Madame Speaker
Honourable Members of the Gauteng Legislature
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
On 8 January 1912, a child was born. Her parental lineage could only be traced and found amongst the downtrodden masses of South Africa. And her birth came at the time when South Africa was quickly descending into the abyss of racism, oppression and injustice. But this child was destined for greatness in the history of humankind.
Within 32 years, in 1944, the child had grown to produce and nurture a legion of dedicated democrats, freedom fighters and human rights champions. In this day the African National Congress stands as the beacon of hope and the leading light for the masses of South Africa.
On 18 July 1918, an icon was born in South Africa. Today, the world is only four days away from celebrating the life of this statesman and revolutionary. He gave the world the greatest gift of humanity, tolerance, and love. He preached justice, equality, freedom and non-racialism amongst the people of the world. Together with other leaders of his generation, they taught us to be selfless, caring and committed to the cause. Today, Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela stands as the embodiment of humanity.
Nelson Mandela Day, which is on Monday, should be celebrated in the manner that befits the values and principles that the world has come to associate with the icon and political giant that President Mandela is.
The 67 minutes should be minutes in which we all strive to commit to do a good deed that will take the world a step closer to achieving universal peace, justice and development for all.It should be the minutes we use to wipe out hunger and starvation, illiteracy and ignorance, disease and stigma as well as inequality and exploitation. This is the call we are making as we celebrate Mandela Day.
Furthermore, the day should serve to remind us of our civic duties. It should be a day on which we promote responsible citizenry by inculcating the culture of balancing rights against responsibilities as enshrined in the country’s constitution. Considering the growing levels of violence, destruction and blatant disregard for the law and the rights of others evidenced by recent spates of social upheavals, this becomes even more pressing and relevant in our context.
When houses with children trapped inside are burnt in the name of service delivery, it depicts how low we have stooped as people regarding respect for human life. This is not what Mandela stands for. And this is not what the ANC, the organisation Mandela and his peers led and sacrificed for. This kind of conduct is anathema to all that is civil and acceptable in a democracy.
Madame Speaker
An important focus for the provincial government in 2011/12 will be to take forward the work of the Gauteng Planning Commission to improve government’s performance through strengthening monitoring and evaluation as well as undertaking integrated strategic and spatial planning in the short to long-term.
One of the key initiatives of the Gauteng Planning Commission is the development of a long term plan and vision for the Gauteng City Region to 2055. We chose 2055 as it will mark the centenary of the Freedom Charter. We continue to draw inspiration from the Freedom Charter, which was crafted in the midst of apartheid oppression and brutality. The unity and collective leadership made it easier for the volunteers of yesteryear to come out with a vision that was embraced by the majority of the oppressed.
It is within this spirit that we will next month launch the consultative and participatory process where we will invite the people of Gauteng to express their views and proposals on the character and future of Gauteng by 2055.
It is for this reason that we call on the people of Gauteng and South Africa to engage in this process so that we can all take ownership of the end product. The future of generations to come is shaped by those who came before them and therefore we all have to be active participants in shaping and defining the future of our province.
It is in this context that we hope to honour the words of President Mandela when he said: “There cannot be peace while our people lack basic social facilities, including basic healthcare. There cannot be peace while the overwhelming number of doctors and medical facilities are concentrated in areas accessible only to a small section of our people.”
It is when we take these wise words to heart that we can make a big difference in the lives of our people and generations to come.
We are pleased to announce that, following a lengthy public nomination process, I have appointed members of the Gauteng Advisory Council of the Gauteng Planning Commission.
The Council will help marshal the insights and knowledge of key experts and civil society representatives to build a Gauteng City Region which is inclusive, equitable and prosperous. They will help oversee policy research and analysis, promote integrated short to long term planning within Gauteng and across spheres of government and build local and international partnerships to achieve the province’s development agenda, Vision 2055.
The following people will serve on the Advisory Council:
Mr Jabu Moleketi, Dr Thamsanqa Mazwai, Mr Titus Mafolo, Prof Firoz Cachalia, Mr Khehla Shubane, Dr Ralph Mgijima, Dr Lulu Gwagwa, Dr Tanya Abrahamse, Ms Lisa Vetton, Prof Peliwe Lolwana, Ms Irene Charnley, Dr Dulcy Rakumakoe, Mr Phutas Tseki, Mr Simon Molefe, Ms Tepsy Ntseoane, Rev Gift Moerane and Ms Florence Masebe. I am also pleased to announce the appointment of the Head of Department for the Gauteng Planning Commission, Mr Rashid Seedat.
Linked to Gauteng Vision 2055 is the Gauteng Spatial Development Framework, which we have adopted to guide current and future infrastructure and broader urban development planning in the province.This lays the basis for a single roadmap for Gauteng’s development and effective land use management.Spatial inequality directly contributes to high levels of poverty and inequality in our province.Reversing apartheid spatial development patterns is therefore one of our central imperatives.
In addition to improving the short-term delivery of infrastructure, we are working on a medium to long-term Infrastructure Master Plan for Gauteng, which will better inform infrastructure development choices to help build a prosperous, equitable and socially inclusive province.
Our programme for 2009/14 represents the building blocks of the future we seek to create. In the period to 2014 we will continue to prioritise the implementation of the following flagship projects:
- Struggle heritage projects including the Women, Youth and Oliver Tambo Memorials
- The Sedibeng Sewer Network
- Stimulating the Green Economy
- The rollout of G-link
- The procurement of well-located land and 14 new mixed housing projects
- Servicing of sites and issuing title deeds to informal settlements on well located land
- Implementing the Tembisa Master Plan
- Roll-out of the Maize Triangle to Metsweding and the West Rand District
- Further development of the Constitutional Hill
- Development of three freight and logistics hubs
- The Johannesburg-Ethekwini High Speed Rail Link and
- The development of an aerotropolis linked to the OR Tambo International Airport and link with Lanseria.
Having successfully dealt with the merger of Tshwane and the Metsweding district, as part of consolidating local government in Gauteng and promoting effective service delivery, our immediate intervention in the context of building a globally competitive city region, will be the development of a Unicity in the West Rand between now and 2016. Processes are also being developed, informed by the development perspectives on the future of Sedibeng, in our quest to realise a metro system of local government in Gauteng by 2019. Our long-term vision for 2055 starts now.
Linked to this, we will further explore governance models and systems to enhance collective decision making, planning and implementation across spheres in the interests of the people of the Gauteng City Region and indeed of South Africa as a whole.
We will place the implementation of our flagship projects and improved service delivery at the centre of our efforts to build better communities.We have agreed with the newly elected Executive Mayors in Gauteng that MEC-MMC Forums should be tasked with ensuring that these projects proceed according to plan and that they will collectively account to the Premier’s Coordination Forum and the Executive Council on a regular basis.
Through the Leader of Government Business, we will ensure that the Gauteng representatives in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) are better equipped to represent the interests of the province in the NCOP. Through a motion or resolution in the house, a provincial mandate will be obtained on issues such as the equitable share, challenges of in-migration in the province, our approach to development in the context of the Gauteng City Region; the introduction of a metro system of local government in Gauteng, education and health issues and Gauteng’s position on the establishment of a single police service. This requires that honourable members of this House put aside narrow party political interests and work together in the best interests of the people of Gauteng.
Madame Speaker,
In the year ahead, we have tasked the Gauteng Planning Commission with the monitoring and evaluation of frontline service delivery, which most directly affects the quality of life of the majority of our people. The focus will be on practical service delivery in health, education, job creation, reduction of crime, rural development and municipal services. We will look at waiting times and the availability of medicines in clinics, the availability of textbooks in schools, the turnaround times for licence and social grant applications, police response times, the quality of agricultural extension support, refuse removal and the maintenance of municipal infrastructure.
Where we find good practice, the lessons will be shared with other delivery sites.Where we detect poor performance, corrective measures will be put in place.
In addition to the outcomes-based approach and frontline service delivery monitoring, we will this year introduce a system of institutional performance assessment to ensure that we have effective management and administration in each of our provincial departments.
Later this year we are looking forward to the release of a Territorial Review of the Gauteng City Region by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Review will contribute towards the benchmarking of Gauteng against other global city regions.
Another important research initiative this year will be the second Quality of Life Survey undertaken by the GCR Observatory. This will help to give us further insight into the impact of external factors such as the recession, the impact of in-migration, funding models as well as the social impact of our development programmes.
Having adopted the Gauteng Employment Growth and Development Strategy (GEGDS) in the previous financial year, implementation is being driven through the following:
- Transforming the provincial economy through improved efficiency;
- Sustainable employment creation;
- Increasing economic equity and ownership;
- Investing in the people; and
- Sustainable communities and social cohesion.
We commit ourselves to remaining the economic hub of South Africa and the region as a whole. To this end, we will ensure that we continue to attract foreign direct investment and trade as well as improve the ease and cost of doing business within Gauteng.
We will streamline and give impetus to our processes and systems that bring in efficiencies in the transformation of our economy. We will do away with rigidity in the regulatory framework that delays and hamper development.
Honourable members,
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) recently adopted the Gauteng Youth Employment Strategy to promote the employment of youth in the public and private sector, working in collaboration with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
The youth employment strategy aims to provide an integrated framework and coordinate existing programmes to improve the school to work transition and young people's skills development and employability; promote participation of youth in employment creation programmes, entrepreneurship and making accessible labour market information to young people in the province.
These programmes and interventions range from the matching and placing of matriculants in internships and learnerships as well as providing entrepreneurship training and development, access to finance, incubation and business start-up support.
We will launch the Township Enterprise Hubs Project on 19 July, in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the National Youth Development Agency. The project will promote youth-owned enterprises and services and help increase economic participation by young people.
We recently launched, through the Department of Infrastructure Development, another youth mass employment project to provide one job per poor household. This project is being piloted in the West Rand District, and aims to contribute significantly towards poverty alleviation amongst the youth of our province and the affected indigent households.
As part of long-term investment in youth development, we will continue to provide bursaries to deserving young people and develop the requisite skills for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. For the youth who are qualified and have not yet entered the labour market, we will continue to work with Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) to facilitate their placement in both the private and public sector.
Honourable Members
Since the approval of the Gauteng Policy Framework on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, a Programme of Action was developed which is aimed towards mainstreaming gender issues across GPG.
In the light of the oppression still suffered by women, this policy framework becomes imperative. Patriarchy with its attendant chauvinistic tendencies remains a great threat to women. Its impact is largely felt by those women who occupy the lowest rung of the socio-economic strata. The abuse suffered by these women is unimaginable. The girl child continues to be victimised by those she trusts. It is about time we rid society of this scourge.
We will also give more attention to family planning and women’s reproductive rights, focusing on preventing teenage pregnancy and reducing the number of unwanted babies. This should go beyond the distribution of condoms and include the promotion of other prevention options for women, young and old.To further reduce maternal mortality, we will through education and communication make the necessary interventions to encourage pregnant women to book for antenatal visits before 20 weeks.
As part of the provision of support to victims of domestic violence and sexual offences, we will continue to roll out Victim Empowerment Centres at police stations across the province supported by the Department Health and Social Development and Community Safety.
We will create platforms that encourage interaction and networks between women, young and old, skilled and unskilled, women in business and women in leadership. Already we have made a commitment to launch the Gauteng Young Women’s Network in August to coordinate all the various programs. This will ensure that we develop confident and independent young women who will take the growth and progress of the Province to greater heights.
The Provincial Government remains committed to the attainment of the 2% target of People with Disabilities employed in the Gauteng government. We will take proactive steps to ensure that job seekers with disabilities are registered on the database of employment seekers and that this database is used by GPG departments to improve compliance with Employment Equity targets. Through the Gauteng Enterprise Propellor, further attention will be given to the promotion of businesses and cooperatives owned by People with Disabilities.
Honourable members
At a time of conflict there are those who are prepared to pay the supreme price for the benefit of others as it was the case with our military veterans. In this instance, it has always been our position that it is our responsibility as a nation to create programs that will give dignity and honour to our heroes and heroines. Gauteng is the pioneer in the promotion of military veterans’ matters, as was demonstrated at the inaugural honouring and citation of the military veterans at Freedom Park in the previous financial year. It is for this reason that we welcome the work done by the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans in addressing the conditions of these gallant fighters for freedom. A basket of services was identified to benefit military veterans and the same has now been incorporated into the national programme.
Distinguished guests
The ease of access to liquor in our communities, particularly poor communities, is unacceptable. The proliferation of liquor outlets, unregulated hours of trading, the location of taverns and shebeens close to schools and places of worship as opposed to access to social and recreational amenities, defines the character of our townships. This is an anomaly.
While we appreciate the economic benefits accrued to some families from the sale of liquor, as a nation we must face the stark reality of the trail of destruction left behind by alcohol abuse.
We must strike a balance and make hard choices between what liquor as an industry offers in the form of job opportunities and the harm it visits on communities. We will have to re-examine the supply side, the access levels that communities are exposed to, trading hours as well as the promotion practices and the regulatory environment in general. We call on all stakeholders to participate in the process of the review of the liquor policy and regulatory framework.
Madame Speaker
Our determination to fight crime, corruption and fraud shall not diminish. We have put measures in place and strategies to combat corruption based on a shared vision of a corruption free and ethical society. The systems of financial accountability and responsibility have been enhanced so that incidents of fraud and corruption are detected early. This has assisted in detecting the unfair awarding and maladministration of contracts, resulting in cost savings.
The effectiveness of our early warning systems has led to a high number of senior officials resigning from the Gauteng Provincial Government. We are continuing with investigations of allegations of serious acts of fraud and corruption made against both senior and middle managers in the employ of GPG.
Based on the findings of the investigations, we will not hesitate to subject anyone to due process as determined by the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Labour Relations Act (LRA), without prejudice. We have committed ourselves to giving our full co-operation to the Special Investigations Unit on all investigations that they are involved in, including in the Health Department and Midvaal.
Madame Speaker
Our intervention on the toll tariffs on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Plan yielded a proposal to reduce tariff rates and the matter is before the Minister of Transport who will make a determination on the matter.
Honourable Members
The review of the Gauteng Shared Service Centre (GSSC) was completed last year. The GSSC is to be transformed into a highly focused shared service that will maintain a centralised strategic component of procurement, leveraging on technology investments and internal audit competencies.
As part of this transformation, functions are being migrated from the GSSC to the departments, in particular the Department of Health and Social Development, and the Department of Education, with the aim of giving Accounting Officers better control of their operations as well as to expedite service delivery. The process is envisaged to be completed by March 2012.
Imperative in this process is the drive to improve the way we plan our infrastructure projects by demonstrating financial prudence. Additionally, we need to strive to achieve high levels of efficiencies in our supply chain management units. This will lead to improvement in procurement processes, contract management and enable us to achieve significant cost savings in infrastructure and personnel expenditure.
Importantly, we must instill a culture of value for money across the entire provincial government and put cost-control measures in place to ensure that fiscal discipline is achieved. In this regard, special attention will be given in stabilising the finances and management of the Department of Health and Social Development.
In the same vein, we will decentralise the maintenance of infrastructure as another initiative that will speed up delivery at frontline service delivery points.
Madam Speaker
As the political nerve centre of the provincial government, the Office of the Premier will champion effective communication and dialogue with our people and ensure that we take information about services to every corner of the province.
We will organise economic opportunities road shows and Izimbizo in the poorest communities, in both rural and urban areas of Gauteng, to interact directly with our people and respond to their needs.We will ensure the effective follow up and tracking of the issues that our people raise with us and also make sure that they are given timeous feedback on progress.We will strengthen the role of our Community Development Workers in this regard so that they give the necessary support to Ward Councillors and complement the work of our councillors and Ward Committees to promote public accountability and participation in service delivery matters.
Before I conclude, Madame Speaker, allow me to take the liberty of presenting the breakdown of the budget of the Premiers Office which reflects the following allocations for 2011/12 financial year:
|
GCIS |
R53,394 million |
|
GPC |
R25,713 million |
|
IGR |
R4,640 million |
|
Cabinet secretariat |
R29,057 million |
|
Institutional Support Services |
R43,587 million |
|
Coordination and implementation of provincial Anti-corruption strategy |
R6,234 million |
|
Coordination of programmes aimed at women, youth and people with disabilities |
R5,901 million |
Honourable members
In conclusion, on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, I would like to thank all those who continue to work closely with us in pursuance of a better life for all.
It is our intention to continue to engage the public and members on every matter that requires their input so that we can collectively transform our society.
Lastly, I want to thank, Madam Speaker, the Portfolio Committee, the Director General on behalf of the many good men and women in the public service and the Chairperson of Oversight Committee on the Office of the Premier and the Legislature (OCPOL). For us to realise Vision 2055, we require a united, highly disciplined, selfless and committed leadership.I therefore call on members of the Legislature to walk together with us on a journey towards a united, prosperous, globally competitive city region. We are the pioneers of a noble cause, Vision 2055, that will be celebrated and cherished by generations to come.
Finally, let me take this opportunity to inform the Legislature and the public that on 18 July 2011 we will hold our official Mandela Day programme in Kagiso in partnership with business, civil society and the faith-based sector. During the programme we will make donations to those who are less fortunate, in honour of the legacy that Madiba has given us. We hope everybody will do their bit to make this day a success.
Dankie. Ngiyabonga
God Bless Africa.
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
