19 February 2007
Jobs and wealth creation in Gauteng soared to new heights in the last five
years, Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said in the opening of legislature address
today.
The midterm report of the progress of government from 2004 to 2006 was also
made public.
Shilowa opened the Gauteng legislature on Monday, 19 February 2007 and said
the average personal income of Gauteng residents increased from R248 564 to
R327 211 between 2001 and 2006 and residents of Gauteng received 34,8% of all
personal income in South Africa.
"The share of income received by Africans living in Gauteng increased from
37,2% to 39,6% of the total and all of these confirm once more that a better
Gauteng is possible and is in the making," said Shilowa.
Work to grow the economy and create jobs has also continued briskly during
the last year. According to Stats SA, there has been a steady increase in the
number of fulltime formal sector jobs in the Gauteng economy, rising from 2,876
million jobs in March 2002 to 3,293 million jobs in March 2006. This represents
an increase of 426 000 jobs.
Shilowa said the Gautrain project had by the end of June 2006 created 1 800
jobs of which 85% of those employed are South African. It is also estimated
that 20 000 more jobs will be created during the next financial year.
The province has also experienced challenges due to massive immigration -
the number of households increased by 17% from 2,475 million in 2002 to 2,983
million in 2005.
The Premier said the province needs to put in more effort to fulfil the five
year mandate and realise its 2014 vision.
"The plan of action for 2007 is our contribution to growing the economy and
creating jobs, improving the health, skills and education of our people,
ensuring the provision of adequate shelter and, in partnership with all
stakeholders and communities, responding positively to the challenges of crime,
especially violent crime, and poverty," said Shilowa.
The Global City Region (GCR) perspective will be foremost in government's
efforts to speed up service delivery and with this in mind it has undertaken a
review of its own organisation and capacity.
A review of the current allocation of powers and functions between local and
provincial government has been undertaken and together with the municipalities
and local government, under the auspices of the South African Local Government
in Gauteng, a decision will be taken in the interest of more effective service
delivery.
The Gauteng Human Resource Planning and Development Agency has been
established within the Gauteng Department of Education to drive the
implementation of the province's Human Resources Development Strategy for the
GCR.
"In addition we will also start work on establishing a GCR development
agency model that will bring existing development agencies in the province
together to assist with the requirements of creating a GCR. This will include
exploring the roles of our partners on economic development, leadership,
co-ordination and the implementation of a GCR," said Shilowa.
The forthcoming 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup will further accelerate the need
to deal with priorities such as accelerated economic growth, job creation,
poverty alleviation, stadia, road and transport infrastructure and safety and
security.
"We will also soon launch an integrated 2010 plan to ensure that all
government departments and local municipalities work together to deliver on all
commitments made during the bid."
Soccerex, the world football exhibition coming to Gauteng from November this
year, every year for the next three years, will also serve as an exercise to
showcase the province's preparations for the 2010 World Cup, and will further
enhance Gauteng's tourism potential, offer the opportunity to brand Gauteng
internationally and boost investment into the economy.
Shilowa also announced that the development of four visitor's centres will
commence in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (COHWS), which was
proposed in the master plan for the development of the COHWS.
The much anticipated opening of the Dinokeng Game Reserve will also take
place next month. It already offers 260 catered bed units at 18 sites, two
restaurants and activities including game drives, elephant rides, horse riding,
hiking, quad biking and balloon rides.
"The next expansion of Dinokeng Game Reserve is at an advanced stage and is
expected to be completed by November 2007 ahead of the December holidays," said
Premier Shilowa.
Road infrastructure will receive a boost over the next three financial
years. The R511 between Fourways and Diepsloot will be doubled, the link
between Dobsonville Road (K102) and Main Reef Road will be completed and
construction will commence on the Pinehaven interchange and the K29 near Cosmo
City. Together with municipalities, the tarring of roads in the 20 priority
townships will also continue.
The next three years will also see the intensification of the housing
programme. Key among these will be the programme to formalise and upgrade
informal settlements, the provision of affordable rental accommodation,
development of mixed income areas, accelerating the urban renewal of Alexandra,
Bekkersdal and Evaton.
"During 2007, 25 159 serviced sites will be provided as part of our plan to
formalise and upgrade informal settlements. A total of 58 552 houses will be
built through the mixed housing development, the community builder programme,
the people's housing process and alternative tenure. Together this will benefit
close to 300 000 people," said Shilowa.
Focus will be given to improving the lives of people in the former cross
boundary areas that have now been incorporated into Gauteng. In April 2007 the
Gauteng government takes over the Winterveldt upgrading project and the plan is
to conclude the pre-feasibility study of the area as an Urban Renewal
Programme, install bulk infrastructure and complete 1 500 housing units by the
end of 2008.
Another key issue the Gauteng government intend expanding on is the
importance of improving the quality of healthcare in the province. Shilowa said
greater emphasis will be placed on the provision of community-based health
services focusing on the improvement of healthy living among all citizens.
Programmes will be undertaken to focus on the importance of regular
exercise, no smoking, nutrition, safe sexual practices, stress management,
alcohol and drug and substance abuse.
The existing programme of strengthening efficient management of patients and
dealing with long queues in hospitals and clinics will be accelerated by
introducing a new comprehensive information and technology system. Patients
will be given a smart card containing all their vital medical information and
history.
The provincial programme of HIV and AIDS continues to reach more people and
more than 41 000 people have been put on the programme in the two years since
it was started.
The Premier said that education and skills development must remain a top
priority to reverse inequality and improve the standard of living of Gauteng
residents.
"While it has been encouraging to see an improvement in our province's
matric pass rate last year, there is still a concern about the performance of
black children, particularly African children in these exams.
"We have agreed with the MEC for Education to convene an urgent summit with
trade unions, school governing bodies, learner organisations and other
stakeholders before the end of the first schools term to determine what needs
to be done by all stakeholders in the next two to three years to improve the
quality of education of the African child in our province," said Shilowa.
Crime prevention will also be high on the agenda for the Gauteng province,
with the objective being to prevent and reduce violent crime as well as target
serious economic and organised crime.
Through the Gauteng Safety Strategy, soon to be launched publicly, the
province seeks to improve the quality of policing in the province, promoting
the co-ordination of the criminal justice system and expanding the role of
municipal police in crime prevention.
For more information contact:
Simon Zwane
Tel: (011) 355 6036
Cell: 082 551 9892
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
19 February 2007
