This is to address mainly affordability by low and middle income motorists and administrative simplicity, while the user pay principle is reaffirmed.
He was speaking during the State of the Province address on Monday, February 23.
“While there is general acceptance of the user pay principle and willingness to pay for current and future upgrades of roads and public transport infrastructure, in its current form the e-toll system is unaffordable and inequitable and places a disproportionate burden on low and middle-income households,” said Makhura.
“The advisory panel appointed to look at e-tolls also recommended a hybrid funding model which will be made up of contributions by national and provincial government to ease the financial burden on motorists. 
“The provincial government is part of the current consultation process led by Deputy President Mr Cyril Ramaphosa to develop a better dispensation, which will mitigate the negative impact of the e-tolls on the people of Gauteng, especially the middle and lower-income groups. 
“The final decision on the new dispensation will be made once the work of the intergovernmental team is completed. 
“I am confident that the new dispensation should provide major financial relief to motorists, while simplifying the payment system to make it easy for road users to pay. 

Economy

Makhura also mentioned, during his speech, that the province’s vision and the 10 pillars of Radical Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation has been embraced by most sectors.
“Our province occupies a special pride of place in our country’s economy and this should be fully exploited to overcome the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
“Gauteng remains the economic and industrial hub of South Africa and the SADC region and a significant player in Africa’s rising economic fortunes.
“At current prices, ours is now a more than R1-trillion economy. Our province contributes 36 per cent to the country’s GDP, 40 per cent of total industrial output and 60 per cent of exports.
“Our province is the biggest contributor to national employment and the number of employed people grew from 2.7 million in 1995 to 4.88 million people in 2014.
“Gauteng accounts for more than 10 per cent of Africa’s GDP. 

Aerotropolis 

Makhura said the province is looking to reconfigure the Gauteng City Region’s space and economy along five development corridors that have distinct industries and different comparative advantages.
This includes the Eastern Development Corridor anchored around the economy of the Ekurhuleni Metro as the hub of manufacturing, logistics and transport industries;
“Together with the Ekurhuleni Metro and national government, we are now undertaking 29 industrial initiatives, under the banner of the aerotropolis, to revitalise manufacturing, aviation, transport and logistics industries linked to the OR Tambo International Airport. 
“This will dramatically transform the current industrial structure of the economy of Ekurhuleni.
“Because of the interregional nature and transformative magnitude of the aerotropolis and its effect on the GCR economy, this project has now been elevated to being a Gauteng City Region-wide initiative.
“The aerotropolis is one of the major projects that will help us move the Gauteng City Region forward. The footprint of the aerotropolis will also cover the Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg and the Wonderboom Airport in Tshwane.
“In addition, there are also a number of unfolding initiatives by state-owned companies that will contribute to the reindustrialisation of Ekurhuleni. 
“Airport Company SA, Denel and major private sector companies are positioning themselves in line with the imperatives of the aerotropolis. 
“There is huge potential for these projects to attract massive foreign direct investment into the OR Tambo Industrial Development Zone and the Special Economic Zone. We have no time to waste, we mean business. A new economy is emerging.

Transport

Makhura pointed out that to further change the spatial geography of this Ekurhuleni Corridor, the province is rolling out the Bus Rapid Transit System in the metro, with the first phase to be operational by March next year. 
Over the next five years, more than R500-million will be invested in the BRT system in Ekurhuleni. 
“Public transport infrastructure has the potential to transform the Ekurhuleni spatial landscape and integrate the desperate towns, cities and human settlements of Ekurhuleni. 
“Many townships are far from economic opportunities and transport. These need to be brought closer to where people live.

Townships

With townships being a major feature of Ekurhuleni and also Boksburg, it is good to know that, according to the Premier, the township economy is now firmly part of the national economic policy. 
“The Provincial Government has already committed more than R160-million to the township economy. In the 2015/16 financial year, we have allocated more than R300-million to support township enterprises and cooperatives.
“At the same time municipalities have made substantial investments in the township economy focusing on township enterprise hubs.
“Over the next five years, Ekurhuleni has made available more than R150-million to support the township economy and township entrepreneurs.
“We are advocating for the establishment of a Township Economy Partnership Fund involving the corporate sector, township enterprises and government to promote investment in the township economy and development of township enterprises and cooperatives.

Infrastructure/Electricity

Regarding infrastructure, Makhura said over the next four years, the Province’s total investment in infrastructure development will be more than R32-billion.
“I wish to reiterate that transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation will not be possible without paying serious attention to the critical issue of energy security,” said Makhura.
“In order to broaden the energy mix plan in the Gauteng City Region, we adopted a plan with certain interventions.
“We have been working with municipalities to finalise plans to bring in additional 1 200 megawatts of electricity by increasing generation capacity of the current coal-fired power stations in Tshwane (Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power) and Johannesburg (Kelvin Station).
” We are installing rooftop solar panels for all our government buildings. Our estimate is that we have available eight million square metres of roof top space suitable for this and will be able to generate 300-500 megawatts of electricity.
“We are implementing a programme to retrofit our coal fired boilers with natural gas.
“We are also implementing the Tri-generation programme in six hospitals. Tri-generation is a technology that is able to produce electricity for heating and cooling using gas.

Youth

With the Advertiser having reported for a long time on the drug problem in Boksburg, the Premier’s concern regarding drug and alcohol abuse being a major problem in communities proved refreshingly honest.
“As parents in Gauteng, we are deeply worried about whether our children will become victims of drug abuse. Nyaope in particular is ravaging our townships and tearing families apart.
“We will intensify the implementation of our comprehensive response to this scourge. We are enhancing our capacity to deal with the prevention and treatment of drug abuse and working with the police to clamp down on the production and distribution of illegal substances.
“We have designed a prototype treatment centre which will serve as a one stop centre to provide integrated and comprehensive treatment of substance abuse and improve access.
“In addition to in-patient and out-patient treatment, the centre will also provide skills development, and serve as a half-way house to ease integration back into society. 
“Building of the first centre will commence in 2016 and we will complete centres in each of the province’s five regions.
“The role of civil society remains crucial in building a social movement against drugs.”