Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Cape Agulhas Municipality
Speaker of Cape Agulhas Municipality
Municipal Manager of Cape Agulhas Municipality
The Chairperson of the CETA
The Chief Executive Officer of the CETA
The Booysen family
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning!
I am deeply honoured to be here today and actively participate in this launch, which is sadly an off-shoot of one of the most tragic criminal acts our country has seen in recent history.
Let me at this point express my sincere condolences to the family first, the neighbours and the community about circumstances this young girl lost her life. It was her strength and character that allowed her to survive long enough to identify the culprits who committed this dastardly deed.
This incident remains etched in the collective memory of the nation for its sheer brutality and senselessness. It attracted global attention and condemnation as one of the most brutal acts against women in our country. Such acts, and other similarly brutal attacks against women and children, cannot be tolerated and they need the collective efforts of government, business and all sectors of our society to bring them to an end.
Like every citizen, we as government were similarly shocked and horrified by the senselessness and brutality of the act, and this was expressed by the President in his message of condolences to both the family and the community.
Honourable guests, and to the family, we are not here to re-open wounds however; we do express our disgust at this deed, while at the same time hoping to ensure that we work collectively as a nation to prevent these kinds of acts ever happening again.
Programme Director, I want to call upon the Bredasdorp community and communities from the surrounding areas to look upon this day as the dawn of a brighter day, out of the darkness that the events of the early-morning hours of February 2nd befell upon this community.
Today, 77 days from the day, we are here in partnership with the Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and the Cape Agulhas Municipality, to mark the dawn of a new era of hope and opportunity. From the ashes of a very sad, tragic incident today marks a new beginning in the life of this community. Because a life taken away cannot be brought back, the pain that was caused by the perpetrators of this incident cannot be qualified or fully understood, as government we thought that the least that we could do to ease the pain for the family and the community, would be by bringing this project here today.
We cannot bring Anene back, but in her memory we can at least make an attempt to ensure that what happened to her never ever happens to any other child again.
We are bringing with us a Construction Skills Development and job creation project in an attempt to ease the material conditions of this community, so that some of the off-shoots of poverty and unemployment do not lead to a repeat of what happened to Anene. Working together with the Construction SETA and the local municipality we have decided to honour the memory of the young Anene Booysen through this project. She was working on a construction site where RDP houses were being built when this incident took place. She was actively contributing to ensuring a better life for herself and her family through working on that construction site. To some this intervention may be viewed as a mere commemoration, however as government; we regard it as another intervention in empowering and uplifting this community.
The Department of Higher Education and Training aims, in partnership with one of its entities, the Construction SETA, seeks to contribute to the reduction of high unemployment and poverty rates. We further seek to uplift the lives of the local communities in and around Bredasdorp. For a long time we have seen learning and training opportunities being channelled more to urban areas, while those who live in townships and rural areas remain marginalised. This cannot continue unchecked. I have requested my Department to ensure that skills development and training are taken to townships and rural communities because that is where these are needed the most. As a democratic state, we cannot allow the marginalisation of any community, more particularly those with the greatest need for social and economic support.
I would like to commend the Construction SETA (CETA) for their ongoing commitment towards bringing change and adding value to those communities who need economic support the most. I am aware that CETA has for some time dedicated their resources to rural communities and I want to urge you, particularly the local youth, to make use of the opportunities that we are bringing to your door step. Indeed, it takes a nation to educate the youth.
SETAs have started opening offices in townships and some rural areas. I must commend the initiatives that SETAs have recently embarked on, particularly with the number of other obligations that they are mandated to drive and allocate resources to. Every citizen must benefit from training, with training brought closer to those who need it the most. Indeed, my Ministry will ensure that each and every Further Education and Training college has a SETA office by the end of 2013.
Ladies and gentlemen, looking at the challenges emanating from the legacy of apartheid, it does not only require my Department to change the mindset of communities to accept the reality that education is a national key priority. Gone are the days where we believed that a learner can only learn through our traditional Higher Education Institutions to acquire a profession. There are opportunities of learning through various routes. You can acquire your education through Universities of Technology, traditional Universities, FET colleges and the SETA system of Learnerships, apprenticeships and artisan training. In fact, my Department is engaging with every institution of higher learning within the post school education and training system to ensure that there is collaboration between and across the education spectrum.
Our economy is highly diversified and therefore requires technically skilled people for survival and sustainability. Gone are the days when wearing ties and suits was the only way to go. The responsibility lies with each one of us to ensure that we make good use of the education opportunities available to us and adapt to the ever-changing technological climate. Economic trends are dictating to us and we need to ensure that we respond to the challenges thereof. It is about time that we claim our rightful position in the economy, particularly noting that everything happens so fast. By the time you think that you are on the right track, there is already a new intervention or development underway, so it is important that we position ourselves accordingly.
CETA is playing a critical role in ensuring that the youth of South Africa realise their potential and personal value alongside the national imperatives by also entering the construction sector, which is unarguably an integral growth element of our economy. The President of the Republic has announced 17 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) as part of government’s priorities to create decent work while delivering our economic infrastructure. Any young person who receives skills in a construction-related industry increases his/her chances of employment and even possible entrepreneurship.
Through the R10 million Project we are launching here today in memory of Anene Booysen, in partnership with the CETA and the Cape Agulhas Municipality, we seek to achieve the following objectives:
- Empower the women of the area, by developing and improving their skills;
- Address violence against women and children;
- Develop and provide unemployed individuals, including the youth of the area, with specific skills to ensure that they become more employable or to start their own businesses;
- Create job opportunities for unemployed individuals;
- Improve the skills of municipal workers; and
- Build and sustain a Skills Development Centre for the community.
The family of Anene was consulted on this and they have agreed that the projects be launched in honour of their daughter. From the discussions the CETA has had with them and the municipality, it was collectively decided that the CETA would contribute R10 million to address the skills needs of the community. I highly applaud this contribution by the Construction SETA. To the local youth and all members of this community, I wish to say “the ball is now in your court”.
As I have already indicated, this contribution to local economic development was approved to address skills needs in construction related fields, as a direct response to the following identified skills needs:
Short Skills Programmes:
- Electrical Construction - 100 learners
- Health and Safety targeting - 100 learners
- Solar Geyser Installation -100 learners
Learnership Programmes:
- Community House Building - 25 learners
- Road Construction - 25 learners
Apprenticeships Programmes:
- Carpentry - 25 learners
- Plumbing - 25 learners
- Electrical Construction - 25 learners
Recognition of Prior Learning:
- Construction - 250 learners
Over and above this, a Skills Development Centre which will be named in honour of the late Anene Booysen will also be opened in her memory. This initiative will result in 675 learners being trained in different programmes whereby on completion of their training they will participate in numerous community projects. In this way, these projects will directly address the local economic development needs.
Collaborative engagements on these projects have resulted in all parties agreeing to the following requirements in terms of training programmes that are to be launched:
- Duration of training with a minimum of 9 months and a maximum of 12 months depending on field of study;
- Stipend of R1 500 per month per learner;
- Applicants must have successfully completed Grade 9;
- For residents within the Cape Agulhas Municipal boundary; and
- Unemployed with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
We have all witnessed the contribution that the Cape Agulhas Municipality has made by placing advertisements on 28 March 2013 in the media, both in newspapers and on the local Radio station sensitizing the residents about the project.
The expectation now is that work should begin. Training Providers who meet CETA requirements will be appointed to conduct training for the residents of this community and the surrounding areas within the identified skills programmes.
The year 2013 has been declared the “Year of the Artisan”, an initiative that is led by our Deputy Minister, who has been criss-crossing the country raising awareness of young people to choose Artisanal training as a career. For us as a country to successfully deliver on the Presidential Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) and create jobs we need to develop enough artisans to build roads, schools, universities, harbours, power stations, railway lines and other social and economic infrastructure.
Deputy Minister Manana has been visiting provinces to engage learners and the youth to not only promote Artisanry as a career of choice; but to also raise awareness about the professionalization of artisan training and highlight skills development opportunities that are available in Artisanry.
I am posing a challenge to all of you that we join hands together and continue to correct the imbalances that are evident in our education system. We must move away from paying lip service and start embarking on a mission of ensuring that skills development interventions become a practical lever against poverty, inequality and unemployment. I particularly urge the youth to please ensure that you take this opportunity that has been brought to you and use it to the best of your abilities. To the many that have construction skills but have never been certificated and recognised in your fields, this project has a Recognition of Prior Learning aspect to it. Take advantage of that and increase the numbers of our Artisans in the country, so that we will not have to import them when construction on the SIPs commences.
To the Family, we do hope that this is a fitting remembrance to the memory of your beloved daughter, Anene Booysen. May her soul rest in peace. To the Mayor, please know that I am looking forward to being invited again by the community of Bredasdorp for a briefing on the progress of this project.
I thank you.
