(Premier’s
Opening Address)
The HON PREMIER, Ms I W DIREKO: The hon Speaker, hon Members of the
Executive Council, hon Members of the Legislature, hon Members of National
Parliament, hon Permanent Delegates to the National Council of Provinces, hon
Mayors and Councillors, Marena le Dikgosi
(Traditional Leaders), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Hon Speaker,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish hon Members of the Legislature
and the hon Executive Members, and all distinguished guests a happy Valentine’s
Day. [Applause]
This being
the year of the volunteer, for reconstruction and development, it is
appropriate that we reflect on what it means.
I will indicate that for me being a volunteer has been my life’s
story. The call for us to initiate Letsema resonates well with the majority
of the people of this province.
It is a
value, a work ethic we should embrace as new Free Staters. After all, this is how our people,
traditionally engaging in the fight, to fight hunger and poverty, produced
prosperity and care for the weak, vulnerable and sometimes visiting
strangers. Our ancestors, for once will
be proud that we have call on their value system that is time-tested. For me this call is about the work I did as a
volunteer through the justice system, the courts, the prisons, the police, and
with the community, to plead in mitigation of the sentences, rehabilitate offenders,
reintegrate them into society. An understanding that
“Motho-ke-motho-ka-Batho-ba-bang” drove the volunteer work. (You are a person, because of others)
It is also
for this reason that we call for humane resolution of conflict, especially in
the farming communities. We commend
strongly the work of volunteers who continue to seek harmonious relationships
in these communities. We must root out
any vestiges of racist conduct and inhumane behaviour that may still
exist. We must do that as part of the
celebration of the fifth year of our world-acclaimed Constitution that seeks to
restore the dignity of all, irrespective of their race, creed, class, or
religion.
Our province
has often been called the breadbasket of the country, as a result of the work
that we produce on the farms. It is our
obligation to recognise the negative consequences of bad race relations on the
farms in a global community that has become sensitised to human rights.
Last year, I described a new Free
Stater as “...someone who has a culture of caring, who is willing to face
challenges, who can compete without fear, who is educated and learned,
disciplined, trustworthy and efficient”.
This new Free Stater’s set of values should include hard work,
perseverance, excellence, ethical conduct and a commitment to the creation of a
better life for all.
In one of our many attempts to build
the new
It becomes
important therefore that we commit ourselves to the declaration signed by key
stakeholders in the Provincial Conference on Racism, Xenophobia, and Related
Intolerances.
The
provincial effort to implement the provisions of this declaration will ensure
the achievement of the values of human dignity, non-racialism, and non-sexism,
which are articulated in our country’s Constitution. It will assist us to build the culture of
inclusiveness, which our National Constitution seeks to promote.
I would like
to assure all Free Staters that the Free State Provincial Government belongs to
all of us. It is not acceptable that
when the Provincial Government organises activities for the benefit of all
citizens of the
I would like
to call upon white citizens of the
It is
therefore imperative that you become New Free Staters, who will live by the
vision and values enshrined in our national Constitution. It is therefore imperative to exercise
responsibilities expected of any decent citizen of the
We will not
tolerate it when white farmers humiliate and dehumanise black farm
workers. By the same token, we condemn
the killing of innocent white farmers and pledge to pursue the killers and
ensure justice is done and seen to be done.
Building a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic society was never
going to be easy, and seven and half years of being in government are too short
to accomplish the entire vision.
However, a start has been made.
Let us all dedicate us to the implementation of the declaration of our
Provincial and the United Nations Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerances that was held in Durban.
Let us commit ourselves to the founding principles of our
Constitution. For these can only lighten
the burden of building a new country and a new
As in the previous year, the levels of
poverty in our Province still humiliates our people to the point that we are
presumably one of the poorest provinces in the country, and the dignity of many
of our countrymen and women has been eroded by the spate of joblessness and
unacceptable levels of unemployment. The
scourge of HIV/AIDS still ravages our motherland.
WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED?
Motivated by
the need to ensure and promote the well being of our people in the face of
these hardships, you will recall that I committed the entire Executive Council
of the
·
The provision of infrastructure and
housing;
·
Job Creation and Economic Growth; and
·
Human Resource Development.
Despite the
difficulties and challenges we experienced in the implementation of this plan,
I am pleased to indicate that we have achieved the following, amongst others:
With regard
to the provision of infrastructure and housing, we have established
Multi-Purpose Community Centres in rural areas such as Namahadi in Thabo
Mofutsanyane District, Sediti in Motheo District, as well as Botshabelo.
The portfolio
of infrastructure that the Provincial Government has delivered in line with
undertakings I made last year includes:
§
A new pension shelter in Thusanong, and
upgrading of Tshireletsong both in Mangaung in Motheo District;
§
Clinics such as the MUCPP, which is a
24 hour clinic in Mangaung, and one built in Trompsburg in Xhariep District;
§
Schools such as the Thuto-ke-Tsela
school in
§
We re-gravelled roads in Dihlabeng in
the Thabo Mofutsanyane District, and we are rehabilitating the
Ficksburg/Clocolan road.
These
projects, and others I have not mentioned, resulted in the creation of a
minimum of 5 000 jobs for Free Staters.
We have
upgraded holiday resorts and game reserves in the province to improve
tourism. We have also completed the
The
Provincial Government through Phakisa staged a Motorcycle Grand Prix for 2001
in which the province, the country and the continent were marketed, and which
contributed to sport, tourism, and local economic development in the Goldfields
area of the
We
established jewellery hub zones with foreign investment of 120 million creating
2000 jobs.
We embarked
on agricultural community programmes worth R3.4 million and which created 340
jobs. Our land distribution and
agricultural development programme worth R10.3 million benefited 308 people.
The
Provincial Government had eight local economic development projects worth R8, 7
million.
You will
recall that in the Strategic Plan for the financial year 2000/01 we committed
ourselves to increasing our provincial pass rate for Grade 12 to 50% by
December 2000. In December 2000 our
results were 52%, and in December 2001 we recorded a 59% pass rate. This indicates we have exceeded the target we
have set ourselves in the financial year 2000/01; and we commit ourselves to do
even better in the coming exams. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the MEC for Education, officials of the
Department, Principals, educators, learners and parents for the hard work they
have shown. However, I expect you to
work even harder.
I am also
happy to report that we have filled the Head of Department posts in all
Departments except the Department of Agriculture. I am confident however; this post will be
filled very soon.
We also
established 24-hour Victim Support Centres for abused women and children in
Petrusburg, and Koffiefontein in the Xhariep District - these assist our
citizens with support, and counselling for women and children; these are
inter-sectoral victim support centres that involve the Departments of Social
Development, Health, Justice, non-governmental organisations and the South
African Police Service.
The
Department of Optometry was established in the Faculty of Health Sciences in
collaboration with the University of the
Last year, I
reported that the Department of Social Development has completed the
registration of social security beneficiaries.
The process led to the suspension of beneficiaries who failed to
re-register. I am happy to report that
2825 legitimate beneficiaries have now been reinstated. A total payment of R9, 3 million, which was
owed to them in arrears, has now been paid.
This includes all backlogs in the processing of new applications during
this period. We are now on track, and we
have eliminated all backlogs because the Department of Social Development
worked very hard.
We
successfully hosted the national launch of the Indigenous Games in line with
the spirit of the African Renaissance and revival of the traditions of the
African people.
In order to
rise to the challenges posed by underdevelopment, poverty and HIV/AIDS our
Provincial Government, as you know, has adopted an integrated approach to
service delivery. Our pursuit of such an
approach has culminated in the adoption by the Executive Council of the
three-year Free State Development Plan.
The vision of the
“A
unified
Our mission
is to work effectively with all stakeholders to serve the people of the
§
Enhancing economic development and job
creation;
§
Providing and facilitating sustainable
infrastructure development;
§
Investing in the development of the
people of the province; and
§
Ensuring a safe and secure environment.
We will do
all of this by means of good and co-operative governance, and sustainable use
of our resources and the environment.
The Free
State Provincial Government is determined to implement the above vision and
mission. Having noted the levels of
poverty and unemployment, we are inspired by Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics from
“Sunday in the Park with George” when he says:
“A
vision is just a vision if it is only in your head.
If
no one gets to hear it, it is as good as dead.
It
has to come to life, bit by bit, putting it together piece by piece, only way
to make a work of art.
Every
moment makes a contribution,
Every
little detail plays a part.
Having
just a vision is no solution
Everything
depends on execution,
Putting
it together, that is what counts.
(Quoted From Warren Bennis’ Old Dogs, New Tricks: 2000, p.184)
Last year,
the Executive Council continued to visit various towns in our province as part
of the provincial government’s commitment to public accountability. From these visits, and others that individual
MECs and I had, as well as my monthly programme on Radio Lesedi, we have learned a lot about what counts. We specifically undertook these interactions
with our people in the
·
What we are going to do!
·
Good Governance
Through our
Good Governance Cluster, we will focus on:
·
Improving our ability to deliver
services to our customers by training frontline officials in customer
care. We will also establish help lines
to which our citizens will call to register their reaction to government
services they are provided with. This
initiative will seek to improve the interaction between government and citizens
and make the spirit of the government’s policy of Batho Pele more meaningful;
·
We will improve communication between
the Departments of the Provincial Government, and the national and local
governments through the effective functioning of our Provincial-Local
Government Forum;
·
We will ensure proper coordination and
compliance with the international agreements signed by the Free State
Provincial Government and overseas countries.
This will be with the view to ensure that our province benefits from the
technical expertise and investments which arises as a consequence of these
agreements;
·
To ensure the successful implementation
of the Free State Development Plan, we will manage government’s development
planning efforts in an integrated manner.
This is crucial if we are to avoid unnecessary duplication and wastage
of scarce resources;
·
This cluster will also strive to
improve the government’s implementation capacity. Training and development will be the primary
means by which government’s implementation capacity is improved. I am therefore very proud to announce that
the Provincial Government has decided to establish the Free State Institute for
Training and Development. This Institute
will provide generic courses focussing on, amongst others, leadership and
management, project management, information and communication technology, adult
basic education and training, and financial management.
My office is currently working with the South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI) and the National Department of Labour to implement the Executive Council’s decision to establish this Institute.
An interactive Communication and
Management System called I-CAM, which was initiated, and will be launched by
the Department of Health this month, will complement the institute. This system is the first of its type in the
Public Service. It will be used for the
training and development of personnel as well as for meetings. It will beam from
PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
Through our People Development cluster,
our Department of Education will focus on Adult Basic Education and Training in
order to enhance the skills and self-reliance of our people.
We will also
improve access to and quality of formal education by reducing the number of
under performing schools in the
To ensure the survival, development,
care and protection of the vulnerable in our society, the Free State Provincial
Government will implement service programmes targeting the vulnerable, elderly
citizens and frail persons. R25, 8
million will be spent on residential care programmes to provide outreach
programmes to support children and families in the communities. The local programme for children will be
piloted in five local municipalities.
The Free State Government is concerned
about the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The impact of the pandemic is felt in all sectors of government,
business and indeed families.
Government, in partnership with society and civil formations, is
fighting the pandemic.
The newly
established District Aids Council in partnership with the Free State Provincial
Government successfully hosted the World Aids Day celebrations held on the
The
In this year of
volunteerism, the Departments of Health and Social Development will train 1 000
volunteers for home-based care and step-down facilities for AIDS patients. Home-based care will be established in all
local municipalities and one step-down facility will be established per district
Municipality.
The Free State
Provincial Government will extend the existing two
Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV research-sites by
increasing the number of clinics per site to fulfil the national criteria, and
the conversion of District hospitals as approved by the Executive Council. The programme reached a significant number of
women from July to December 2001. The
The Free State
Provincial Government will increase the cure rate of Tuberculosis to 70% by the
end of the next financial year. We have
one of the highest incidents of Tuberculosis in
In order to
improve access to and quality of health services, our Department of Health will
open two eye-care centres, one at Kroonstad in the
A new
Psychiatry Unit to the value of R7, 9 million will be built at
The Department of Education will ensure
the integration of sport and cultural activities at schools. School sport will be linked outside school
sport for identification and continuous development of talent. The Free State Provincial Government will
support the development of world-class performers in sport.
SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
Through our Sustainable Infrastructure
Cluster, we commit ourselves to overcoming backlogs in the provincial
infrastructure. We will increase access
roads for our communities in the coming financial year by building three roads
in Sasolburg in the
The
Provincial Government will also increase the number of schools and classrooms
in the province. We will build 12
schools, 143 classrooms, and in addition, 10 halls, which were not provided by
the previous regime for black schools; 10 media centres, 10 laboratories and
sports grounds will be provided particularly to those schools that performed
well in their examinations.
Our
Department of Local Government and Housing will improve access to portable
water by installing 14 000 water points throughout the province. We will also increase housing units by
building 12 000 new houses.
We will build
two multi-purpose community centres in Trompsburg and Zastron in the Xhariep
District, and we have started with the planning of two new hospitals. A new district hospital will be built in
Trompsburg to cater for the road accidents on the N1 South of
Bloemfontein. The Hospital in Ladybrand
will be rebuilt in a more accessible and central location.
We will build
two district offices in the Xhariep District and the
We will
promote labour intensive construction and maintenance by building the following
community facilities:
§
A Community Hall in Fauresmith;
§
A crèche in Wepener;
§
Storm Water Drainage in Koffiefontein;
§
A Community Hall in Hertzogville;
§
A crèche in Bultfontein;
§
Storm water drainage in Jagersfontein;
§
A bridge in
§
An access road in Bethulie; and
§
A Community Hall in Luckhoff.
In our
attempt to remove some of the remaining vestiges of the past, we are going to
bring an end to the bucket system. Our
Departments of Public Works, Roads, and Transport, and Local Government and
Housing, will work together with the various municipalities to investigate effective
ways in which the bucket system can be done away with once and for all.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION
The Provincial Government has
established the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council, which will work together
with the Economic Development and Job Creation cluster to develop the
provincial economic development strategy.
Such a strategy should assist us to promote the diversification of the
provincial economy.
We will also,
through our cluster, establish central business support infrastructure
including a business database. We will
implement effective livelihoods programmes in which a safety net is provided in
the form of grants to the most vulnerable, and poor sectors of our communities. As we heard during the President’s State of
the Nation Address, we appreciate the increase in the payment of social
grants. This will serve as an important
tool in our endeavours to eradicate poverty.
Farming in
the
To this end, through our Department of
Agriculture, we will initiate programmes amounting to R70 million to establish
previously disadvantaged individuals as farmers through land reform, in
partnership with the Department of Land Affairs, as well as through
agricultural projects funded by the European Union.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Compared to
the rest of the country, we continue to be a relatively safe province. However, the prevalence of crime and the
safety of our communities remain the primary concerns of the Free State
Provincial Government. In addition to
our normal duties, our Department of Safety and Security has set aside R3
million to rehabilitate gangsters in the province, and contribute to the
reduction of the number of criminals in the province
The
Provincial Government will also create a new disaster co-ordination centre,
which will be sufficiently equipped to enable us to effectively manage
disasters in the Province.
We intend
strengthening our partnership with the Business Community and municipalities
through extending the Closed Circuit Television Network, which has proved so
useful in our fight against crime. We
hope to extend this service in Motheo and Matjhabeng Districts in collaboration
with those municipalities. We hope the
CCT will be mend by volunteers who are not necessary policemen but who will
relieve our police to do this work.
INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE RURAL
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
The Presidential Node at
Maluti-a-Phofung in Thabo Mofutsanyana is well underway. Construction, building and other work are
taking place in several places. Bulk
Water Supply, and the on-going housing project, for example, the Makwane Sports
Stadium, the Basotho Cultural Village, Elizabeth Ross Hospital, and the Setsing
Shopping Complex first phase is complete.
Further progress will be reported on by the MECs during their budget
speeches.
TRANSFORMATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Having taken stock of Local Government
Transformation last year in the province as well as at the President’s
Co-ordinating Council, a programme of action is being elaborated tomorrow at
the Local Government MinMec. The
resolutions of the President’s Co-ordinating Council are aimed at strengthening
the third sphere of government. These
resolutions include:
·
Building stable institutional and
administrative systems in local government;
·
Deepening local democracy and
accountability;
·
Improving and accelerating service
delivery and economic development; and
·
Building financially viable local
government.
We call upon
all municipalities to ensure that they complete their integrated development
plans.
URBAN RENEWAL
The state of our inner cities remains a
matter of deep concern to the Provincial Government. In order to achieve the rehabilitation and
renewal of our inner cities in the
IMPROVEMENT OF REVENUE COLLECTION
To do all the things we envisaged in
the new financial year, we need money and one way to augment what we get from
the Central Government is the improvement of revenue collection.
The Provincial Government managed to
reverse the downward trend experienced in the past in the collection of its own
revenue. This is clearly indicated by
the drastic increase in collections during the past financial year. The amount
of R216 million collected in 1999/2000, increased to R305 million in the
2000/2001 financial year. This increase
represents a growth of 70%. It is
expected that this amount will continue to grow in the current financial year
to approximately R320 million.
Although the
traditional sources of provincial revenue, such as motor vehicle licenses,
patient fees, betting and gambling, as well as interest on investments still
remains the major sources of revenue, all these items indicate an increase in
the amount collected compared to previous financial years. These increases are mainly due to effective
and efficient collection of revenue by the Provincial Government.
We continue
to have a positive bank balance, which resulted in the opportunity to expand
the investment portfolio of the province thereby generating more revenue for
the province.
May I in
conclusion, say, the achievements mentioned in this speech, were made possible
through the partnership and team spirit that exists in the
Hon Speaker,
I now present the Development Plan, which will shape the future of the
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