Madame Speaker;
The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Honourable Dr Zweli Mkhize;
Members of the Provincial Executive Council;
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature;
Amakhosi AseNdlunkulu ahloniphekile akanye nathi;
Your worships the Mayors present
Councillors;
Excellencies,
Members of the diplomatic corps;
Heads of Departments;
Distinguished Guests;
Senior Officials;
Members of the media;
Citizens of KwaZulu-Natal;
All protocol observed;
Theme: "South Africa is better since 1994"
Honourable Speaker, it gives the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs immense pleasure to table, before this august house, the budget policy speech for Vote 11. The speech largely constitutes a progress report on the work we have done since the beginning in 2009 of the term of the current government, honouring the social contract that we have with the people of our province.
An excerpt from the Bible, the Book of Matthew, Chapter 13, from verse4, reads as follows:2
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop -a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."
Madame Speaker, we see the people of our province as farmers who, in 2009, scattered us, their seeds, across the province so that we can produce crop that can bring a better life for all. Obviously, we have, in the past, seen various administrations that can either be classified as seeds that fell on rocky places and withered when scorched by the sun or as seeds that fell among the thorns and were choked by the thorns. We are convinced that we are the seeds that have fallen on fertile soil and that indeed have through proper nurturing from the farmers who are the people of KwaZulu-Natal, made a significant contribution in creating a KwaZulu-Natal fit for her people.
In presenting this budget policy speech, we seek to tell a story of how we have transformed and changed the lives of the people of KwaZulu-Natal and how we intend to consolidate and advance towards a better life for all the people of our province.
Guiding us on this journey, is the State of the Nation Address delivered by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Honourable J. G. Zuma, who in his address to the nation, invited us to speedily implement the National Development Plan and ensure that the country writes a different development story in the years ahead; a story where all citizens will have water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, housing, public transport, adequate nutrition, social protection, quality health care, recreation and clean environment.
The Honourable Premier, Dr Z L. Mkhize, in his State of the Province Address, instructed us to make our critical contribution for the whole of our country to move forward and, critically, meet the Millennium Development Goals as we progress to realise our vision for South Africa by the year 2030.
Madame Speaker, next year marks the end of the second decade of democracy and freedom in South Africa. As we approach this historic moment, based on the work done since 1994, we can boldly say "South Africa is now a better place to live in."
While we inherited a country with millions of people afflicted by poverty, neglect and underdevelopment, through determination and careful planning, we have taken concrete steps to improve the lives of our communities.
