Madame Speaker, Honourable Ntombi Mekgwe,
Honourable Members of the Executive Council,
Honourable Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature,
Honourable Members of Parliament;

Former Premier of Gauteng and Chairperson of the ANC Paul
Mashatile,
Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Cllr
Mondli Gungubele,
All Mayors, Speakers, Chief Whips and Councillors of Gauteng
municipalities,
Leaders of Political Parties represented in the Gauteng
Provincial Legislature,
Leaders of Religious Formations, Community Organisations,
Trade Unions, Business, Women and Youth Sector,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
The Wife of the late Comrade Sam Ntuli and the Members of the
Ntuli Family,
Director-General and Heads of Departments
Provincial Commissioner of Police, General Mothiba
Veterans of our struggle, Isithwalandwe Ahmed Kathrada, Mama
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Isu Chiba
Distinguished guests,
Comrades and Compatriots
Fellow citizens of Gauteng,

I hereby join the Speaker in welcoming you to the opening of the
fifth Legislature in Thokoza township in the Ekurhuleni
Metropolitan municipality.
Siyathokoza!

Once more, I am humbled by the distinct and singular honour to
be the sixth Premier of Gauteng province, the leading economy
in the country and significant player in the African economy. I
want to assure the people of Gauteng that my election comes
with enormous resonsibility to serve you with honour, integrity
and dedication.

Honourable Speaker,
Allow me to welcome to this august house the family of our dear
Comrade and Hero, Sam Ntuli - his brothers, sisters and
children. Comrade Sam Ntuli was a gallant freedom fighter and
outstanding community leader who played a central role in the
struggle against apartheid tyranny in the East Rand.
We have chosen to gather in this township and metro as part of
paying homage to the communities and community leaders who
played a decisive role during the struggle for freedom and
democracy in our country and province. We are here to say to
the people of Thokoza and Ekurhuleni: thank you for your
contribution to the struggle for freedom and democracy. Freedom
was not free!
Honourable Members,
This morning, we started at the gravesite of the late Comrade
Sam Ntuli, a hero of our people, who fought gallantly against
apartheid and paid the highest price so that we can, today, enjoy
freedom.

As a way to honour Sam Ntuli’s selfless contribution to the
struggles of this township and metropolitan, I would like to
announce that his grave will be declared a provincial heritage
site so that future generations can know that freedom was not
free. Comrade Sam was killed by the apartheid regime for the
love of freedom and democracy and many people were killed on
the day of his funeral, which I personally attended on 29
September 1991.

In honouring Sam Ntuli we have declared his place of rest as a
heritage site and in September, in partnership with the City of
Ekurhuleni, we will unveil a master plan for the Sam Ntuli
Cultural Heritage site aimed at telling the story of the struggle of
the people of Gauteng, and in particular Thokoza, for a free and
democratic South Africa.

OMphemba, ONdlela bakaSompisi, Siyabonga!
Honourable Speaker,
Tomorrow the 28th June, we will lay to rest an outstanding
veteran of our struggle, Reverend Makgale Mapheto, a struggle
veteran, a community leader, father of Andrew “Ranjo” Maphetho
(MK Combatant), who passed on last week, in Tembisa.
The greatest monument we must erect for Sam Ntuli, Reverend
Mapheto and all the departed freedom fighters, is to remain true
servants of the people who are totally dedicated to the radical
transformation of our society and economy in order to realise the
ideals of the Freedom Charter, whose 59th anniversary we
celebrated yesterday. The Freedom Charter remains our overall
strategic vision as we build a national democratic society.
The People of Gauteng,
We start this term of the fifth administration with a tremendous
sense of historic obligation and an electoral mandate to effect
radical socio-economic transformation in our country.
The need for radical change was underscored by the Honourable
President, Jacob Zuma, during his inauguration on 24th May
2014:

“Today marks the beginning of the second phase of our
transition from apartheid to a national democratic society.
This second phase will involve the implementation of
radical socio-economic transformation policies and
programmes over the next five years. We have already
placed before the nation, the National Development Plan,
our road map which outlines the type of society we

envisage by the year 2030. Through this programme, we
will move South Africa forward to prosperity and success.”
The radical second phase of our transition to a national
democratic society needs bold thinking and decisive action to
completely eradicate the social, economic and spatial legacy of
apartheid and colonialism. It requires men and women with the
capacity to think ahead and the capability to inspire actions that
can turn dreams into a reality. It needs men and women driven
by a sound vision as outlined in the Freedom Charter and the
National Development Plan. It also needs public
representatives, public servants and leaders of other sectors who
will remain true to the values of loyal service to the people.
Honourable Members,

It is for this reason, that over the next five-to-fifteen years, we
shall take active decisive steps to make Gauteng an integrated
city-region characterised by social cohesion and economic
inclusion; the leading economy in the continent underpinned by
smart and green industrial and socioeconomic development.
Accordingly, the fifth administration, has adopted a ten-pillar
programme of radical transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation
of Gauteng over the next five to fifteen years:

1. Radical economic transformation
2. Decisive spatial transformation
3. Accelerated social transformation
4. Transformation of the state and governance
5. Modernisation of the public service
6. Modernisation of the economy
7. Modernisation of human settlements and urban
development
8. Modernisation of public transport infrastructure
9. Re-industrialisation of Gauteng province and
10. Taking the lead in Africa’s new industrial revolution
Honourable Members,
As we undertake radical and decisive action during the second
phase of our transition, we do so fully conscious that Gauteng is
a much better place than it was before 1994. We have made
significant progress in improving the quality of life of the
overwhelming majority of our people.

However, we know that you, the people, have a yearning desire
for an even better Gauteng. We know this because Gauteng is a
province of endless opportunities. And yet many people are still
trapped in poverty, unemployment and inequality and are
excluded from the mainstream economy. Many still live in
townships far away from economic opportunities.
We all want children to grow up in safe and clean
neighbourhoods. We all want a decent standard of living and a
better future for our children. We all want quality education,
quality health care and a better environment.
Honourable Speaker,
Over the past 20 years, the ANC-led government has worked
with the people and different sectors to address these needs and
aspirations.

We have a good sense of what has been achieved and together
have done well over 20 years.
Going forward, together we shall take decisive steps to move
Gauteng forward as an integrated, socially-cohesive,
economically-inclusive city-region, underpinned by a smart and
green industrial and economic development.
Honourable Speaker,

As we undertake the onerous task of radical economic
transformation, we do so knowing fully well that ours is currently
the leading economy in the country and SADC region and a key
player in Africa’s economy. According to the World Bank
Development Report, between 2000 and 2010 six of the ten
fastest economies were from Africa.
In all respects, Gauteng is the heartbeat of South Africa’s
economy and gateway to Africa. Although Gauteng constitutes
1,46% of our country’s landmass, our economy is worth one
trillion rand of goods and services and contributes 36% of
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national Gross Domestic Product, the largest economy in our
country.
Our province is the engine that drives most sectors of our
country’s economy and the biggest contributor to growth and
employment - 32% of all jobs, 40% of manufacturing, transport,
communication, pharmaceutical and financial sectors and 41% of
the SMMEs. We are the headquarters of more than two-thirds
national and international companies that do business in Africa.
Gauteng is the fourth biggest economy in the continent,
contributing 11% to Africa’s economy. Globally there has been
an economic shift towards countries of the south, particularly the
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA) BRICS countries.
All these facts underscore the strategic significance of our
province in strengthening economic trade and partnerships with
African and BRIC countries.
However, our economy has major structural problems that
necessitate the call for radical economic transformation -
massive unemployment, casualisation of labour, high-income
inequalities and exclusion of a large number of the black
population from meaningful economic participation and
ownership. We are trailing behind other city-regions in the world
with regard to investing in skills, research, innovation and
economic infrastructure that enables us to build a smart and
green economy. All these structural problems have to be
addressed.
Over the next five years, we shall make the following
interventions in order to radically change the structure of the
economy and unlock the potential of different sectors:
Firstly, we are determined to revitalise and mainstream the
township economy by supporting the development of township
enterprises, co-operatives and SMMEs that will produce goods
and services that meet the needs of township residents. The
provincial government and municipalities shall work together to
provide training, funding, economic infrastructure and markets for
the goods and services produced by township and community
enterprises.
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Township entrepreneurs are capable of producing food (bread
for school nutrition and hospitals), clothes (school and police
uniforms) and furniture (for government offices). This will bring
millions of township residents into the mainstream of the
economy. We shall convene a summit with township
entrepreneurs and SMMEs in the next 200 hundred days – or
around 6 months - to develop a detailed Programme of Action.
Secondly, the provincial government has identified key sectors of
that have the potential to address the twin policy imperatives of
creating decent employment and greater economic inclusion.
These sectors include finance, automotive industry,
manufacturing, ICT, tourism, pharmaceuticals, creative
industries, construction and real estate. The promotion of new
SMMEs and township enterprises will also be brought into these
key sectors of the economy.
In the next 200 days, we shall enter into serious dialogue with
the private sector players in each of these sectors in order to
hammer out consensus on how we can unlock the potential of
these key sectors of the provincial economy to create more
decent jobs and be more inclusive of blacks, women and youth.
Thirdly, we shall work with research institutions to vigorously
promote innovation within the provincial economy and fast-track
the development of new industries that will usher Gauteng into
an innovation-driven, knowledge-based, smart and green
economy. The potential for Gauteng to be the key driver of new
sectors such as mineral beneficiation and agro-processing shall
also be enhanced. The provincial government and municipalities
are working together with the private sector in the massive rollout
of broadband and free wi-fi across the province as a backbone of
the new economy. Gauteng should be able to realise 100%
internet connectivity in the next five years.
The fourth radical intervention we will focus on is the reindustrialisation
of the Gauteng economy through strategic
infrastructure development. The massive rollout of public
transport infrastructure across the province shall be utilised to
revitalise and modernise old industries that will locally
manufacture or assemble buses, trains and locomotives. In order
to boost employment and economic inclusion, the provincial
government and municipalities will procure 75% of all goods and
services from South African producers, especially SMMEs,

township enterprises and black-owned, women and youth
enterprises.
To be specific, we are working closely with state-owned
enterprises, PRASA and TRANSNET, to re-industrialise our
province and build economic infrastructure that will boost
employment creation and economic inclusion through investing
more than R300 billion in post, freight, rail and pipeline capacity.