Program Director
MEC for Roads and Transport
MEC’s Present
Mayors’ Present
Management of Gautrain Team
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
When announced by the Gauteng Provincial Government the Gautrain project was perceived as ambitious if not almost impossible to achieve, only a dream. Today we know differently, Gautrain is a celebration of delivering a dream. It inspires us to hold onto our dreams for an integrated intermodal safe and secure public transport system that will drastically transform the lifestyle of the people of Gauteng.
It has been a journey on which the Gauteng Provincial Government is proud to reflect. Gautrain - one of our key capital expenditure projects to accelerate our Province on a new growth trajectory.
As the financial and industrial powerhouse in Africa, Gauteng continues to attract vast numbers of new residents, businesses and capital every year. It is for the prosperity of all citizens that Gautrain provides a world-class public transport backbone – a golden thread to connect us with investors and developers, family and friends, employers and employees. The Golden Train for the people on the move.
In the streets, in the cafes and coffee shops, around dinner tables, in the boardrooms of big and small corporations, in places of learning and around newsrooms, people have been discussing this project since its inception. The whole range of views has been expressed by numerous interests groups on this project. As the Gauteng Provincial Government, we appreciate this debate – it is a strong indication of democracy at work.
Since its conceptualisation, Gautrain helped to focus and influence public discourse on the critical role of intermodal public transport system. As a result, in various communication platforms the issue of building a viable and sustainable public transport system became central.
Having already created or sustained an estimated one hundred and twenty two thousand direct, indirect and induced jobs to date, Gautrain remains one of the foremost enablers of economic growth that translates into decent work and improved living standards. As can be seen throughout the history of Gautrain, Gauteng continues to utilise and promote labour intensive methods in all our public infrastructure development projects to maximise job creation.
Safe, reliable and convenient public transport lies at the core of our development – economically, intellectually and socially. It is through efficient public transport that we can knock on new doors of opportunity, seek new investments, capitalise on new markets and seek new business partnerships as we strive to better the lives of our communities, our families and, ultimately, our nation.
The tradition of storytelling is as African as the Acacia tree. Gathering under the tree, sitting around the fire and sharing the stories which make us human, and essentially African, has been part and parcel of our being since time immemorial. It was our honour today to carry on that tradition with Mr Don Mattera affectionately known as Bra Don and the next generation of Gautrain users.
We learn by hearing stories, and even more so, by reading them and learning from them. To this end, literacy is crucial, and forms the bedrock of our education system and is the basis for the full appreciation of the fundamental tenets of democracy. I am personally proud to hear about the Gautrain story trains from MEC Vadi and urge him and Gautrain to make this part and parcel of the Gautrain fabric.
The Gautrain history book reflects what a nation can achieve through partnership. It is with pride that I present this book to you today. Its golden pages does not only carry the impressive history of Gautrain but it also gives life to those that made this Project a reality – from unwavering politicians with a vision for a Project that will add to the greatness of Gauteng, the workers that toiled the trenches and laid the tracks, the women that assembled the trains to the engineers that, with imagination and skill, showed us what a country can do. They made history and left Gautrain as a legacy to our future generations!
So by handing the history book over to you today, we invite you to continue the journey and Gautrain will take you on.
Dankie. Ngiyabonga
