Lesufi lists 13 problem areas that Gauteng wants resolved in his Sopa

Water shortages, cable theft and vandalism, non-functional traffic lights, potholes, and crime and lawlessness are five of the problem areas that the Gauteng government must solve, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday.

“Whatever we do and whatever we say, if we don’t resolve these problems, being here will mean nothing,” Lesufi said at the state of province address (Sopa) in Pretoria.

Other problems that the provincial government needed to resolve are:

• the mushrooming of informal settlements;
• load-shedding and load reduction;
• an increase in gender-based violence and femicide;
• drug abuse;
• service at hospitals and clinics;
• lack of schools;
• failing infrastructure; and
• unemployment.

“We have to reverse the impact of these 13 problems if we are worthy of being called government,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi apologised to all people who were struggling to access water in the province.

“Even though this is not a competence of the provincial government, together with our municipalities, and minister of water and sanitation Pemmy Majodina, we have taken a drastic decision to allow City Power to take over the electricity supply of the Eikenhof pumping station while Eskom will take over the Emfuleni pumping station to immediately restore power.”

Lesufi said power failures in these water pumping stations have led to the challenges of depletion of water in the reservoirs.

“We are at an advanced stage of repairing leaks and replacing ageing pipes. Since this intervention, water is gradually coming back to our homes.”

On cable theft and vandalism, Lesufi said the province has shut down 1,079 scrap yards for noncompliance, 593 spare shops and 149 tyre shops for operating illegally. He said 716 owners and operators were arrested and tried through the courts.

“We’ve resolved to install tech logs that will alert us instantly when our network is tampered with and a 24-hour response team will always be on standby.”

The province has identified more than 400 traffic signals across the province that required immediate replacement. “We have now set aside a budget and a team to immediately repair or replace these traffic lights.”

On potholes, Lesufi said Gauteng as an inland economy depended on the transport and logistics system to get products to markets in South Africa and the world. “So the condition of our road and road networks must be maintained. From next month, we are resurfacing and upgrading the Golden Highway, Malibongwe Drive, Garsfontein Road and key interchanges in Tshwane and Johannesburg.”

Lesufi said fighting crime remained an apex priority for the provincial government.

“Together with the private sector we have identified and profiled 442 kingpins that are causing the worst crimes in our province. These 442 crime kingpins are responsible for cash in transits, kidnappings, hijackings, rented murder, ATM bombings, blue light gangs and business robberies.”

He said instead of waiting for them to commit crimes, authorities have put full-time surveillance on them. “Of the 442, we have already arrested 50 and we are monitoring the rest closely.”

The province has demolished more than 6,600 new shacks and declared the habit of erecting shacks in CBDs, towns and townships a crime against the state, he said.

“We now have a standing court order to evict these mkhukhu mafias. We’ve developed a new technology that will immediately alert us when a new settlement is established. With the use of the tool, we were able to identify 198 new invasions throughout the province. The tool is also used to protect government land, servitudes and road reserves.”

Lesufi said the province's commitment to the 2024 address was clear:

• expand generation capacity;
• drive renewable energy solutions;
• electrify underserved communities; and
• protect critical infrastructure.

“We have done what no other province has done by investing over R1.2bn in energy infrastructure, directly impacting over 43,400 households and reducing the burden of load-shedding.

In its hunt for 3,000MW to protect the Gauteng energy grid, the province has partnered with City Power through Kelvin power station that is yielding an additional 180MW to the City of Johannesburg. The intention is to expand the facility’s capacity to 600MW by the end of this term. Other projects include:

• a 800MW solar power plant in Merafong; and
• the revitalisation of the old Johannesburg power station, John Ware, to get 200MW.

Lesufi said the province was addressing the scourge of GBVF head-on.

“By the end of January 2025, more than 14,000 GBVF victims were supported to deal with the aftermath of their harrowing experiences. To this end we have partnered with Wits University, University of Johannesburg, North West University (Vaal campus), Vaal University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, Tshwane North College, University of Pretoria and Rosebank College, to advance the fight against GBVF.”

On hospitals and clinics, Lesufi said the province has almost reached its target of converting 40 of its clinics to provide comprehensive 24-hour services.

In providing additional learning spaces, together with the National Treasury, the province has set aside R2.5bn to build 18 schools.

In tackling unemployment, Lesufi said under both public and private employment initiatives, 271,150 new permanent jobs and 561,000 employment opportunities would be created in a number of sectors. These include:

• phase 2 of the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone, where the province will pump in R6.1bn and create 4,000 construction jobs and 2,150 post-construction jobs;
• the public sector infrastructure project that will unveil a R220bn infrastructure pipeline that will create 34,000 construction jobs and 17,000 post-construction jobs;
• the expansion of Lanseria International Airport, which will attract an investment of R3bn with 3,000 new jobs for the people of Diepsloot and surrounding areas; and
• the expansion of the Gautrain project, which the province expects to create 125,000 jobs.

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