Gauteng Premier David Makhura delivered his State of the Province Address on Monday at Greenfields Stadium in Randfontein.  

A large part of his address focused on the economy, and several aspects regarding infrastructure in the province.

Makhura described Gauteng as “the industrial hub of our country and the SADC region,” and said the province was taking bold steps in driving infrastructure development, innovation, investment, regional integration, inclusion, institution-building and industrialisation.

He added that despite tough global and national economic conditions, Gauteng has maintained its position as the economic powerhouse of South Africa, contributing 35% to the South African economy in 2015, compared to 33% in 1997.

Infrastructure investments

With regards to infrastructure, he was proud to report that most government departments had spent 99% of their infrastructure budgets. “This is commendable, given the history of underspending on infrastructure in this province,” he said.

Makhura said that between 2013 and 2016, Gauteng spent R30 billion on infrastructure development. He said this investment helped with the creation on 92,000 jobs and increased government revenue by R6 billion.

He also emphasised the importance of developing new infrastructure and maintaining the province’s existing infrastructure across all sectors.

Transport infrastructure

Makhura said public transport is a key driver of industrialisation and re-industrialisation of the Gauteng city region.

With regard to road infrastructure, the province is spending R 7.2 billion to upgrade and expand all major roads that connect and integrate the different development corridors and key economic nodes of Gauteng over the next three years.

Some of these projects include:

• Upgrading the central corridor on William Nicol from the PWV5 (Jukskei bridge) to the N14 in Diepsloot.
• The N14 from Diepsloot to the Hendrik Potgieter intersection will link Tshwane, Johannesburg and the West Rand communities.
• Evaton Road from Adams to Selbourne will also be upgraded.
• A new interchange will be built on R42 Barrage Road that will connect the new Vaal River City and Sharpeville.
• On the southern corridor, the R82 Old Vereeniging/Johannesburg Road will be upgraded from a single to a dual carriageway from Walkerville to De Deur.
• On the eastern corridor, Heidelberg Road from Leondale Forsdick Road to Barry Marias Road will be upgraded from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway.

Makhura said that all these roads will not be tolled.

He also touched on the expansion of the Gautrain and the challenging e-toll system.

Makhura said that although there are extensive plans to develop rail and road infrastructure in Gauteng, he assured the public that government would proceed with future infrastructure plans in an open manner. Future projects will be handled in this manner to avoid conflicts, as seen with the non-compliance of commuters when it comes to paying their e-toll bills.

“We can’t build infrastructure such as roads and only come back to people later to inform them that they must pay,” he said. “They can’t be told later that this infrastructure we are building is going to be paid for, we must be transparent with residents.”

He confirmed that a feasibility study into the expansion of the Gautrain has been completed and said the train service will be extended to areas such as Mamelodi in Tshwane, Boksburg in Ekurhuleni and Jabulani in Soweto.

Makhura also mentioned that initial work regarding the development of the new Lanseria Airport City and Vaal River City has started. However, he said delays in the rollout of bulk infrastructure have slowed down construction of these projects.

Housing infrastructure

Between 2011 and 2016, Gauteng’s population grew by one million. Provincial government said it plans to urgently address the pressing issue of land availability so that the construction of infrastructure and settlements can commence.

Makhura noted that unused land across the province would be used to construct housing that is closer to cities to give people closer access to “economic hubs”.

“Gone are the days when blacks must be settled far away from economic opportunities and social amenities,” he said.

In total, 31 human settlements and new cities will begin construction this April. Makhura said this will be the biggest public and private investment in post-apartheid history.

Smart infrastructure

In a move to create smart cities, Makhura noted the fast expansion of broadband connectivity.

“Through our partnerships with the municipalities and the private sector we will reach our goal of 100% connectivity by 2019,” he said. He added that the City of Tshwane has connected 700 free Wi-Fi hotspots, Johannesburg 408 free Wi-Fi hotspots and Ekurhuleni 408 free Wi-Fi hotspots.

Although South Africa has been in a tug-of-war between keeping its investment grade status and being downgraded to junk status, Makhura maintained that Gauteng’s economy has enormous potential to create more jobs and grow in an inclusive manner.