Madame Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chief Whip
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the Legislature
DG Ms Phindile Baleni, Special Advisors and Senior Managers
The people of Gauteng:

At the start of our term of office in 2014, we adopted a ten-pillar programme of radical Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation (TMR) as the policy mandate of this fifth ANC-led provincial administration.

The Office of the Premier is responsible for ensuring administrative integration across the entire Gauteng provincial government with regard to the disciplined execution of the priorities of the TMR.

I will reflect on the mega trends that have become the characteristic features of this administration over the past four years.

This Budget Vote takes place during the centenary of former President Nelson Mandela and Mama Albertina Sisulu, the outstanding leaders of our people with whom Gauteng proudly associates. They helped shape the revolution which gave rise to the democratic breakthrough.
 
We shall honour them not only by constantly quoting their words of eternal wisdom but by living their values and working hard to realise the dream of a truly non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic and prosperous South Africa. A south Africa that is  free from all forms of oppression, exploitation, discrimination and corruption.
 
We shall honour them by ensuring that we remain true to our commitment to radically transform, modernise and re-industrialise Gauteng so that we build an inclusive province in which no one is left without the means to enjoy a decent and sustainable livelihood.
 
The best way to honour those who sacrificed and suffered for our country’s freedom and democracy is to ensure that South Africa returns to being a country of renewed hope and great promise.
 
The advent of the New Dawn has brought renewed hope and optimism among millions of South Africans and progressive humanity across Africa and the world. With the election of President Ramaphosa, our country is finding its way back to a path of clean governance, inclusive development and radical socio-economic transformation.
 
Honourable Members, we in Gauteng are at the centre of this nation-wide renewal process to give conceptual, practical and programmatic meaning to the New Dawn effort. We are at the forefront of giving hope to various sectors of the population in Gauteng and rallying them behind the call: Thuma Mina!
 
 
 
During the Youth Month, I had an occasion to interact with a wide range of sub-sectors of youth – school learners, young professionals, young women and unemployed youth – who attended various activities at the Gauteng Expo, including the Youth Sector Parliament at Nasrec.
 
Madame Speaker, I received good and critical feedback from the youth of our province about the work of our administration on youth development. Young people know about our popular flagship programme, Tshepo 1Million.
 
They told me that they appreciate that, over the past three and half years, the ANC-led provincial government has empowered more than 470 000 young people with skills, access to decent employment, transitional jobs, bursaries and internships and business opportunities.
 
In 2017/18 alone, more than 73 000 were trained in skills demanded by the economy; 8000 got decent permanent jobs, while 5 400 were placed in temporary and transitional jobs; 222 were assisted to start their own enterprises. This programme has helped many young people in our townships to rise above their suffering and sense of hopelessness.
 
The Focused Intervention Study conducted by the Oversight Committee on the Office of the Premier and Legislature confirms that the partnership between Harambee, the private sector and Gauteng government on Tshepo 1 Million has opened substantial opportunities for the inclusion of the youth in the economy. The youth of our province have renewed hope.
 
 
 
One critical feedback I got from young people is that municipalities are not supporting the rollout of Tshepo 1 Million, especially the metros. The youth called on me to intervene and ensure that all mayors are held accountable on youth development. During the month of July, I will definitely engage all municipalities on their support for Tshepo 1 Million.
 
Another important area of feedback from the youth is that Tshepo 1 million is not visible on the ground, closer to where the unemployed youth are.
 
I made a commitment to take the programme to regions by appointing regional coordinators of Tshepo 1 Million in the five corridors of our province. We are succeeding in rehabilitating the dreams of our youth. There is no space for cynicism among the youth. They have great dreams and our task is to help them to realise their dreams.
 
The Office of the Premier is also responsible, together with the department of Economic Development, for ensuring for policy coherence and coordination among the entire provincial government and municipalities in implementing the flagship intervention of the Township Economy Revitalisation.
 
Honourable members, over the past four years, the Gauteng provincial government has restored hope among township entrepreneurs. We have spent more than R20 billion procuring goods and services from township-based businesses, thus dramatically improving the sustainability and profitability of township enterprises.
 
 
During this term, Gauteng has made the township economy part of the national policy discourse. We have placed the transformation, growth and mainstreaming of the township economy one of the key levers of radical socio-economic transformation.
 
As outlined by MEC Maile and MEC Creecy, the Departments of Economic Development and Provincial Treasury have invested huge resources and efforts in regularising, registering and training township suppliers so that they can become more sustainable and get integrated into the procurement processes of big business, especially those that do business with the Gauteng provincial government.
 
However, one critical but sad reality is that there has been a slowdown in the role of municipalities in supporting the township economy revitalisation, especially in the City of Johannesburg. I will continue to appeal to the Mayors of our cities to implement the township economy revitalisation programme.
 
During this term of office, we also introduced Ntirhisano Service Delivery Rapid Response programme to ensure that the whole of government works as one in addressing service delivery needs of communities across Gauteng.
 
The Office of the Premier has been working quite well with most municipalities in dealing with community engagements. According to research, during the first two years of our term of office, Ntirhisano was very effective in reducing protests and violence in communities.
 
However, after the August 2016 municipal elections, there have been significant challenges of coherence and coordination between the provincial government and some municipalities in dealing with service delivery.
 
With greater levels of political maturity, democratic changes of government should not lead to disruption of inter-governmental relations and service delivery to citizens. It does not matter which party is in power. What matters is that citizens need responsive, accountable and clean government. We will continue to work with all municipalities and their mayors in serving the people of Gauteng.
 
Ntirhisano has exposed weaknesses and has enabled us to improve the capacity of various departments to follow up on community issues and commitments made by the Executive Council to address those concerns.
 
In October 2016, the Office of the Premier introduced “deliverology” as a governance methodology of improving the capacity to deliver on outcomes and targets set for all departments and entities of the Gauteng provincial government.  This methodology was pioneered by Sir Michael Barber, a progressive governance expert who is working with various governments in the world to improve their capacity to deliver on their commitments to their citizens.
 
As the Premier, I meet with each MEC and HOD every two months to conduct a stocktake on delivery and get problems resolved promptly and make appropriate interventions to support departments that are struggling. The Western Cape provincial government is also using this same methodology, with the assistance of Sir Michael Barber.
 
Madame Speaker, I can say without fear of contradiction that the introduction of Ntirhisano and the regular delivery stocktake sessions has improved the responsiveness and accountability of senior government officials to citizens. These two mechanisms have also introduced an objective measurement of the performance of departments, especially the performance of MECs and HODs. If you don’t do your work, you have nowhere to hide in our province. You will be exposed and get removed.
 
Honourable Members, at the beginning of my term as the sixth Premier of this beautiful province, I made a commitment that I will serve the people of Gauteng with honour, integrity and dedication.
 
The Office of the Premier is the passionate champion of integrity, ethics and clean governance. During this term, we introduced the Integrity Management Unit which is responsible for monitoring and enforcing clean governance and ethical leadership and coordinates the fight against corruption.  
 
One of the major findings of the Integrity Management Unit was that Departments were not paying systematic attention to findings and recommendations of the Auditor General and their own forensic investigations. As a result disciplinary action and criminal cases against officials who constantly violate supply chain and employment procedures were not being instituted.
 
The recent MoU concluded with the Special Investigation Unit will address this weakness of lack of action on the part of departments to follow up and ensure consequence management on matters of a criminal and civil nature.
 
Honourable Members, it is important to emphasise that the SIU is not a court of law or prosecution authority. Its reports and recommendations are subject to due processes by departments on disciplinary matters and verdicts of the courts on criminal cases. These other institutions of our democracy must play their full role as per the Constitution. The idea that the SIU reports amount court outcomes is weird.
 
As part of our commitment to clean governance, I have appointed the civil society-led Ethics, Integrity Promotion and Anti-Corruption Advisory Panel. This panel has been engaging various sectors of society in our province – professional bodies, trade unions, business organisations and senior managers of the public service – to commit them to the Integrity Pact to uphold ethics, integrity and clean governance in Gauteng.
 
The panel has played a key advisory role in how the provincial government should deal with KPMG, Mc Kinsey and SAP with regard to allegations of improper and unethical business practices made against them.
 
Honourable Members, the executive Council has taken a firm decision to have no business relationship with KPMG and McKinsey from now henceforth. We also reviewing the contract we have with SAP, working together with National Treasury. Through this decision, we are sending a strong message to all businesses that if you want to do business with us, you have got to uphold ethics and integrity.
 
The positive impact of the Open Tender system in saving us money and eliminating corruption has already been well canvassed by MEC Barbara Creecy.
There is no turning back on this noble innovation in transparent, accountable and open government. We are prepared to go to the highest court in our land, the Constitutional Court, in order to enable us to pass legislation on the Open Tender process. Of course, we have learnt some lessons and will continue to improve its efficiency and speed.
 
One of the key objective measurements of accountability and clean governance in how we are doing in the annual Audit Outcomes conducted by the Auditor General of South Africa.
 
Madame Speaker, Gauteng province has significantly improved its audit outcomes over the past four years of my leadership of this provincial government. In 2014, only 56% of the departments and entities of this government received clean audits, while others got disclaimers and adverse outcomes. By last year, we had dramatically improved audit outcomes to 65% clean audits and 100% unqualified reports.
 
According to the Auditor General, Gauteng is one of the only two provinces that have demonstrated commitment to clean governance and consequence management on matters pertaining to public financial management. We are determined to improve clean audits and root out financial mismanagement and corruption in this ANC-led administration.
 
Madame Speaker, following the conclusion of the Life Esidimeni Arbitration process, the provincial government has settled 134 claims of the families affected by the tragedy in line with the award given by Justice Dikgang Moseneke. Other new claims which have been received are still being verified through a process that involves various state institutions.
 
We are continuing to work with the Family Committee to implement all the recommendations of both the Health Ombuds, Professor Makgoba and the Arbitrator, Justice Moseneke.
 
Major structural reforms of the Gauteng Public Health system which are spearheaded by MEC Ramokgopa and Professor Lukhele, the newly appointed HOD. They are being supported by Exco Health Sub-Committee.  
 
Honourable Members, this Budget Vote takes place in a year that marks the 105th anniversary of the 1913 Native Land Act. This Act was a codification of centuries of violent land dispossessions that were fiercely resisted by the original land owners. It firmly placed the land question at the centre of the historical conflict among black and white by making Black people landless and propertyless. This is not a rumour. It is a reality.
 
President Ramaphosa refers to land dispossession as the original sin!
 
As a nation, we must take meaningful steps as part of the New Dawn, to address land redistribution to all our people more decisively than ever before.
 
Accordingly, the provincial government is working with municipalities on a programme of Rapid Land Release to those among our people who want land in order to build their own houses and establish their own businesses. MEC Moiloa is leading a team of MECs and mayors which is developing a detailed plan that must entail the kind of bulk infrastructure that must be put on the land that is earmarked for release.
 
The plan will identify well located state-owned land and properties that will be made available to qualifying people who want to address housing needs, urban agriculture and setting up of industries and firms, especially in the townships.
 
Privately owned land that is idle and abandoned buildings in our cities, will also be expropriated without compensation for public good in line with the Constitution as it stands.
 
Many legal experts have argued that the Constitution allows expropriation without compensation but it has never been tested. Simultaneously, we will participate in the current Constitutional review process initiated by Parliament.
 
We are not prepared to accept the apartheid and colonial reality wherein a small section of the population owns land property and other property while the majority is landless and propertyless. This a recipe for disaster. This land belongs to us and it must be shared among the people.
 
We continue to make a call against illegal land invasions and will work with municipalities and law enforcement agencies to stop land invasions across Gauteng. We have been successful in many areas where municipalities and land owners are proactive.
 
In the next few weeks, we will convene a Land Summit to deliberate on how we can work together to address the land question in the context Gauteng as an urban province that has land scarcity.
 
I call on all South Africans in our province to join us in the endeavor to address land hunger and landlessness among our people.
 
Madame Speaker, increasingly metropolitan areas, mega-cities and city regions are becoming the world’s major growth engines, generating more than 80% of global GDP.
 
Today, more than 4 billion people around the world – translating to more than 50% of the global population – live in cities.
 
By 2050 nearly 70 out of 100 people will be living in cities, with Sub Saharan Africa experiencing the largest wave of urbanisation in history. It is metropolitan areas, mega-cities and city regions that are driving Africa’s innovation and industrialization.
 
In August this year, our province will host more than 130 mayors and Governors of major metropolitan cities and regions in the world, at the Metropolis Board and Conference. We will meet with our global counterparts to look at common issues facing major urban centres in the world – good governance and smart cities; inclusive growth strategies; management of urbanisation and migration; fourth industrial revolution; climate change; youth and women; sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
 
In November, Gauteng will also host the Inaugural Africa Investment Forum together with the African Development Bank as part of the effort to raise capital for funding infrastructure and industrialisation projects across the entire African continent.
 
Our view is that the Investment Forum will complement the work already done by President Cyril Ramaphosa to attract and unlock more than USD100 billion of investment into our economy over the next five years.
 
The Africa Investment Forum will be attended by Heads of State and Governments, Ministers, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, business leaders, policy makers, investors and financiers from our continent and beyond. It will strengthen efforts aimed at promoting Africa as a preferred and competitive destination for investment.
 
The hosting of major global events is part of our bidding and hosting strategy. Such major events have a major impact on our tourism industry, including township tourism.
 
Gauteng remains a destination of choice for major investors and tourists. We have good infrastructure. The enhancement of the Gauteng Investment Centre by the national government has boosted our ability to cut red-tape and rollout red carpet for local and global businesses that want to put up plants and create jobs in our economy. We will use our Rapid Land Release programme to incentivise those companies that want to locate in the townships to create jobs and other business opportunities to the majority of the people who still live in the townships.
 
Honourable Members, I know there are those among us who thrive on cynicism and negativity. But I also know human beings cannot live on negativity. Hope is the food of our spirit.
 
Given this critical moment of renewed hope in our country, I would like to conclude by quoting from Professor’s Keorapetse Kgositsile’s Poem titled “Wounded Dreams”:
 
“Though the present remains a dangerous place to live
Cynicism would be a reckless luxury
A pile of toxic lies deodorised to sound like the most clear signage
Showing us the way forward from here…
Together we can and must rehabilitate our wounded dreams to reclaim and nourish our song”.
 

I thank members of OCPOL and this entire House for critical feedback and for holding us accountable. Criticism is welcome, while cynicism is a reckless luxury and a pile of toxic lies we must reject. Because together we can rehabilitate our wounded dreams and reclaim and nourish our new song.
 
It is my honour and privilege to table the Office of the Premier’s Budget Vote.
 
Thank you.