Date: 03/09/2004
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: F Cachalia: Speech on the occasion of the tabling of the annual report of the Office of the Premier
Speech by MEC Firoz Cachalia on the occasion of the tabling of the annual report of the Office of the Premier at the Gauteng Legislature
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Honourable MECs
Honourable Members
The past financial year marked the end of ten years of hard work which brought about an immense change in the lives of the people of our province.
The reports that were tabled at this house by MECs since last week show very clearly that during the 2003/2004 financial year we have made further advances towards our goal of creating a better life for all our people and building a better Gauteng.
Our hard work during the past ten years has resulted in millions of our people, in particular those that had endured the pain and suffering inflicted upon them by centuries of apartheid and injustice, experiencing a profound improvement in their lives.
Millions of people took part in the ten years celebrations throughout South Africa and all over the world did so with pride in the knowledge that we have made immense progress towards our goal of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.
The people of Gauteng, in every corner, have witnessed the dramatic changes that have happened in the province since 1994. They have felt the positive impact of the various policies and programmes that we introduced during the past ten years.
We have made far reaching changes in the areas of healthcare, education and social services. Many of our people who were neglected and denied access to these essential services can now access them close to where they live.
We have a public healthcare system that provides quality service to all the people. New clinics have been built in many communities where there were no healthcare facilities.
Millions of our people who did not have access to basic services such as water and sanitation and electricity now have full access to these services and even get free basic amounts of water and electricity.
The most vulnerable of our people - women, the elderly, children and people with disabilities, who were neglected and discriminated against during apartheid - now receive special care from government.
The doors of learning have now been opened to all. Parents can now enrol their children in our public schools in full confidence that they will receive high quality education which will open the way for a brighter future.
We have introduced policies to develop the youth and created many opportunities for them to acquire knowledge and skills that enable them to contribute to the reconstruction and development of our country.
We have turned around the moribund economy and set it on a higher growth trajectory. We have created a favourable environment for investment and trade. Gauteng is the economic powerhouse in the continent and produces high quality products for domestic and foreign markets.
We have successfully transformed the public service from one that we inherited which was designed to serve the minority into one that serves all the people. While there are still some areas where we need to improve our work, we can proudly say we have a public service that truly serves the people.
Last year we reported that all departments had received unqualified audit opinion from the auditor general. This was the result of proper planning and strict adherence to the PFMA. We said last year that our challenge is to maintain the standard that we had achieved.
All departments except two have been able to maintain that high standard and we are proud of their performance. The departments that received qualified opinion on their financial statements must correct the problem areas that were raised by the auditor general and ensure full compliance with the PFMA.
As we all know very well, ten years was never going to be sufficient time to undo all the damages that were caused by centuries of colonisation and apartheid.
There are still some challenges that have to be overcome before we can say we have accomplished our historic task of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. Among these challenges are poverty, unemployment, lack of skills, underdevelopment, homelessness and crime.
Our greatest task as we begin the next part of our journey to a better future is to marshal all the forces we can muster to overcome these challenges that still face us.
During the past year the Gauteng Provincial Government has undertaken a ten year planning process. Based on the knowledge of the current challenges that face our province and on our vision for the next decade we have developed a broad programme for the next ten years.
In June the Premier unveiled the five year programme and outlined what all of us will be doing to make Gauteng an even better place in which to live in the next decade.
Our programme will focus on: stimulating faster economic growth and drastically reducing unemployment; fighting poverty and building safe, secure and sustainable communities; developing healthy, appropriately skilled and productive people; deepening democracy and nation building and realising the constitutional rights of all the people; and building an effective and caring government.
Since the programme was unveiled departments have been busy finalising their plans. We will soon be asking the legislature to set some time for discussion of the departmental plans. We must do this to ensure that members of the legislature fully understand what departments are planning. This will also help members in their oversight role.
Discussions about our programmes must also take place at the NCOP. We will be meeting with the permanent delegates of the NCOP to discus, among other things, how we can improve co-ordination of our work and place Gauteng matters on the national agenda.
We have had discussions with local government about the five year programme and how it relates to their own work. Municipalities have themselves developed integrated development plans which focus on local developmental issues. Together with the leadership of the municipalities we will seek to integrate the plans of the provincial government with those of local government to produce one integrated plan for Gauteng.
Linked to this is the need to review the powers and functions of all spheres of government to achieve better efficiency and effectiveness.
Consistent with our commitment to a people centred and people driven government, we have involved the people of Gauteng in the various phases of our planning process.
In the near future we will be talking to various stakeholders to build working partnerships with them based on the objectives that we have outlined in our five year programme.
Later this year we will convene the Gauteng Growth and Development Summit. The Summit will be attended by among other stakeholders, labour, business, women groups, youth organisations and professional organisations. All participants at the summit will be expected to publicly commit themselves to a time-focused development plan.
As an employer we will be convening a public sector summit to be attended by all trade unions that operate within the Gauteng Provincial government.
We are ready to put shoulder to the wheel to implement our five year programme. We will work together with the people of this province, as we have always done, to make the next decade even better.
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: F Cachalia: Speech on the occasion of the tabling of the annual report of the Office of the Premier
Speech by MEC Firoz Cachalia on the occasion of the tabling of the annual report of the Office of the Premier at the Gauteng Legislature
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Honourable MECs
Honourable Members
The past financial year marked the end of ten years of hard work which brought about an immense change in the lives of the people of our province.
The reports that were tabled at this house by MECs since last week show very clearly that during the 2003/2004 financial year we have made further advances towards our goal of creating a better life for all our people and building a better Gauteng.
Our hard work during the past ten years has resulted in millions of our people, in particular those that had endured the pain and suffering inflicted upon them by centuries of apartheid and injustice, experiencing a profound improvement in their lives.
Millions of people took part in the ten years celebrations throughout South Africa and all over the world did so with pride in the knowledge that we have made immense progress towards our goal of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.
The people of Gauteng, in every corner, have witnessed the dramatic changes that have happened in the province since 1994. They have felt the positive impact of the various policies and programmes that we introduced during the past ten years.
We have made far reaching changes in the areas of healthcare, education and social services. Many of our people who were neglected and denied access to these essential services can now access them close to where they live.
We have a public healthcare system that provides quality service to all the people. New clinics have been built in many communities where there were no healthcare facilities.
Millions of our people who did not have access to basic services such as water and sanitation and electricity now have full access to these services and even get free basic amounts of water and electricity.
The most vulnerable of our people - women, the elderly, children and people with disabilities, who were neglected and discriminated against during apartheid - now receive special care from government.
The doors of learning have now been opened to all. Parents can now enrol their children in our public schools in full confidence that they will receive high quality education which will open the way for a brighter future.
We have introduced policies to develop the youth and created many opportunities for them to acquire knowledge and skills that enable them to contribute to the reconstruction and development of our country.
We have turned around the moribund economy and set it on a higher growth trajectory. We have created a favourable environment for investment and trade. Gauteng is the economic powerhouse in the continent and produces high quality products for domestic and foreign markets.
We have successfully transformed the public service from one that we inherited which was designed to serve the minority into one that serves all the people. While there are still some areas where we need to improve our work, we can proudly say we have a public service that truly serves the people.
Last year we reported that all departments had received unqualified audit opinion from the auditor general. This was the result of proper planning and strict adherence to the PFMA. We said last year that our challenge is to maintain the standard that we had achieved.
All departments except two have been able to maintain that high standard and we are proud of their performance. The departments that received qualified opinion on their financial statements must correct the problem areas that were raised by the auditor general and ensure full compliance with the PFMA.
As we all know very well, ten years was never going to be sufficient time to undo all the damages that were caused by centuries of colonisation and apartheid.
There are still some challenges that have to be overcome before we can say we have accomplished our historic task of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. Among these challenges are poverty, unemployment, lack of skills, underdevelopment, homelessness and crime.
Our greatest task as we begin the next part of our journey to a better future is to marshal all the forces we can muster to overcome these challenges that still face us.
During the past year the Gauteng Provincial Government has undertaken a ten year planning process. Based on the knowledge of the current challenges that face our province and on our vision for the next decade we have developed a broad programme for the next ten years.
In June the Premier unveiled the five year programme and outlined what all of us will be doing to make Gauteng an even better place in which to live in the next decade.
Our programme will focus on: stimulating faster economic growth and drastically reducing unemployment; fighting poverty and building safe, secure and sustainable communities; developing healthy, appropriately skilled and productive people; deepening democracy and nation building and realising the constitutional rights of all the people; and building an effective and caring government.
Since the programme was unveiled departments have been busy finalising their plans. We will soon be asking the legislature to set some time for discussion of the departmental plans. We must do this to ensure that members of the legislature fully understand what departments are planning. This will also help members in their oversight role.
Discussions about our programmes must also take place at the NCOP. We will be meeting with the permanent delegates of the NCOP to discus, among other things, how we can improve co-ordination of our work and place Gauteng matters on the national agenda.
We have had discussions with local government about the five year programme and how it relates to their own work. Municipalities have themselves developed integrated development plans which focus on local developmental issues. Together with the leadership of the municipalities we will seek to integrate the plans of the provincial government with those of local government to produce one integrated plan for Gauteng.
Linked to this is the need to review the powers and functions of all spheres of government to achieve better efficiency and effectiveness.
Consistent with our commitment to a people centred and people driven government, we have involved the people of Gauteng in the various phases of our planning process.
In the near future we will be talking to various stakeholders to build working partnerships with them based on the objectives that we have outlined in our five year programme.
Later this year we will convene the Gauteng Growth and Development Summit. The Summit will be attended by among other stakeholders, labour, business, women groups, youth organisations and professional organisations. All participants at the summit will be expected to publicly commit themselves to a time-focused development plan.
As an employer we will be convening a public sector summit to be attended by all trade unions that operate within the Gauteng Provincial government.
We are ready to put shoulder to the wheel to implement our five year programme. We will work together with the people of this province, as we have always done, to make the next decade even better.
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