Gauteng premier vows to up service delivery
“Government teams are hard at work to find a solution to the e-tolls and President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured me again that the resolution of the e-tolls matter is one of the issues that are receiving his urgent national attention,” he adds.
Gauteng premier David Makhura delivered his last State of the Province Address at the Alberton Civic Centre on Monday.
The core mandate when he took office was focused around modernisation and re-industrialisation of the Gauteng City Region so it can offer a better life for all.
During his address, he explained that Gauteng is not only the country’s economic and industrial hub, but also the seventh largest economy in Africa.
Makhura also explained how the social, political and economic landscape of the regions has changed over the past 20 years:
• The number of employed people increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 5.136 million in 2018.
• Learners increased from 1.2 million in 1994 to 2.3 million.
• State-owned health facilities served 20 million users per year compared to seven million in 1994.
• Access to basic services has increased from 60 per cent in 1994, to 85 per cent in 2018.
• The province delivered more than 1.2 million houses, providing shelter to over four million people.
Makhura says despite their best efforts, the housing backlog remains stubbornly high, at just over one million.
“This is due to rapid urbanisation and the high rate of in-migration.
“There are 31 mega human settlements planned for our province in the next five years – 10 are already under construction, 11 in detailed planning and the remaining 10 at a conceptual stage.
“We will ensure hostel residents are not left behind by including them as beneficiaries of the new mega human settlements while upgrading the existing hostels.
“As part of our Rapid Land Release Programme, we have transferred a vacant land parcel in the Johannesburg CBD to the University of South Africa for the establishment of a learning resource centre,” he explains.
The premier says over the next five years, they will continue expanding primary healthcare.
“This will see more absorption of community health workers in the public health system to improve service delivery and care.”
Turning his focus to education, he says the education, training and empowerment of the youth remain their number one priority and says they have spent close to R1-billion annually on student bursaries.
In a bid to fund more students, the premier’s official residence was sold to enable more students from townships to access university education.
The initiative changed the lives of 40 university students.
More than 510 000 young people have benefited from demand-led skills training and entrepreneurship development of Tshepo 1 Million.
“The province is also leading the country in promoting intra-Africa trade.
“Gauteng-based businesses have more than 300 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, worth R356-b, across the major regions of our continent.
“They have created and sustained more than 45 000 jobs in Gauteng while contributing to Africa’s industrialisation,” he adds.
The premier vowed to protect small businesses in townships by shutting down illegal businesses.
Furthermore, Makhura says while the user-pay principle is not in question, there is a clear recognition that urban tolling increases the cost of living and is therefore unsustainable.
“Government teams are hard at work to find a solution to the e-tolls and President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured me again that the resolution of the e-tolls matter is one of the issues that are receiving his urgent national attention,” he adds.
