​Thembisa Shologu
Premier Panyaza Lesufi expressed his appreciation for the constructive criticism offered by opposition members during Monday's State of the Province Address (SOPA) debate at the Provincial Legislature.
This debate followed the SOPA held on 15 August 2024 at the Change Bible Church in Katlehong.
In his response, Premier Lesufi highlighted that the opposition's arguments overlooked several key improvements made by the provincial government over the past 18 months.
These include introducing the energy response program, Nasi Ispani Mass Recruitment Programme, which has provided employment to 130,000 young people, installing CCTV cameras, and launching the e-panic app, among others.
"I am raising all these things and many other issues to demonstrate that anyone who stands in this house and says the things that we have promised to do in the last 18 months was nothing but pipe dreams is not only unfounded but also baseless.
"I want to thank you, Member Solly Msimanga, for leading by presenting your argument with respect, succinctly, but most importantly, with the intention to build and not destroy. Let's bury our ideological differences and put the interest of the people at heart," said Lesufi.
Lesufi also addressed the end of the National Government's Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, commonly known as the Teacher Assistants program.
He pointed out that when the initiative ended, Gauteng province took the initiative to employ these young people on a contract basis.
In February 2024, the Gauteng Provincial Government employed 32 000 young people back to work as Education Assistants, General School Assistants, and Early Childhood Development Assistants across Gauteng schools under the Nasi iSpani Mass Recruitment Programme.
"It is unfortunate that the issue of teacher assistants is being used the way it is; as the GPG, we had nothing to do with the programme in 2020.
"It is a national government programme launched to assist schools during COVID-19, and when the national government terminated their contracts across the country, we were the only province to stand up to help the 32 000 youths so that they are not hit by unemployment until the National Government explains how the programme will be carried in the future.
"National Government has come back, the new recruitment programme will be outlined, and they will carry these 32 000 and many other young people across the province," he said.
Regarding the decision to scrap e-tolls, Lesufi reiterated that it was not a mere political move but a significant decision to address financial obligations.
He clarified that the government plans to repay the money owed without burdening ordinary citizens.
"We are enhancing our revenue collection to cover this particular debt. We are putting in new systems on three of our revenue streams that are very important, the first one is the traffic licensing collection.
"The investment in health where there are people with medical aids when funds have expired in private hospitals they come to public hospitals because they do not have money and when it is loaded again they run away, so we say, when your medical aid is loaded again we will go to the same medical aid and take what belongs to us, back into public coffers including in online gambling where we are not present and we are putting up advertisement revenue on the railways," said the premier
In addition, Lesufi clarified that stipends for programmes like Nasi iSpani were funded by investments from both government and private sponsors.
The investments include Transnet and ACSA, R8 billion from the UIF, EPWP from the National Government managed by the Department of Infrastructure (DID), R1.1 billion from the STEEL funds, solar panel training from merSETA, and some of the Gauteng provincial departments.