Murder and hijackings down. Health services to be beefed up soon. More jobs. A war on corruption. The war against Aids is being won.
These are among the highlights of Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane’s State of the Province address today.
Speaking at the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi campus, Mokonyane also announced that her government was probing 150 cases ranging from procurement irregularities and financial misconduct to fraud.
Among those who will be facing fraud charges, she said, are “nine “doctors from the Leratong, Sebokeng and Pholosong hospitals”.
In her bid to address the maladies in the health sector, Mokonyane announced that Health and Social Development MEC Ntombi Mekgwe will now be responsible only for health in Gauteng.
The social development portfolio will be shifted to another MEC.
“We have recently seen a number of high-profile litigation cases against the provincial government.
“While it is our responsibility to defend the state’s interests and protect the public purse, it is also important that we are able to admit liability in cases where there is a clear evidence of negligence.
“We will take steps to address the causes of such negligence within the institutions where it occurred to prevent it from happening again.
“The relevant officials will be held accountable for their actions.”
Mokonyane recently wrote to Justice Minister Jeff Radebe complaining about the performance of state lawyers in dealing with litigation cases against her government. Gauteng had to pay out more than R30 million on medical irregularity cases against it.
She also promised to improve the administration of the local hospitals, including the recovery of R1.4 billion owed to Gauteng by the provincial governments of North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the national government.
“We are making strides in winning the war against HIV/Aids. Access to antiretroviral treatment increased dramatically from just 270 000 people in 2009/10 to close to 600 000 in 2011/12.
“In 2012/13, we will increase this (number) to… 1 million people.”
Mokonyane said all the priority crimes had declined, adding that police statistics show that “murder in Gauteng declined by 16 percent since 2007. Car and truck hijackings declined by 20.5 percent and 30 percent respectively while residential and non-residential robberies dropped by 12.5 percent and 12.9 percent respectively between 2010 and 2011.”
She also announced a job increase of 4.1 percent for local residents. Mokonyane said a total of 132 000 people secured employment.
“While this is not sufficient to address current employment levels, the upward trend is encouraging,” the premier said. - The Star