SACP Gauteng Province response to the State of the Province Address by Premier Nomvula Mokonyane
23 February 2011
The SACP Gauteng Province welcomes the address of the Premier presented on Monday, 22nd February 2011 at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. Her departure point was the unveiling of Vision 2055, which inspires us as communists as it is premised on growth & development, job creation and medium-term and long-term planning.
Long-term infrastructure planning will assist to deal with the legacy of apartheid era spatial development planning which confined poor communities in domitory townships. We welcome the establishment of the Gauteng Planning Commission and are looking forward to the setting up of the Advisory Council that will help to drive the realisation of Vision 2055.
We join the Premier in congratulating the Grade 12 Class of 2010 for having made us proud by making Gauteng the leading province by reaching a pass rate of 78.6%. The emphasis on education is in line with the Election Manifesto priorities. We are looking forward to the Soweto Education Summit in March where we shall make our contribution to entrench the culture of teaching and learning in our schools. The Accelerated Artisan Training Programme addresses the shortage of artisans in the country, which is an area which has been neglected. We are equally inspired by the continued roll-out of the school nutrition programme and school building programme.
We note the strides that the province has made in fighting crime, especially contact crime through visible policing. The efforts of the provincial government on rural development have not gone unnoticed as it is reported that 131 farmers have been given an opportunity to go through the empowerment programmes. We also commend the province on providing working class communities with housing, notably 665 000 since 1994.
We support the creation of the Gauteng City Region and the envisaged infrastructure programme with the potential to create 130 000 jobs. Whilst we appreciate opportunities that come with the Expanded Public Works Programme, we believe these numbers can still be increased and the provincial government should attempt to create quality jobs. We call that this process should include the building and strengthening of cooperatives.
We noted the concerns raised by the Gauteng Provincial Government on the proposed tolling system, especially lack of consultation around cost structure and impact it will have on the people of Gauteng.
We further welcome the intervention made in this regard, which led to the suspension of the implementation of the project. This is a step in the right direction by the National Department of Transport and demonstrates decisive and sensitive leadership. We call for an urgent transport stakeholder consultation summit in the province led by our revolutionary alliance. We believe that this Summit will be able to define the way forward.
Issued on behalf of the SACP Gauteng PEC
For more information, contact:
Acting Provincial Secretary Jacob Mamabolo on 082 884 1868
