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23 June 2006

Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Members of the Executive Council
Leaders of political parties
Executive Mayors and other representatives of local government Honourable Members Managers in the Office of the Premier
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Also in our midst are George Mogotsi of Bidvest Wits, Oupa Mnguni and Makhosini Ndlovu of Benoni United and Sipho Mpetsheni and Jean Pieterson of Mabopane Young Tigers. May I honourable Speaker with your permission ask them to stand up so that the house can acknowledge their presence.

Just over two years ago the people of Gauteng gave us a renewed mandate to continue to work to serve their interests and to join hands with them in a people's contract to create work and fight poverty.

They did so based on our solid track record of delivery over the first decade of democracy and our determination to move ever closer to the vision of freedom which so many brave fighters in our country lived and died for.

Many did so in the knowledge that our programmes and priorities have been a direct response to the issues they have raised with us in countless interactions and based on the understanding that they are makers of their own history.

The vast majority of our people have demonstrated their confidence in government based on the dramatic changes they have witnessed that have been brought about as a result of our collective efforts. We therefore have the mandate to represent their interests to use our political power to drive social transformation and remake our society in the interests of the various social sectors and in the interests of the people as a whole.

The elderly gave us their support as they could rejoice in the fact that, after many years of suffering, they had freedom in their lifetime and were entitled to choose their political representatives; that they could demand the respect and dignity that they deserved; that they were entitled to social services including a pension that would help put food on the table; and that some, for the first time in their long lives, had a place they could call home and a title deed to prove it.

Young people gave us their mandate as they could see that the development path we had chosen together was indeed the correct one, that they have access to better quality education and skills development; that there are ever increasing opportunities for young people to enter the labour market and to participate in meaningful economic activity at all levels of the economy; they know that a better future is in the making and that they have within their reach a life that is many times better than that of their parents. Above all they want us to improve the skills base of the unemployed graduates.

Working people and the unemployed have given us their support as they know that we have been unwavering in our commitment to drive social transformation; that we have continued to act in the interests of the poor and the vulnerable; that we are building a strong developmental state that is intervening directly to address the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment; that our social infrastructure and social delivery programmes have prioritized the needs of working class communities and increased the social wage; that we are investing heavily in economic infrastructure and that our economic strategies are indeed growing the economy, creating decent work opportunities and promoting a more equal distribution of wealth and ownership; that we are promoting workplace Aids programmes in all economic sectors, and that government and public service trade unions have a common commitment to improve service delivery.

Professionals and academics in Gauteng gave us a renewed mandate to continue our work to turn back apartheid's legacy and build quality services in health care, education, social services and housing; they have supported our efforts to build a thriving global city region to provide for the needs of all its people, and to nurture and reward knowledge and innovation and the pursuit of excellence for the greater good.

Women have thrown their weight behind us as they have seen us fulfil our commitment to consult with the women of the province through women's dialogues and women's izimbizo; they have seen the growing numbers of women, particularly black women, represented at the top levels of the public service and policies which are prompting the private sector to do the same; they know of the many initiatives to stamp our violence against women and children, and to provide support to victims of abuse.

The faith based sector has thrown their weight behind efforts to build a caring government which continues to alleviate the plight of society's downtrodden and marginalised; which is making steady progress in providing for the basic needs of all our people; which has partnered with them in the fight against HIV and Aids and caring for those affected and infected by the pandemic and in defeating the scourge of crime.

Business people, potential entrepreneurs and all those previously denied access to the commanding heights of the economy have been inspired by the unprecedented economic growth that our province has seen and the opportunities that are opening up for all to benefit from the fruits of economic growth; black business know that they will benefit directly from our broad-based black economic empowerment strategy and initiatives to promote small, medium and micro enterprises.

All these sectors know that we are a government of the people, for the people and with the people. They and many others have placed their faith in us to work in partnership with them, not just in the interests of their own constituencies, but to build an even better life for all in Gauteng. Together we are all united in our common goal of reversing the legacy of apartheid and building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa based on the will of the people.

Over the past few weeks, Members of the Executive Council have outlined the key priorities for the year ahead in fulfilling the commitments we made in 2004 in implementing the provincial government's five year strategic programme and in taking us closer to our 2014 vision.

They have spoken about our plans over the next period to build on and seize the opportunities we have created through the significant progress we have already made in many areas, most markedly in the areas of economic growth and social delivery.

The new Gauteng Business Barometer, which was launched this week as a joint initiative by Standard Bank and the small business publication, Gauteng Business, has provided detailed evidence of Gauteng's outstanding economic performance.

The Gauteng Business Barometer is the country's first provincial economic indicator and was set up by leading economists to measure economic activity in the province on a monthly basis, drawing from a wide range of indicators.

According to top economist Mike Schussler, the results showed the following:

* Total passenger arrivals at the Johannesburg International Airport are expected to reach close to 9 million this year, compared to around 5,5 million in 1999.
* Business activity has increased since last year, with an overall 10,7% increase on a year ago.
* In 2001, the average number of properties sold in Gauteng was around 11,400 per month. This increased to 14,000 per month in 2005.
* Job advertisements in Gauteng newspapers increased by 38% over the past few years.
* Buildings completed in Gauteng nearly doubled from 253 000 square meters in 2000 to close to 500 000 square meters in 2005.
* Close to 40% of all houses sold in South Africa in 2005 were in Gauteng.
* Vehicle sales have increased by 19%, advertising sales have increased by 14%, retail sales have increased by 10% while wholesale sales have increased by nearly 18% over the past year.
* Gauteng's unemployment rate at 22,8% is the second lowest of all South Africa's provinces and has shown the fastest decline of all provinces, from 30,4% in September 2001.
* While the overall index showed a slight drop since an all-time high in February this year, it is still up nine percent compared to a year ago.

Schussler further said that the Gauteng economy remains strong and that he expected excellent growth in 2006.

Standard Bank economist Goolam Ballim was also upbeat about what he called the Gauteng economy's “extraordinary performance”, pointing out that “Gauteng's sheer stature and robust performance puts it at the frontier of South Africa's economy”. He said the provincial target of an eight percent growth rate by 2014 was ambitious but probable, based on plans to step up infrastructure investment.

A key priority remains the stimulation of investment in the productive sector of the economy and a shift away from a reliance on consumer spending to drive growth.

These results are important as they provide an objective assessment of Gauteng's economic performance and point to the correctness of and the impact of the economic strategies we have adopted over the past decade, particularly our investment in strategic sectors and economic infrastructure.

Our emphasis on those sectors which have the capacity to propel the Gauteng economic engine will remain critical as we implement our Growth and Development Strategy (GGDS) and Accelerated and Shared Growth South Africa (AsgiSA) initiatives. This will require the contribution of not just the provincial government, but also national and local government as well as parastatals and the private sector. Achieving the targets that we need to contribute to the country's growth of six percent and meeting the objectives of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014 requires that all sectors and stakeholders come to the party.

Services revolution

A key priority will be the promotion of a services revolution in both the private and public sector in our province. In the context of existing initiatives undertaken under the auspices of the GGDS, we have identified the need for government, business and labour to give their attention to achieving greater efficiencies and greater value in the services sector of the economy.

We have chosen to focus on the services sector due to its strategic nature in providing services to other economic sectors the agriculture and resource based sector, manufacturing, the knowledge and innovation sector, and to the services sector itself. The broad services sector contributes 69% to South Africa's Growth Domestic Product (GDP), with services being consumed by business, households and government. The sector includes banking and financial services; business consulting; electricity, telecommunications and other infrastructure-based services; retail and personal services. Hence, inefficiencies and lack of innovation in the services sector can have an inhibiting effect on the growth of other sectors of the economy. Most importantly, government is a provider of services and hence it is required to ensure efficiencies and innovation within its own ambit.

The services sector therefore has the potential to further stimulate and support Gauteng's broader growth initiatives. It has significant opportunities to grow at the very high levels envisaged in AsgiSA, since it includes the broad infrastructure sub-sector, the backbone networks and ICT based services, and the financial services to support other economic sectors. Measures to develop the efficiencies in and effectiveness of services can impact positively on the services sector itself in both the private and public sectors and can lubricate the engine of the emerging Gauteng global city region, enabling all sectors, including manufacturing, resources and knowledge-intensive sectors, to improve their performance.

We need more efficient services and new services that meet the needs of businesses and households. Both government and business need to rethink how we deliver services. We need to pay attention to giving customers the benefits of new technology and improved service quality, while maintaining affordability. In addressing our social challenges, technologies and service quality must be significantly revitalised in order to ensure advances in the quality and long-term benefits of school level education, access to advanced healthcare for poor communities and means of finding solutions to poverty. Economies growing at four percent per annum and above are capable of addressing their historical legacies of poverty and the Gauteng economic region must do the same.

While new economic opportunities are envisaged in areas such as business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centres, the ability to translate this potential into reality is a function of a services environment that requires improved knowledge, skills, entrepreneurial expertise and affordable access to Information Communication and technology (ICT) and other business infrastructure. Within the public service, issues that warrant constant attention and which need to be addressed include the supply of talent at managerial level and capacity to manage large and complex operational systems such as healthcare and policing. In this regard, the Office of the Premier is currently finalising an implementation plan arising from our framework on the Capacity and Organisation of the State, which we adopted in November last year.

Stimulating a Services Revolution will require engagement with stakeholders to agree on the actions needed to achieve a turn-around in the value and quality of services, and to invigorate key sectors such as high value-add manufacturing, IT, R&D, finance and business services, and a wide range of social services, as envisaged in the Gauteng Growth and Development Strategy. In the next period, we will work on making it easier to do business in Gauteng including the elimination of bureaucratic delays.

Arising from our framework on building the Capacity and Organisation of the State, we are currently developing plans to establish the Gauteng City Region Academy as an agency to build the relevant knowledge, skills and talent base for creating a growing and dynamic economy, while stabilising and reducing poverty levels and social exclusion. To effectively drive our joint initiative with other spheres of government to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city region, we have also agreed with Executive Mayors in Gauteng on the need to improve the capacity for policy development and implementation and monitoring and evaluation in both the Office of the Premier and Executive Mayors' offices. This will be crucial in our drive to make Gauteng a more globally competitive city region, which requires both highly effective government and a people with an enhanced capacity to be economically active.

We are also pleased to report that we are making important strides in ensuring joint planning across the spheres of government in Gauteng, with the Executive Mayors and municipal managers participating together with the provincial Executive Council and Heads of Departments in the provincial planning makgotla and agreeing on common priorities to be driven at both a local and provincial government level.

As government leaders in Gauteng in different spheres of government, we have come to the conclusion that our success in meeting the needs of our people in developing a caring and prosperous society relies on joint planning and resource distribution in line with national, provincial, and local government priorities. We will therefore continue to enhance intergovernmental cooperation and consolidate joint planning including at the level of joint makgotla, but also through ensuring that local government Integrated Development Plans take into account provincial government plans and through joint budgeting and planning at a project level.

At our April Lekgotla, we concluded that our existing policies and programmes are relevant choices and identified issues that we need to address to further accelerate our ability to deliver. Our monitoring and evaluation systems are moving beyond simply collecting departmental activity reports towards more programme analysis and evaluation. We have embarked on drafting a provincial mid-term report that will inform an analysis of our achievements, challenges and the areas of intervention necessary to achieve the five-year commitments we made in 2004.

Global city region

We have taken a step further and consolidated our drive to build Gauteng's global competitiveness. Working jointly with the local government, we have adopted a common perspective that outlines our approach to consolidating the status of our province as a globally competitive city region.

Based on this common vision, local and provincial governments in Gauteng have agreed that we now need to move from “conceptualisation to implementation”.

Together with metro and district mayors in Gauteng, we have embarked on a series of discussions with key stakeholders in Gauteng, including trade unions, business, academics and organisations of the faith-based, women, and people with disability, youth and civics, to brief them and engage with them on the initiative.

Their participation will be crucial in helping to make the initiative a success as an effective response to the developmental challenges we face today and in the future. Ensuring Gauteng's global competitiveness is a responsibility for all us, at the institutional and individual level, to make Gauteng a better place for all.

Following this process of engagement with our social partners, we are aiming to launch the initiative involving a joint sitting of this house together with local government and civil society representatives.

We have agreed with municipalities that we need to ensure integrated and coordinated planning to enable us to halve unemployment and poverty by the end of the second decade of freedom as well as longer term planning towards 2030.

Among the key areas we have identified for improved coordination and alignment are safety and security, transport infrastructure and authorities, an integrated safety and transport system, sustainable human settlements, investment and tourism promotion, environmental and sustainability and infrastructure provision.

As we build the Gauteng global city region we need to consciously take steps to avoid social exclusion and counter the tendency of other global city regions towards the urbanisation of poverty, growing inequality, dysfunctional families and communities, the disruption of social support systems and social problems such as gangsterism, street children and social crimes against women, children, older persons and people with disabilities.

Gauteng has relatively high levels of HIV prevalence and young women of child bearing age, living in informal settlements bear the brunt of this scourge. Government, working in partnership with other sectors, therefore needs to step up the coordinated inter-sectoral response to the HIV/Aids pandemic.

One of the issues we are engaging with is the process for the establishment of an additional national electricity distributor alongside Eskom and the regional electricity distributors (REDs) to serve district and local municipalities. Contrary to reports that we are opposed to an additional national RED for district and local municipalities, our position is that if the seventh one goes ahead, we would want district and local municipalities in Gauteng to be excluded. Our preference is for the three metro REDS in Gauteng to partner with the three districts. In this way, we will not fragment electricity distribution in the GCR but enhance integration and cooperation between metros and districts.

Social cohesion

If we are to achieve our objective of building dynamic, vibrant and sustainable communities in our province, we need to, as a society, pay more attention to building the social fabric of our communities lest the massive tangible gains we are making are swept aside by social exclusion and a lack of social cohesion.

We need to build not just an economically successful province but also a caring society in which we rely not just on public services to provide for the needy but in which people themselves are able to support one another. This becomes particularly important in a situation of rapid urbanisation in which many people have left the security of an extended family and a familiar community to live in a new urban environment. I always talk of the plight of the single mother who at her home or place or origin would have other members of her family to look after her children but who comes to Gauteng and does not necessarily have the social support to assist her with her children while she goes to work.

Today national government will be releasing the macro-social report, a Nation in the Making, which reflects on the progress we have made as a nation in healing the divisions of the past and the impact of our transformation in building a more caring and just society.

Despite political stability, impressive economic performance and social delivery, poverty and deprivation remain a significant challenge, with black people and black women in particular bearing the brunt of poverty. This highlights the reality that the market alone will not address the legacy of apartheid and underlines the need for a strong developmental state in building a society which is both prosperous and caring and which meets the needs of its entire people.

Social Development Strategy

In consultation with stakeholders, we have developed a Multisectoral Social Development Strategy (MSDS) for sustainable development that will raise our common humanity, reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous province for the people of Gauteng. The MSDS will be implemented by all social sector role-players in government, working in collaboration with organizations of civil society.

Gauteng is the most densely populated province in South Africa. The distribution of the total population is highly urbanized. Urbanization in the province comprises densely populated informal settlements on the periphery of the formal areas and peri-urban communities that are normally more sparsely populated and situated far from economic growth. While we have made important strides in improving the access of black people and women to education, health, basic amenities and other resources, the apartheid legacy of inequality and unequal access to services remains a challenge in addressing discrimination and social exclusion.

Gauteng is the highest net recipient of international and national in-migration when compared with other provinces. Migrants include unskilled people, who contribute to an increase in the number of households in informal settlements and backyard rooms and swell the ranks of the unemployed. According to the HSRC, Gauteng has also been successful in attracting many highly educated persons from other provinces. However, the majority of in-migrants still tend to be employed in less skills-intensive sectors notably women migrants in domestic employment. In this sense, in-migration also contributes to a lowering of the income levels measures for the province.

This puts immense pressure on infrastructure, housing, educational, social services and health services provision. According to the HSRC, 31% of households that have recently migrated to Gauteng reside in informal dwellings. Migration within Gauteng tends to be from informal to new formal dwellings. Another consequence of in-migration is the higher levels of visible poverty. Large numbers of migrant workers (40%) have moved to the province from impoverished rural areas. According to research, these workers earned an average of R1900 in the period September 2001 to August 2002 and remitted more than R2,6 million (mostly in cash) home. These remittances impact significantly on their ability to save or invest money in Gauteng.

In addition, in the first decade of freedom, we saw an unbundling of households and a decrease in size, with a consequent decrease in extended families. The change in household size is a demonstration that political freedom and provision of basic services including housing, as well as more options for settling and employment in different areas, has improved the quality of life of people. However, this trend poses significant challenges for service delivery in the housing sector.

A particular area for attention will be to encourage the social integration of communities black, white, Asian and coloured who are dependent on government provided social housing. We need to have a single housing waiting list for the province and houses should be offered to people based on their placing on that list, irrespective of whether such house is in a previously black, white or coloured housing area. Separate housing is a thing of the apartheid past. Integration is being achieved in the many residential areas of South Africa. We wish to build a South Africa of non-racial communities living, schooling, working and playing together, with equal access to housing and other amenities provided by the state.

We will pay increasing attention to the promotion of quality mixed housing projects for mixed income groups as a means of fostering racially integrated human settlements.

In line with our earlier commitments, we will in the near future consider an inclusionary housing policy to ensure that commercial developments allocate a percentage of housing to affordable housing for lower middle income groups.

We have been making important inroads in our efforts to mobilise private sector resources to contribute to the broader development of our province, including in the delivery of affordable housing. Through the Housing Partnership Fund we have mobilised additional resources to help more people in the province access affordable housing. This includes those who previously did not benefit from housing provided through government or banking schemes.

One such initiative involves a R800 million housing development project to build more than 3000 houses in Glen Ridge, Soweto, which was initiated in partnership with First National Bank. The bank is also involved in building more than 1000 affordable houses in Cosmo City.

We will continue to tackle the challenge of bridging the gap between the first and the second economy in our province. The first is an advanced, sophisticated economy, based on skilled labour, which is becoming more globally competitive. The second is mainly an informal, marginalised and unskilled economy, populated by the unemployed and those unemployable in the formal sector.

We need to continue to ensure that the high growth levels are able to impact directly on those who remain trapped in poverty, exacerbated by a lack of access to economic opportunities and skills. We need to ensure that the opportunities being created to engage meaningfully in economic activities and growth of our province benefit not just those sectors of our society that are generally financially secure and stable and who have the necessary skills, means and resources to participate in the mainstream economy.

Our Social Development Strategy provides a framework for sustainable social development that places the children, youth, women, the disabled and the elderly at the centre of its development efforts through ensuring social protection and promoting investment in human and social development. In order to better tackle the challenges of poverty and create future generations who are well integrated into the economic mainstream, this strategy will ensure that departments collaborate with each other to enable households to access a comprehensive set of services including shelter, nutrition, child and youth development, education and health.

It aims, further, to effectively translate social development inputs into economic development outcomes, by providing the necessary educational resources and social infrastructure to enable people to increase their potential for earning income. In these and other ways, we plan to increase our poverty reduction efforts that address the needs of families, households and citizens living with inadequate financial and social support networks. In so doing, we will work in collaboration with our social partners, non-government organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), civil society and business.

As our economy grows, we need to be increasingly attentive to the needs for social development services of citizens, households and communities.

South Africa's integration into the global economy means that while people in certain fields of knowledge and skills are in demand, there are currently too many people and households who are unable to participate effectively in economic activity or in creating livelihoods for themselves and their families and therefore remain trapped in poverty.

While social grants provide relief too many trapped in poverty, we know that our people do not wish to remain dependent on grants. We will therefore work together to promote the participation of as many people and households as possible in economic activity.

We have developed a human resource development strategy for Gauteng which will give attention to building a development focus that improves schooling and prepares people to function effectively in a rapidly changing economy where jobs are not guaranteed. This will include skills development measures that enable people in communities with high levels of poverty and unemployment to access and effectively utilise resources to become economically active.

Our social development strategy will also enable us to better tackle the challenges of poverty and create future generations who are better integrated into the economic mainstream and are able to access a comprehensive set of services including shelter, nutrition, child and youth development, education and health. In this way we will reduce poverty and address the needs of families, households and citizens living with inadequate financial and social support networks.

Culture of violence

I do not normally talk about myself. I have today decided to make an exception. Prior to working full time at Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), I used to work for PSG services a security and cleaning company. I was involved in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the Security Officers Board and engaged with SANSEA for the establishment of a collective bargaining council for security officers. I therefore know the problems associated with the security industry including its working conditions and low pay.

While I am pleased that the trade unions and employers have reached an agreement that settles the three month long strike, I am dismayed at the violence that accompanied the strike.

I therefore have no hesitation in condemning without any qualification those who have been involved in the violence and killings that accompanied the strike. This type of behaviour undermines the right to strike and distracts the public from the legitimate demands and concerns of workers. It makes a mockery of the battle for worker rights that was waged over many decades and should not be tolerated in any democracy.

Two weekend newspaper reports illustrate the point. The Sunday Times Metro tells how what should have been young student Siphiwe Baloyi's proudest moment his graduation day turned into a nightmare after striking security guards mistook him for a scab worker. Baloyi, an engineering student from the Johannesburg Technikon, was beaten until he lost consciousness. He ended up in hospital and missed his graduation ceremony.

City Press reports that seven month old Katlego and his two sisters will have to grow up without their father, a security guard whose body was found next to a railway line after he disappeared on his way to work. He was just one of the many victims of violent incidents associated with the strike.

We also see the same culture of violence in domestic violence, in the abuse of women and children, in brutal criminal acts and in the wilful destruction of public property, including the torching of trains.

No amount of frustration justifies violence and violence in whatever guise is unacceptable in a democracy. It represents the legacy of apartheid within our midst and must be rooted out by all those who cherish our democratic freedoms. As government we are determined to see to it that the perpetrators of violence in whatever form are brought to book.

In line with the commitments we made in February this year, we will in the near future release our provincial safety plan for Gauteng and a provincial road safety plan. These will outline a comprehensive strategy involving a range of role players in tackling crime in our province. The proposal made by MEC Cachalia for a social movement against crime must be seen in this context.

Civil society

As I indicated earlier, the people of Gauteng have given us a mandate to join hands with them in a people's contract to create work and fight poverty. While the role of government in this regard is clear, we need to pay more attention to the role of civil society in social transformation. This emerged strongly during the process of consultation with stakeholders and citizens across the province to assess our performance as a society as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

I am pleased to report that we tabled our report with the national APRM secretariat in March and also participated in a national consultative conference as part of the process towards the development of the APRM country report. In July we will be pleased to receive the APRM Country Review Mission headed by Prof Adedeji.

The process highlighted the need to strengthen civil society in order to improve its capacity to contribute towards the deepening of democracy and social transformation in general.

We will continue to forge ahead in strengthening opportunities for civil society participation in governance, including through consultation forums and initiatives such as Izimbizo, ward committees and the like.

As a measure of our accountability, we have continued to publish reports on the progress we have made in fulfilling our commitments and have placed these on the GPG website and portal.

Service delivery

Significant work has been undertaken to position GPG to deliver services of the highest standards that our people deserve. Currently, all the departments have completed service standards for the key services which they deliver to the public. These will in the next few weeks be tabled at the Executive Council for adoption.

To further improve public service performance, we will during Public Service Week at the end of July release these service standards so that the public can hold us accountable.

It is crucial that our people know what service standards to expect from the government. Equally important, it is their right to have channels to stipulate their complaints in case of dissatisfaction with services rendered. Therefore, we will go all-out to communicate these to our people. By the end of September, we will have developed a measurement plan to determine our levels of compliance with the standards we would have set.

In order to enable the public to participate in the evaluation of government services and performance, we will this year ask the public to nominate service delivery teams which they believe have achieved excellence. These nominations will then form part of the Premier's Service Excellence Awards which will be announced in November this year.

Today is Africa Public Service Day, and public servants in Gauteng join their counterparts in the rest of Africa in celebrating this day, which is an important event on the African Union calendar. On this day we recognise the value and virtue of service to the community and reiterate our commitment to deliver value and quality public service to Africa's citizens and to promote the values of professionalism, accountability and responsiveness within the public service.

We also pay tribute to the loyal men and women, the public servants who devote their lives to diligently serving the people of the province, the country and the continent.

This year's theme, as set by the APSD Ministerial Steering Committee of the African Union, is Building an ethical Public Service for improved service delivery in Africa, with a focus on promoting good governance, empowering the citizenry and enhancing access to services and government information; capacitating the public service to meet the expectations of the people and restructuring the public sector in line with Africa's unique challenges.

We must continue to build a public service which upholds the highest moral values, integrity and ethics. We are currently developing an ethics programme within the provincial government to promote employee awareness of ethics and ethical behaviour within the public service. This will complement our current anti-corruption campaign which is succeeding in rooting out corruption in our ranks.

It is indeed disturbing that a minority of teachers in schools are abusing their positions to sexually abuse learners, as reported in the recent South Africa Human Rights Commission report on the right to basic education, which was released last week. Teachers are supposed to set an example to learners and help put across good moral values. Like with the violence that I referred to earlier, there can be no excuse for such unacceptable behaviour. Such teachers do not belong in our schools and must be rooted out. I call on all learners, teachers, parents and the community at large to assist us in bringing these people to book.

In August this year we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic anti-pass march of the women of 1956, which pushed to the fore the indispensable role of women in the struggle for freedom and democracy and highlighted women's emancipation and gender equality as an integral component of our democracy. In the face of the injustices and brutality perpetrated by the apartheid regime, the women of 1956 fought to create the space to have their voices heard and united to confront the apartheid authorities. It is the responsibility of the current generation to ensure that the advances they made and the spaces they opened up for women should never be reversed but rather extended.

We will this year host a range of activities to focus on woman’s empowerment, including women's izimbizo. We will also this year once again host regional women's dialogues to give women an opportunity to reflect on the progress made so far in advancing the interests of women within government and other sectors and in setting new targets and action plans involving a range of role-players on different fronts to further advance their cause.

To further promote youth development in our province we established the Gauteng Youth Commission and have appointed a team of youth leaders who we are confident will play a central role in representing youth interests within the provincial government. They enjoy high levels of capacity and ability to advance the mainstreaming and coordination of youth development across the province both within government and civil society.

We recognise the vital role of the youth as a key social force in building the province and in consolidating Gauteng's global competitiveness. We are currently undertaking a youth development audit across the provincial government, which will serve as the baseline for the Commission to build on.

I wish to turn to our programme to build Gauteng as a Preferred Home of Competitive Sport through the Home of Champions initiative, which will make an important contribution to economic development and job creation in our province, including through bidding to host major sporting and cultural events. Priority will be given to our seven sporting codes (football, netball, athletics, cricket, rugby, boxing and swimming), although other codes or events will also be supported.

In the forthcoming year, we are looking forward to bringing Manchester United to participate in the Vodacom Challenge, establishing the Gauteng Cup, a tournament targeting Gauteng based Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams (eight in total) and supporting the city to city marathon amongst others.

Work to upgrade HM Pitje, George Thabe, Sinaba, Orlando and Rand Stadiums is already underway. Three of these stadia will be home grounds to Mamelodi Sundowns, Cosmos, Swallows and Benoni United. These initiatives will also prove a significant factor in the ability to position the stadia as potential practice venues for 2010.

The massive enthusiasm which the current 2006 Federation International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in Germany has attracted has highlighted the enormous potential benefits that go with the hosting of the event, which brings with it millions of football fans.

Come 2010, millions of football fans will be coming to our country, with 80% of them coming through the Johannesburg International Airport. The challenge is for us to use the opportunity to the benefit of our people, both in the short and in the longer-term, through the creation of economic opportunities, developing our human capital and in regenerating infrastructure.

In addition to the stadia that I have already mentioned, we will need to ensure we have in place the necessary infrastructure to enable the efficient movement of people around the province; we will also need to address issues such as safety and policing, health care and emergency services and the appropriate ICT infrastructure. The football fans will want places to watch the matches for those who do not have tickets, to stay, to eat and to be entertained. We must also use the opportunity to showcase the Gauteng city region to the world. We would also want many of them to be so impressed with our country that they would want to return again as ordinary tourists and even investors.

We therefore have to start now to put the necessary measures in place and to ensure that our province not only complies with the requirements of the bid book, but is able to move beyond that.

The 2010 project unit within the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation will play a key role in coordinating the preparations for 2010 based on the province's Integrated 2010 implementation plan, which will be completed by the end of July.

Last year we were all saddened by the relegation of Bidvest Wits and the failure by Benoni united to qualify for promotion to the PSL. We are happy that the clever boys did not try to buy their way to the PSL but qualified through winning the Mvela League. Congratulations to them.

Our congratulations also go to Benoni United who did not allow last year's failure to qualify to dampen their spirits and have this year once more shown through their tenacity why we are a home of competitive sport. I have no doubt we will on many occasions be inundated to shouts of “Up the Rabbits” by member Malefane who I am told now has an identity crises of not being sure if he is a bird, a buccaneer or a rabbit.

The same goes to Mobapane Young Tigers who have won promotion from the Vodacom first division league to the Mvela League. You have all done us proud and have shown that Gauteng truly is the home of champions.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
23 June 2006