Madame Speaker
Honourable Members
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
As we approach the end of term of office for the current government and on the threshold of 20 years of democracy, the Gauteng Provincial Government can reflect proudly on the hard earned achievements and the challenges encountered in pursuit of a better life for all.
During the execution of our five year mandate we registered considerable levels of success as a result of effective and efficient implementation of government strategic policies that contribute to economic growth and improvements in the social conditions of our people.
Our accomplishments were, nonetheless, realised under very difficult conditions characterised by global economic slump, widening gap between the poor and the rich, persistent structural inequalities and decreasing number of job opportunities.
We are now left with less than a year before the national elections take place. It is therefore a very interesting period considering that the political space becomes congested with contending messages aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the electorate. It is the season of political madness with those who have neither tangible plan nor a will to transform our society clutching on the straws for their political survival. The fact is they will sink as they always have.
Madame Speaker,
We are presenting our annual report at the time when recent research findings by various bodies confirm that Gauteng is a better place to live in today than 19 years ago. In terms of the Census 2011 report, Gauteng is today home to over 12 million people.
It has become the province with the largest population that accounts for almost one quarter of our country’s population. It accounts for more than one third of the national economy, significantly higher than KwaZulu-Natal (15.7%) and the Western Cape (14.2%) combined.
Our annual report for the 2012/13 financial year is substantially more than an overview of the work done and objectives delivered by the department over the twelve month reporting period. It is a detailed account of how we have steered the government’s programme of transformation based on the will of our people.
As the political nerve centre of government in Gauteng, the Office of the Premier plays a strategic leadership role in coordinating and improving the performance of government. It is our responsibility to continuously evaluate government work against the electoral mandate and accurately report on achievements, challenges and interventions to correct consistent non-performance.
As indicated earlier the annual report presented in this house captures the detailed work that has been done, I will therefore present in my input the highlights of the 2012/13 financial year in relation to the strategic objectives of the government.
Since 2009, we have been successful in stabilising the financial situation in the province. We were able to restructure the departments and rationalise agencies so that they are efficient and geared for delivery. In addition, we have reengineered and reposition the former GSSC by amongst others revising procurement delegations so that departments can be empowered to manage their own procurement.
Honourable members,
As the Gauteng Executive Council, we took a conscious decision to collectively work towards the stabilisation of the Department of Health in order to prevent it from being taken over by national government through Section 100 of the Constitution.
Through the implementation of the health turn-around strategy, we have improved capacity, including the appointment of hospital CEOs, senior management and filling of critical posts.
We intervened to restore the functioning of the Medical Supply Depot, improved the effectiveness of health systems and stabilised the department’s finances. Access to public health care centres has improved with more and more people utilising our primary health care institutions. Today, we can confidently assert that the department is on the road to success. Our interventions indeed have yielded results.
In the period 2012/13 we increased a number of children registered in our schools, particularly Grade I. We also saw a satisfactory performance by our matriculants as a result of the investments and interventions we initiated. A number of low cost housing and mixed income settlements built has increased.
More people are now enjoying security of tenure through the issuing of title deeds, rental housing stock and subsidized housing scheme. And the food security campaigns which were initiated are also beginning to yield tangible results with more women benefiting in farming training and support programs.
Furthermore, we have made considerable improvements in the technical capacity of the provincial government through our recruitment strategy, particularly in the Departments of Infrastructure Development and Roads and Transport. We are experiencing a steady surge in the number of professionals who are applying and joining the civil service. These are some of the good news we are happy to report on this year.
Madam Speaker,
The Office of the Premier has performed among the best in empowering targeted groups through preferential procurement and employment equity. In 2012/13, 84,3% of our contracts were awarded to historically disadvantaged individuals, 36,6% to women, 27,1% to youth and 4,1% to people with disabilities.
Consequently, we have set delivery targets to be achieved by all departments by the end of our term of office to improve the lives of women, youth and people with disabilities. We recognised that ending gender-based violence requires a multi-sectoral approach.
We will work with the police and the criminal justice system to improve the conviction rates through addressing detectives and forensics capacity in areas such as forensics social workers, forensic pathologists and forensic officers and training of specialised units.
The Gauteng Planning Commission and Gauteng Advisory Council are now fully operational and key in driving the people of Gauteng’s Vision 2055. We regard partnerships with other spheres of government, private sector and other meritorious organisations as significant for the development of Gauteng as a Global City Region.
Through the work of the Planning Commission we are beginning to experience desired coordination and synergies in the work of various departments. Above all, this has been strengthened by the introduction of the centralised Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism in the office of the Premier which ensures that department adheres to their commitments and delivers as required. It further assists in the detection of poor performance in time for corrective and effective intervention.
Since the National Development Plan (NDP) was adopted and announced by State President Jacob Zuma on 14 February 2013 during the State of the Nation Address, our plans and priorities have been aligned accordingly. The Gauteng Spatial Development Framework (GSDF) was presented to the intergovernmental forum in February 2013 and was adopted by all parties for implementation.
The framework provides a broad long term spatial concept, key spatial strategies and supporting policies for economic development, urban growth and development and land use integration among others.The Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM), a project implemented jointly with the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) was rolled out with 161 frontline service delivery sites visits undertaken.
The roll out of the Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) is now in its third phase. To ensure continuous monitoring and evaluation, guidelines and a template for the development of MPAT improvement plans were prepared.
Gender coordination and mainstreaming of targeted groups was placed under performance Monitoring and Evaluation to ensure proper coordination of programmes. Whilst we acknowledge the significant milestones in employment equity, youth enterprises, employment of women and enterprises owned by people with disabilities, the intensification of gender mainstreaming remain a priority.
In combating fraud and corruption, we have strengthened controls to ensure compliance with the PFMA and enforce financial accountability by both Accounting Officers and Executive Authorities. Systems and capacity to detect and investigate cases have been fortified through the centralised Forensic Services Unit.
We are giving effect to our undertaking to implement consequence management. The rate of resolution of cases reported to the National Anti-corruption Hotline has improved from twenty three percent to forty eight percent since 2011.
Honourable members,
The budget compilation in the Office of the Premier is an integrated process and is based on the outputs in terms of Outcome 8A at provincial level. The budget for the 2012/13 financial year was R249 810 in comparison to R228 742 in 2011/12. The actual spend was R238 957 for the year under review.
The office has incurred under spending of R10 853 which is 4.34% of the appropriation for the year. The under spending did not impact negatively on service delivery in 2012/13. The Office of the Premier achieved a clean audit for both financial performance and predetermined objectives. This is the third clean audit in three years.
The target to achieve clean audits in departments and entities by 2014 is still on track. Fundamental to clean audits is a good understanding of governance or the application thereof supported by sound internal control environment. The overall control environment in departments and entities has been strengthened to avoid wasteful, fruitless, unauthorised and irregular expenditure.
The payment of service providers in line with the prescripts of the National Treasury is supported by all provincial government departments. Accounting Officers are required to submit on monthly basis the exception reports on all the invoices that were settled beyond 30 days and invoices that remain outstanding after 30 days and the reasons thereof. Significant improvement has been made with the payment of service providers within the required 30 day period.
We are also conscious of the fact that Government’s objective to build a developmental state can only be achieved through a sound human resources development strategy. The significant delays in the approval of organisational structures contributed negatively towards building a developmental state, staff retention and the vacancy rate. In 2009/10 the vacancy rate was as high as 30%.
Due to coordinated efforts, the vacancy rate has reduced to below 20%. In April 2012, the organisational structure of the Office of the Premier was finally approved. Our direct intervention with the Minister of Public Service and Administration saw the approval of four organisational structures. Currently four other departmental organisational structures are in the process of approval and remaining departments will engage the DPSA shortly.
Through the Cabinet management system, the office provided effective support to the Executive Council through agenda setting, coordination and management of executive council meetings and decision tracking. The year under review saw the implementation of the Litigation Management Approach, a strategy to address the increasing cases of litigation against the provincial government.
In line with the International relations programme, partnerships and sisterhood agreements with various states and provinces across the regions of the world have been established. The office has double its efforts in promoting social cohesion in communities by increasing a number of public participation events and economic opportunity roadshows.
The focus for the year was on promoting the good work of government through various media platforms. Media has proliferated, fragmented and faces significant change as consumers move from traditional media to contemporary digital media. The office of the Premier and the broader Gauteng Provincial Government has certainly embraced this form of communication channels and effectively utilise it to inform our people about government programmes.
Notwithstanding the strides we have made, the intricate issues of rapid urbanisation and in-migration, poverty, inequality and unemployment, remain a challenge. But we are certain that together with our partners we will effectively address them. We are committed and determined to transform the socio-economic conditions of our people through a combination of strategies and partnerships.
Madam Speaker,
Let me take the liberty of reminding this augers house that in terms of the outcomes the Office of the Premier is primarily responsible for the implementation of Outcome 8A which deals with building “An effective, efficient and development oriented public service”. The major outputs of this outcome include quality service delivery and access, human resources management and effective financial management to name a few.
To this end, the Extended Executive Council identified for the remainder of the current term of office the following priorities:
- Building capacity of legal services in line with litigation strategy
- Strengthening of Management of Cabinet System
- Financial management & HRM which include the enforcement of preferential procurement targets, achievement of unqualified and clean audits, 30-day payments and improved revenue collection
- Development planning which cover the finalisation of long-term vision G 2055 and Infrastructure Master Plan in consultation with DID.
- Human Resources Management which will contribute to an effective public service, filling of vacancies and stabilization of human resource as well as achievement of minimum competency requirements in Supply Chain Management.
- Performance Monitoring and Evaluation which cover the implementation of Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT), Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM), OBA, evaluations and Information management Systems amongst others, strengthen department and municipal monitoring for early warning systems, evaluation of service delivery quality and access as well as Public Hotline.
- Communications aimed at building public confidence in government through sustained awareness on government progress and good work; implement programmes to improve responsiveness of government and promote sustained engagement with stakeholders. Enhance programme of public participation linked to building public confidence in government and improved access to information.
- Improve service delivery and effectiveness of Thusong Service Centres instead of rolling out more centres.
Honourable members,
Considering the achievements made during the period of 2012/2013 I am confident that Gauteng is on the right course. We are not going to be distracted from our course by the noisy rhetoric of those who are not interested in improving the plight of our people.
The groupings that is keen and bent to protect and maintain the conditions that will continue to perpetuate inequality, poverty and hunger. Their agenda is nothing but the preservation of that which they regard as sacrosanct privileges to be exclusively enjoyed by few in our midst . Our march towards twenty years of democracy will see the dawn of a ccelerated change in our society. Our people will benefit more from the initiatives and programmes that we are planning to continue to pursue.
Madam Speaker,
Allow me to take this opportunity to present the Office of the Premier’s Annual Report as stipulated by the rules of the Legislature.
Dankie, ngiyabonga.
