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Date : 05/12/2006
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Cachalia: Office of Premier annual report


MEC Cachalia's statement on the occasion of a debate on the annual report of the Office of the Premier

Speaker

Honourable members, as we come to the end of the year, we continue to see the promising signs of development, growth and prosperity which prompted President Thabo Mbeki to declare that we have entered an Age of Hope.

A week ago the Premier was in Dubai to accept the right for Gauteng to host SoccerEx, the world's largest soccer exhibition, from next year to 2009. It was heart-warming to note that all the stands for the Gauteng leg of the exhibition were sold out within hours of start of sales. This confirmed the confidence that global businesspeople have in our province and our country.

One of our top priorities is to work with the Local Organising Committee of the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, other spheres of government and soccer stakeholders to ensure the success of the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament. We have committed ourselves to the development of sporting infrastructure and the upgrading of at least four stadia namely Goerge Thabe, HM Pitje, Rand and Sinaba. The Premier is confident that we will be ready to host a successful world cup tournament that will be different from those that have been held before.

Last Friday we also witnessed the most inspiring celebration of World AIDS Day. The government, business, trade unions and civil society stood together side by side and with a single voice and declared that we can win against HIV and AIDS if we join hands to save our people.

The unity we have been able to forge should assist us to strengthen our comprehensive programme, to reduce new infections and to be more effective in providing treatment and care to those who are already sick.

Speaker, the Premier welcomes the committee's oversight report and the recommendations made. The Premier assures the house that his office is committed to ensuring that they receive an unqualified audit report in the future as has happened previously.

It has been encouraging this year to notice the impact of the policy positions we have taken to grow the economy, create jobs, and to promote conditions conducive to greater investment in the product sector.

The flagship projects under the banner of Blue IQ have attracted investment, stimulated growth and they are poised to help us realise the potential we have to become a globally competitive city region. The challenges we now face are firstly to ensure that this growth is sustained, consolidated and further strengthened. Secondly, we need to take the necessary steps to see to it that this growth leads to direct improvement in the quality of life of our people, particularly the poor. In particular, this economic growth must make it possible for us to fulfil our commitment to contribute to the national effort to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014.

As the committee noted in the year under review we finalised our perspective on Gauteng as a globally competitive city region. We also finalised the growth and development strategy. We have since also finalised the skills development strategy, the social development strategy, the road safety plan and a crime prevention plan. The implementation of these strategies in the context of our plan to make Gauteng a globally competitive city region will put us in a strong position to achieve an economic growth rate of 8% by 2014. They will help us to create a conductive environment for investment and tourism.

Maropeng, a tourism attraction centre which we opened in the year under review continues to grow. On Friday this week the cast of "Little Foot” (the world's most complete hominid fossil yet uncovered) will be installed at the centre. The province has hosted a revamped Gauteng Carnival as part of an annual event in Heritage Month to showcase our arts, culture and heritage while simultaneously developing skills and promoting tourism, investment and business opportunities in the province.

The development of an integrated and sustainable transport system is critical to Gauteng's success as a global city region. We have put in place key pillars of a transport system that will be able to meet the challenges of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, ensure the speedy and cost-effective movement of goods and people around the province promote effective land use and promote broad-based black economic empowerment. This process took into account the considerable implications and opportunities of the Gautrain for the rest of the transport system. Together with national government, we remain committed to ensure that this important project is completed on schedule.

It is critical for global city regions to invest in socio-economic infrastructure if they are to function as centres of growth and opportunity for all. We have launched the 20 priority township programme through which we made a commitment to develop infrastructure including housing, schools, healthcare facilities, sports and recreation facilities and roads in all our old townships.

Our approach to housing has shifted significantly with a strong focus on upgrading informal settlements and densification to ensure housing is located close to economic opportunities. Sustainable development requires that planning for new housing by both government and property developers takes into account the needs of different income groups. The government is of the view that the time has come to put in place mechanisms that will ensure that all new developments include housing for different income groups. In the year under review we also finalised the development of a package of services to improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable children of our province.

As we observe the 16 Days of Activism against Violence on Women and Children, the Premier would like to call on all of us to make the festive season special for our children and women this year. We have to commit ourselves that we will ensure that there is no wife battering, no rape, no child abuse and no sexual harassment. We must be prepared to speak out for 365 days when we witness violence against women and children; and we must ensure that justice is done immediately.

At the beginning of the coming school year, we have to continue to pay attention to the total improvement of the quality of school education. This is crucial if we are to secure the necessary educational foundations to become a successful global city region with a growing, job-creating economy and a decent quality of life for all its inhabitants.

As we start our summer holiday season, we urge all those who will be using our roads, pedestrians and drivers alike, to exercise extreme caution this holiday season. Our law enforcement officers will be out in their full might to implement our road safety plan through which we seek to reduce road fatalities by 30% in 2009.

There will be enhanced use of technology to catch speedsters, drunken drivers and those driving without valid licenses. Our traffic officers will also be on the lookout for unroadworthy and overloaded vehicles.

Road accidents do not only rob families of breadwinners but they also place a lot of pressure on the health system. Doctors and nurses are forced to divide their precious time between looking after the sick and attending to road accident victims. To alleviate pressure on hospitals we have this year opened four new community health centres, namely Stanza Bopape in Mamelodi, Maria Rantho in Soshanguve, Stretford in Orange Farm and Hillbrow community health centre in the Johannesburg.

Speaker, the Premier would like to wish members of the house well over the festive season break. It has been a productive year indeed and members will do well to take a break to rejuvenate themselves for we still have hard work to do to bring about the realisation of “a better life for all” in Gauteng.

Thank you.

Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
5 December 2006

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