/ 19 February 2007

More jobs, less crime in Shilowa’s Gauteng

Gauteng has more jobs and is becoming a better place to live, Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said on Monday.

”A better Gauteng is in the making,” he told the opening of the provincial legislature in his state of the province address.

Shilowa promised more action on crime and African education, more antiretrovirals and a fast clean-up of the collapsed driver’s-licence testing system.

He told the provincial legislature in his state-of-the-province address on Monday that life is getting better in Gauteng with more jobs, economic opportunities arising from the 2010 World Cup — and just 29 bucket toilets left to be eliminated.

Shilowa emphasised the improvements in the province, admitted what is needed, told Gautengers he understands they are afraid of crime, promised hard work and set some deadlines.

He acknowledged that even though some crime levels are falling or stabilising, they are still ”unacceptably high” and ”we recognise that improved statistics by themselves are not enough if our people continue to feel unsafe”

”We pledge to redouble our efforts to further reduce the levels of crime in our province.”

He announced a new system to track police-station performance, a R600-million upgrade to the 10111 police emergency response system to be online by the end of July, and plans to recruit 22 000 volunteers to ”reclaim the streets” in 25 key areas.

”Our objective in the coming year is to prevent and reduce violent crime as well as target serious economic crime and organised crime.”

Education

On education, he announced that an urgent conference will be held before the end of the school term to plan to upgrade education for African children within two years.

He said although school results have improved, black children — particularly African children — still do not get a good enough education.

”It is the African child who learns in overcrowded schools. It is African children who have a higher failure rate. It is the township schools where the African child is based that are dysfunctional. This we must bring to a complete halt.”

Action will be taken on schools with unacceptably high failure rates and against poorly performing principals.

Gauteng wants to increase by 60% over the next year the number of HIV-positive people receiving antiretrovirals. ”We hope to increase the number of people on antiretroviral treatment to 70 000 by March 2008.”

More than 44 000 people have been put on antiretrovirals in two years.

The prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme was used by 124 398 women in 2006, up from 87 546 two years earlier. Babies will now be tested for HIV by the more accurate and quicker polymerase chain-reaction method.

The collapsed driver’s-licence test booking system will get an immediate clean-up. There have been problems for the past year, with aspirant drivers unable to book tests.

”The MEC [provincial minister] for public transport, roads and works has committed

himself to removing all obstacles to the smooth functioning of the system before the end of the current financial year,” said Shilowa.

A new system integrating SMS, telephone, internet and walk-in bookings will be set up immediately, and Shilowa warned municipalities to cooperate.

Jobs boost

By March last year there were 3 293 000 jobs in the province, an increase of 426 000 jobs in four years. Shilowa promised more efforts on this.

”While the increase in the number of jobs is not yet enough to provide work for all new entrants, retrenched workers or those who are underemployed, we are satisfied that our interventions are indeed having an impact in stimulating economic activity and reducing unemployment and poverty.”

The Gautrain had created 1 800 jobs by the end of January, and about 20 000 more are expected during the next financial year.

He told Gautengers their incomes were up, with an increase in average personal income from R248 564 to R327 211 between 2001 and 2006; they took home about 35% of all personal income in the country last year; and the share of income received by Africans in the province increased from 37% to almost 40% of the total.

Informal dwellings declined from 19% to 14% between 2002 and 2005.

By 2004, about 90% of Gauteng households had electricity.

Just 29 households still use the ”abhorrent bucket system” and these will be gone by June, said Shilowa. ”Of the 12 332 households identified last year as still using the bucket system, 12 303 of them now have decent sanitation.”

In the next financial year, 25 159 serviced sites will be provided in informal settlements and 58 552 houses would be built, benefiting close to 300 000 people.

Gauteng’s preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup are under way and offer good opportunities. The first phase of refurbishment of three stadiums is finished and two should be ready as practice venues by the end of the next financial year.

The first fan park for watching matches will be ready in July in Newtown.

Shilowa said the R24, the main road between Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport, will be renamed to honour African National Congress veteran Albertina Sisulu. — Sapa