to the debate on the Premierâs State of the Province Address
16 February 2009
Madam Speaker
Honourable Premier
Honourable Members
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me first take this opportunity to congratulate the Honourable Premier
for such an excellent and well articulated State of the Province Address, which
has silenced the âDoubting Thomasesâ, who never believed that this team could
deliver so much in such a short space of time.
We have, indeed, managed to hit the ground running! I believe that the
address further restored the confidence of the people of the Eastern Cape to
the African National Congress (ANC) led government and I hope that will be
confirmed on the 22nd of April 2009.
I have every reason to have such expectation, because the Premierâs address
gave a full and comprehensive account of what we have managed to achieve during
this term as mandated by our people.
Working together with our people, we have been able to implement the mandate
that we received in 2004 to build a peopleâs contract to create work, and fight
poverty, and the advancement towards the realisation of our election manifesto
target of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014.
It is evident that we remain on course in our offensive to defeat poverty
and underdevelopment, and to permanently vanquish the legacy of apartheid,
which continues to haunt the democratic developmental state. Our response to
poverty is through paying particular attention to improving access to economic
opportunities, thus expanding the frontiers of opportunity through directing
resources to the poorest of the poor, while simultaneously accelerating growth
and transformation of our economy.
In undertaking this task, our most effective weapon is the creation of
decent work through labour intensive methods and progressive procurement
policies, which are biased towards the previously marginalised groups in our
society such as women, youth and the disabled.
Our Expanded Public Works Programme results clearly illustrate our
commitment as government of the Eastern Cape to create jobs, promote training
and skills development, and improve services to poor communities with specific
interventions in poor households.
Already, we have appointed 9 593 household contractors to maintain low
volume roads as part of our Sakha Isizwe EPWP/Community based Transportation
Programme. Additional 7000 households will be appointed this year. We have
further appointed 106 road rangers to monitor stray animals in Amathole (14),
Alfred Nzo (11), Chris Hani (54), OR Tambo (19) and Ukhahlamba (8).
The Premier has alluded to the fact that we have adopted a ten years plan,
which seeks to change the ratio of gravel to surfaced roads, as we intend to
have 80% of provincial roads tarred. We believe that this approach will play a
pivotal role in facilitating economic growth and development in the province.
Visible progress can be witnessed in various parts of the province, where our
alternative surfacing units have already started working on certain roads that
lead to schools, clinics, tourism destinations, police stations and
hospitals.
Preparation for 2010 FIFA World Cup
As we prepare for this international football showpiece, more infrastructure
development projects are underway, including the rehabilitation of the R72
between East London Airport and Lilyvale, which is scheduled for completion by
April 2009. During the new financial year, the Fonteinskloof to Nanaga section
will commence with construction at a cost of R170 million and will be completed
in April 2010. The R72 tolling strategy social impact study will be completed
in May 2009.
Other 2010 FIFA World Cup infrastructure projects are:
* N10 to Alicedale, which is currently under construction at a cost of R79
million
* Mortherwell to Addo road, which is costing R43 million
* Bhisho Airport upgrade which cost R78 million
* Mthatha Airport upgrade. Designs have been completed.
We have already started to strengthen our traffic law enforcement capacity
through recruiting 160 youth to join our learnership project. As we speak, the
first group of 50 young people is undergoing training at the Port Elizabeth
Traffic College.
This approach will enable us to continue with the steady decline in road
accidents, following a successful arrive alive campaign during the 2008/09
festive season, where the Eastern Cape recorded a 30% decrease.
Other roads projects
The Basic Study on the Wild Coast Meander has been completed. It lifted all the
key environmental, social and economic issues related along the area between
the N2 and the coastline between Mooiplaas and Port St Johns. The study was
extended in June 08 to deal with all the roads leading towards the coast.
As part of accelerating our implementation of the meander, the Department of
Roads and Transport has appointed a consultant to commence with the detailed
designs of the section of the road from Coffee Bay to Zithulele.
We have received an additional R300 million during the adjustment
appropriation process which was allocated to the inaccessible roads programme.
Already R150 million of this money has been spent and 65% of the roads planned
for maintenance completed.
Kei Rail
Honourable Premier, it is a great privilege for me to report that on Thursday
this week, we will be unveiling the new Kei Rail Coaches in preparation for the
commencement of the daily service on 01 March 2009. We have finalised our 10
Year Rail Plan, which will guide our work of taking our people back to rail and
to ensure that our rail network contributes to the Provincial Growth and
Development Plan.
This Plan includes a massive train stationsâ development programme, which
will encourage a public private partnership that will further uplift the living
conditions of our people, especially in rural towns that have been left with no
alternative employment after the closure of many train stations in the
province.
The Apple Express Tourism Service is already showing signs of tourism boost to
the small towns along the line.
Very soon, we will open a rail centre of excellence in partnership with
Walter Sisulu University at Chiselhurst in East London in an effort to
effectively transform the rail industry.
BRT Progress
Honourable Members, I am happy to report that the widely publicised taxi
industry strike in the Nelson Mandela Metro finally came to an end on Friday
paving the way for the continuation of work and continuous engagement with
relevant stakeholders. In this province, we continue to work together with the
public transport fraternity to improve the quality of services to our
people.
As a result, 3 964 taxis have been scrapped making us the leading province in
the country. A total of R198 million has been paid out to operators as a
scrapping allowance.
The restructuring of the subsidised bus passenger transport services is
continuing. The roll out of the Africaâs Best 350 (AB350) buses is expected
continue following the delivery of 56 new 65 seater buses to OR Tambo and
Alfred Nzo districts and 688 000 passengers have been transported by these
buses since April 2008. Phase two of the project is expected to start in April
2009 at Amathole (24 buses), Chris Hani (17 buses) and OR Tambo (15 buses).
Conclusion
Honourable members, we understand that there is still much to be done in order
to realise a better life for all. We will continue to build on the achievements
of the last 15 years using various measures in an effort to accelerate a
sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth path to address our priorities for
the next five years as enshrined in the ANCâs manifesto.
These priorities will be tackled with all means at our disposal â the
resources of government, the vision of the Freedom Charter and the energy and
commitment of our people.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Roads and Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial
Government
16 February 2009
