On average, the economy has grown at 3,2 percent a year from 1994 to 2012 despite the global recession which claimed a million jobs.

The national wealth, measured in terms of GDP, has grown to more than 3.5 trillion rand.

Unemployment

Jobs are now being created again.There are now 15 million people with jobs in the country, the highest ever in our history, and over 650 thousand jobs were created last year, according to Stats SA.

The unemployment rate still remains high. Youth unemployment in South Africa continues to be of concern, as it is throughout the world.

We are taking a number of measures, including the Employment Tax Incentive Act which encourages employers to hire younger workers.

Regulations will be passed to ensure that this does not affect unsubsidized or older workers adversely.

Expanded Public Works Programme

The Expanded Public Works Programme and the Community Work Programme continue to be an effective cushion for the poor and the youth.

We have created 3,7 million work opportunities over the past five years. Our people obtain an income and skills from the public works programme, which they use to seek formal employment.

Cabinet has set a target of 6 million work opportunities from this year to 2019, targeting the youth.

Our social assistance programme which now reaches about 16 million people, provides a safety for millions, especially vulnerable children.

Mining

We have now streamlined regulatory and licensing approvals for environmental impact assessments, water licenses and mining licenses.

Parliament is finalizing amendments to the law to give effect to this very positive development, which will cut to under 300 days, the time it takes to start a mine, from application to final approvals.

Infrastructure 

In 2012 we unveiled the National Infrastructure Plan, led by the President through the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission.

We have subsequently invested one trillion rand in public infrastructure over the past five years.

Many of the projects are completed or are nearing completion.

The Rea Vaya system in Joburg is now used by more than 100 000 Gauteng residents. Similar systems are being built in Cape Town, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City, eThekwini and Rustenburg.

The construction of new rail lines has started in Mpumalanga, to ease the pressure off the roads.

The Gautrain project is now fully functional and carries over 1,2 million passengers a month.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa will spend over 120 billion rand over the next 10 years to buy new trains.

Transnet is implementing its massive 300 billion rand market demand strategy, building much needed transport infrastructure.

To realise the economic potential of the Western Cape and the West Coast, we launched the Saldanha Industrial Development Zone and opened two new factories in Atlantis.

Water

To improve the water supply, two large new dams were completed, De Hoop in Limpopo and Spring Grove in KwaZulu-Natal, while phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is to be launched soon.

Electricity, Energy

Construction is continuing at the new power stations, Medupi in Limpopo, Kusile in Mpumalanga and Ingula near Ladysmith, employing more than 30 000 workers.

We continue to explore other sources of energy, in line with the Integrated Resource Plan for Energy.

The development of petroleum, especially shale gas will be a game-changer for the Karoo region and the South African economy.

Having evaluated the risks and opportunities, the final regulations will be released soon and will be followed by the processing and granting of licenses.

We expect to conclude the procurement of nine thousand six hundred megawatts of nuclear energy.

ICT

More of our wealth is created through the internet or telecommunication.

A 37 000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable has been laid by the private and public sectors in the past five years. This will be significantly expanded in the years ahead.

Industrial Development

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 

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.

Land Reform

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.

Corruption 

South Africans are united in wanting a corruption free society. Fighting corruption within the public service is yielding results.

Since the launch of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline by the Public Service Commission, over 13 000 cases of corruption and maladministration have been referred to government departments for further handling and investigation.

Government has recovered more than 320-million rand from perpetrators through the National Anti-Corruption Hotline.

Centralised Tender Board

To prevent corruption in the supply chain system, government has decided to establish a central tender board to adjudicate tenders in all spheres of government.

This body will work with the chief procurement officer whose main function will be to check on pricing and adherence to procedures as well as fairness.

Construction

Last year, the competition authorities investigated large-scale price fixing in the construction industry and fined guilty companies 1.4 billion rand.

Further steps against those involved are now underway.

Housing

In housing, about 3 million housing units and more than 855 thousand serviced sites were delivered since 1994.

Nearly 500 informal settlements have been replaced with quality housing and basic services over the past five years.

It has been an honour for my administration and I to build on the foundation laid by the first three democratic administrations, to serve the people of South Africa.

In Conclusion

As a country we have scored many successes.

South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994.

We continue to face challenges. But life will also continue to change for the better.