Office of the Premier 2023/03/28 - 22:00
Staff Writer
The freedom we fought for will remain meaningless if we can't change the living conditions of township residents, says Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Addressing lawmakers at the Legislature on Tuesday, Premier Lesufi said despite over 25 years of democratic government, some residents still don't have access to sanitation and water services and are still living in unsafe neighbourhoods.
The premier said EXCO took a decision to improve and develop the living conditions of people in the 26 townships, over 72 informal settlements and six provincially owned hostels.
"We can't claim to be the economic hub of the country when our people are living in squalor. We cannot be proud that we have not improved the lives of the marginalised."
He acknowledged that the provincial economy is not growing at desirable levels for tackling the socio-economic challenges of high unemployment and reducing poverty and inequality.
Furthermore, youth unemployment has reached crisis levels throughout the country, which is more pronounced in a province like Gauteng, which attracts many people through both inter and intra-migration.
"Time has arrived that we not only speak of this improvement, that we categorise it and provide the necessary support.
He promised that residents will see an improvement in the quality of life by uplifting the most vulnerable within the townships, informal settlements and hostels. This includes economic revival, decreased incidents of violence and crime and a clear no tolerance to drugs and gangsterism.
The premier said there will be better health care and wellness for our people.
To this end, the province rolled out the Township Economy Revitalisation programme, which is expected to yield a tangible transformation of the socio-economic landscape of our townships, characterised by big industrial infrastructural capacity for high-volume
productions."The resourcing, funding, and efforts to support the SMMEs are insufficient to meet the growing demands hence a need for the provincial government to upscale its effort through the prioritisation of interventions in Townships, Informal Settlements, and Hostels (TISH)
areas," Lesufi noted.Government, he added, will also heighten safety in these communities when the youth trained as crime wardens are deployed to these communities.
At the beginning of May, youth trained as wardens will patrol crime hotspots. Lesufi said 200 of the 400 cars used to patrol the streets have already been delivered.
"We are further impressed with the delivery of new drones. We are further impressed by the advertisement to call for proposals so that each and every citizen will be armed with an e-panic button to allow our foot soldiers to respond to it."
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