SPEECH BY GAUTENG MEC FOR FINANCE AND ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT HONOURABLE LEBOGANG MAILE, ON THEOCCASION OF TABLING THE MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET POLICYSTATEMENT AND THE ADJUSTMENT BUDGET, GAUTENGPROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE, 02 DECEMBER 2025.

Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Premier Panyaza Lesufi
Fellow members of the Executive Council
Chief Whip of the Majority Party
Leaders of Political Parties
Members of the Provincial Legislature
MMCs of Finance and Councillors
Representatives from the Auditor General’s Office
Senior Officials of Government and Municipalities
Representatives of Business, Organised Labour, and Civil Society
Distinguished guests
Comrades and Friends
INTRODUCTION
It is an honour and a privilege to stand before you in this august house,
on this occasion of the tabling of the Medium-Term Budget Policy
Statement of the Gauteng Provincial Government. This event takes
place during an important period in our country’s calendar – the 16 Days
of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.
This global campaign which aims to raise awareness and combat
gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) is more than an annual
commemorative event. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the state of
GBVF in our country and to measure the efficacy of the interventions
that we have in place.
The decision by the President of the Republic, Honourable Cyril
Ramaphosa, to declare GBV a national disaster, is a progressive step in
the right direction towards investing significantly in a fight that, if
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unattended to, threatens our civilisation as we know it. GBV is not only a
social, political and public health emergency, it is also an economic
crisis. It has substantial direct and indirect costs to individuals,
communities, businesses, and national economies. Studies by the
International Monetary Fund and numerous researchers have found that
an increase in violence against women can significantly reduce overall
economic activity in a country.
A 2019 study by the World Bank found that violence against women can
cost up to 3.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in some
countries, with South Africa estimated to be losing between 0.9 per cent
and 1.3 per cent of GDP annually. And yet, high as these figures may
be, most of these studies use accounting methods to estimate some
direct costs related to such violence but do not take into account other
factors that can affect the economy.
This event takes place just a week after South Africa hosted a
successful G20 Leaders’ Summit. The historic meeting, the first to be
hosted on African soil since the founding of the G20 in 1999, will be
remembered in history as a gathering that reaffirmed the importance of
multilateralism in an increasingly polarised world.
As a multilateral global forum, the G20 represents 85 per cent of the
global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and more than two thirds
of the world’s population. The meeting at Nasrec was particularly
significant because our government, which held the G20 Presidency,
extended a special invitation to African leaders to participate in the
Summit alongside Member States, providing a platform for industrialised
and developing economies to discuss international development and
inclusive economic and cooperation.
The adoption of the G20 Leaders’ Summit Declaration at the start of the
meeting was a significant milestone, occurring after all countries reached
a broad and sufficient consensus to, amongst other things, work in
partnership to advance the agenda of the Global South through
strengthen disaster resilience and response, ensuring debt sustainability
for low-income countries, mobilising finance for a just energy transition,
and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable
development. These issues were also key points of engagement at the
COP30 meeting which took place in Brazil just days before the G20
Summit in Johannesburg.
Honourable Members, by welcoming the G20 visitors into the province
and successfully hosting them, Gauteng has once again demonstrated
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its capacity and strength for facilitating high quality events. According to
the National Department of Tourism, early data indicates that the
province generated more than R1 billion from hosting the G20 Summit.
This is a significant injection into the fiscus, coming at a time when
resource constraints continue to pose a significant challenge to public
services for our country’s increasing population.
We have no doubt that through targeted and deliberate strategic
investment in the bidding and hosting of catalytic signature events,
conferences and exhibitions, we will massively increase visitors into the
province, generate revenue, build sustainable small businesses within
the sector and create much needed jobs for the people of Gauteng. A
huge congratulations to Team South Africa for achieving such a great
feat, cementing in the eyes of the world that our country is an equal and
important partner in the geo-political arena.
A deserved congratulations too, to Team Gauteng, particularly the City
of Johannesburg, supported by the City of Ekurhuleni and the City of
Tshwane, for demonstrating that this province can successfully provide
the infrastructure, services and logistics necessary for a global event.
We must take this opportunity to further strengthen and fast-track
service delivery to our communities, whose assertion that our
government proved its capacity to rise to the occasion of service delivery
and infrastructure maintenance is undebatable in its legitimacy.
Madam Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege for me to present this
year’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement to this House. This is the
20th edition of the MTBPS of the Gauteng Provincial Government, and
the 2nd budget policy statement of the 7th Administration constituted as a
Government of Provincial Unity under the leadership of Premier
Panyaza Lesufi.
Let me start by tabling the following documents for consideration by this
House.

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement 2025 (20th Edition).
The Adjusted Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure 2025.
The Adjusted Estimates of Capital Expenditure 2025; and
A copy of my Speech.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Honourable Members, the global economy has stabilised following a
period of volatility in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In its
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latest economic update released in October, the International Monetary
Fund stated that the world economy grew by 3.3 per cent in 2024 before
slowing down slightly to 3.2 per cent in 2025. The Sub-Saharan Africa
region recorded moderate growth levels of 3.6 per cent in 2023, with
countries that relied heavily on the export of basic commodities,
particularly oil, recording sluggish growth rates because of low
commodity prices. This mixed performance for the region’s economies is
forecast to continue going forward, with the growth rate of the Sub
Saharan Africa region predicted at 4 per cent in 2025 and 4.3 per cent in

Locally, the South African economy has once again proven its resilience
amid challenges such as high electricity costs and an improved but still
challenged logistical sector. These challenges, amongst others, have
weighed on confidence. As a result, investment was subdued in the first
half of the year. However, despite these challenges, economic growth
gained better-than-expected momentum in the second quarter of 2025,
and economic indicators broadly suggest that this momentum will
continue into the third quarter.
As a result, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has forecasted
growth of 1.3 per cent in 2025, 1.4 per cent in 2026, and 1.9 per cent in
2027 and 2028. Moreover, other positive economic developments in
2025 are the reduced unemployment rate. Although unemployment
remains high in South Africa, the inroads that we are making are
notable. Other significant developments include a stronger Rand, lower
inflation, a lower interest rate and continued support from strong
consumer expenditure.
In addition to this, South Africa recently received its first credit rating
upgrade in nearly two decades from S&P Global which raised our
foreign currency long-term sovereign credit rating to ‘BB’ and local
currency rating to ‘BB+’ with a positive outlook. This upgrade was driven
by an improved fiscal outlook, stronger growth prospects, and better
performance from state-owned entities like Eskom. The government has
demonstrated fiscal consolidation and restraint in spending, including a
decision to reduce its borrowing requirement, which signals underlying
discipline.
The Gauteng economy
Turning to Gauteng, the size of the province’s economic output reached
R2.4 trillion in 2024. This means that the province remains by far the
economic hub of South Africa, responsible for R33 out of every R100 the
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country’s economy produces. The economy of Gauteng is larger than
the economies of KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape combined.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape contribute significantly to
economic growth, together accounting for approximately 63 per cent of
South Africa’s GDP. However, we understand that the economy of this
province must record far higher growth rates to lift South Africa’s GDP,
accelerate the creation of much needed jobs and reduce poverty.
It is for this reason that the provincial executive council recently
approved the Gauteng City Region Economic Growth and Development
Plan (GCR EGDP). The GCR EGDP is intended to contribute to the
three strategic priorities of the 7th Administration, namely: inclusive
economic growth and job creation; improved living conditions and
enhanced health and well-being; and a capable, ethical, and
developmental state.
The strategy is anchored on the following 10 main pillars: re
industrialisation through sector support: the promotion of trade and
investment; spatial transformation and integration; economic and social
infrastructure
development; sustainable economic development;
entrepreneurship and small business development support; skills of the
future and workforce development; building state capacity; safety and
security; and the development of corridors of regional integration
The cross-cutting pillars of the strategy are innovation and digital
transformation; women, youth and people with disabilities; township
procurement; and Research and Development (R&D). It is supported by
12 sector master plans to enable policies and strategies which include,
amongst other things, the Township Economy Development Act
(Township Economy Revitalisation Strategy), the Informal Business
Upliftment Strategy, the Tourism Master plan, the MSMEs Strategy, the
Trade and Investment Strategy and Green Hydrogen.
The Department of Economic Development is currently hosting several
sector roundtables which will culminate in the establishment of the 12
Sector-Specific Action Labs. These Action Labs will act as multi
stakeholder collaborative and solution-oriented platforms to enhance the
effectiveness and implementation of the strategy
Honourable Members, the provincial government is confident that the
effective implementation of this strategy will set Gauteng on a positive
economic growth path and create much needed jobs, amid global
headwinds and domestic economic challenges. Through this Plan, we
are working in partnership with all key stakeholders to accelerate efforts
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to facilitate economic infrastructure development; trade and investment
promotion; improve the ease of doing business; and empower micro,
small and medium enterprises, particularly those owned by previously
disadvantaged groups. This will go a long way in enabling the province
to close the current output gap, enhance production and significantly
increase our participation in international markets.
Furthermore, Honourable Members, we convened a successful
inaugural Gauteng Investment Conference in April this year. The
conference resulted in global and local companies in both the public and
private sectors pledging more than R300 billion in investment
commitments. Working with our partners, we are making progress to
turn these pledges into realistic and implementable projects that will
assist us in enhancing infrastructure service delivery in the province,
growing the economy and creating much needed jobs for people.
BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FISCUS FOR THE GAUTENG
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
Honourable Members, the national fiscal framework is aimed at ensuring
a responsible balance between government spending, tax revenue, and
borrowing to prevent unsustainable debt to create a stable environment
for long-term growth, job creation and investment financing of public
services. As the provincial government, our fiscal trajectory reflects
these national issues. That is why our focus is on debt management,
revenue strategies, and spending restraint, while seeking alternative
funding sources to meet increasing public service demands amidst weak
economic performance.
In this regard, the provincial five-year budget approach that we
introduced in the previous financial year will be continued for the 2026
MTEF Budget with the aim of addressing high-level provincial risks and
stabilising public finances. In line with this, the principles that will guide
the 2026 MTEF Budget include, amongst other things:

Protecting vulnerable members of our society.
Realisation of efficiencies in the provincial procurement processes.
Focusing on “ready-to-deliver” infrastructure projects.
Funding accruals as a first charge against the department’s budget
allocation.
Reprioritising existing baselines to fund provincial priorities budget
pressures or new funding requirements.
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Compensation of Employees budgets must remain within the limits
set in the 2025 Budget.
Ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability through own revenue
collection, alternative funding sources, trade-offs, downscaling or
stopping programmes.
The goal of these principles is to stabilise provincial public finances by
maintaining fiscal discipline and credibility and ensure impactful service
delivery. We must respond appropriately to prevailing key fiscal risks for
the province including unfunded public sector wage agreements and
provincial debt obligations. We must be bold and introduce, test and
implement immediate, short-term, and medium-term budget reforms
over the 2026 MTEF to ensure prudent management of provincial
resources.
REVENUE ENHANCEMENT STRATEGY
Honourable Members, as part of our plans to ensure long-term fiscal
sustainability, we have developed the new GPG-Wide Revenue
Enhancement Strategy. This strategy was approved by the provincial
executive council in October 2025. It will enable the provincial
government to increase own revenue collection which will be used
towards resourcing our priorities.
The strategy has six pillars which include robust debt collection, the
optimisation of revenue collection processes and systems, new sources
of revenue, the use of alternative sources of funding and implementation
models, strategic investments/quasi fiscal investment and regulatory
reviews that support the introduction of new revenue sources to expand
the provincial revenue base.
Gauteng’s fiscal trajectory must be addressed through a combination of
active debt management strategies and aggressive revenue strategy
and spending restraint. It is important to find ways to strike a balance
between the growing demand for public services and the fiscally
constrained economy. One option for achieving this is to explore
alternative sources of funding to supplement the existing constrained
revenue streams and thus enhance fiscal sustainability over the medium
to long-term.
We have learnt valuable lessons from implementing the previous
revenue strategy in the 6th Administration. These experiences and
knowledge gained during that time will be used to ensure the successful
implementation of the new strategy, including establishing a Revenue
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Enhancement Forum, introducing revenue incentives, and building the
necessary capacity to implement and manage key interventions.
The Provincial Treasury plays a critical role in driving the success of the
strategy by providing leadership and fostering a conducive environment
for its implementation. I therefore call on all revenue generation
departments to work in partnership with us to ensure that we significantly
increase revenue growth in the province over the next five years
because this is necessary to maintain the resourcing of key delivery
priorities.
Honourable Members, following a period of intensive and robust
engagements, we have finalised the process of drafting the Gauteng
Gambling Amendment Bill. This critical legislative process underscores
the province’s commitment to transformation, enhanced revenue
collection, and the long-term sustainability and integrity of the gambling
industry. This development takes into consideration how the industry has
evolved and will go a long way in strengthening the legislative framework
in our country and promoting responsible and accountable gambling
practices.
DIGITISING PROCESSES TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS
Madam Speaker, when re-tabling the 2025/26 Main Budget to this house
on the 3rd of June 2025, I emphasised our commitment to enhancing our
internal processes to achieve operational efficiencies, and fight fraud
and corruption in government by digitalisation our procurement
ecosystem. Today, we are launching the pilot phase of TendaSwift –
Gauteng’s new comprehensive e-procurement platform that has been
developed in partnership with the Gautrain Management Agency to
automate and digitise the entire tender management process in the
province.
TendaSwift, which is available on the e-tender website of the Gauteng
Provincial Treasury, is a modern e-procurement platform designed to
streamline processes, strengthen oversight, and provide the functionality
needed for effective public procurement in the digital era.
One tender from Provincial Treasury has been advertised on
TendaSwift, while another, from the Gauteng Growth and Development
Agency, will be advertised on the 5th of December 2025. This
demonstrates our commitment to transparency, open competition, and a
modernised procurement system.
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For many years, government procurement systems relied heavily on
manual, paper-based submissions that created inefficiencies, delays,
and opportunities for malpractice. Thus, this is not merely a
technological upgrade. It is a strategic intervention aimed at ensuring
that every supplier, regardless of size or location, has equal access to
opportunities.
Importantly, TendaSwift will also help curb corruption by reducing
manual processes, strengthening oversight, and ensuring that every
step of procurement is transparent, traceable, and accountable. Through
this platform, we are reinforcing our determination to build a
procurement system defined by integrity and fairness.
TendaSwift builds on the Open Tender Process, a key intervention that
the Gauteng Provincial Government introduced in 2014 to strengthen
our procurement processes. With TendaSwift, we are taking it a step
further by digitising the entire value chain of the procurement process –
from tender creation and advertising, through bid submission and
evaluation, to adjudication, probity audit and contracting.
Honourable Members, in line with our commitment to modernise and
innovate in the public sector procurement space, we are also automating
the paper-based Request for Quotation (RFQ) and RLS01 (Remaining
Line Structure) processes. These systems which have been developed
in
partnership with National Treasury and the Department of e
Government respectively, are aimed at integrating and automating
budgeting and procurement processes, as well as improving the
turnaround times and overall processing efficiency in the province.
We are currently piloting the automation of both the RFQ and RLS01
processes at the Gauteng Provincial Treasury, the Gauteng Department
of Community Safety and the Office of the Premier. We have also
started piloting the RFQ at the Gauteng Department of Roads and
Transport.
Our early observation is that the automation and integration of these
processes has led to a reduction in manual processing time and
improved turnaround on approvals, enhanced compliance with National
Treasury procurement regulations, improved audit trail completeness,
data integrity, and real-time procurement visibility.
Furthermore, as part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening supply
chain management and ensuring that the procurement is done in a fair,
equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner, we have
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introduced the Market Research Price Data Solution to combat the
manifestation of overpricing in the province. This will significantly protect
the public purse, ensuring that resources are channelled towards public
services that benefit the residents of our province.
This innovative system is now fully functional and is being used in
departments including the Office of Premier, Economic Development,
Social Development, e-Government and Infrastructure. The system
currently accounts for 51 per cent of the total catalogue items, and
enables real-time access to commodity price information, facilitates
informed decision-making, and enhances price negotiation capabilities
across various departments and entities in the Gauteng Provincial
Government.
I must report that the Invoice Management System that we introduced in
April this year to provide suppliers with a simple, user-friendly portal to
submit and track invoices is performing well. A significant number of all
invoices of the provincial government are uploaded through this
platform.
In the year to November, more than 8 000 suppliers interacted with the
Invoice Management System and submitted 165 000 invoices valued at
R35.6 billion. A total of 83 per cent of these invoices were paid within 30
days province wide.
Lastly, Honourable Members, as part of our initiatives to support small
businesses, we are operating the Purchasing Card (P-Card) platform
that offers an additional economical participation option for transactions
under R30,000. In the current financial year, more than 500 merchants
have benefited from this facility, with nearly R3 million in total spend
processed through the P-Card system on average per month. This
initiative has played a key role in supporting SMMEs to remain
economically active within Gauteng. More options are being explored to
make this mechanism to reach a wider spectrum.
The successful piloting and implementation of these digital projects
demonstrate that the solutions we are introducing are both effective and
scalable, providing a strong foundation for long-term sustainability. We
are confident that this digital transition will go a long way in enhancing
transparency, improving compliance, and drive operational efficiency
across the entire provincial government
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SUPPORT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Turning to local government, Honourable Members, we are deeply
concerned about the challenge of municipalities tabling unfunded
budgets. Based on the budget assessments that we conducted in recent
months, only Rand West City, the West Rand District Municipality and
Merafong City were able to revise their budget funding plans.
The implications of municipalities tabling unfunded budgets cannot be
minimised. Unfunded budgets are a primary cause of the non-delivery
and deterioration of essential services such as water, sanitation,
electricity, and waste management. Furthermore, the adopting of
unfunded budgets contributes to ongoing financial distress, resulting in
high levels of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
At a macro level, unfunded budgets and municipal financial distress
have a negative impact on regional economic growth, as a lack of
stability and services stifles investment and innovation.
That said, Honourable Members, I wish to recognise the City of
Johannesburg, City of Ekurhuleni, City of Tshwane, Midvaal Local
Municipality and Mogale City Local Municipality for tabling funded
budgets from the onset, demonstrating commitment to prudent financial
management.
As the Provincial Treasury, we will continue to support and strengthen
the capacity of municipalities to manage their financial affairs. We will
ensure that our capacity-building programmes are aligned to financial
management challenges faced by our municipalities. This will go a long
way towards addressing financial management and reporting challenges
at local government.
ADJUSTMENT BUDGET
Madam Speaker, let me now talk about the elements of the 2025/26
Adjustments Budget that we are tabling in this House today, and which
formalises the rolling over of funds from the 2024/25 financial year.
The recommendations and priorities reflected in this Adjustments Budget
are the culmination of an extensive consultation process beginning from
the Medium-Term Expenditure Committee (MTEC) Hearings, Bilateral
engagements between Members of the Executive Council and myself,
and the Premier’s Budget Committee. This collaborative approach
ensures that our budget is not only technically sound but also responsive
to the needs of Gauteng’s people.
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This Adjustments Budget also addresses pressures in frontline services,
as a means of equipping GPG to continue responding to the provincial
imperatives underpinning the 2024 – 2029 MTDP and the G13 priorities.
The total under-expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year was R1.922
billion or 99 per cent per cent of the allocated budget of R168.7 billion, of
which conditional grants amounted to R381.5 million and the equitable
share was R1.3 billion. Of significance is that R295.7 million of the
unspent conditional grants have been approved for rollover, and only
R85.8 million will be surrendered to the National Revenue Fund, whole
of the R1.3 billion underspending in equitable share, R211.6 million will
be rolled over, the balance not being lost to the province but retained in
the Provincial Revenue Fund. As a matter of fact, R888 million was re
appropriated to provincial priorities in the Budget that I tabled on 03 June

Provincial Treasury runs a rollover process with well-defined criteria
such as unpaid invoices or tangible proof of commitment of funds at
year-end. The difference between the underspending and the amount of
equitable share funds approved for rollover is because some
departmental requests are unsuccessful due to legislative limits such as
not more than 5 per cent of Goods and Services allocations being
eligible for rollover, or insufficient documentary evidence as per the
established criteria.
The total adjustment is R3.3 billion which includes the rollovers, national
and provincial funding. In terms of injections to the fiscal envelope, a
total of R2.2 billion is being added to the 2025/26 Main Budget, as
follows:

The Office of the Premier will receive an additional amount of R43.9
million, of which R40.8 million goes towards honouring outstanding
claims from the Life Esidimeni Mental Health Users project, and R2.8
million for the filling of critical posts.
The Department of Health is allocated R1.1 billion towards offsetting
the pressures in the Goods and Services baseline, and a further R90
million towards its infrastructure programme.
The Department of Education will receive R507.8 million, of which
R200 million is to alleviate pressures in the Compensation of
Employees line item, and the balance to Scholar Transport, School
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Nutrition and School safety, which are key Goods and Services cost
drivers.
The Department of Social Development is allocated R103.9 million,
of which R35.5 million is for augmenting the infrastructure programme
allocation and the balance towards Goods and Services items
exhibiting pressures.
The Department of Community Safety is allocated R92.6 million to
alleviate pressures facing various items under Goods and Services.
The Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation will
receive R10 million, of which R6 million is towards the Summer
Games that will be taking place in December 2025. This initiative
keeps communities constructively engaged and active in various
ways during the festive season. A total of R3 million will be allocated
towards Goods and Services, and R1 million for the Compensation of
Employees.
A total of R400 million is allocated to eGovernment of which R200
million is to address the looming obsolescence of equipment for the
Gauteng Provincial Network (GPN), and the balance of R200 million
towards offsetting pressing commitments under Goods and Services.
The Department of Infrastructure Development is allocated R20
million to alleviate pressures in Goods and Services, and R13 million
for the Compensation of Employees.
The Adjustments Budget process remains the primary mechanism for
addressing unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure, expenditure that
could not be anticipated at the time of the Main Budget.
INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICE DELIVERY
Madam Speaker, infrastructure investment continues to play a pivotal
role in economic development, job creation and contributes directly to
the quality of life of our citizens. This is why we strongly believe that we
must increase our investment in infrastructure and improve on robust
infrastructure systems that support all our provincial services including
transport, health, education and social development.
The Provincial Treasury has already introduced various measures to
improve on the efficient and effective use of financial resources allocated
for infrastructure projects. Instruction Notes have been issued as
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promised with the aim of responding to the needs of the intended
beneficiaries and to prevent wasteful expenditure. When we fail to
deliver projects on time, within budget and to specifications inclusive of
legislative compliance, we compromise on value for money.
Due to funding constraints, we must also intensify our efforts to secure
alternative resource financing models. The high level of dependence on
the provincial fiscus to fund infrastructure projects must also be
addressed through the strengthening of cost recovery and exploring
alternative funding sources. We are also placing more focus on
consequence management of poorly performing service providers.
All provincial departments and entities are encouraged to work with the
Provincial Treasury and other relevant stakeholders to prepare bankable
applications for infrastructure projects that qualify for Budget
Infrastructure Fund funding. As the Provincial Treasury, we are also
focussing on Public-Private Partnerships as a vehicle to attract
additional resources for infrastructure projects.
WATER SECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Over the past few months, water insecurity challenges in the province
have led to service delivery protests in some of our communities. The
frustrations by our residents and businesses in the province are valid. In
his 2025 State of the Province Address (SOPA), Honourable Premier,
Panyaza Lesufi, not only apologised for the water crisis, but he also
went on to outline several measures for water security, focusing on
infrastructure
repair,
collaboration.
demand management, and inter-agency
In this context, we welcome the recent launch of System 5A, yet another
construction feat by bulk water utility, Rand Water. Rand Water is
executing its augmentation programme through the construction of the
said water purification facility. System 5A will add 600 million litres a day
to Rand Water’s capacity, of which 150 million litres a day is already in
use, with the full commissioning and handover expected by the end of
December 2025. This water will be purified at the bulk water purification
plant, which can now purify up to 1.2 billion litres of water a day.
Of significance about System 5A is that it will ensure that there is
enough water in Gauteng and the parts of surrounding provinces,
including Mpumalanga and the North West – areas that have been
water-stressed for decades, despite being South Africa’ industrial and
economic heartland. The implications of System 5A are significant and
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go beyond ensuring water availability until 2031. The economy of
Gauteng and South Africa, broadly, is heavily reliant on water resources.
We regard System 5A as a significant water infrastructure intervention,
especially as it happens alongside the now completed 210-megalitre
Vlakfontein Reservoir in Germiston. The project is a multi-million-rand
investment designed to increase water storage capacity for the growing
demand in its areas of operation. It won the 2022 Fulton Award for
Engineering Excellence as the largest post-tensioned circular concrete
reservoir in the world.
The leadership of Rand Water, led by its Group Chief Executive Officer,
Sipho Mosai, must be commended for the significant work that it is doing
to ensure that the Gauteng Province addresses its water security
challenges. But this work depends on the commitment of municipalities
to strengthen their own water governance, which is a key requisite for
ensuring that households and businesses in Gauteng can continue to
function optimally. As the logistics, manufacturing and economic nerve
centre of the South African economy, Gauteng’s reliance on sustainable
water supply is incalculable.
CONCLUSION
Honourable Members, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana
emphasised during his MTBPS speech that, and I quote: “We are
choosing growth, stability, and reform”. I would like to affirm that as
the Gauteng Provincial Government, we remain singularly focused on
protecting social services, supporting inclusive growth, and ensuring that
every Rand derives tangible value and benefits to the people of
Gauteng.
It is critical that at this juncture of the policy statement, I must thank the
Honourable Premier, Mr Panyaza Lesufi and the Executive Council, for
the commitment that they have demonstrated in prioritising inclusive
economic growth and development in the Gauteng Province. I am
thankful to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Finance,
Honourable Mosai, and the entire committee, for the phenomenal work
that is being done to strengthen financial governance and accountability
in our province.
The Speaker, Honourable Mosupyoe, and the Deputy Speaker,
Honourable Mhlakaza-Manamela, are deeply appreciated for the support
that they are providing to the work of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
and the broader provincial government. I would also like to thank the
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Chairperson of Committees, Honourable Adams, and the Deputy
Chairperson of Committees, Honourable Kunene.
Gratitude must also go out to all Members of the Legislature who make
sure that checks and balances are in place, ensuring that we do not
deviate from our program of action. A special thanks to the Head of
Department of Finance, Ms Ncumisa Mnyani, and the team that she
competently leads, for providing strategic leadership on financial and
fiscal matters in support of the province’s social and economic
development agenda. I am also grateful to officials in the Gauteng
Provincial Treasury for their role in the architecture of this Medium-Term
Budget Policy Statement.
I would like to thank all MMCs of Finance in our municipalities for
continuing to work with the Provincial Treasury to find ways to stabilise
economies in our municipalities under challenging circumstances,
thereby ensuring that we continue to build an economy that grows in the
hands of our communities.
My gratitude also goes out to the media for its commitment to ensuring
that the work of the department and the broader Gauteng Provincial
Government is communicated to the residents of our province. And
finally, I would like to thank the residents of Gauteng, our primary
stakeholders, for their resilience and commitment to making our province
work. I wish to conclude by reiterating the words of the Professor of
Public Policy, Geoff Mulgan, who correctly asserted: “The
responsibility for good government lies not just with governments
themselves but also with every other part of the system they
operate in, including media, non-governmental organisations and
the public.”
Thank you.
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