The Gauteng Executive Council on Wednesday 10 September 2014, held its ordinary meeting in Johannesburg. The meeting was chaired by Premier David Makhura and attended by all ten Members of the Executive Council.
The meeting reflected on the 100 days since the Premier and Members of the Executive Council assumed office and noted that good progress is being made in laying a solid foundation to realise the goals of Gauteng’s ten pillar programme of radical transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation, which is aligned to the National Development Plan.
During the State of the Province Address, the Premier committed to focus on the following issues, amongst others, in the first 100 – 200 days of the current administration:
- Building an activist and responsive government;
- Unlocking service delivery of existing infrastructure projects;
- Engaging with different sectors of society on the ten pillar programme;
- Strengthening the Gauteng City Region institutions to enhance planning.
The Premier and Members of the Executive Council had spent the past three months consulting with various institutions including national government departments, municipalities, business and civil society organisations to discuss synergy and collaboration on the ten pillar programme. There is an overwhelming support for the programme by the other spheres of government as well as the private sector, civil society and many have committed to partner with the Gauteng Provincial Government to realise its goals.
In keeping with the commitment to build an activist administration and radically change the way government works, the Premier and MECs are spending more time with the people and working with them to resolve their problems. The view of the Gauteng Government is that every problem that afflicts our people deserves to be addressed.
While the government has succeeded in fast-tracking delivery of some of the key infrastructure projects, including amongst others, the new state of the art, Natalspruit Hospital, going forward everything will be done to ensure that all infrastructure projects are completed on schedule. Measures to prevent these lengthy and costly delays in infrastructure delivery include institutionalisation of the infrastructure service delivery model and building appropriate capacity for managing infrastructure projects.
All municipalities in Gauteng have renewed their commitment to work together with the provincial government to realise the vision of an integrated, sustainable, economically inclusive and cohesive city region. The Executive Council noted progress in the establishment of the Service Delivery War Room. The Service Delivery War Room represents a radical change in the way government serves the people. It will introduce greater co-ordination, integration and responsiveness by government institutions across all spheres. It will also encourage government, especially public servants, to adopt an attitude of finding solutions to problems.
The Executive Council received an updated report on the ongoing work of the Gauteng Advisory Panel on the Socio-economic Impact of E-tolls. The panel has in the past three weeks held consultations with organisations representing labour, business, transport services and civil society organisations. Today, 10 September 2014 the panel commences the programme of public meetings, with the first meeting being held in Randfontein in the afternoon.
The Executive Council is satisfied with the response by the various organised formations to the panel’s invitation for representations.
Government encourages all Gauteng residents to participate in the public meetings planned in their municipal areas.
The panel will also meet with all political parties represented in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to hear their views and proposals.
The panel was established to conduct a socio-economic impact assessment of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and E-tolls. In addition to collecting evidence from organised formations and the public, the panel is also conducting research to ensure that its report is based on substantial evidence. The panel will present its final report to the Gauteng Provincial Government by the end of November 2014.
The Gauteng Provincial Government, as loyal and humble servant of the people, wishes to reassure the people of Gauteng that it will seriously consider the outcomes of the socio-economic impact assessment study and the recommendations of the Advisory Panel.
The Executive Council approved the October 2014 Transport Month programme to be led by the Department of Roads and Transport. The transport month initiative aims to promote commuting habits that will assist in saving the environment and reducing congestion on the roads.
The 2014 Transport Month will highlight the need for the public and transport stakeholders to work in partnership to promote non-motorised forms of mobility and environmental benefits thereof.
The Executive Council also approved the Heritage Month programme to be led by the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation. This year’s Heritage Month programme will focus on promoting the appreciation of freedom and democracy and encouraging active participation by the people in matters that affect their communities.
Various activities will be organised in the province to: honour the heroes and heroines of the struggle; encourage the role of heritage in socio-economic development, national reconciliation,social cohesion; and promote cultural tourism through showcasing Gauteng’s heritage sites and attractions.
On the 24h the Premier Makhura will be in Boipatong honouring those who lost their lives in the Boipatong Massacre and on 29 September he will be at the grave site of Sam Ntuli in Thokoza. Ntuli’s grave site has been declared a Provincial Heritage Site.
The Premier also committed convening both a crime and safety summit to discuss and review existing strategies and a Summit with Small and Medium Enterprises before the end of September.
The Executive Council noted thirteen departments and entities achieved unqualified audits in the 2013/14 financial year, an indication that government is taking urgent steps to strengthen financial management and eliminate wasteful and unlawful usage of public funds.
This is the first time that the Gauteng Provincial Government achieved this number of unqualified audits. It reflects significant progress in government’s efforts to promote clean governance and the integrity of public institutions. The improvement in financial management has resulted in better service delivery to the people.
Government remains conscious of the fact that more work needs to be done in particular in those departments and entities that did not achieve good audit reports during this period. These are the Department of Health, Department of Human Settlements and G-Fleet.
The intervention team continues with its work in the Department of Health to ensure that it is turned around with the necessary speed so that it can focus on the provision of quality public healthcare services to the people. The Provincial Treasury is also working closely with the Department of Human Settlement and G-Fleet to address issues that resulted in the failure to achieve desired audit outcomes.
For more information contact Government Spokesperson
Thabo Masebe
Cell: 082 410 8087
