M Shilowa: Launch of strategy to build Gauteng as a globally competitive
city region

29 August 2006

Speaker and deputy speaker
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable members
Mayors and councillors of Gauteng
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Director General, Heads of departments and Municipal Managers Representatives
of stakeholders
Distinguished guests, people of Gauteng

Today is a historic day in the life of the Legislature. It is the first time
since the advent of democracy that public representatives at local and
provincial level have come together inside the legislature to outline a common
programme of action to improve the lives of the people of the province. While
members of South African Local Government Association (SALGA) have had an
occasion to address members of the legislature, this has always been at
committee level. Today SALGA will have the opportunity to address us on how
together with national and provincial government; they intend to put their
shoulders to the wheel in the quest for social, economic and political
transformation.

I therefore wish to thank the speaker, leaders of political parties and the
leader of government business for agreeing to what at the time of
conceptualisation seemed like an absurd request that we convene what, for lack
of a better word, amounts to a joint sitting of the Legislature.

During the state of the province address to mark the start of the third
Gauteng Provincial Legislature, we said the following:
"During the election campaign we travelled the length and breadth of Gauteng to
talk to the people about what together with them we can do to bring about
further improvements in their lives. The message was clear and unequivocal.

Those who continue to live under conditions of abject poverty expect us to
urgently implement measures to alleviate their plight. They want access to
healthcare and other services that will help them to live decent and quality
lives.

The unemployed want sustainable employment opportunities so that they too
can get jobs and earn a living.

The homeless and those who live in squalor want decent housing built on well
located land and access to basic services such as water and sanitation and
electricity.

The elderly and the young want to be treated with dignity, respect, care and
compassion. Parents want a better future for their children.

The youth want quality education and relevant skills to empower them to play
a more meaningful role in the development of their country.

Women want to see an end to all discrimination that has prevented them from
occupying their rightful places and playing their roles in society. They want
more effective protection from violence and abuse for them and their children
so that they can control their own lives and destiny. They also want access to
economic opportunities that can entrench their independence.

People with disabilities want opportunities to work and contribute to the
development of our province. They want all discrimination against them
ended.

Everyone wants to live in a secure environment. They want to go home
everyday with the knowledge that their children and their property are
safe.

Business people want us to continue creating an enabling environment for
increased economic activity and investment.

Black people want to participate in the economy as entrepreneurs and owners
of the means of production and not merely as consumers and labourers.

All Gauteng residents want easy access to information and quality services,
close to where they live. They want to work with government to build strong,
sustainable communities.

We have heard very clearly that the people expect us to work with increased
determination to tackle all these challenges and advance further to a better
Gauteng in which all enjoy a better quality of life. I want to reiterate what
we said at my inauguration: We will not disappoint our people! We will fulfil
all the promises we made."

To give effect to our electoral mandate and to take forward the aspirations
of our people, we announced a five-year programme and the key commitments to
consolidate our achievements and to take our work further forward.

Today's launch of the perspective to consolidate Gauteng's role as a
globally competitive city region is a direct response to our people's
expectations to make Gauteng an even better place to live in.

The perspective signifies a turning point in the history of our development
as a province. This initiative, to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city
region, entails a new way of thinking about development in our province. It
entails exciting new possibilities for advancement and will propel us onto a
higher path of development as a province. It is an initiative which must
marshal all the province's forces towards the common good and help us take the
qualitative leap forward that we need to fulfil the people's aspirations and
achieve our vision of shared growth and prosperity for all.

Gauteng, with its three metropolitan municipalities, is already regarded as
a global city region by virtue of its population density, levels of economic
activity and development. However, we know that fulfilling our obligations to
the people of our province, our country and the continent requires that we all
redouble our efforts.

In the next few decades, the Gauteng city region will continue to grow and
face challenges of rapid urbanisation and population growth. The question which
we need to ask ourselves is, whether we want to continue to grow in an
unplanned and inefficient manner that reinforces inequality and uneven
development or manage this growth and agree on an integrated, high-level plan
to coordinate our efforts and effectively address our development
challenges.

Put differently, the question is not whether or not we become a globally
competitive city region, but the development of a common perspective that
should henceforth guide the development of the Gauteng city region.

Important as it may be to achieve consensus on the perspective between local
and provincial government, it is even more important to ensure that the
perspective is shared by all stakeholders in the province and informs their
long-term thinking on social and economic development.

Our joint objective must therefore be to build Gauteng as an integrated and
globally competitive region where the economic activities of different parts of
the province complement each other in consolidating Gauteng as an economic hub
of Africa and an internationally recognised global city region.

During the state of the province address in 2004, we said that, "Gauteng's
unique position as South Africa's most urbanised area provides unique
possibilities for us to create an integrated, globally-competitive urban
region. To take full advantage of this position, we have started working with
all the mayors in Gauteng to join in pooling resources to create the most
powerful economic block on the continent, promoting Gauteng as a home for
investment, tourism and business in general. This initiative will take into
consideration the strengths of the various municipalities and towns and cities
in the province."

Allow me therefore to take you on the journey we have travelled since
then.
We have defined our development trajectory, based on current and future global
and domestic conditions, with a focus on the critical things that need to be
done to enable us to reach our goals and fulfil the aspirations of our
people.

We undertook an in-depth study of other global city regions in both the
developing and developed world; local and provincial government in Gauteng held
intensive and extensive discussions; we held discussions with national
government and other provinces and sought the input of private and public
sector experts.

Over the past two months, we have made presentations and engaged with a
range of stakeholders in Gauteng. This included faith-based organisations,
community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, representatives
of youth, students, women and people with disabilities, business, trade unions,
the media; university vice chancellors and academics, professionals and
tertiary educational institutions and the sports, arts and cultural sector.

Representatives of many of these sectors are here with us today. The aim was
to give stakeholders an opportunity to respond to and enrich the perspective we
have developed thus far.

The initiative was generally welcomed and a number of issues were raised
with us, most of which fell into three main categories:

* Firstly, people raised specific issues relating to the challenges of
underdevelopment, poverty and unemployment. Many of them echoed the pressing
concerns that I have mentioned above that face our people on a daily basis.

This includes issues of social development, crime, HIV and Aids, health
care, vulnerable children, the elderly, xenophobia, in-migration, education and
infrastructure needs, especially as this impact on poor communities.

They emphasised the importance of skills development and opportunities for
the youth and women. Workers raised issues of retrenchments, casualisation and
the poor quality of some of the jobs that may be further exacerbated by the
Global City Region (GCR).

* Secondly, stakeholders wanted more clarity on the relationship between the
various spheres of government, including with our neighbouring provinces, the
Southern African region and Africa in general and the governance and
institutional arrangements envisaged for the Gauteng city region.

* Thirdly, concerns and suggestions were raised on the benchmarking,
timeframes and practical implementation of the Gauteng city region vision.

Together with local government we were able to point to a range of
strategies currently being implemented or developed. These includes the Growth
and Development strategies, the comprehensive Gauteng Aids Strategy, the Social
Development Strategy, the Gauteng Safety Plan, the Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment (BEE) Strategy, our Human Resource Development strategy,
initiatives to promote small businesses and cooperatives, our 20 townships
urban renewal plan, our strategies to promote competitive sport and creative
industries and others.

Our development trajectory

Mr Speaker, the initiative to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city
region demands a new, integrated way of addressing our development imperatives
in Gauteng. In defining our future development trajectory, we reiterated some
of the key assumptions behind our development agenda. In particular, we are
saying that shared economic growth is the main pillar of our efforts to address
poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. Shared growth is a fundamental
prerequisite for a sustained improvement in the quality of life of our
people.

We also reiterated the need for a developmental state and active state
intervention to reverse inequality and marginalisation and ensure that the
majority of our people have access to meaningful economic activity and
sustainable livelihoods.

For those who are unable to engage in economic activity, we need to provide
a social safety net, including social grants. However, we should aim to
liberate the majority of our people from dependence on social grants through
creating access to sustainable economic opportunities.

In achieving our goals, it is a priority that we improve the capacity and
organisation of the state to ensure economic efficiency and growth to address
social needs.

Over the past ten years, Gauteng has experienced unprecedented and sustained
economic growth and a sustained decline in unemployment, from 30,4% in 2001 to
22,8% in 2005. However, this is not enough as we continue to face unacceptably
high levels of joblessness and poverty. A key challenge is therefore to avoid a
situation where continued population and environmental pressures, combined with
the negative social impact of poverty and unemployment, negate the benefits of
growth.

Convergence of priorities

In attracting both domestic and foreign investment to expand the productive
capacity of the economy and create jobs, we are aiming to increase both foreign
and domestic investment. However, in taking this as a step further, we need to
ensure that we have an efficient public transport system, that we deal with
traffic congestion, that we reduce crime, that we improve social and economic
infrastructure, that we improve the quality of our health and education systems
and lift our skills levels and that we accelerate the empowerment of women and
the youth. These issues are of concern, not just to the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of a company and investors, but to our people in general.

We therefore have a convergence of issues which are priorities for both our
people and investors. In addressing priorities such as transport
infrastructure, education and skills development, human settlements, safety and
security, the environment and health care, we are on the one hand fulfilling
the promises we made to our people and responding positively to the concerns of
the electorate, while at the same time promoting our province as a destination
for investment, tourism, competitive sports and other major events. This
creates the possibility of a virtuous circle, in which we improve the
conditions of our people and attract investment, which in turns creates more
quality jobs and further improves the incomes of our people, which in turn
attract more investment and so on.

Other city regions

A closer look at other city regions identified the reality that, like
Gauteng, global city regions in other countries play a significant role in
their national economies. Common key features of successful city regions in
other parts of the world include:
* clear leadership
* vision and strategy
* effective institutional relations
* strong economic clusters with a focus on building new growth sectors
* good telecommunications and business linkages
* spatial coalitions of government and civil society partners and
* a balanced approach to development that actively incorporates and seeks to
spread benefits to the poor.

The Gauteng city region has the potential to farewell in most of these areas
but needs to strengthen inter-governmental planning and integration, address
the key infrastructural requirements to sustain and improve economic growth in
the next few decades and strengthen structures for consultation and engagement
with stakeholders.

Homegrown solution

Research also shows that some city regions have failed to effectively
respond to the challenges of globalisation and urbanisation but have instead
succumbed to these challenges in a manner that has led to greater inequality,
poverty and social exclusion. While we can certainly learn from the experiences
of other countries, our response to these challenges must be a homegrown
solution that is appropriate to our own socio-economic conditions, our own
history, culture and the needs and aspirations of our people.

Spatial planning, inequality and even development

While we may share with other city regions challenges such as rapid
urbanisation, in-migration, congestion and infrastructure needs, apartheid
spatial planning left a legacy which is distinct from the challenges facing
other global city regions. Apartheid established townships as dormitory
ghettoes for cheap and subjugated labour, far from the white cities.

Townships were denied decent infrastructure, services and facilities, while
the former white areas had well developed infrastructure. Today many people
still live far from economic opportunities and face high transport costs.

We also face a situation in Gauteng where the three municipal districts -
Sedibeng, Metsweding and the West Rand - are underdeveloped compared to the
three metropolitan areas of Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg. This is both
for historical reasons as well as due to the changing nature of the economy and
the shift to the tertiary and services sector away from mining, agriculture
and, to some extent, manufacturing.

The Gauteng city region today faces the challenge of continuing to reverse
the legacy of inequality and uneven development and break apartheid spatial
settlement patterns to ensure more even development and opportunities for
all.

This is being achieved through a range of programmes, including the
promotion of mixed income settlements close to economic opportunities. In
addition, as I announced earlier this year, provincial and local government
together are embarking on a massive urban renewal programme in 20 major
townships in the province. This entails investment in social infrastructure as
well as the creation of viable transport and economic hubs which will
contribute to the expansion of economic opportunities closer to where people
live. This will take us closer to our vision of transforming our townships from
the ghettoes of the past into sustainable communities and dynamic suburbs and
cities which are able to provide for the needs and fulfil the aspirations of
our people.

To ensure the success of the Gauteng city region, we are finalising the
Gauteng spatial development perspective, which will map out current and future
development patterns for the province, including social, economic,
infrastructure, human settlement, environmental, transport and other
characteristics. The spatial development perspective will aim to ensure better
urban and land use planning. It will take into account and aim to provide a
framework for the spatial development plans of cities and other municipalities.
It will become an important tool for planning for both the public and the
private sector.

Growth, employment and competition

Mr Speaker, this house has on many occasions acknowledged that Gauteng is
the country's economic engine, the powerhouse that propels significant sections
of the country's economy, produces over a third of the country's Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and is the fourth largest economy in Africa.

Like other city regions worldwide, we face rapid urbanisation alongside
massive in-migration to Gauteng from other parts of the country as well as from
other parts of our continent and the world. Most Gauteng residents are migrants
in one way or another, and our population continues to increase by about 20%
every five years. We are already home to about 9,5 million people, making us
the country's most populous province. Current demographic projections are that
this will increase to around 14,6 million people by 2015 and Gauteng will rank
amongst the largest metropolitan settlements in the world.

While this poses significant challenges in putting pressure on
infrastructure, state resources and services, it also has exciting
possibilities in attracting skills and innovation, creating new and more viable
markets and in making Gauteng a dynamic, diverse, innovative and productive
urban hub.

During consultations, concerns were raised that increased social and
economic success in the Gauteng city region will lead to more people coming to
the province and putting even more pressure on the social and economic
infrastructure. The advent of democracy and the abolition of influx control
means, among others, that South Africans will continue to choose to go to areas
with perceived and real economic prosperity.

Work by the Presidency on a revised national spatial development perspective
and linkages with Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) and
municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) will hopefully help expand
economic and development opportunities in other provinces and mitigate the need
for people to travel to Gauteng. In addition, improved economic linkages
between provinces can contribute to overall growth and opportunities. However,
it is not an option to say we should become less successful so that we don't
attract people. All global city regions attract people and rapid urbanisation
and population growth in Gauteng will continue for the foreseeable future. The
challenge is for all of us to effectively confront the challenges. This is what
the perspective we launch today is all about.

Mr Speaker, among the central priorities of our people is the creation of
decent work and the reduction of poverty. We have committed ourselves as a
province to contribute to the national goal of halving poverty and unemployment
by 2014.

Our ability to create quality jobs and sustainable livelihoods for our
people depends in large measure on our ability to attract investment and
tourism in our country and our province. Our growth and development strategy
has identified key sectors for growth and a range of complementary strategies
which, if properly implemented, will enable us to reach our target of 8% growth
by 2014.

Gauteng municipalities are also developing their own growth and development
strategies taking into account the province's growth and development strategy.
The next GDS forum will look at how to ensure harmony in the various strategies
and suggest the necessary alignment where necessary.

In developing our global city region perspective, we have taken into account
the impact of globalisation as a reality and a force which we must of necessity
reckon with, including the need for global competitiveness.

Competitiveness

Some of our stakeholders have raised concerns that the Gauteng city region
strategy places too much emphasis on competitiveness and not enough emphasis on
development. In their view, this plays into the "neo-liberal agenda".
Competitiveness can be conservative or progressive.

Our aim in becoming competitive is to build and improve the efficiencies and
infrastructure that will lead to accelerated economic growth and enable us to
achieve our ambition of contributing to the national target of halving poverty
and unemployment.

Our commitment to doing this is within the context of growth that is both
balanced and inclusive. Our aim is to fulfil the aspirations of our people by
marrying shared growth with social progress and ensuring that the benefits of
growth are spread as widely as possible.

Many of our stakeholders have emphasised the need for our institutions of
higher learning to be able to compete with the best in the world. As one
representative said, we need to place Gauteng "at the cutting edge of knowledge
production". We need to produce the skills and knowledge that can build new
sectors of the economy and provide quality jobs in our province.

We need to reach a point where our young intellectuals don't feel the need
to go to London and the United States to gain work experience but use Gauteng
and its universities and research institutions.

The reality is that we are also competing with other countries for
investment and jobs. For example, we have attracted certain car manufacturers
to Rosslyn due to the availability of a skilled workforce, logistics and
transport infrastructure and other capacities. Their location in Rosslyn has
created quality jobs in the province and, together with the Automotive Industry
Development Centre (AIDC), contributed to skill workers in the sector.

The same applies to tourism. Many people have quoted the South Africa (SA)
Tourism statistic that for every eight tourists coming to South Africa, one job
is created. Tourism is a crucial part of the services sector and provides
significant opportunities for economic empowerment and to bridge the divide
between the first and second economy. We are competing with a vast number of
other attractive tourism destinations in both developing and developed parts of
the world.

As has been emphasised at a national level, the Gauteng city region strategy
therefore needs to have an effective marketing and branding strategy linked to
viable tourism and investment strategies and in line with national
strategies.

A key challenge is to ensure that the three major metropolitan
municipalities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, as well as the other
smaller cities in the region, work together in the interests of the province,
the country and the continent as a whole. The Gauteng city region strategy
provides a framework in this regard, to facilitate the alignment of provincial
and local growth and development strategies, to ensure synergies between their
investment and tourism strategies and to align city development strategies and
integrated development plans. The aim is to cooperate internally so that we can
compete more effectively externally, in the international arena.

The success of the Johannesburg International Airport in Ekurhuleni benefits
the province as a whole just as its sluggishness would impact on the entire
province and indeed the country as a whole.

Creative industries strategy

Another important component of the Gauteng city region strategy is the
Creative Industries Strategy, which aims to grow this sector of the
economy.

Internationally the sector is an important generator of new jobs and
enterprises, providing opportunities for small, medium and micro-enterprises
(SMMEs) and as an important factor in urban renaissance.

Gauteng is already home to 40% of the creative industries, which are part of
the knowledge economy and make an important contribution to stimulating
creativity and innovation, which must increasingly become features of the
Gauteng city region economy. This sector has massive job creation potential and
forms part of a cluster of economic activities around sport, leisure, culture
and heritage and tourism. We have already done important work in this area
through promoting the film industry, investing in Newtown as the province's
cultural hub and other visitor attractions such as the Constitution Hill,
heritage routes and drama, music and arts events. While the creative industries
strategy has been launched, its impact needs to be maximised through
collaboration across the spheres of government and with the private sector and
civil society.

I am please to announce that the internationally acclaimed Lion King
production will tomorrow confirm that it will be staged in Gauteng. They will
also be training 200 young people who will be employed by the production once
it opens next year.

Skills development strategy

One of the most pressing challenges facing the Gauteng city region is the
development of the necessary skills to drive economic growth and social
transformation. This requires effective early childhood development and general
education as well as at the level of our institutions of higher learning and
our Further Education and Training (FET) institutions. These are critical
components in skilling our people, in giving them access to quality jobs and in
generating further economic development.

I am pleased to announce that we have completed the development of a
comprehensive Human Resource Development Strategy for the province as a whole
and will be launching it in September. The private sector will be a crucial
partner in the successful implementation of the human resource development
(HRD) strategy to address skills shortages in the economy. The strategy will
also pay attention to skills needs in the public sector, including in the areas
of engineering and project management and in accelerating social delivery.

We have created an Early Childhood Development Institute which will ensure
an integrated approach in this critical area where the basis for the future
development of our children is laid.

Another flagship project will be the creation of a city region observatory
with institutions of higher learning. We have already started working closely
with Wits University and will in the near future draw on the knowledge and
expertise of other institutions of higher learning in strengthening the Gauteng
city region.

Integrated transport strategy

A successful Gauteng city region needs an effective and integrated transport
system which includes a variety of different modes of transport including
trains, taxis, buses and private cars. Of particular importance in meeting the
needs of our people is a public transport system which is safe, reliable,
accessible, affordable and integrated.

We are looking at a combination of strategies in this regard. Gautrain is
the backbone of the system on the north-south axis and to the development node
around the airport in Ekurhuleni in the east. However, many of our people will
continue to rely on Metro Rail, buses and taxis and our public transport
strategy involving national, provincial and local government and parastatals,
must ensure that these are efficient, safe, reliable, affordable, and
integrated. Our spatial development plans must also take transport needs into
account in identifying new developments, based on the need to ensure that our
new settlements are on well-located land close to economic opportunities.

Another important component is air, road and rail freight and the movement
of goods around the province, to other cities and provinces, and to other
countries. As indicated previously, the City Deep container port constitutes
Africa's largest inland port and the fifth largest in the world. Improving its
efficiencies will improve the performance of the economy and requires further
collaboration between all spheres of government, national departments, other
provinces and the relevant parastatals.

The challenges are significant but, once again, the Gauteng city region
framework will enable us to provide a comprehensive response.

2010 World Cup

Our transport strategy will also take into account the needs during the 2010
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup finals.
Three of the officials staid are in Gauteng and we are likely to host the
opening game, other group matches and some of the finals. We need to ensure
that spectators are able to move with ease from one part of the province to the
other as well as being able to travel to other provinces to watch matches.
Again, we have a convergence of needs between the transport needs of our people
and attracting investment and tourism.

The 2010 World Cup provides unprecedented opportunities to market and
position the province as a global city region and the country as a whole and to
build lasting legacies in the areas of infrastructure, human capital and
branding, particularly in relation to, and amongst others, investment, tourism,
competitive sport and other major events.

We are currently finalising our 2010 framework and regard this as another of
the Gauteng city region's flagship initiatives. We are confident that, come
2010, we will be ready. However, it will also be up to business, big and small,
and communities to take advantage of the opportunities that 2010 entails.

Telecommunications

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and connectivity remain key
factors in improving the skills and level of development of our people, their
access to and ability to create economic opportunities as well as to investors
and income generating sectors such as business tourism. South Africa's ICT
sector is Africa's biggest, with more than 80% of the sector's jobs in Gauteng.
ICT infrastructure not only improves the efficiency of the economy but also
creates opportunities for social development. Our GCR strategy points to the
need for a Gauteng-wide strategy. Blue Intelligence quotient (IQ) is already
looking at the necessary plan for such a roll out.

Shelter

The Gauteng city region requires the development of sustainable human
settlements on well-located land, close to economic opportunities. The 20
priority townships project is an important part of this strategy as well as our
comprehensive housing strategy. This must address inequality and promote social
inclusion and mixed income developments. We will in the near future be in a
position to announce an inclusionary policy which will allocate a percentage of
affordable housing as part of development projects.

Safety

The Gauteng city region must strengthen safety and security. Crime levels in
Gauteng are unacceptably high and we have developed a Provincial Safety Plan
which we will be discussing at the Executive Council tomorrow. This plan sets
priorities for the province as a whole and is a crucial component in meeting
the needs of our people. The collaboration between the Metro police
departments, South African Police Service (SAPS), communities and business will
be crucial to our success.

Many of those who are most affected by crime are the poor and the
vulnerable, women, children and working people. First and foremost we must
therefore address crime to improve the lives of our people. At the same time,
improved safety levels will also enhance the implementation of our other
strategies including growth and development and investment and tourism
promotion.

Healthcare

Healthcare remains a priority for our people and in stimulating economic
activity and attracting skills. We have already become a significant centre for
health tourism. In both cases, our aim should be to ensure we achieve
excellence.

HIV and Aids is one of the most significant challenges facing the Gauteng
city region and requires a multi-sectoral, comprehensive and integrated
response. While government must play a leading role in implementing the Aids
strategy, to succeed, the strategy must be implemented in partnership with all
sectors of our society, including in our places of work, our homes, our places
of worship, in suburbs and in informal settlements, in cities and in towns.

The environment

In a densely populated urban centre such as Gauteng, the environment assumes
particular significance. Growth and development has significant impacts on the
environment and we need to take steps now to ensure environmental
sustainability in the medium to long term. This should take into account the
energy requirements of the Gauteng city region now and in the future. We are
currently completing a sustainable development strategy which will provide a
framework in this regard.

Social development

Finally, the Gauteng city region must avoid the pitfalls of social exclusion
and growing inequality that have been associated with other global city
regions. This is a significant challenge in the context of existing social
backlogs, marginalisation and growing in-migration. The reality is that, if we
do nothing, we will perpetuate social exclusion. We must put in place
integrated strategies to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor and
provide a social safety net for the poorest of the poor. In addition to the
social grant system, we are finalising a province-wide indigent policy to be
implemented by different municipalities across the province. We must create
mechanisms and linkages between the first and second economies so that the poor
are able to escape the poverty trap and access skills and economic
opportunities created within the economy. We have developed a multi-sectoral
social development strategy for the province as a whole which outlines our
common approach in this regard. We must pay particular attention to women,
people with disabilities, people affected by HIV and Aids, migrants and young
people, who are often most affected by social and economic exclusion.

Governance

The Gauteng city region perspective emphasises the practical linkages,
social and economic relationships, the flows of goods, services and people,
between the different parts of the Gauteng region as well as with its
neighbouring provinces and other economic regions.

The strategy does not aim to tamper with the constitutional structures of
national, provincial and local government but argues that these structures need
to work together in unison in order to maximise the opportunities for
development and progress that we have in the province. It also afford us an
opportunity to look at whether, twelve years into our democracy, powers and
functions of the respective spheres of government remain properly aligned or
need adjustments.

Effectively managing the complexities of building the Gauteng city region
requires a conscious, well-informed and sophisticated system of urban
governance to ensure close collaboration across the spheres of government and
between the public and private sector.

While a single city-region government is not required, "joined up
government" is crucial to the performance of the city region - ensuring a well
connected and strategic alliance of government structures, communities and
stakeholders. This requires that all structures, especially those at a
provincial and local level, think beyond their municipal boundaries. This
should involve not just political leaders, but should extend to officials at
all levels of government.

Effective governance is not only central to improving social delivery and
fulfilling the aspirations of our people, it is also an indispensable component
of economic efficiency and job creation. For example, an investor who wants to
come to Gauteng to build a new factory which will create new jobs shouldn't
have to wait for three years for government to sort out the red tape. If that
is the case, the person will most likely take their factory elsewhere. While
regulation is often essential, it must be efficient regulation. The same
applies in the case of environmental impact assessments.

Dealing decisively with corruption is another crucial aspect of efficient
governance which the Gauteng city region must address. We cannot allow a
situation where the delivery of public services is dependent on money changing
hands. This is something all of us need to deal with.

Spatial coalition

Partnerships are integral to building a successful Gauteng city region. In
our interactions with stakeholders, many have asked what role they can play in
building the Gauteng city region. This goes to the core of our electoral
mandate to build a people's contract to create work and fight poverty and is a
critical question. However, stakeholders themselves, having interrogated and
embraced the Gauteng city region strategy, need to identify their
contribution.

The centrality of investment and job creation in the success of the Gauteng
city region means that business and labour have a crucial role to play in
achieving our development path. As government we need to create the necessary
conditions for business to invest and grow while creating decent jobs. We
therefore need to work with the private sector to create these conditions,
including enabling the efficient movement of goods and people and building safe
and secure communities. Business needs to contribute to the development of the
necessary skills to expand the economy. We also need to work with business to
identify areas within the priority sectors of the economy to promote
broad-based black economic empowerment and ensure that women and young people
can find meaningful employment and access other economic opportunities. This
includes opportunities for small businesses owned and run by women and young
people and the skilling of women and young people. The spatial coalition will
play an important role in facilitating the dialogue between government,
business and other stakeholders in this regard.

We have raised with stakeholders the need to strengthen their organisations
so that they are able to operate on the basis of mandate and accountability in
relation to their constituencies. This would be important in enabling a future
spatial coalition so that, in consultations between government and stakeholders
on Gauteng city region planning they are in a position to report on what they
have done, to speak on behalf of their constituencies and to report back to
their constituencies.

What guarantees?

Some of our stakeholders have asked us what guarantees we are giving them
that this global city region strategy will succeed. Like with our struggle
against apartheid and in building our democracy, there are no guarantees except
in the collective will and determination of the people, working in concert with
government and other stakeholders, to make this succeed. As government we have
been studying and discussing this for some time. We know this is a bold
undertaking and we are convinced that this is the path we must travel. This
does not mean we will not face obstacles along the way. However, our starting
point can never be that we will not do anything because we fear failure,
because a failure to act also amounts to failure. It is imperative that we act
together in unison to make the Gauteng city region a success. We owe it to our
country and our people.

The way forward

We are launching the strategy in the legislature today to give you as public
representatives the opportunity to further debate it. While we have already had
extensive feedback from stakeholders, we have given them, as our social
partners, an opportunity to take more time to explore further options, to
scrutinise and refine the perspective and to assist us in reaching a broad
consensus. They have until the end of October to formulate their responses and
we also invite members of the public to make further comments. After that, we
will need to proceed in order to finalise budgetary allocations for the
forthcoming financial year. In February 2007 we will launch the final strategy
for implementation, together with an implementation plan as well as final
benchmarking and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

We have done a lot of work and have consulted widely in developing the
Gauteng city region perspective as well as in developing the subsidiary
strategies that will give effect to the global city region perspective. We
believe that this is the most appropriate path to enable us to tackle poverty
and unemployment and to effectively address our broader development
imperatives. This is the route we need to take to fulfil the aspirations of our
people and indeed fulfil our promises.

Thank you.

Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
29 August 2006