Our incentives to boost manufacturing have yielded returns.

The Automotive Investment Scheme that was launched in 2009 has approved a total 3.8 billion rand worth of incentives for about 160 investment projects. These sustain more than 50 thousand jobs.

The companies will be developing sedan cars, minibus taxis and buses.

We have stabilised the clothing, textile, leather and footwear sector, which had been shedding jobs.

Several industries have been designated for local content. These include buses, canned vegetables, clothing, textiles, leather and footwear and other goods.

We have concrete examples of the success of the localisation programme.

In the past two years alone, more than 20 000 minibus taxis and 330 buses were assembled locally, drawing investment and development to our cities.

In the next five years, the state will procure at least 75% of its goods and services from South African producers.

Fellow South Africans,

We have to work more intensively to develop emerging or black industrialists.

Many of the aspirant black industrialists complain about the difficulties they experience in obtaining industrial finance, supplier and retail markets, and technical production support.

The National Empowerment Fund, the Industrial Development Corporation and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency will continue to provide finance to viable black-owned businesses to promote industrialisation.

In addition, we encourage established businesses to support the development of black industrial businesses.

Agriculture is a key job driver and a provider of opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Our agricultural support programme, Fetsa Tlala, is producing brand new exporters.

The first 88 smallholder farmers in this programme supplied the United Nations World Food Programme with 268 tons of maize and beans to send to Lesotho last month. We expect this number to increase.

We will continue to promote our fisheries sector as well, which contributes an estimated 6billion rand to the economy and provides 27 000 jobs.

Honourable Members,

We have made good progress in the land reform programme.

Since 1994, nearly 5,000 farms, comprising 4.2 million hectares, have been transferred to black people, benefiting over 200,000 families.

Nearly 80,000 land claims, totaling 3.4 million hectares, have been settled and 1.8 million people have benefited.

The next administration will need to take forward a number of policy, legislative and practical interventions, to further redress the dispossession of our people of their land.

These include matters relating to the establishment of the Office of the Valuer-General and thereby opening of the lodgement of claims.

Honourable Members

South Africa is indeed a much better place to live in.

Let me now report on our social transformation programme.

Education is a ladder out of poverty for millions of our people.

We are happy therefore that there is a huge increase in the enrolment of children in school, from pre-primary to tertiary level.

The number of children attending Grade R has more than doubled, moving from about 300 thousand to more than 700 thousand between 2003 and 2011.

A Draft Policy Framework towards Universal Access to Grade R has been gazetted for public comment, with a view to making Grade R compulsory.

Bakwethu,

Izingane ezingu 8 million azikhokhiesikoleni, kantiezingu 9 million ithola ukudla okunempilo ezikoleni okuphuma kuhulumeni, ukuze zifunde kahle zingabulawa indlala.

The matric pass rate has gone up from around 61 percent in 2009 to 78 percent last year and the bachelor passes improve each year.

Through the Annual National Assessments, we keep track of improvements and interventions needed, especially, in maths and science.

To promote inclusivity and diversity, the South African Sign Language curriculum will be offered in schools from next year, 2015.

We have increased our numbers of literate adults through the Kha Ri Gude programme from 2,2 million in 2008 to 3 million people.

We have also been investing in teacher training and are re-opening teacher training colleges to meet the demand.

To produce a decent learning environment, we have delivered 370 new schools replacing mud schools and other unsuitable structures around the country.  The programme continues.

Compatriots

We have a good story to tell in higher education as well.

Student enrolments at universities increased by 12% while further Education and Training college enrolments have increased by 90%.

We have increased the budgets of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to 9 billion rand to meet the rising demand.

Another major achievement of this term has been the establishment of two brand new universities, Sol Plaatje in the Northern Cape and the University of Mpumalanga.

We will also build 12 new FET Colleges in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

Compatriots,

The launch of the National Education Collaboration Framework last year was an important development for the country. We wish the team well in their national duty.

Compatriots,

We have a good story to tell in the improvement of health care too.

Over the past five years, 300 new health facilities have been built, including 160 new clinics.

Ten new hospitals have been builtor refurbished in Ladybrand, Germiston, Mamelodi, Natalspruit, eThekwini, Zola, Bojanala, Vryburg District, Swartruggens, Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain.

Honourable Speaker

Honourable Chairperson of the NCOP

The HIV and AIDS turnaround is one of the biggest achievements of this administration and we are used as a model country by the United Nations Aids Programmes, (UNAIDS).

Mother to child transmission of HIV has declined sharply and we have doubled the number of people who are receiving anti-retroviral treatment, from one million to 2.4 million people in 2013.

More than 20 million South Africans have taken the HIV test since the launch of the campaign in 2011 which indicates confidence in the health system.

Life expectancy is now firmly on an upward trend. South Africans are now living longer.

The target for the next administration is to ensure that at least 4.6 million people are enrolled in the anti-retroviral programme.

We acknowledge the contribution of the South African National Aids Council for the hard work.

While celebrating our success, we must not be complacent. The prevention work must still continue so that we can reach that goal of zero HIV infections sooner.

At a broader level, we will enter a new phase in the implementation of the National Health Insurance programme which will extend quality healthcare to the poor.