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PREMIER OF THE GAUTENG PROVINCEWhile there are encouraging signs that the economy is back on the upswing, the devastating impact of the crisis is still felt by many, particularly the workers who lost their jobs. Unemployment in Gauteng reached 25.7% by the fourth quarter of 2009.
An estimated 2.2 million (2007 GDSP) people are living on less than $2 per day; this number would have increased as a result of the economic crisis.
Last year, we consulted with key role-players in the economy and agreed on the necessary strategic interventions. We generally agreed that investment in public infrastructure development should remain one of the key interventions.
We will continue to utilise and promote labour-intensive methods in all our infrastructure development projects to maximise job creation.
Over the next three years, the Gauteng Provincial Government will spend R34 billion on infrastructure development. But this amount will not be sufficient to fund the province’s infrastructure needs.
We have therefore decided to seek alternative funding to cater for new infrastructure projects including hospitals, schools, roads, bulk services and human settlements. In this regard, we have mandated the Department of Finance to raise R20bn from the private sector to meet the demands.
To provide immediate relief to thousands of people who are currently unemployed, in the coming year we will launch a massive Community Works Programme in the 50 poorest wards in our province. This will provide a critical employment safety net for our people.
Through these programmes, we will provide each household in the poorest communities with a job for 100 days.
The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is one of the interventions that we shall continue to pursue, since it has proven to be effective in alleviating the pressures of unemployment and poverty.
The current phase of the EPWP focuses on skills development. There will be 56 new projects implemented during the 2010-2011 financial year. The projects will include limited to new roads, schools, hospitals, clinics and community centres, waste management and craft hubs.
Through the EPWP, we have already created 120 000 job opportunities, of which 66 000 beneficiaries were women, 960 people with disability, and the remaining 48 000.
These direct interventions to create job opportunities will be complemented by actions to place our province on a new growth path. Our focus will be on industrial policy, strategic economic infrastructure and the green economy.
These interventions will create more long-term and sustainable jobs.
We will continue to support economic sectors that have the greatest potential of creating decent work and opportunities.
Working with labour and other spheres of government, we will revitalise the manufacturing sector in Gauteng. Our interventions in this regard will be in the following sectors:
• Automotive
• Clothing, textile, leather and footwear;
• Transport;
• Capital equipment;
• Furniture;
• ICT;
• Business process outsourcing and off-shoring;
• Tourism; and
• Construction
Premier of Gauteng
Nomvula Mokonyane
Extract from State of the Province Address 2010
