PLAN OF ACTION
‘ WE ’ VE IMPROVED EDUCATION ’
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane walks into the legislature with speaker Lindiwe Maseko for the state of the province address yesterday
GAUTENG premier Nomvula Mokonyane believes the success of Gauteng’s education system depends on stability in Soweto’s schools.
“Soweto sneezes and everyone catches a cold,” she said, speaking about the township ’ s “best results ever ” in last year ’ s matric exams.
Mokonyane was opening the legislature with the state of the province address in Johannesburg yesterday, where she outlined her government ’ s achievements over the past five years.
She patted herself on the back for turning around the township ’ s matric performance from a 58% pass rate in 2009, when her administration took over, to 83% in 2013.
Her administration has built 141 schools and added 2 000 classrooms to existing schools.
Only 43 schools received bellow a 60% matric pass rate, compared to 234 when her administration started.
Of the province ’ s 1.7 million pupils, 1.6 million are in nofee schools and 1.2 million receive meals at school.
But the premier ’ s address was not so convincing in other areas like health, where her department has had to develop a litigation strategy “with a view to manage the number of litigations that the department is faced with ”.
She said she was working with the state attorney ’ s office. The Gauteng health department faces more than 300 legal claims worth just under R2-billion.
Mokonyane promised that two hospitals which were supposed to be opened in 2009, Zola Hospital in Jabulani, Soweto, and the new Natalspruit Hospital in Vosloorus, East Rand, would be opened this year – in April and July respectively.
She said R477-million would be spent over the next three years to refurbish and rehabilitate hospitals.
The health department has been besieged with problems such as service providers not being paid on time, equipment breakdowns, to due to non-maintenance and faulty generators in hospitals.
Mokonyane identified the automotive sector establishing itself in Gauteng as one of the pillars of job creation.
In 2012, the province constructed its first automotive training academy. Gauteng has three vehicle assembler plants – Nissan/Renault, BMW and Ford Motor Corporation. She outlined plans to grow capacity in this sector.
Overall, more than 800 000 jobs were created in the province. Just more than 100 000 youths went through the expanded public works programme.
Mokonyane urged residents to respect the rights of others who were not part of protests, but did not elaborate further.
She did not address any of the issues of lack of sanitation, electricity and water, and corruption in the housing allocation queues that have been raised by various communities from informal settlements in the province.
Instead, she rehashed a commitment to the existing township and squatter camp formalisation programmes announced at the beginning of her term.
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