Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane says his administration was making progress in building a capable state that was fit for purpose to address its challenges.
Delivering his State of the Province Address on Thursday evening, Mabuyane said one major step taken was to fill all 14 posts of heads of departments.
He also said they have initiated lifestyle audits prioritising members of the executive council and heads of departments.
“For the first time in the history of our democracy, we removed the cloud of secrecy on procurement by disclosing on a quarterly basis the names of companies that were awarded bids.”
The premier said his administration was committed to wipe out the perception that the province was a haven of corruption.
“In this regard, we are considering recommendations emanating from forensic and investigative reports by state institutions, including the findings of the Commission on State Capture and the Special Investigations Unit.
“In cases where actions are recommended, we will not hesitate to act against those implicated, both in the public and private sectors,” he said before calling on the law enforcement agencies and the justice system to bring the perpetrators to book.
Mabuyane also said they were striving to restore credibility and sound ethics in their procurement system.
“We urge Eastern Cape citizens to report acts of soliciting bribes and acts of corruption.”
The premier said the agenda for their sixth term remained informed by the Eastern Cape Provincial Development Plan.
He noted that the people in the Eastern Cape expected the government and social partners to solve the unemployment challenge.
“In response to this expectation, we have started to collectively address the economy that is not growing at an acceptable rate. In this regard we are building an enabling infrastructure as a catalyst to grow the economy and create jobs.”
During his address, he reported that eight major road infrastructure projects worth R3.1 billion have been completed in the past year and that 18 other major road infrastructure projects worth R7 billion were being implemented
He welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the national government would use labour intensive methods to construct or upgrade rural roads.
“This will augment similar initiatives that the province has started, for example, Machubeni Road, Qumbu to Tsilitwa and Healdtown to Ngumbela Oval.
“We have another challenge in our province, that of low-lying bridges which are easily damaged by water in the rainy season.
“We will take advantage of the upscaled Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme as announced by the president last week.”
The premier reported to the legislators that the fencing of the Wild Coast Industrial Park site was 95 % complete.
“The next phase is the implementation of bulk infrastructure, which includes sanitation, water, and electricity. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has invested R49.5 million for installation of bulk infrastructure and the project will be completed in November 2022.”
He announced that they have already signed an investment pipeline of R1,4bn with four investors committing to be located in the park.
Mabuyane also said the revitalisation of the province’s state-owned industrial parks remained one of their top priorities.
“Construction work is continuing in all the targeted industrial parks. At least 379 jobs were created and 71 local SMMEs are benefiting from this programme,” he said.
“To this effect, we have completed the first phase upgrades at Dimbaza Industrial Park and we will continue with Phase 2 in the new year,” he added.
Mabuyane said the province was playing an active role in offering sustainable solutions to the country’s energy challenges.
Two more wind farms were recently awarded to the province in addition to the four already completed and now operational.
“These wind farms will add an extra 224 megawatts to the national grid with an estimated investment value of R4.6 billion. One thousand three hundred jobs will be created from this investment.”
He also said with cannabis emerging as a potential sector for growth in the country, the streamlining of the regulatory processes towards enabling the cannabis and hemp sector would accelerate their efforts to build the cannabis industry.
“Going forward, we will strengthen this work with the appointment of an advisory panel drawing in experts from the sector.”
He also said the African Coastal Smart City, a game changer and a catalyst for further development and investment attraction throughout the Wild Coast, has already attracted investors who have expressed an interest in the area.
“To facilitate implementation on the Eastern Cape side of the programme, we have appointed Coega to package our projects.”
POLITICAL BUREAU
