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Media Statement of the African National Congress Gauteng Province PEC Lekgotla held 30th January - 1st February 2015 The ANC in Gauteng met at a 3-day Lekgotla held from 30 January to 1 February 2015 in Tshwane. Bringing together delegates representing the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), Regional structures of the ANC, Leagues, Alliance Partners and other comrades serving the movement in various capacities within government, the Lekgotla was convened to craft a concrete and coherent programme of action for the 4 year term (2015-18) of the current PEC and to inform and influence the work of government for the 2015/16 year. Lekgotla was unanimous on the need to re-imagine the future in Gauteng; reasserting the leadership role of the ANC as an agent of change, tasked with directing society, innovatively and creatively, to address the challenges confronting it. To this end, Lekgotla has adopted bold and far-reaching programmes to realize the vision of a globally competitive, integrated, socially cohesive and economically inclusive Gauteng City Region underpinned by smart industries and sustainable development. Lekgotla has further reaffirmed its support for the Gauteng Provincial Government's 10 Pillar Programme of Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation (TMR) as the basis for economic transformation within the GCR. Challenges in the economy that impede our ability to meet our targets of economic growth were identified and concrete proposals developed on how to confront them. Amongst these were the energy shortfalls that continue to constrain productive activity in the economy. Ensuring security of energy is crucial to the advancement of the TMR. Lekgotla has welcomed the NEC Lekgotla decision empowering local government to augment the country's energy generation and distribution capacity. The Provincial Government, working together with municipalities, has been directed to develop a comprehensive Energy Plan and in the immediate term for the Cities of Joburg and Tshwane to lead our efforts to exploit existing energy generation capacity, bringing in excess of 600 megawatts onto the grid. In an effort to counteract the depressed global and local economic conditions, Lekgotla has called upon government to maintain high levels of infrastructure investment as part of our strategy to stimulate economic growth. Gauteng has the largest infrastructure budget in the country, some of our municipalities are delivering against budgets which are bigger than some provinces; evidence of which is clearly visible with amongst others the rollout of the Bus Rapid Transit Systems in the metropolitan areas, the building and revitalization of schools and hospitals and the largest government free Wi-Fi project in the country. Government has further been directed to accelerate our state-led re-industrialisation programme that prioritises localisation - to ensure that we progressively achieve 75% through state procurement in domestically produced goods and services. Lekgotla's call for new cities, new economic nodes and logistics and technology hubs to be built has been instructive and we trust government will move with the necessary speed to realize this ambitious and bold vision. The Gauteng Executive Council Lekgotla and State of the Province address is expected to elaborate on these plans. On the electronic tolling system, Lekgotla welcomed the work done by the Advisory Panel appointed by Premier David Makhura to review the socio-economic impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. Lekgotla reiterated our position that e-Tolls in their current form are undesirable and unworkable. Guided by the principles developed by the Advisory Panel, the ANC in Gauteng concurs that any system to be adopted should be one that meets the test of affordability, administrative simplicity, equity and sustainability. Lekgotla has therefore mandated the leadership to continue making representations to the e-Toll panel, taking into account the voices of the people of Gauteng on this important matter. As we mark the 20th anniversary of democratic local government in South Africa, the Lekgotla reemphasized the need for intensified engagement with our people on the successes and challenges within the local sphere of government. The significant strides that have been made towards the entrenchment of a developmental, responsive and accountable local government must be celebrated. The clean audits received by Ekurhuleni are further testaments to this fact. Lekgotla further called for greater cooperation in the fight against ills that continue to plague society, with young people the most vulnerable. There must be an intensification of the fight against Nyaope and other illegal substances; concrete programmes driven by social partnerships must be developed to fight the scourge of teenage pregnancies. To this end, Lekgotla has welcomed interventions by the Department of Health to ensure greater access to family planning in our schools and health centres. Building healthy and socially cohesive communities is a collective responsibility demanding the active participation of social partners including teachers, parents and civil society. Non-racialism, social cohesion and nation-building remain values that the African National Congress has committed itself to. The ANC PEC Lekgotla has condemned in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence perpetrated against foreign nationals in our province in recent days. While the circumstances can never justify these incidents, Lekgotla has called upon government and the private sector to do more to bring more of our people into the economic mainstream. For its part, the African National Congress will initiate and strengthen dialogue with compatriots residing in our province from other parts of the African Continent. The freedoms we enjoy today was hard won with the active support of progressive peoples of our continent. The Freedom Charter enjoins us to fight for peace and friendship and it is those liberties we have committed ourselves to fight for until they are won. The Freedom Charter, ANC 53rd National Conference resolutions, 12th Gauteng Provincial Conference resolutions and the National Executive Committee (NEC) January 8th statement delivered during the successful 103rd Anniversary celebrations held in Cape Town last month, framed the discussions of Lekgotla. Once again, this gathering of our movement was characterized by unity of purpose amongst structures of the ANC and our Alliance Partners. The intent was clear and unambiguous - ensuring the renewal of the organization as we accelerate our efforts to radically transform society and build a better life for all. //Ends Issued by: Hope Mankwana Papo Provincial Secretary African National Congress For enquiries please contact: ANC Gauteng head of communication Nkenke Kekana on 082 900 0096 or [email protected] From: https://www.facebook.com/gugu.ndima.3/posts/986258204722356 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. 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