Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile delivered his state of the province addressee on Monday and he acknowledged that crime remained the biggest challenge facing the province.

"... crime remains our number one enemy. Our people must not live in fear in their homes and their places of work and leisure," he told the provincial legislature.

The province had invested R8-million in recruiting 8000 street patrollers in 83 areas in the province and by the end of March, that number will grow to 10 000.

The co-operation between the police, street patrollers and residents was adding "a sense of safety and security" to communities, he said.

"We have built a strong movement against crime in our communities. Many of our people are active crime fighters and participate in Community Policing Forums and street committees," Mashatile said.

The South African Police rapid response teams received 80 high performance vehicles last week and the province was rolling out cameras in 40 crime hot spots, he said.

Working against crime

"... we are working hard to defeat the scourge of crime. Together with the police and our people we are confident that we can win this fight," he said.

In his address, Mashatile highlighted the progress made in tackling poverty, housing and education in the province, the country's economic hub.

The province would also host the opening and closing games of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup as well as the Confederations Cup later this year.

"When we host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Gauteng will boast a world class, integrated public transport system that is safe, reliable and affordable," he said.

The Gautrain, the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme and the Gauteng Better Roads plan would enable the province to boost its transport network.

Mashatile highlighted the impact of the global financial crisis on the province saying it was taking a toll on the automotive, retail, manufacturing and mining sectors.

Creative solutions

He said the province would work with labour movements and employer organisations to find "creative solutions" to respond to the challenge.

"While this crisis is not of our own making, it is undoubtedly impacting on our economy and on our lives, reducing demand for locally produced goods and services, resulting in possible closures of companies and job losses.

"... we are strengthening interventions aimed at promoting international trade and investment, training and reskilling of workers as well as job creation and retention.

"We will also use measures such as social grants, increased public investment in infrastructure, the Expanded Public Works Programme to mitigate the negative impact of the crisis and continue to boost employment," Mashatile said.

The province currently accounts for 34.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product, he added.

"We have sustained positive growth for more than 10 years, reaching a rate of six percent in 2006.

"Unemployment in Gauteng dropped from a peak of 30.4 percent in September 2001 to 19.5 percent in September 2007. This was achieved despite the continued high-levels of in-migration to the province," he said.

However, unemployment, especially among young people remained a burden.

"Retain and create" decent jobs

More work was needed to "retain and create" decent jobs. An intervention undertaken by government to accomplish this was supporting small, medium and micro-enterprises, Mashatile said.

"Working in partnership with the private sector, we will continue to focus on increasing support for SMMEs, co-operatives and entrepreneurs to further broaden participation in the economy."

Mashatile took the opportunity to urge political parties to encourage tolerance during campaigning for the general election on 22 April.

"I would like to take this opportunity to urge all parties to encourage tolerance during the campaign.

"Let the people have the final say! May the best party win!"

Democratic Alliance leader in the Gauteng legislature Jack Bloom described Mashatile's address as "unimaginative".

"Although he said that crime is our number one enemy, he had nothing to say about measures to fight corruption. His message about coping in hard economic times is undermined by the lavish GalaParty to celebrate the opening of the legislature that will take place tonight at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park," he said.

Bloom added that "bold effective measures to tackle our key problems" were still lacking.