• The Honourable President: Mr Thabo Mbeki
• The Honourable Minister for Public Works: Ms Stella Sigcau
• The Honourable Mayor: Ms Nomaindia Mfeketo
• The Honourable MEC for Transport and Public Works: Mr Mcebisi Skwatsha
• Cabinet colleagues and Members of Parliament
• Members of Exco and Councillors
• Community of Guguletu

Mr President

You have instructed us that our task for the next five years is to create work and fight poverty. On the 18 th May 2004 in Limpopo you set the example by launching the EPWP. Today you are here with us to launch our EPWP. Here we call it Saamstaan – standing together.

We must stand together to create work and fight poverty. That’s why we have National, Provincial and Local Government working together. We must stand together – all Departments – to deliver on our mandate to create work. We must stand together with the community if we are to succeed in our fight against poverty.

So, Mr President thanks for your leadership because in standing together to create work we tell the people that in this Province they at last have a Government that is serious about the problems of ordinary people.

We know our people need work, but not everyone has the experience or the skills for the opportunities that are opening in film, call centres and engineering. The EPWP is another way in which we ensure that our young people get both experience and skills.

Mr President, at our Provincial Growth and Development Summit last year, Government, Business, Labour and the community agreed that we must create 120,000 jobs through the EPWP over the next five years.

I don’t know if business is ready. I don’t know if labour is ready. But I want to urge them, especially business to join us in the crusade to create work. I want to say here today that Government is ready to create work through the EPWP. It will not be easy, but our commitment is there.

Over the last two and a half years, 22,000 people have already benefited from Community Based Public Works programmes launched by MEC Tasneem Essop.

Today MEC Skwatsha has an infrastructure budget of R5.9 billion over the next three years to make a success of what you launch here today Mr President. As I said, it will not be easy, but the Province is ready to respond to your call to create work and fight poverty. And Mr President, as we try to build our Home for All in this Province, we see the EPWP as a key instrument that will create work in construction.

What will the impact be of the EPWP in the Western Cape?

In construction:

• The Klipfontein Road Corridor Project will open up the city to new axis of development and undo apartheid divisions using a unique integrated approach to planning and implementation.
• The Gansbaai-Bredasdorp Road Project will cost R195 m and employ approximately 1,000 local citizens, opening up the Overberg to development.
• Vuk’uhambe run by the City of Cape Town is already providing skills and work in road building
• The Zenzele Road Maintenance Programme will generate 1,967 employment opportunities.
• The inter-Departmental Building Maintenance Programme with 9 projects has a total budget of R3,7 million and work for 189 people.
• 40 Labour Intensive Emerging Contractor Learnerships with a budget of R40 million will provide 20 road maintenance learnerships and 20 learnerships for the Klipfontein Corridor Project.
• The Community Access Road Programme has 23 community projects with a budget of R32 million giving work to 800 people as they upgrade gravel roads, create sidewalks and bicycle paths in disadvantaged areas.

In community safety:

The Bambanani neighbourhood watch volunteers helped keep us safe this Christmas. 2,000 will now be full time as they keep our trains and communities safe as part of our EPWP.

In the environment:

The Western Cape Cleanup Operation has a budget of R5,25 million. 1,077 job opportunities have been created to date within 25 municipalities.

State property maintenance

• We will focus on maintaining 1000 schools with a budget of R15 million creating 2,000 jobs by April 2005.

Social Services and Poverty Alleviation

• Early Childhood Development (ECD), 119 learnerships this year with a budget of R1 million
• Home and Community Based Care (HCBC), 427 learnerships this year with a budget of R1.9 million
• Community CSG registration assistants assist in door-to-door campaigns

All of these show that the EPWP is a programme across the whole of Government. All the key Departments must stand together under the lead Department of Transport and Public Works. MEC Skwatsha has worked hard to bring us to today. But his real work starts now, because he must ensure that the Home for All that we want to build is indeed a Working Home for All.

It is around common programmes, to address the common need for work, and in the face of the common challenge of poverty that all citizens of the Western Cape must unite. Disunity will keep us back. The poor African and Coloured and Indian and white; urban and rural – must all unite for the better life.