Of course, I don't know. How can the ANC be blamed for the weather?
In the past few months, we have focused on making sure that the province has strategies. These include the Gauteng Employment, Growth and Development Strategy, the GEGDS, and we have approved a spatial development framework. We have also approved an industrial strategy. All these are aimed at making sure that we streamline with the national strategies, including the national growth path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, Ipap 2, and many other important imperatives where we must make sure that we work together in synergy to ensure that there is economic growth.
With regard to the GEGDS and the national growth plan, one of the sectors we are focusing on is the green economy. Why are we focusing on the green economy in a province such as Gauteng? We believe that we must focus on the mixed renewable energy resources, which are solar energy and gas. I think it is important for a continent such as ours, and in a province such as Gauteng where we do not have access to water in abundance and do not have wind in abundance, to focus on solar energy and gas, because we believe that the security of energy for the economy and the role that it plays in the Gauteng economy cannot be overemphasised. It is in our interests to make sure that issues around solar energy and gas power in the province play a very important part, including attracting investors.
We have taken a decision in the executive committee that public institutions will be retrofitted. We are talking about schools, clinics and hospitals that we are going to retrofit. In terms of hospitals, for instance, that are currently getting their power through coal, which is an old source of energy, we want to provide for energy needs through gas and solar power, and we are working very hard with industry players to make sure that our hospitals are supported, either through gas or solar power. Indeed, climate change is a factor and all of us have to make sure and demonstrate through our actions that we have programmes to deal with climate change. With regard to meeting these obligations in terms of policies approved by the executive committee - of retrofitting schools, clinics and hospitals - we are making sure that we are talking to companies that want to establish their presence in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng, to manufacture the necessary products, and we will be supporting them by making sure that we procure these resources from them.
We believe that this is going to guarantee energy security so that the old fossil-fuel-generating energy can be directed to other sources.
We are embarking on a very intensive strategy of working with the private sector, as we did before, in making sure that people embark on energy- saving programmes. This has literally nothing to do with what we do in economic development, but for energy security in an economy such as ours, it's key because we regard Gauteng as the biggest economy in South Africa and the fourth largest economy on the continent. It is very important to have lights turned on 24 hours per day, of course using alternative energy.
A part of the strategies I referred to focus on township development. The biggest population in South Africa resides in Gauteng, and the bulk of those communities are located in our townships. The focus on townships for us means making sure that the underutilised or dilapidated infrastructure that is currently not being used is utilised for light industries, particularly supporting women and young people to make sure that we help them to develop the necessary skills, because without a skilled labour force, the economy is not going to grow and prosper. Those will be linked to a number of areas - for instance, their own self-orchestrated businesses that they want to venture into, including the ones that government will directly support, particularly fixing of cars and so on. We will make sure that through the direct procurement of government, those are supported by others fixing ambulances and those things.
The importance of growing the township economy has been given impetus by massive investment in the townships. If you go to any township in Gauteng today, the majority of then have significant investment from the private sector, through having shopping malls. We believe that the continuation of this is indeed giving the people the dignity that they deserve, other than making sure that townships are no longer places that are the back of beyond, because nothing happens there and everything happens in the suburbs. This investment we are making in the townships is going to go a long way in continuing to give dignity to the citizens of our country.
The success of these programmes will of course largely depend on how we are going to work together as provincial, national and local governments. There are a lot of obstacles that I want to refer to, which I think is important for us to talk about. These were identified when we were talking about the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa, many years ago, and they continue to bedevil us even today. Those obstacles, amongst other things, are environmental impact assessment studies that take forever, and sometimes the animal species that are found take precedence over development. I think we need to strike a balance. We are not necessarily saying that we must destroy the ozone layer and do away with what are considered environmentally sensitive areas, but there has to be a balance that we strike in that process, and that balance must give effect to growing the economy. The rate at which we approve those applications must also take into account that people who have money largely do not have the luxury of government backing when people are still trying to decide.
The price of wood and steel continues to be an obstacle in our economy. Local entrepreneurs are forced to buy steel and wood at the price of those who are buying it as if it is imported into South Africa. I believe, Minister, that this issue continues to be one of those issues that are choking growth in the South African economy. Wood is very important for the production of furniture and other products. We have a lot of these players in the Gauteng space. They are not merely local players; they are local players but with the intention to supply the rest of the continent.
We have to work very hard to make sure that these raw materials that are sourced in South Africa are utilised for the benefit of growing our economy and empowering the citizens in our country. We have to make sure that in doing so - the province has about five or eight agencies - we are streamlining the agencies that fall under the department of economic development. The intention of streamlining these agencies is exactly to do what the Minister spoke about in his input. Some of the things that we have observed in our own agencies in the province are that there has been too much duplication by agencies, and, among these agencies, we must also strive to improve efficiency in terms of the movement of goods and services. I think that we would agree with some of the issues raised by my colleague from the Western Cape, for example how we clear the goods destined for the Gauteng market when they arrive in bulk, particularly at the KwaZulu-Natal port. The delays are causing difficulties.
Issues of economies of scale, and information and communications technology costs, remain issues that we are looking into when we do streamlining and also in the external environment. The transparencies that we must also talk to when we deal with investors are very important.
Going forward, what is going to be key, Minister, is that we must really work very hard across the spheres of government, including the citizens and the private sector, to define the things we expect investors to comply with when they want to invest in South Africa.
There must be transparency. People in the energy sector must know which things to comply with. In the transport sector, they must know which things to comply with in order to be considered and know what obstacles they must overcome before they get those things. As things stand now, there is no transparency. People decide at will that today, for instance, they will fill in an application to the National Energy Regulator of SA, Nersa; tomorrow they must get the purchasing agreement from Eskom, etc. There is no certainty, and I really want to appeal that there be certainty up front so that investors coming to the country and those that want to expand can do so with absolute clarity.
We have engaged with many investors, as I said, locally and overseas, and we are very encouraged, as an important province as Gauteng, that these investors want to continue to expand and relocate from overseas, or wherever they are operating from, to South Africa. However, that is going to be determined and characterised by what we do today for them to change their minds tomorrow and for them to want to come and settle in South Africa.
We continue to be positive, Minister, because of the energy that you and the Deputy Minister are exuding in this portfolio, and we are determined that the road ahead will be bright, but all of us have to work very hard and put our shoulders to the wheel for this objective to be achieved. Gauteng supports the budget as presented by the Minister. [Applause.]