project will include a significant component of urban agriculture, through small-scale intensive urban agriculture open-field plots, hydroponic farming units and fish breeding schemes.
There has also been success in implementing the Rural Infrastructure and Housing Plan with the target of 150 serviced stands and 70 houses built having been achieved in the second quarter of the fiscal year. 153 stands were serviced and 89 houses were built.
Progress was also seen in formalising targeted informal settlements where a total of 2 209 stands were serviced by the end of September.
Efforts to ensure access to sanitation, refuse removal and electricity have yielded some positive results in the past year. The targets for the development and implementation of the plan for Sedibeng Regional Sewer Scheme have been achieved and these include the finalisation of the financial model; the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the socio-economic study.
Urban renewal efforts for Winterveldt; Alexandra, Evaton and Bekkersdal as well as Germiston, Krugersdorp and Vereeniging are proceeding smoothly.
The target of launching the Winterveld Master Plan project has been met and construction of 2 100 houses is underway and will be completed by the end of March 2011. Quarterly targets for the completion of existing urban renewal programmes in Alexandra, Everton and Bekkersdal have also been achieved. The renovation of the Bekkersdal police station is now at more than 75 percent of completion.
Development in the 20 Prioritised Townships and 50 Poorest Wards has seen the approval of the Khutsong Disaster Management Plan. Implementation is expected to start once the funding matters have been finalised. The Tembisa Master Plan and the plan for 20 PTP linked to 50 poorest wards have been approved and work will start in earnest in the new financial year.
Responsive, accountable, efficient and effective local government system
In an effort to meet the delivery expectations, key challenges continue to confront local government, and these include financial sustainability of municipalities, sustainable service delivery amidst high urbanisation and in-migration, growth of the economy and employment creation, stabilisation of the labour environment and capacity of officials.
EXCO sought to resolve these issues to ensure increased responsiveness to the needs and expectations of the public, by adopting a provincial Turn Around Strategy Implementation Plan, in January 2010. Currently all 15 municipalities are implementing their own tailor-made turnaround strategies in line with approved plans. The province and national government is providing the necessary support.
Matters of capacity-building at local government level are also receiving a boost with the implementation of the Scarce and Critical Skills Strategy. It should be noted that training has been initiated in areas of Project Management, National Treasury Competency Framework, Internal Audit and Housing Policy Training.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has commenced with their logistical processes to prepare the country to host the 2011 Local Government Elections. The Demarcation Board has on 1 September 2010 formally handed over 4 277 final delimited municipal wards for the country to the IEC. According to the Demarcation Board all municipalities will have wards ranging from 4 to a maximum of 130 wards after the 2011 Local Government elections.
In order to assist the IEC to plan effectively, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has established an Inter- Ministerial Committee which consists of various relevant Ministries , namely Home Affairs, State Security, South African Police Service, Defence and Military Veterans, Government Communications (GCIS), Municipal Demarcation Board, IEC and South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
The technical committee of the above mentioned departments, institutions and representatives of all nine provincial governments has been established. The inclusion of provinces is to ensure that all the three spheres of government support preparations for the 2011 Local Government elections.
A process to proclaim the 2011 Local Government elections in a government Notice in terms of Section 24(2) may be published either before or after the term of municipal councils expires. The publication of the Electoral Timetable by the IEC will outline all processes including voter registration, closing of voters roll, submission of political parties’ local representatives etc. The outline of the IEC processes will lead to the actual day of elections.
An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship
It must also be noted that the Gauteng Cabinet was reshuffled in November 2010, this was done to improve the work of government and ensure that we deliver on the promises made to the people of this province. We remain confident that the new team Gauteng will continue to deliver the agreed Programme of Action speedily and efficiently.
The province held its Anti-Corruption Summit where a revamped provincial strategy on combating corruption was presented.
The summit committed itself to doing the following:
1. Develop a common plan of action based on the commissions resolutions
2. Embark on a social mobilisation process against corruption involving government, labour, business and civil society, by establishing a joint co-coordinating platform that will:
- provide oversight to, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the summit declaration and action plan
- Continuously mobilise the social partners behind the campaign
- Meet at least three times a year.
Efforts for effective province-wide corruption management have yielded positive results with the establishment of a specialised unit to investigate corruption in all law enforcement agencies in the province.
Madam Speaker,
In the past month we held several events that highlight the work that we do in Gauteng, to improve the lives of the citizens of our province and ensure that we work better and faster.
We recognise that our efforts to support women, youth and people with disability require additional effort and attention. Our celebration of the International Day of People with Disabilities, along with the commemoration of other national days, provides critical opportunities for us to touch base with our constituencies and hear the challenges and triumphs of targeted groups. All departments in 2011/12 are expected to focus on this area as part of the outcome-based approach.
It is unfortunate that while we were launching the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, children continued to be abused and raped by people who are supposed to be their care-givers. Cases in point include the horrifying pornography case in the province and the rape of a two year old. Whilst we continue to raise awareness on the abuse of women and children, let us not forget the plight of the boy-child who we seem to overlook in society. As the campaign draws to an end, let us continue taking collective responsibility and making sure that “We don’t look away”.
The World AIDS Day is an important activity in our calendar and we will continue to raise awareness and encourage our people to know their status.
As a province we also celebrated the 150 years of the arrival of Indians to our country, acknowledging their contribution to building a South Africa we all want to live in.
Madam Speaker,
There are a range of programmes that we run over the festive season to ensure that our children are safe and that those in need continue to receive the support necessary for their survival. These include the School Holiday Programme, the Caring Campaign and the Festive Season Programme
Finally, we wish to send a stern warning to all those who break the law; there will be no mercy from our law enforcement agencies.
We would like to wish you and your families, a relaxing and rejuvenating festive season.
Don’t drink and drive.
Don’t look away.
Condomise.
Remember it starts with us.
Thank you!
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
