Statement on Cabinet meeting of 29 April

29 April 2009

Cabinet held its final meeting in Pretoria this morning, 29 April 2009 to
finalise a few issues.

Cabinet condemned the attempted coup in Lesotho.

Cabinet was pleased to note that the general elections that were held on 22
April 2009 went off very well with no major incidents reported. Cabinet was
pleased to note that South Africans of all ages had turned out in their numbers
to cast their votes peacefully. Cabinet congratulated the Independent Elections
Commission (IEC) for delivering yet another successful general election in the
most efficient and effective manner. Thank you South Africa for making our
democracy stronger through the ballot box!

Cabinet expressed confidence in the country’s ability to handle any cases of
swine flu. Although no cases of the flu have been reported in South Africa,
South Africans should neither panic nor become complacent. Our health
authorities and all our officials at all ports of entry are ready to handle any
cases of the deadly flu. The Health Minister was asked to develop a campaign to
educate South Africans about the swine flu and the precautionary measures that
need to be taken should the flu reach our shores. The key message from Cabinet
is that there is no need for anyone to panic.

South Africans will once again be celebrating Workers Day on 1 May 2009.
This year’s May Day celebrations will take place against the backdrop of the
global economic meltdown. Cabinet noted that the recent release of the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) annual
report has made some interventions which will go some way towards reducing the
impact of the global economic meltdown. Some of the interventions include the
R787 billion AsgiSA infrastructure development programme; the Expanded Public
Works Programme which created more than a million work opportunities ahead of
its deadline and a further R4.2 billion has been set aside for phase 2 of the
project; over 37 000 unemployed and unskilled young people have participated in
the National Youth Service Programme; 190 civil engineers were deployed into
municipalities as part of the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s Siyenza
Manje project; and over 18 000 artisans were trained in various fields.

The meeting approved that the intervention in the Eastern Cape Housing
Department by the national Housing Department in terms of section 100 of the
Constitution of the Republic be extended for another year. This decision
follows the report on the progress made since this intervention was approved by
Cabinet in April 2008. The measures instituted and implemented by the
Department of Housing have resulted in extensive improvement in the delivery of
houses in the province, including the drastic improvement in expenditure, from
R182 million in January 2007/08 to R779 million by the end of the financial
year. Cabinet believes that the intervention was still necessary to continue
and sustain the progress that has been achieved.

The meeting noted that the President of the Republic of Mali, HE Amadou
Toumani Toure conferred orders on the Minister in the Presidency and the Deputy
Minister of Arts and Culture. Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang received the
Officer of the National Order of Mali and Deputy Minister Ntombazana Botha was
awarded the Knight of the National Order of Mali.

The meeting was pleased to note that the doctors' strike which had affected
a number of hospitals has been suspended and that the parties are now involved
in the negotiations to find an amicable solution.

The meeting ended on a very positive note with the President conveying his
appreciation to members of Cabinet and the Cabinet secretariat for their
support during his tenure as Head of State of the Republic. Cabinet also
thanked the President and the Deputy President for the outstanding leadership
they have given to the country, government in general and Cabinet in
particular.

Mr. NVE Ngidi was appointed to the post of Regional Manager in the
KwaZulu-Natal provincial office of the South African Social Security Agency
(SASSA). His name was erroneously omitted from the list that was published in
the Cabinet
statement of 16 April 2009.

Mr Jeff Radebe, the Minister of Transport, will join me shortly to make an
announcement about the acquisition of busses to improve our public transport
system.

Dr Manto Tshabalala Msimang, the Minister in the Presidency, will also
provide you with the progress report regarding the Inauguration of the
President on the 9 May 2009.

Enquiries: Themba Maseko
Cell: 083 645 0810

Let me first greet all members of the media who are present here today. As
you know that the most critical component of our Transport Preparations for
2010 is the provision of the transport infrastructure but most importantly the
provision of the various modes of public transportation for the World Cup.

During May 2008 the Department of Transport issued a Request for Proposal
(RFP), to the market for the supply of buses and coaches for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup. We received a number of proposals and only four met all the minimum
requirements to qualify for an evaluation.

The RFP required respondents to submit responses in two parts – technical
and financial. Only three bidders were short listed after the evaluation
process and were issued a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) document on 4 December
2008.

Proposals in response to the BAFO document were received from all three
bidders. Following the conclusion of the evaluation, an Inter-Departmental
Evaluation Committee considered and approved the recommendations of the
evaluation panels.

I am therefore delighted to announce today that the following bidders
achieved the preferred bidders’ status:

1. Mercedes Benz for the production of semi-luxury and intercity buses;
and
2. MAN for the production of general spectators buses.

I am also delighted to announce that government is putting a guarantee of
R1,4 billion for the purpose of acquiring the 570 buses. An order of buses will
soon be placed which will be divided as follows:
* 110 general spectator – standard buses
* 168 semi luxury coaches
* 292 intercity buses

An additional 260 buses will be leased from the industry, 250 for general
spectator services and 10 semi-luxury coaches, bringing the total fleet to 830
for the 2010 bus/coach services to be provided by government.

I am pleased with the progress we have made so far, and would like to thank
all the stakeholders who are involved and consequently assisted us to get this
far. I am confident that we will host the best ever World Cup, for Africa and
the world.

Enquiries:
Collen Msibi
Cell: 082 414 5279

Mawethu Vilana
Head of Transport 2010
Cell: 083 626 8035

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
29 April 2009