'Crushed' like 'candy' on trains

Struggling to catch my breath as I reach the station
“Good morning, MetroPlus, please,” I ask the lady behind the window playing candy crush on her phone.
If there was an emoticon for a question mark it would have been her facial expression.
“First class or third class?” she respond.
I told tell her this but think to myself “Not today Satan, not today.”
“What time is the train; are there any delays?” I ask before I walk. With an attitude I’m told: “Bhuti, it’s coming; just wait.”
With hundreds of other commuters I stand and wait in the cold, because there is not even a place to sit.
I hear the auntie next to me tell her friend she’s been standing here for almost 40 minutes, and there has not even been an attempt of an announcement. I doubt if I had to go ask her if Candy Crush would know anything.
Lot’s wife changed into a salt pilar from looking back. I will turn into an ice block from just standing here in the cold.
After waiting 20 minutes a train arrives.
“Hold on to your bag,” I hear someone say and then I see her diving into a scrum, just as a group scrum to get out.
From being civilized boarding the train, I end up standing. It is clear though that the train has an open-door-policy. It feels like sitting on the back of an open bakkie, driving at a high speed through the streets. This might be fun when you young, but where I’m standing it is dangerous – and cold!
I try to look around me and everyone is in their own world.

A group of school children sitting in the corner, and a group of ladies standing next to them and talking about something at work. I cannot exactly make out what is being said because everyone is talking at the same time. I’m also not sure if they talking with each other, or each in their own corner.
On my other side is a group of woman laughing about something that happened at a party. A girl who is just starring at people and not even blinking starts to smile. I’m not sure if she’s smiling at me or the joke the ladies shared. Perhaps she’s smiling because she’s feeling good.
I got such a big shock, I think I now belong to a new blood group, when a train preacher suddenly made his appearance.
With churches being so empty, it probably makes sense that a preacher would be on the overcrowded trains.
I’m not yet sure how shocked I should be when I notice there is even a collection.
Our train suddenly decides to go stand between stations and the preacher says: “It is time, my dear friend – give you heart. God is even delaying Metrorail for you to give your heart to Jesus.”
I was about to say I doubt this is that kind of divine intervention, but it looks like no one is actually listening to the sermon.
The train is just outside the next station and a big group of people got up. After 40 minutes of standing I finally get a seat. Well okay it was a seat before the foam was cut out.
My thoughts are interupted by people storming in the train. As I lift my head I see a guy running into the train. Hell, if the door on the other side was open he would have ran out!
At Bellville alot of people are getting out but more in. Those getting in are wearing short sleeves and I’m wondering if I watched the wrong weather report.
For a second I thought we still standing, but we moving – just going nowhere slowly. I’m convince I could walk faster than what we moving.
As the train stop, more and more people are getting in and just less and less getting out. Some are hanging on outside the train; others are hanging with half the body on the inside and other half outside.
The girl next to me look at me and say: “they don’t know when the next one will be arriving, so you take the first train that makes an appearance.”
Suddenly the train comes to a standsttill. We standing between somewhere and nowhere, and no one knows why.

Jumping off is not really an option.
By now Metrorail have basically used every single excuse under the sun. Even the rainy weather and load shedding was used. I am still waiting on someone to take accountability for the crisis at Metrorail. That is probably also on a delayed train.
After standing for about 35 minutes the train is moving.
“Sweeties, sweeties, peanuts!” I hear the one guy. From the other-side there is also someone shouting. I have to sit up straight to make sure I heard right: “BioPlus, BioPlus, selfie stick.”
We outside Cape Town station and I wake up my train buddy.
Do you know that taking a train is a extremely traumatic experience – if you don’t get the shock of your life, you will be stressed about standing and get frustrated with Metrorail. Or you can stare at everything around you and laugh yourself crazy.
The one fun thing about a train trip is that there is no shortage to stories, #trainstories.

• Original article appeared in Paarl Post of Thursday 23 August 2018.

Time to walk and talk

I came to the conclusion that #Metrorail is a lot like the church…

Between four walls love is shown and preached, promises are made and everyone seems happy. But like the church, Metrorail shy away from taking bold decisions – decisions that seem unpopular but in the long-run it’s for the best.

Metrorail’s challenges are as open as the environment trains are operating in. Addressing those challenges should thus not be something that drag on forever, but addressed head-on.

I recently called Metrorail Western Cape’s regional management incompetent. While I retract that with this blog, I still hold the opinion that many of the senior managers don’t have a clue of the region they meant to manage.

On the eve of Human Rights Day and just a day thereafter, Metrorail seem to have lost the plot again. Both days I called every single relevant Head of Department and senior manager that led to the Regional Manager leaving a meeting to address issues at the operational centre.

Allow me to pause here and say: yes the Western Cape Manager of Metrorail should be the last man standing, but it is wrong that he everytime be the responsible person doing everyone’s work.

It would appear that Metrorail Western Cape’s Regional Manager and I occasionally think the same way (scary) but we apparently composed similar emails at the exact same time. By the time he and his team received mine, the regional executive were already given their marching orders – similar to my invite to join me on Thursday 23 March 2017 on Cape Town station to show the top management how commuters have to run around due to lack of effective communication.

This is where I thank the men and women, who did what one would expect them to do every day when your organisation is in crisis mode.

Now back to my daring statement…

I won’t go into details on here, but from my engagement and observation it was rather shocking that some of the HODs still tried to make excuses for things that were extremely obvious:

+ Trains displayed on electronic board as being on platforms that have been out of order for nearly a year.

+ Wrong announcements being made

+ Platform changes, without any - let alone effective - communication

+ Cancellations that lead to commuters on certain lines having to wait more than 60 minutes for the next train

I agree with the HOD: Customer Service we need to address the systemic issues. That we do by changing structure, policy and protocol. Taking into consideration that Metrorail was declared being in the ICU in March 2014, one would have thought the systemic issues would be addressed head on by now.

In Metrorail’s defence: many of the HODs are newly appointed – but how long does it take you to get to know your portfolio and all the challenges.

Three things (I can publicly say) from the regional executives visit stood out for me:

+ That it took the Regional Manager to instruct his executive to be on platforms.

Like if you senior management can’t you make that decision on your own and take an hour of your day to go walk on the platforms during peak commute and familiarize yourself with challenges commuters face daily.

+ I was extremely frustrated and angry to observe an HOD not knowing the region.

A senior Metrorail manager did not know even though both Kraaifontein and Strand [and Eersteriver Wellington, Malmesbury, Worcester and Muldersvlei] trains operate on the Northern Line, they different directions and cancelling one will mean commuters of that train will have to wait for the next train going that direction.

+ Another senior manager made the bold statement [that I gave a billion likes to]: “communication is not a priority for Metrorail”

I agree, if communication was a priority:

o   It would not have been a need to instruct the regional executive to walk on Cape Town station.

o   Commuters would know what time and platform their next train is.

o   There would not be simple spelling errors in SMSe sent out.

o   Announcers would not make confusing and wrong announcements

o   Electronic display-boards would display correct information

Metrorail Western Cape’s regional executive took their walk. They saw what some of us have been saying for months is actually true.

I’m thankful that issues are being addressed in the long-term.

It’s now however time to make communication a priority

It’s not time for more apologies and excuses

It’s now time to speak and act

Moving Metrorail's Mountain

Thousands of commuters are daily faced with train delays and cancellations, if only there we proper communication those delays and cancellations would not make you so frustrated.

Although I’ve pointed it out before their confession, Metrorail have admitted to me communication is their biggest weakness. I have to give it to them though that the past two years they have made some improvement on this field, and that is an ongoing thing.

For three years now I have been their biggest critic, this led to me being privy to some internal information. Having a better understanding of the network, operations and challenges – although I learn something new every week – it gave me and them the advantage of taking a look at things from an outside view and making proposals with realistic solutions. And May has thus far seen Metrorail accepting two of my proposed solutions.

Case 1:

My big issue is proactive customer communication, and I fail to understand why this cannot be done. See Metrorail cannot control passenger-related incidents, broken rails or faulty signal due to the old infrastructure, and because they operate in an open environment they are also not immune to criminal activities [this is a separate blog]. Metrorail can however ensure that they do proactive customer communication and not leave commuters stranded with more questions than answers.

Recently I invited senior Metrorail managers to join me for 10/15minutes just walking on the platforms of Cape Town station and witness the lack of [proactive] communication. The Regional Manager was on official business and could not join but the Customer Service HOD and Marketing Manager met up with me.

Normally when management make an appearance there are no problems, not even a delay. This unannounced visit showed them the reality we have to face daily though. There were platform changes with no announcements and staff on the floor was not informed. This led to the 15 minute observation turning into 40 minutes, notes were made and certain actions immediately implemented. The two even made time to assist commuters who were confuse where their train is.

Days after this various inter-departmental meetings were held and remedial action will over the next few days and weeks be implemented. Many of the suggestions I made have also been accepted and implemented.

Case 2:

If you have never been in an overcrowded train, you have probably never traveled via Metrorail. Recent arson and vandalism incidents caused train cancellations, adding pressure to the already overcrowded trains.

Metrorail’s TrainOps made some adjustments to ensure not a lot of peak trains are cancelled. Two things they might have missed are that (i) atleast the first two peak trains will be overcrowded and (ii) they don’t travel in commuter peak time and are not squashed like sardines.

I took one line, went to the drawing board and by scanning I made a proposal to Metrorail to lift the burden on one of the first peak trains of the line. Making the proposal I had to keep in-mind limited available number of sets, other options available for commuters when cancelling another train and the pressure that would add to trains after it.

While I understand their challenges, I refuse to negotiate on two things:

1. Metrorail’s operations cannot be business as usual,

2. There should be proactive communication with synergy across all platforms

I’ve started moving Metrorail’s mountain, and there’s no stopping now.

Metrorail gets revenue and commuters?

Metrorail on 12 June 2015 decided to drop the bombshell and announce their intention to increase ticket prices from July 1^st. 

Now this came as no surprise to me as I was engaged prior to this announcement but I also knew last year it was coming – in fact I’ve known for the past 5 years.

Before I try and become harsh on Metrorail for the increase, let me first try and be objective and share the following that comparing to 2014 there has been some of improvement: 

• Speed restrictions that were imposed early last year have been lifted at most of the sections.
• Morning and even evening cancelled trains came down from 14/15 at a time to three/four (not ideal but it is an improvement).
• Security is my biggest concern and with Metrorail not immune to social challenges, there has been an increase in guards on trains – again not what it should be but an improvement. The challenge now is to get the railway police back on our trains, preferably times and areas most vulnerable.

Why the increase:

Besides the obvious fact that everything is increasing, Metrorail for three/four years had no fare increase and this led to a 16% increase when they eventually had to implement one (something I as a commuter would not want again). The then management made a commitment towards commuters to never place such a huge burden on them again, but to do that annual increases are needed.

Maybe worth mentioning that it is Prasa and not Metrorail who decide on fare prices, although Metrorail gives input. Also worth mentioning that following last year’s outcry, for the first time, the minister of transport this year wanted to see the fare increases and Prasa had to justify them – she is yet to sign off on them.

 

Metrorail is like any other business and a household, who has to make money to survive. With the announcement the Regional Manager stated they taking a pro-poor pricing strategy for weekly and monthly ticket prices. This means Metro-users (third class) pay for only 6.5 trips per week but have the option of 14 trips including weekends. Metro monthly tickets are priced at 3.1 weeks travel but your ticket allows you to travel for 4weeks.

Considering old assets beyond their design life, obsolete technology and extensive open system vulnerable to vandalism, land invasion, service protests and vagrancy that contribute to the maintenance burden – yes an increase is needed.

Expectation:

Ideally I would have wanted the transport minister to ask Treasury and public enterprises for a bigger cut of the pie and joint venture to fast-track the improvement of our old rail infrastructure.

Seeing as train tracks beyond Stikland and most of the tracks beyond Kuilsriver on the Northern Line belong to Transnet, I would also expect the transport and public enterprises ministers to be bold enough to transfer those tracks to Metrorail to ensure better service, as their hands are currently tied. 

Having said that too many freight trains operate in commuter peak-time and even though goods trains bring in more revenue than commuter trains, the two ministers can make a decision for freight trains not to operate in commuter peak – as the past year have seen too many of them fail in section leading to commuter trains being delayed for up to three hours.

What Metrorail cannot ignore:

Metrorail’s biggest challenge remains customer service communication – I comfort myself with the fact that the Regional Manager not only understands the importance of this but also the frustration of thousands of commuters and is trying his best to make sure this is being addressed. 

It is also comforting to know the Regional Manager occasionally takes a train “undercover” and addresses issues like no announcements, electronic boards that are off, etc.

Metrorail has stated the fare increase is unavoidable. Let’s be honest so is train cancellations, delays, vandalism, defective tracks, trains failing in-section (I do hope and pray though no derailment) the next few months, and thus should proactive communication also be unavoidable.

It is highly unlikely that there will be no increase, so it should be highly unlikely there should be an hour with no customer communication (should be comforting for the tech savvy to know we still have GoMetro and @CapeTownTrains to keep us informed - last mentioned made some major improvements past few months and should be deployed to assist the struggling Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal regions)

Metrorail is going to get their revenue (with the increase), so now us commuters should get better more proactive customer service communication.

Metrorail's delay

Metrorail missed their own deadline for reporting back, following an announcement by the former regional manager of Metrorail Western Cape, Mthuthuzeli Swartz, on Tuesday 25^th March 2014 that safety critical interventions will be implemented to stabilize the rail service.

Back in March I wrote in my CapeTown Trains is Metrorail’s eToll that the interventions have no time-frames and deadlines for implementation.  

In personal interactions and in the media Metrorail then said these interventions will be implemented over the next four months. I still said back then, there are some interventions that should be implemented immediately, starting with better communication.

Now before I get to some of the interventions, Swartz left the failing (yes failing) rail service and Richard Walker, no stranger to the Western Cape, came in the hot seat. Walker came just as Prasa announced ticket prices will be increasing and this frustrated commuters even more.

Back in March, Metrorail got a R233million life-jacket to implement critical safety interventions and stabilize the service. This included:

• Track circuits and use of suitable technology
• Overhaul of track transformers
• Building of closer-by station for commuters in the Wallacedene area in Kraaifontein was added to planning
• Upgrading of a few stations
• A second train to Worcester was in the negotiation process in March, as well as using the Shosholoza Meyl to alleviate capacity constraints.
• Metrorail’s sms system would be resuscitated

The interventions came a few days after Transport Minister Dipuo Peters took a train from Kraaifontein to Cape Town station. It is interesting to note than that issues shared with the minister by regular commuters (as per her press release then) but did not form part of Metrorail’s interventions included:

• Dirty trains
• Broken windows
• Lack of ticket verification
• Security in peak times

Metrorail have been ignoring a few questions as well:

• Why did they wait until a second train derailed and damaged tracks leading to the closure of platforms at Cape Town, before interventions were implemented?
• Why can no one take responsibility?
• Why did Prasa wait (on the minister to listen to commuters) before more than R233 million was made available for urgent interventions?
• Did a certain manager not do their job to report tracks need urgent upgrades?
• Why can’t Metrorail/Prasa admit that they have failed to deliver an effective reliable rail service to communicate?

From a commuter perspective what was done?

• Trains are still delayed due to faulty track circuits
• Only building one can see is that of the new Operation Centre in Bellville (yes a new Ops Centre is being build there – that deserves its own blog).
• A few stations were upgraded
• The Worcester train is more faulty leaving commuters to travel more by bus, than a second train.
• The sms-system is being used again, but sms’ seems to be more delayed at times than trains.
• Trains are still dirty, windows broken and sometimes you even have to pack a swimsuit for a commute.
• There is still no security on trains, something I personally have been asking for more than a year now. I was told Metrorail is engaging with SAPS on the matter, it’s been more than twelve months – two ticket price hikes later and still no response from Metrorail.

Metrorail started rolling out wifi, this would have gone live in end of June/July - we basically in Spring, and not WiFi. In June I wrote Is free Wi-Fi good or bad for Metrorail

Metrorail has not only failed to deliver an effective and reliable service but also to give a report back on the safety critical interventions that would have taken four months. Unless Metrorail is using a different calendar, the four months ended, 25 days after the ticket prices increased, in July.

Metrorail's missed opportunity

Overhead electrical wires in one of Metrorail’s coaches that caught alight, led to about 15 commuters ending in hospital on Sunday 17 August. The incident happened just outside Soetendal-station, between Wellington and Hermon. The Worcester train is like the one traveling to and from Malmesbury, everyday, the only one and basically the only public transport many can use to get to the heart of the Western Cape.

The Worcester train was cancelled Monday morning and replaced with a bus service, just a pity buses were 60 to 90minutes delay, almost like the train service. At some, wait – most of the stations there were no staff to inform commuters if buses are on their way or not.

To make matters worse the same train, that went operational Monday afternoon, failed in-section. This makes me wonder

(1) How was it approved to be ready to be used again?

(2) Who approved it?

(3) Who will take responsibility

That the incident took place, is not a surprise, we have an old rail infrastructure and I touched on this in two previous blogs Cape Town Trains is Metrorails e-Toll.

What frustrated me though is:

The train departed Cape Town station at 16:53 and after the train had a few stop and go moments I inquired and at 17:17 was told it is delayed due to a faulty set. The train arrived about 20 minute late at Bellville – where it stood for another 15 to 20 minutes. An announcement was made that the said train is delayed due to a faulty set. The Worcester train eventually moved but failed at Brackenfell – during this time @CapeTownTrains tweeted the train is delayed due to a faulty set. At 18:55 came a tweet the train has been cancelled – this after it’s been standing at Brackenfell for more than an hour. No staff-members were insight and no announcements were made.

I learned that the delays are due to cable theft at Huguenot station and the faulty set – it is sad though that Metrorail’s Customer Services cannot communicate this to commuters, almost as sad as the fact that no staff were at a station.

Metrorail’s Regional Manager, Richard Walker, is said to be serious about customer service. His actions, does not speak of this and if he’s to be believed, Walker missed a golden opportunity Sunday evening to prove it. He also missed the opportunity Monday evening.

Nothing is more important that the commuter

So if I were Walker and I got the call Sunday evening of the train accident – with 174 km, the longest possible route on a commuter train in South Africa – I would instruct all my senior managers/HODs and rush to the scene. I would make sure my Communication, Marketing and Customer Service-managers and teams make sure we show that through this tragedy, commuters and the general public see, Metrorail cares. I guess if that was the case, I would have read a headline Monday morning “Metrorail cares” and not “Train catches fire”.

Walker is quoted in the media as saying Metrorail has a contingency plan that is activated in case of an emergency and that staff assist commuters out of the train if it is safe to do so. Metrorail might have a contingency plan, the activation time should however be question and that staff assists commuters seems to be a myth and still to be proven as a fact.

In conclusion: It is interesting to note that no Metrorail manager has ever said they would take a Worcester train in morning and afternoon peak – especially when there are massive delays – to experience the commuter experience. I will not hold my breath that this would also happen anytime soon.

Also read: Visiting critical but not stable Metrorail

Why Communication is Important for Metrorail

It is no secret that I criticize Metrorail, especially their communication with customers and I will continue to do so. 

I have however been asked and also accused of wanting to be their communication manager.  That is the reason behind this post.

At the moment I am not interested in the position as the position is not vacant. In my view though, the Communications Manager is more an Information Manager. Reason for this is captured in part two of why I feel communication is important for Metrorail. Although mainly because she through an advisory/press release inform and don’t communicate.

Part Two would be:

“Communication is a process in which a sender conveys a message in a chosen medium along a communication channel to a receiver, who interprets the message and responds to it” writes Althea du Plessis in her book “Communication for Selling”.

She goes on that Communication in its numerous forms can be seen as the most important human activity. I agree with this and with the statement that misunderstandings because of ineffective communication are costly in terms of money, time and human relations.

Part one would be: the open secret that Metrorail’s troubles will not disappear overnight, nor would fixing the challenges happen overnight – it is thus important for Metrorail to communicate effectively and proactively in order to try and restore confidence amongst commuters.

I’ve tweeted this and mentioned it to the former and current Regional Managers, Metrorail Western Cape don’t lack resources to communicate effectively. Before and while visiting Metrorail Western Cape's Operational Centre (CMOCC) I've identified the Regional Manager lacks the buy in and commitment from the management and staff. If Metrorail really cares about their customers/commutes they would make communication their number one priority.

Friday I met newly appointed Cape Metrorail Regional Manager, Richard Walker (who is no stranger to Cape Town). We had a very good engagement and it would appear as if Mthuthuzeli Swartz left the struggling company in good hands. 

Richard is committed to better communication and will bring in new communication tools, revise current ones and bring back old tools that worked.

The new RM is customer orientated and understands the frustration of commuters. The real results would however be in how his management and staff will support and work with him to deliver a better service to 60% of the Western Cape's commuting community.

Back to the Communication Manager

If I were the Communication Manager, there are three things I would immediately do:

1) Make sure I take a train trip once a week in morning peak and one in afternoon peak to do a quick survey amongst commuters on their experience of Metrorail’s communication with commuters are the different stations. This information I will share with the management and can be used to better the service.

2) I would use MyLine and explain reasons for delays or cancellations in the previous week and create a platform where customers can share their ideas to better the service.

3) I would be visible when there are massive delays in peak time. Even if it means taking a car to one of the bigger stations like Bellville, Mutual or Salt River and engage with commuters.

Also read: Metrorail's new shock

STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER HELEN ZILLE

STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER HELEN ZILLE, IN THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE ON FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2014

Honourable Speaker, Sharna Fernandez

Honourable members of the Provincial Cabinet

Honourable Mayor of Cape town, Ald. Patricia de Lille

Honourable leader of the Opposition, Marius Fransman

Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Honourable leaders of political parties, members of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

Honourable members of the Provincial Legislature

Director General of the Western Cape

Heads of Provincial Departments

Leaders of Local government

Religious leaders

Community leaders

Colleagues and friends and

Most important: all citizens of the Western Cape

Welcome to the opening of the fifth democratically elected Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

This is my second “State of the Province” address this year.  Since the first in February, voters have given us the privilege of a second mandate to continue the work we have started.  We will try every day to justify your faith in us.

During our first five years in office we put the systems, structures and budgets in place, as a firm foundation for the partnerships that are necessary to build an “open, opportunity society for all”.  It is important to point out that vision is actually the cornerstone of our constitution. 

The concept of the Open Society is raised in the first clause of its Founding Provisions, and the rest of our constitution sets out how each individual’s rights will be protected and their opportunities expanded, so that they can improve their lives.  Progress is not assumed; it has to be achieved.  And it is only possible if we work together.  That is why we sum up our approach in two words:  Better Together.

Madam Speaker, this government’s primary contribution towards progress is to continue redressing the legacy of apartheid, through opening opportunity, and ensuring that people have what is needed to use these opportunities to improve their lives.

We agree with President Zuma that the most effective starting point in the fight against poverty is getting a job. 

It is also the point of departure of the National Development Plan (NDP), a framework for growth and progress supported by all major parties and by this provincial government as well.  Every proposal in the NDP is designed to create the conditions for job-creating economic growth.  And we also agree with President Zuma’s SONA statement that this can only occur if there is increased investment, particularly in the productive job-creating sectors of our economy.

We have already publicly committed to being a pioneering province in implementing further aspects of the NDP.  This requires three components:  competent government; active citizens, and committed leadership in all spheres of society. 

We will fulfill the competent government requirement, but we cannot do this without the full co-operation of competent local and national government, given the division of powers in our constitution.  We must work with leaders in the private sector and civil society as well. But in the end, it is the collective effort of individual citizens who seek and use opportunities that drives development.   South African citizens need to demand as much from themselves as they do from their government.

Today, I will outline some of the key priorities we will focus on during our second term in the life of the 5^th Parliament.

But before I begin, I would like to welcome the many new members recently sworn into the legislature, on both sides of the house. Our government recognises the crucial role a strong opposition plays in a constitutional democracy and I sincerely hope that constructive dialogue and debate will supersede obstructive, polarising politics during our sittings. 

Let us begin this term with consensus on one point:  we all want the Western Cape to succeed because we want South Africa to succeed.  I look forward to working with all parties to achieve this objective.

Madam Speaker, as I have already stated, the Western Cape Government supports most of the objectives of the NDP.  Our Provincial Development Plan (PDP) extending to 2030, will coordinate the plans and actions of all governmental roleplayers, and ensure that the budgets of all organs of state are aligned to achieve maximum socio-economic impact. In other words, what government does must change people’s lives.

We recognise that municipalities are the coalface of service delivery and we plan to further enhance our Municipal Support Programmes for sustainable development.

One of these interventions is the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrade (VPUU) programme, which we are extending, backed by a significant new investment of R71-million from the German Development Bank, into the Drakenstein, Theewaterskloof municipalities with a matching amount from the Provincial government in Saldanha, Swartland and Breede Vallei.  This programme has already increased living standards and brought down crime significantly in Harare, Khayelitsha, where it has been implemented.  So far the German government has invested over R250-million in this crucial project, which has been extended to other nodes in Cape Town.  We are pleased that the German government believes the social return is good enough to expand this work, and I would like to congratulate all involved.

Madam Speaker, both the NDP and our government recognise that infrastructure investment is necessary for growth.

Over the next three financial years we plan to spend over R14.5 billion on maintenance and new and replacement infrastructure in the province. 

One of our main priorities is making the Western Cape a leader in broadband access.   This is essential if we want to grow the economy, create jobs and become internationally competitive.

Over the past two years our broadband project was delayed by the enforcement of national compliance requirements, which threatened the delivery targets we set ourselves.  This has been a source of intense frustration.

I am therefore very pleased to announce that the Western Cape Government, the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and Neotel signed a strategic agreement this morning to provide broadband services to approximately 2 000 government sites, including schools, libraries and health facilities over the next two to three years. By May 2016, all sites will be connected with minimum speeds of 10Mbps under this agreement. By August 2018, most sites will be connected by fibre optic cables with 90% of sites enjoying 100Mbps speeds and 10% enjoying 1Gbps speeds.

Our Government is also committed to ensuring that our communities can tangibly benefit from this agreement.  Neotel has therefore generously committed to funding the infrastructure rollout of 384 WIFI Hotspots, using Western Cape Government buildings, which will cover almost every ward in the province.  Our government will be subsidizing the free portion of citizens’ internet access. 

These WIFI Hotspots will be rolled-out over a period of four years, as Neotel builds the fibre network. This means that every citizen will have the opportunity to access “limited free” internet at the WIFI hotspots across the province. 

We believe the rollout of these hotspots will be a game changer for development. It will help reduce the digital divide, make economic opportunities more accessible and generate new business opportunities. 

To this end, the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism will also establish a new business incubator to support entrepreneurial talent and aspiring ‘techies’ in disadvantaged communities to develop software and innovative applications. Our internationally acclaimed bandwidth barn has achieved outstanding success and it is time to replicate this concept.

Neotel has also committed to spending approximately 25% of the value of their contract with local companies.  They will use a number of small businesses as well as local labour during the construction of the network, creating jobs throughout the province.

They have also agreed to provide seed funding for the establishment of a Western Cape Broadband Foundation which will focus on leveraging private sector contributions and funding to help deliver innovative broadband-related services as widely as possible. 

I would like to welcome Mr Sunil Joshi the CEO of Neotel, who is here as a special guest today. We look forward to working with you, and with SITA to deliver this ground breaking project over the next few years.  I would like to thank Mr Freeman Nomvalo of SITA in his absence for helping us cut through the endless reams of red tape.

Madam Speaker, we also agree with the NDP’s premise that small and medium size firms (SMEs) are the key to economic growth and job creation in South Africa. The NDP envisages small and expanding businesses potentially creating 90% of jobs in the country by 2030.

However, this is only possible if South Africa offers a welcoming and enabling environment for entrepreneurship.

This is what our government’s Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development programmes aim to do. Through our twenty access points across the province we will continue providing business development, procurement support and access to finance to thousands of SMEs. Over R179-million has been budgeted for these programmes over the next three years

The Red Tape reduction unit will continue making the province an easier place to do business.  We will also ensure that any new measures introduced by our government do not increase the regulatory obstacles to doing business in the province.

Madam Speaker, we also plan to challenge any new legislation or policies introduced by other spheres of government that make it difficult for businesses to start, grow and prosper. A good example is the immigration laws recently introduced by the national department of Home Affairs, which threaten the film, business and leisure tourism industry.

President Zuma indicated during his SONA on Tuesday night that the national government aims to increase the contribution of tourism to the country’s revenue to more than R125 billion by 2017. If he is serious about achieving this aim he will call for an urgent review of these new laws. If he is serious about growing jobs he must demonstrate that through the government’s actions, not say one thing and do another.

We have already arranged top level engagements with the department of Home Affairs on this legislation. If this fails we will consider initiating or participating in litigation on this matter.  These kinds of laws destroy economic growth, penalise law abiding citizens and are largely unenforceable against people who enter South Africa illegally.

If we make jobs our priority, young entrepreneurs are South Africa’s greatest asset. 

I am therefore delighted to welcome Drs Yaseen Khan and Mohammed Dalwai who are two local entrepreneurs and the founders of the Open Medicine Project South Africa, a non-profit organisation that aims to improve health care by developing innovative, technological, clinical tools for health practitioners.

One of the tools they have developed is an app for nurses in waiting rooms at community health care centres. The app allows nurses to triage patients and is aimed at creating shorter waiting times at health facilities. The Western Cape department of health piloted this app at the Khayelitsha District Hospital. It was so successful that we are investigating implementing the app at all emergency centres in the future.

Ms Nisreen Bulbulia, is also here today. She is the co-owner of the airport shuttle company City Hopper. Last year, at the age of 24, her company won the Eteya award at the national Lilizela tourism awards, which recognises excellence in black-owned small businesses. The business employs over 40 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and focuses on teaching them the necessary skills to become successful entrepreneurs in the tourism industry in the future.

Finally, I would also like to welcome Thembi Tsotetsi who co-owns Kaltsha glass in Khayelitsha. Two years ago she noticed there was a need for an affordable glass-fitting business in the area particularly for uninsured taxi drivers who could not afford to fix their damaged windscreens. Like all entrepreneurs, when she saw a problem, she sought an innovative solution to turn into a business.  Last year, she participated in the Small Business Academy Development Programme offered by the University of Stellenbosch Business School, which provides training to SME owners in townships to make their businesses more sustainable. Thembi came top of her class. She says the skills she acquired have revolutionised her business. She currently employs four people and has expansion plans.

These four young people are examples of what can be achieved if citizens are willing to work hard, find and use their opportunities and take responsibility for improving their lives. In the process, they are meeting a need and transforming the lives of others.

Madam Speaker, we will also continue to focus on growing our key job creation sectors in this province.

First, our tourism industry is one of our biggest revenue generators and employs over 150 000 people. The tourism sector had one of its best seasons last December reaching pre-recession levels. This trend has continued during the first half of this year. We will continue to strengthen our international marketing to grow the tourism industry’s contribution to the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 10% to 15%, by 2020 and increase the number of visitor arrivals by between 3 and 5 percent.

The Western Cape has also positioned itself as the leading call centre destination on the continent. There are currently over 40 000 people employed in the province’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector. We aim to create 70 000 work opportunities over the next five years by continuing to market ourselves as the leading offshore hub for the BPO and ICT industry. We have budgeted R39.54 million towards both industries over the next three years.

We will also focus on the aquaculture industry, which will help bring down the high unemployment levels in many of our rural and coastal areas.

Currently this sector employs around 2300 people in the province, which is 78% of the total number of workers in the industry country wide. A study conducted by the Western Cape department of Economic Development and Tourism has estimated that in order to maintain the current level of fish consumption worldwide, global aquaculture production would have to grow from 45.5-million tons a year – as recorded in 2004 – to 80-million tons by 2050. This increasing demand is a major opportunity for the province’s aquaculture industry.

We have, in partnership with the Western Cape Aquaculture Development Initiative and the Matzikama Municipality, identified Doringbaai as a potential aquaculture hotspot in the province.

Plans are already underway to expand the existing Doringbaai Abalone Farm, the first community abalone farm in the country, to a 300 ton production facility.

We have also identified two additional suitable sites in Doringbaai for abalone and/or salmon farming. Two investors have already committed to invest more than R500 million during the first phase of development. The production capacity of abalone farming in Doringbaai is planned to grow to 1 000 tonnes in the future. It is estimated that approximately one direct job and one indirect job will be created for every ton of production. 

Doing the maths, these three projects should create 2 600 jobs over the next few years and will stimulate job creation in related industries.

The Western Cape Government has committed R1 million to facilitate the environmental impact assessments on the identified sites in order to unlock this investment as soon as possible.

We also plan to apply to the National Department of Trade and Industry to declare the area between Hermanus and Gansbaai a special economic zone (SEZ) so that abalone farmers receive special tariffs and incentives in order to increase their production, grow real jobs and reduce poaching.

We will also continue to push for the development of the twelve small fishing harbours during our second term. If various national departments continue to block our efforts in this regard, we will resort to the legal remedies available to us.  It is time to remind national government that, while we are committed to co-operation, the constitutional mandate for small harbours lies with local government. We have already put national government to terms as far as their tardiness has been concerned, and we will take the next legal steps very soon.

The Oil and Gas sector will also remain a priority sector. Over the past five years we focused on the development of the Saldanha Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), which was officially launched at the end of last year. We intend positioning this zone as the key logistics hub of Africa for the Oil and Gas Servicing Industry.

We are investing nearly R90 million into the IDZ  over the next three financial years in order to manage the planning and implementation of the project and to develop skills so that people qualify for the jobs that eventuate. We envisage that the Oil and Gas sector will create 13,000 jobs by 2020.

Last week, I hosted a media briefing where I provided an update on some of our key achievements in the Western Cape Green Economy since we launched our Green Economy Strategic Framework last year. Most significantly, our investment mapping found that an estimated R20bn has already been allocated to actual and planned investment in the Western Cape renewable energy sector. The proposed establishment of a cleantech SEZ in Atlantis is another important achievement.

We have also made major progress towards becoming the leading renewable energy centre in South Africa and now house much of the high level expertise and development capacity in this field.

This trend will continue with the establishment of the South African Renewable Energy Technical Centre (SARATEC) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) which will provide specialised training for the renewable energy sector.  The Western Cape Government, through is special purpose vehicle GreenCape, is providing support to this centre and the first student intake is expected next year.

We are also investigating alternative, greener fuels, with natural gas being a key priority focus that complements our energy shift to renewables.

We are also working with municipalities on smart grid technologies, to increase efficiencies in electricity distribution and revenues.  We remain committed to safeguarding our natural assets that are the bedrock of tourism and agriculture as well as certain manufacturing industries.  The twin crises of electricity shortages and climate change have created many new entrepreneurial opportunities and we are positioning the Western Cape to make the fullest possible use of them.

The agricultural sector remains one of the most important generators of growth and jobs in the province. It has the potential of revitalising rural economies and transforming the lives of the most marginalised communities.

That is why we remain committed to supporting small-scale farmers and agricultural empowerment projects as well as increasing market access for our province’s export products

Europe is still an important market for South Africa and the Western Cape, even though agricultural exports flattened during the period 2009 to 2011.  These exports have picked up again and increased from R14.4 billion in 2011 to R20.2 billion in 2013. However the recent economic downturn in Europe had a negative impact on our region’s agricultural exports, which has highlighted our over-reliance on the European market. We need to continue focusing on exploring and growing new markets, especially in Asia and Africa, while maintaining our existing relationships with our traditional markets. Africa is envisaged to have the highest population growth globally over the next 90 years, more than tripling from 1 billion in 2011 to 3.6 billion in 2100. It is crucial that our province targets the demand for agri-exports that will arise from this population growth.

That is why it is encouraging that our exports to Africa have increased from R960 million in 2001 to R6.4 billion in 2013, with greater growth to follow.

We will also continue to prioritise our broad based black economic empowerment initiatives aimed at increasing market access for black smallholder and commercial farmers. R12.5 million has been budgeted for our Market Access Programmes over the next five years. 91 black farmers have already benefitted from this programme.

Madam Speaker, we welcome President Zuma’s announcement that the national government aims to speed up land reform and provide technical, infrastructural and financial support to smallholder farmers.

We will continue to lobby national government to provide the funding needed to expand the highly successful equity share schemes in the Western Cape. These projects have resulted in the real empowerment of beneficiaries through skills transfer and security of tenure.

We will also continue our farm worker surveys to ascertain service delivery priorities across the province. They will be completed in the Cape Winelands, West Coast and Eden District municipalities during the current financial year and will then move to the Central Karoo and Cape Metropole.

We will engage all three spheres of government to meet the service needs of farm workers, as we all have different mandates in this regard. We will also expand our flagship Farm Worker of the Year Competition. This year more than 1000 farm workers have entered from 16 regions.

The Western Cape department of agriculture also plans to spend R163-million on skills development programmes targeting youth in the agricultural sector over the next three years.

Skills development remains one of our top priorities. We agree with the NDP that education and skills development are critical to creating sustainable employment.

One of the major threats to the future growth of our key economic sectors is the shortage of specialist skills in a number of fields including the financial, engineering, ICT, artisan and green sectors.

The Western Cape department of economic development and tourism has also budgeted R128.7 million for the next three years on skills development programmes.

We will continue our highly successful Premier’s Advancement of Youth (PAY) project that provides internships for matriculants, with on-the-job training in government departments for a year.  We are pleased that President Zuma announced that all government departments nationally will be required to follow suit.

Last year, we also launched the Artisan Development Programme in partnership with the private sector, Skills Education Training Authorities (SETAs) and FET Colleges. The initiative aims to create a pipeline of qualified artisans who can contribute to growing the emerging sectors of our economy such as the Oil and Gas industry.

We have received an overwhelming response from young people who have struggled to find placements at companies to complete their in-service training. R10.8 million has been allocated to this programme over the next three years.

We also placed 1000 young people at companies at the end of the 2013/14 financial year under our Work and Skills programme and will place an additional 750 learners in each of the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years.

Our government has also started working on the development of an e-skills platform that will serve as an integrated tool for government, higher education and the private sector to engage with one another in order to match skills development programmes to current skills shortages and for citizens to access career-related training and advice.

However, we also recognise that the most important skills intervention we can make is ensuring every child has access to a quality basic education that will enable them to take advantage of future opportunities.

Just over four years ago, the Western Cape Government released its strategic plan to improve education quality to 2019.  

Half way through this period, we can say that we are making good progress towards achieving our objectives, which include:

o   improving Language and Mathematics in our Primary Schools;

o   improving the number and quality of passes in the National Senior Certificate;

o   Reducing the number of under-performing schools; and

o   Increasing the retention rate at schools across the province.

What we have today is a maturing provincial education system which has responded positively to a number of systemic improvements over the last few years.

During our second term we will continue implementing this plan and ensure greater stability in our system to maintain continuous improvement in education. The bulk of our education budget will continue to be spent on underprivileged learners and we are investigating additional ways to provide food and other poverty-alleviation measures over and above the many programmes we already have in schools in the poorest quintiles.

Our key focus areas will be:

Improving language and mathematics outcomes. 

Central to this strategy will be the improvement of classroom practice, specifically the reading of more complex texts and extended writing, with support from the department through the provision of additional learner support materials, curriculum advice, and additional time spent teaching.

Improving the quality of leadership and teaching in our schools and enhancing accountability both at district level and schools.

All schools will be required to continue setting improvement targets in each grade, especially for literacy and numeracy. These targets will be used as benchmarks for evaluating performance, particularly in the management of schools and districts. We will also be investigating the possibility of further incentives for schools and educators based on performance.

The Strengthening of School Governing Bodies. 

School governance is becoming an increasingly complex and demanding task for a large body of volunteers.  We will streamline and strengthen training programmes ahead of the 2015 school governing body elections, to focus on leadership, management, financial management and disciplinary processes.

Creating safe and welcoming environments for optimal learning. 

We will continue to work with other government departments, most importantly the South African Police Service (SAPS) and civil society organisations to improve school safety. This year we will also expand our co-operation with the Metro Police in order to promote greater community involvement in schools.

Improving infrastructure and facilities at schools.

We will continue to build schools in areas with expanding needs, and replace schools with inappropriate structures. While we have increased the school maintenance budget by more than 50% over the last three years, we plan to direct even more money towards maintenance in the future.

Improving access to learning support material. 

We will expand the use of technology inside the classroom, as well as providing additional resources that can be accessed from home. Through the provincial government’s broadband project we will also improve the technology infrastructure at schools for teaching and learning.

We will continue to conduct rigorous competency testing for our matric markers and systemic, internationally bench-marked language and mathematic testing for all learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9 in order to determine the levels of learners’ abilities so we can identify and target weaknesses and improve outcomes. We are still the only provincial government conducting both these kinds of tests.

We believe that holding our schools, teachers and learners to a much higher standard is the reason why we have seen a gradual improvement in both mathematics and language outcomes at a foundation phase and the number and quality of passes in the National Senior Certificate over the last few years.

Madam Speaker, meeting the health needs of an ever expanding population with a limited budget requires innovative thinking and strong partnerships with the private sector.

Our second term will be guided by the Healthcare 2030 framework, which was developed in conjunction with a range of stakeholders and strategic partners in the private sector and civil society. The framework was endorsed by Cabinet and will now be converted into key priorities that we will focus on over the next five years.

This will include spending nearly R3.3 billion building new health facilities and upgrading existing clinics and hospitals over the next five years.

We will be replacing a number of clinics including those in Prince Alfred Hamlet, Wolseley, Beaufort West, Sedgefield, Napier and Villiersdorp.

We will also be building new or replacing community day centres (CDC’s) in Hermanus, George, Ravensmead, Hanover Park, District Six, Ceres, Kayamandi and Vredenburg.

There will also be upgrades to a number of hospitals across the province.

Despite sustained progress, there are a number of social challenges we face that compromise our education outcomes and threaten job creation, particularly amongst our youth.

These problems include:

·         The increasing numbers of people abusing alcohol and drugs in the province;

·         The constant gang violence in hotspot areas and the recruitment of younger children into gangs;

·         The trend towards unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners as well as inter-generational sex; and

·         The large number of teenage pregnancies.

We have struggled to address these challenges during our first term in government. This is mainly because our provincial government can’t solve problems on its own. We need all government departments and institutions, civil society, communities, and particularly parents and individuals to play their part.  No government can compensate for the role that responsible, committed parents must play in the lives of their children.  That is the bedrock of a functional society.

Studies have shown that a functional father figure often makes the difference between a child’s future success or failure. It is therefore highly concerning that currently almost 60% of Western Cape children grow up with “absent fathers”.  Far too many men make babies and walk away from them.  We want to make it much harder to do so, and will continue our campaign to ensure that maintenance defaulters are blacklisted by Credit Bureaux. 

Our Youth Development Strategy, launched earlier this year, focuses on interventions to provide support to young and vulnerable parents and caregivers. These include providing them with information on child development and strengthening their capacity to care for, and support, their children through mentorship and training programmes.

We will also continue to create safe spaces for young people where they can learn, take part in recreational activities and be exposed to positive role models and messaging.

One of our government’s flagship interventions under our Youth Development Strategy is our after school Mass Participation Opportunity and Development (MOD) programme, which we started four years ago.

There are now over 181 MOD centres based at schools across the province, which offer learners a safe, fun place to play sport, participate in cultural activities and study after school. The Western Cape department of social development also supplies meals to all learners attending these MOD centres each day.

The interest shown by learners when it comes to attending their local MOD centre has been increasing.

An example is the De Tuinen MOD centre in Worcester, where nearly 200 learners attend the after school programme each day.

Two years ago, the centre started focusing on baseball while continuing to run other cultural and sporting activities.

Two of the members of the De Tuinen baseball team have subsequently been selected to represent Boland in the provincial baseball league.  And Laydin Andrews was recently selected to play in the South African under 15 team that will be participating in the under 15 Baseball World Cup, in Mexico, in August 2014.  This is what we mean by expanding opportunities so that our young people can use them.

There is also a close relationship between learners and coaches at the De Tuinen centre. Coaches are regarded as mentors by learners and are often asked for advice on a wide range of social issues.

Our aim is to replicate the success of De Tuinen at all our other MOD centres in the province so that as many young people as possible are kept off the streets and away from drugs, alcohol and gangs.

We will also be using the MOD programme to launch an exciting new initiative called the “Youth Gap Year” volunteer programme, which will start at the beginning of next year. The programme will involve top matric and university graduates, locally and internationally, taking part in a gap year to tutor learners in our MOD centres after formal school hours.

During the second half of this year we will be inviting qualifying school leavers and university graduates to apply. We aim to sign up 120 volunteers who will begin tutoring at the beginning of the 2015 school year.  We plan to expand the programme to 300 tutors in the long run.

Another example of a safe space created by our government is the highly successful Youth Café in Rocklands, which was opened by the Western Cape department of social development in January, and where young people can participate in a range of entrepreneurial skills development programmes.   Minister Albert Fritz will be launching another Youth Café early next month at Vangate Mall in Athlone. We aim to continue opening more Youth Cafés, in partnership with the private sector, in other parts of the province in the near future.

We also plan to replicate the successes we have had at out Chrysalis Academy in other parts of the province. This programme offers at-risk youth a structured residential programme where they receive occupational and life skills training which opens further education and work opportunities. The European Union has made funding available to establish a similar Youth Academy at Wolwekloof in Ceres, and we are deeply grateful for this. 

The provincial department of social development will also focus on expanding non-residential diversion programmes for young offenders over the next five years.

We also implemented a comprehensive plan to tackle substance addictions in the province during our first term.

While the Western Cape department of social development increased its treatment capacity to nearly 5000 patients per year, and grew the number of treatment programmes it funds from 7 in 2008 to 24 this year, we still have waiting lists of three to six months at many treatment centres due to the growing demand for services.

In particular, the need for specialised treatment programmes for children and adolescents is becoming increasingly urgent as the average age of patients continues to drop, which is extremely worrying.

In order to address this problem, the provincial department of social development intends introducing drug treatment programmes in all of our Child and Youth Care Centres over the next five years. The first of these programmes has already been introduced at the Horizon Child and Youth Care Centre in Eerste River.  It will also be necessary to introduce drug prevention programmes in our MOD Centres.

Another major challenge we face is the abuse of alcohol in our communities. A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) global status report found that South Africans aged 15 years and older consume an average of 8.2 litres of pure alcohol per annum, which is well above the global average.

Madam Speaker, alcohol abuse has a myriad negative consequences for our society including fetal alcohol syndrome, which severely stunts children’s mental and social development; increased risky sexual behaviour; teenage pregnancies and the spread of HIV; an increase in patients with chronic diseases and trauma related injuries;  fatal crashes on our roads;  and violent crime, particularly domestic violence.

A cross-sectional study, conducted by our government, of trauma units in Khayelitsha, Nyanga and Elsies River over a one-week period found that alcohol use was reported or suspected in over half (53.2%) of all violent injuries.

We have introduced a range of interventions to tackle this scourge over the last five years including:

·         We passed the Western Cape Liquor Act aimed at restricting access to alcohol. The Western Cape Liquor Authority has a range of interventions geared towards eradicating alcohol abuse and enforcing liquor laws at legal outlets;

·         The Western Cape Government’s traffic department is the only traffic department in the country to operate on a 24/7 basis, conducting weekly alcohol road blitzes and road blocks, which has helped reduce road related fatalities by 28% since 2009.

However, it is clear our government interventions are not enough to tackle this serious problem. Alcohol abuse remains at dangerously high levels in our communities.

Citizens, and especially parents, must start taking responsibility for their own and their children’s lives by not abusing alcohol. 

More importantly, it is critical that the SAPS clamps down on the thousands of illegal shebeens operating in our province. Only the police have the legal authority to shut them down.

The Western Cape Government will focus on bringing all relevant roleplayers together over the next few years so that we can fight this scourge in a systematic, coordinated way.  We don’t want to prevent people from having an evening drink in relaxed surroundings; but we simply have to stop the substance abuse that is destroying our younger generation at a rate that few of us can comprehend.

This is accompanied by a growing culture gangs, which is spreading to more communities, with devastating consequences for the entire community.  Functional families are the best counter to the attraction of gangs, at an age when teenagers feel the need to belong to a group.

The Western Cape Government’s focus on a whole-of-society approach to increase safety remains one of our top priorities.

We will continue building on the partnerships we have created over the last five years such as strengthening Community Policing Forums (CPF’s) and providing equipment and training to Neighbourhood Watches as well as deploying safety coordinators in all 150 police precincts.

However, these community structures cannot act as a substitute for a fully functional criminal justice system that arrests, prosecutes, convicts and jails perpetrators of crime, particularly violent crime. These are all functions of the national government.

The powers of the province in policing are confined to oversight.

The Department of Community Safety is making good progress in implementing the Western Cape Community Safety Act. We recently advertised positions in the office of Provincial Police Ombudsman and are currently interviewing applicants. This office will be up and running by October.

In terms of the Act, I (in consultation with various stakeholders) will then appoint a suitably qualified person, with experience in the field of law or policing, as the Provincial Police Ombudsman. The ombudsman will have far reaching powers of subpoena, and to investigate reports of police corruption, abuse of power, or alleged police service failures.

We will continue to lobby national government to reinstate specialised gang units in the Western Cape and to release crime stats on a more regular basis. Both these interventions are also supported by the NDP.  Once again we see how the national government’s rhetorical commitment to the NDP is undermined by its actions.

The work conducted by the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency has received widespread media attention.

We await its recommendations in August.

We will seek to work co-operatively with the police over the next five years and provide them with the support they need to maintain law and order. We hope that with the appointment of new National Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko, our province’s relationship with the SAPS national leadership will improve.

We plan to introduce new targets to bring down deaths and injuries on our roads including introducing special targets for child road safety. We aim to refresh and rejuvenate our highly successful Safely Home campaign over the next few months so that we continue leading the country when it comes to making our roads safer.

Finally, I have left the biggest challenge we face for last, which is building integrated and sustainable human settlements in the province. This is essential for improving social cohesion and redressing the legacies of the past.

With a housing database of over 500 000 households in the province, which grows daily as urbanisation escalates, we have estimated that it will cost over R70 billion to provide land, services and top structures to everyone who needs it. This is almost double the budget of the entire Western Cape Government. What this means is that we cannot continue with ‘business-as-usual’ – we need new and improved strategies that harness households, the private sector and NGOs to place the Western Cape on an different housing trajectory, one which offers an improved living environment for everyone.

More importantly, we need change the current perception shared by the majority of South Africans that government is solely responsible for providing free housing to everyone, because it is clear with the available resources and the escalating need, this will take centuries.

Instead, we need to come up with innovative partnerships and solutions to improve people’s standard of living in the province at a much faster pace. It is also crucial that citizens become directly involved in human settlement projects instead of waiting to receive a house.

We are currently working on a new housing model that incorporates innovative partnerships and strategies together with the City of Cape Town and other municipalities.

While we harness this new approach, we continue to deliver on our commitments:

We will be delivering a number of housing projects during our second term including:

• Accelerating the completion of N2 Gateway Phase 1 by 2017;
• Completing the  planning of Phase 2 of the N2 Gateway project that will deal with the Barcelona, GxaGxa, Kanana, Vukuzenzela, Kosovo and Europe informal settlements and will provide 26 000 new homes when completed by 2020;
• Completing the 2 000 units in blocked PHP projects by the end of 2015/16 financial year;
• Completion of the Transhex/Klipvlakte project in the Breede Valley, which will deliver 3 000 units;
• Finishing the Vredebes farm housing project in Witzenberg, which will deliver 3000 units;
• The Kwanokuthula project, which will deliver 1360 units and;
• Completing the Syferfontein project in George, which will deliver another 5000 units.

Madam Speaker, it is critical that all three spheres of government work together to come up with new pioneering models to deliver integrated human settlements. The current housing challenges we face across the country must not be politicised, either in government or on the ground.  The worst blockages to housing delivery are the fights over control of these projects within communities themselves.  We cannot tackle any of our challenges without a “whole-of-society” approach in which everyone steps up to the plate and accepts their responsibilities.

These are only some of the policies and programmes we plan to implement over the next five years to drive economic growth, create jobs and provide opportunities to citizens in the province.

We depend on thousands of dedicated and committed professional public servants to do so.  We would like to thank them up-front for the work they will be doing through-out this five year term.  Our aim is to maintain maximum stability which is essential for good government.  We have, in most instances, forged a strong partnership, while respecting the different roles that we play in a democratic dispensation.

May it continue in the interest of all our citizens.  And may we make as much progress as we can in creating the conditions for people to improve their lives.

Thank you