Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Members of the Legislature
Members of the Executive Council
The leadership of the ANC, Comrade Dr Falaza Mdaka and Honourable Joy Matshoge
Executive Mayors, Mayors and leaders of our Local Municipalities
Director General and Heads of Departments
Our esteemed Majesties and Royal Highnesses
Stalwarts and veterans of our struggle
Leaders of Chapter Nine and Ten Institutions
Leadership of various religious formations and traditional leaders
Chairperson and members of the Operating Licensing Board;
Staff of the Gateway Airports Authority Limited;
The law enforcement agencies: Traffic Police, Special Investigations Unit,
South African Police Services;
Board of Road Agency Limpopo and staff
Transnet Freight Rail, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa,
Intersite Property Development
Provincial Taxi Council, driving schools, the Limpopo Chapter of South African
Women in Transport;
Chairperson and members of Small Bus Operators Association;
Distinguished guests, friends and comrades
Members of the media
The people of Limpopo.
Thobela!
The great masses of our people who have elected us into government look up to us for a better life and a better tomorrow. To achieve this as the Department of Roads and Transport we immediately decided that for us to deliver to our people we need to root out the culture of mediocrity and sluggishness. In order to root out this culture which can become uncontrollable debilitating cancer in our system we adopted a great, efficient, swift service delivery approach fitting the aspirations and hope of our people.
From the onset inspired by the renowned author, Jim Collins from his book titled Good to Great, we adopted the culture of being great and delivering great services to the masses of our people. Jim Collins states the following: “We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem.”
As a department we fully understand that our people deserve great services, as anything less would not be enough. The lessons from Jim Collins teach us that we cannot rest on our laurels and become content by only providing the bare minimum to our people. We need to realise that in order to eradicate poverty, inequality and underdevelopment we must go beyond the call of duty and deliver “great” services to the people we serve. We further need to get the right people in the right positions in order to embark on our journey of moving from Good to Great. Jim Collins further states that: “If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
As the Department of Roads and Transport we will strive to get the right people into our team and deliver great services to our people.
Honourable Speaker,
In just over a year, South Africa will celebrate two decades of hard fought democracy a significant milestone in the history of this beloved country. As we approach 20 years of freedom we take this opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the noble goals of building a united, just, non-racial, non-sexist and a prosperous South Africa.
Honourable Speaker,
The Department of Roads and Transport accepts that it has a primary responsibility for transport both as a public good and as a means of supporting balanced economic growth and development. Broadly speaking, the bulk of South Africa’s transport infrastructure in general and Limpopo in particular is regulated and provided either by government or by state owned entities.
Administration in the Department plays a critical support role to enable the Department to deliver on our mandate. In order to become relevant to the continuous demands from the economy, the department has made it a priority to skill our workforce.
We have implemented 23 skills programme benefiting 233 employees. The employees were trained on traffic programmes, middle-management programmes, finance and human resource related programmes. Out of the 233 employees, 48% were women, 35% youth and 1% persons with disabilities. We believe that an appropriately skilled work force (the right people on the bus) will be able to respond adequately to the needs of our people and remain relevant to the economic demands of today. We have further rolled out two learnership programmes in the fields of Construction Road Works and Public Administration for lower level employees without Grade 12,this involved 30 learners of which 30% are women and 7% youth.
Armed with the skilled and dedicated workforce as a department, we adopted a pact which says: We will not do wrong things, we will not make others do wrong things and we will not allow others to make us do wrong things. With this pact we are convinced that the responsibilities we have been given will be achieved to the expectations of the people we serve.
Following EXCO Resolutions on the reduction of the compensation of employees’ (CoE) budget by 2% effective from 2011/12 financial year, the Department had to suspend the filling of its critical posts during the 2012/2013 financial year. With the assistance of the Department of Public Service and Administration we are also busy with a process of developing a more appropriate organisational structure aimed at streamlining the services we render. This will result in the Department being able to fill the critical vacancies to have a full capacity public service which will effectively deliver services to the people.
Honourable Speaker,
Improving transport Infrastructure
The total length of road network in Limpopo is 22 000 km with 7 337 km tarred and 14 643 gravel. The responsibility for roads is (in line with the Constitution) shared by the three spheres of government. These are the National road system, the provincial road system and the Municipal system. One of our fundamental responsibility as a department is to provide, improve and maintain transport infrastructure.
Transport infrastructure is key to unlocking economic opportunities for the people of the province. This august house will, however, recall that our province was recently ravaged by devastating floods which destroyed infrastructure leaving some communities cut off from the rest of the world. Many had to construct makeshift bridges to connect to important amenities including schools and shops. A Ministerial visit to some of the flood ravaged areas recently revealed a desperate situation to our affected communities requiring an urgent intervention by our government. A total of 107 roads and bridges to the estimated value of R317 million were affected.
These included the following districts:
Capricorn: 5 projects
Mopani: 24 projects
Vhembe: 61 projects
Waterberg: 5 projects
Sekhukhune: 12 projects
We will endeavour to urgently attend to the destroyed infrastructure with the view of reconnecting affected communities with the rest of the world. The current inconvenience to the affected communities is receiving urgent attention from both provincial and national government. We share the community’s frustration; however, we can assure our people that we are working with speed to restore damaged infrastructure.
Honourable Speaker,
The department has set aside an amount of R1,394 billion for Transport Infrastructure development in the current financial year.
Roads Routine Maintenance and Preventative Maintenance:
The department has set aside an amount of R232,6 million for the sealing of surfaced roads while R78,7 million has been set aside for the blading of our gravel roads. In this financial year the department will spend R600 million to upgrade 104km of road from gravel to tar. In the same breath four bridges, which is Mashamba bridge in Vhembe, Rapotokwane bridge, Koedoeskop bridge in the Waterberg District as well as the bridge of Ga-Ntata in the Mopani district. An amount of R9,656 million has been budgeted for, for the design of the emergency bridge projects.
I need to indicate that the construction of Mashamba bridge in Vhembe will start soon as we are currently finalising the procurement process. This bridge will be constructed to the tune of R20,51 million. Some of our roads in the province are infested with potholes making driving in those roads a nightmare. We are very concerned about this situation on our roads and as a result we have budgeted R98 million for the blacktop patching which is pothole repair.
We are convinced that this allocated money will go a long way in improving the conditions of our roads while in many instances rid our roads off potholes. In order to maintain our road infrastructure, we have budgeted R210 million to rehabilitate our surfaced roads. The department will upgrade 31km of access roads to the tune of R124 million. The kilometres will be allocated per district as follows: Capricorn District will get 6 kilometres, Mopani 7 kilometres, Sekhukhune 7 kilometres, Vhembe 5 kilometres and Waterberg 6 kilometres.
These access roads will improve road infrastructure in our villages and further ensure that access to essential amenities is made with ease. Community based projects remain one of the critical ways in which we provide employment and skills but more importantly we maintain our roads infrastructure. In this financial year we will implement 28 projects which will be shared by all districts to the tune of R381. Many impoverished people in our communities should benefit from these projects. These projects are aimed at improving the lives of the poorest of the poor in our communities. We remain confident that those who will be tasked with the huge responsibility of identifying beneficiaries will be fair and refrain from the unjust practice of nepotism.
Honourable Speaker,
We have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with all our municipalities in order to share resources for our road maintenance. In this regard we share machinery and fuel with the view of continuously maintaining our roads. In instances where a municipality may have fuel but lack machinery, the department will then provide machinery to maintain roads in identified villages. We are convinced that this arrangement will improve the maintenance of our rural roads.
Honourable Speaker,
Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL)
The Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) is responsible for the upgrading of existing roads and the construction of bridges. The department with the assistance of the Department of Public Service and Administration and under the guidance of the Intervention team in terms of Section 100 (1)(b) of the Constitution, embarked on a process to appoint Service providers to do a study on a best practice model for the provision of road infrastructure in the province. An allocation of R5 million has been set aside for this project.
It is through roads and bridges that business is sustained and economic emancipation of the people is realised. Roads and bridges not only facilitate movement of goods, but also connect people, villages and big cities. It is therefore important to have the best possible economically viable option to provide these services in the province.
In the previous financial year, RAL had to deal with an added burden when roads and bridges were destroyed by floods that ravaged most parts of the province. This led to more resources being committed to the reconstruction and rebuilding of the affected roads and bridges, thus halting new projects. A problem which may re-occur given the recent flood damages in January 2013 referred to earlier.
The following roads, drainage structures and bridges were repaired and new bridges were constructed during the 2012/2013 financial year:
- Collapsed Armco drainage culvert and road embankment on road P278/1 at Vondwe village in the Vhembe district. The cost of the construction of a new bridge and the re-building of the collapsed road embankment amounted to R 28 438 840-42.
- Collapsed drainage culvert and road embankment on road P278/1 at ThatheVondo in the Vhembe district. The cost of the construction of a new drainage structure and the re-building of the road embankment amounted to R 19 419 357-09.
- Washed away bridge and road over the Sibelwane River on road D4179 in the Sekhukhune district. The cost of the construction of a new bridge and the re-building of the road amounted to R26 164 923-76.
- Flood damaged road and bridge at Deerpark on road D 1350 in the Mopani district. The cost of the repair works amounted to R 506 849-30.
Honourable Speaker,
New bridges constructed
Over and above the bridges that were reconstructed under the flood damage repair programme, RAL embarked on the construction of the following three new bridges during the 2012/2013 financial year:
- A new bridge over the Olifants River at Mankele village in the Sekhukhune district. This new bridge was built to make crossing the river safe and convenient for the people of Mankele village who previously had to use a makeshift cable car (Sewayawaya), to cross the river. This is a steel bridge, and it is the first time that a steel bridge was built by RAL. The cost of building this bridge and access road to Mankele village amounted to R79 518 404-52. While the cost of providing infrastructure to our people is steep this government, however, recognizes that the dignity of our people is a major priority which can never be compromised.
- A new bridge over the Olifants River at Senyatho village in the Sekhukhune district has been built. This bridge was also built to give people of Senyatho and Maredi villages access to both sides of the river for health and school facilities. Previously these people had to make use of a make shift cable car (Sewayawaya) to cross the river. The cost of the project amounted to R 43 764 102-82.
A new bridge over the Motse River at Senyatho village in the Sekhukhune district has also been built. The cost of this bridge amounted to R15 122 819-21. This august house will realise that these projects have been able to connect cut off villages with essential amenities and more importantly have restored the dignity of our people and led to safe travelling in and out of the villages.
Honourable Speaker,
Roads Agency Limpopo has also completed upgrading and rehabilitation of roads during the 2012/2013 financial year.
- 48 km length of road has been upgraded from gravel to tar at a cost of R393 500 481-60
- 78 km length of road has been rehabilitated (Widened & re-constructed) at a cost of R415 919 855-22
The total output for 2012/2013 financial year is 126 km at a cost of: R809 420 336-82
Over and above building bridges and roads the agency is further required to employ and use the services of local and small medium enterprises during construction with the aim of building capacity. The agency has thus achieved its set targets a proud achievement indeed. The agency has been able to create new employment opportunities. Two thousand three hundred new work opportunities were created and the amount paid in the process was R43.500 million. Small Medium Entreprises also benefitted. Seventy Eight SMME’s received business opportunities to the value of R117, 352 million.
Going forward into the 2013/14 financial year the Agency will be moving with speed to ensure that the current multi-year construction projects which were started in the previous years are completed. The Agency will also be ensuring that the repair and reconstruction of the latest flood damaged roads and bridges receive its utmost urgent attention.
HonourableSpeaker,
As part of the overall vision for transport the department sees road construction and maintenance as a job creator in the Expanded Public Works Programme. The primary objectives of the Community Based Routine Maintenance Programmeare to provide employment and poverty alleviation through the execution of routine maintenance activities (grass cutting, cleaning of drainage structures, etc). Poverty robs people off their dignity and as government we cannot fold our arms when our people are confronted by these conditions. We have endevoured to provide jobs which as a result helped put food on the table of the impoverished families. In 2009/2010 financial year we created 55 748 jobs, in 2011/2012 created 37 307 jobs while in the third quarter 2012/2013 we managed to create 7 083 jobs. We are convinced that these jobs play a significant role in pushing the frontiers of poverty and contributing to social stability.
As a department we are proud of EPWP and are convinced that the evident poverty reduction brought by this programme will go a long way in enhancing the quality of life to all beneficiaries. The job creation target for EPWP for the 2013/14 financial year is 20 808 job opportunities. In this regard, we allocated a budget of R505, 8 million. The jobs that these programmes have been able to create are a testimony that this government cares about improving the lives of our people and eradicating the scourge of poverty. The freedom we are relishing today can never be complete for as long as some of our people have no food and are perpetually trapped by poverty.
Honourable Speaker,
The many achievements brought by EPWP have not gone unnoticed. We are proud to announce that as a Department we have received acknowledgements and awards for the work done in providing jobs and eradicating poverty. The Department of Public Works awarded the Department the following three Kamoso Awards in November 2012.
- Best Reporting Public body;
- Best Maintenance Programme: Infrastructure Sector and
- Best construction Project: Infrastructure Sector
We have further received prestigious awards for our EPWP projects namely:
- Productivity SA 2011/12
- Premier’s Excellence Awards in 2011/12 (Gold in the field of Expanded Public Works Programme)
We remain committed to implementing our plans through a high performance, disciplined and sustained approach. In this regard, we shall spare no effort, mindful of the fact that our people look up to us to realise their aspirations.
Honourable Speaker,
Thohoyandou Intermodal Facility
Taxi facility structural progress
There is growing realisation that multi modalism and its support is necessary for effective public transport and regional freight flows. To this end a number of possible sites for Inter modal facilities in the provinces and major centres have been identified. Budgetary constraints have however limited the department thus far to commence with only one such facility at Thohoyandou, the Thohoyandou Intermodal facility.
The temporary taxi facility and taxi/bus drop off points at the Thohoyandou Intermodal facility has been completed and has been in operation since October 2011 and December 2011 respectively.
The main taxi facility is a multi-level structure which boasts the following components:
- Taxi loading area – ground floor
- Retail/Commercial area – ground floor
- Taxi holding/park area (Mezzanine floor) – first floor
- Offices – first and second floor
Currently the project is almost complete with the work at 90% complete. The remaining activities during these final stages include:
- Plastering and floor finishes to the retail area at ground, mezzanine and first Floor;
- Shop fitting, glazing, tiling, ceiling installation, structural steelwork support to Cladding;
- The fixing of electrical and mechanical structures on the 1st floor and Waterproofing to roof slab;
- Ongoing Structural steelwork for canopies to the western façade of the building;
- Progression of bulk earthworks on the town square, including the construction of the water feature.
Honourable Speaker,
As mentioned earlier, our commitment to job creation as the Department of Roads and Transport remains a top priority. Job creation is the main pillar of the National Development Plan which states that “moving towards 2030, South Africa’s transport system will support economic development, job creation and growth, providing equitable access to opportunities and services for all and reducing poverty”. We are proud to announce before this august house that the department, through the construction of the Thohoyandou Intermodal Facility, has provided employment to 469 people from June 2011 to January 2013, with the majority of the empowered people being women and youth.
To further enhance the economic development of the people of Vhembe in general and Thohoyandou in particular, tenders for the retail and commercial space at the Intermodal facility were re-issued through the Thulamela Municipality and the process has gone through the evaluation stage as of February 2013. It is hoped that at the end of the evaluation process the preferred bidders will be able to play a meaningful and creative role in the economic development of their communities.
Honourable Speaker,
In our endeavor to assist the public transport operators, the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport has made social investment to public transport operators by offering the following commercial/business opportunities:
- The taxi industry will not bear any operational cost within the facility in which they operate i.e. loading and holding area, except for cleaning costs which will be as per service standards.
- Office space has been allocated for the district and local associations at below commercial rates.
In order to also facilitate the industry’s business growth, the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport and the Municipality will grant the district taxi council advertising rights on their destination boards, with conditions that these rights can be revoked if not utilized.
Honourable Speaker,
Construction of Traffic Facilities
The construction and provision of services closer to our people remains significant as it means that people will have government services at their door step. Our people will no longer be subjected to traveling long distances to access government services. The department has completed the construction of the Aganang and Fetakgomo K53 testing facilities to the value of R34 659 722 million. These facilities are still to be equipped with the relevant vehicle testing equipment and driver testing circuit courses, which is expected to be installed and commissioned by end September 2013.
For the first time community members of these two municipalities are going to receive full traffic services closer to where they reside. These facilities will be rendering testing of driving and learners` licenses, registration of motor vehicles and traffic law enforcement.
The Northam traffic station was constructed at an amount of R14 839 627 million. The facility will be rendering traffic law enforcement and registration and licensing of motor vehicles. The department upgraded the Giyani Vehicle Testing Station at an amount of R3 353 251 million. Before upgrading this testing station to its current standard, the facility was only testing light vehicles, but with the upgrading it will be testing all types of vehicles. These are indeed milestones by this government of the people which must be appreciated and commended.
Honourable Speaker,
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
The department rolled out Automatic Number Plate Recognition back offices in all the five districts of the province. These interventions assist the Department in maximising accountability of all traffic written notices which maximizes compliance to traffic rules and regulation. For the 2012/13 financial year the Department managed to issue 69 245 written notices to the value of R30 597 212, while 5 158 warrants of arrest have been executed and the amount of R2 004 739 has been paid to the department.
Honourable Speaker,
Fraud and corruption in traffic environment
The Department has established an Intervention Unit to deal with fraud and corruption in Driving License Testing Centers, Vehicle Testing Stations, Traffic law enforcement, Registering Authorities, Manufacturers of number plates, Importers and Builders of motor vehicles. This will strengthen compliance to traffic rules and regulations on our roads.
Drunken driving
Working together with the private sector has been identified as one of the key strategic development in the life our democracy. It is through working with the private sector that as the country we can achieve our set objectives. The department in partnership with South African Breweries (SAB) managed to operate the Polokwane alcohol evidence center on 24/7 basis. Since it opened for operation, 1227 motorists have been screened and 72 were arrested for drunken driving. Going forward the Department will sustain the relationship with SAB in order to reduce cases of drinking and driving.
During the past Easter weekend 17 motorists were arrested for drunken driving. We view the arrests of these motorists as a major success because many of them could have resulted in road crashes claiming innocent lives. In the same breath I must hasten to applaud our traffic officers for a job well done during the hectic Easter weekend. Through their dedication and sacrifice we were able to drastically reduce fatal accidents during the Easter long weekend. Although we have managed to reduce deaths on our roads during the Easter Weekend from 23 to 16 to us one life lost is one life too many. We will continue to adopt a zero tolerance approach on our roads with the view of saving lives and making our roads safer.
Honourable Speaker,
Decentralisation of Public Transport Unit and Road Safety Officers
The department has managed to decentralize Public Transport Unit by transferring the function to all Districts with Road Safety Officers deployed throughout the province’s traffic stations. This maximizes the efficiency in rendering public transport operations and road safety services, and in the process 1 003 public transport operations and 1 144 road safety awareness activities have been conducted.
Honourable Speaker,
Traffic Contravention Module
For the financial year 2013/2014 the department is planning to implement Traffic Contravention Module which will be linked to the departmental server. The module will assist the department in capturing all written notices and minimise the costs incurred by the department in the capturing of traffic written notices. The module will be implemented in all traffic stations which will serve as monitoring centres, and capturing of warrants of arrest for ANPR vehicles. The department will identify and train two officers per district as field training officer whose duties will be to train, coach, mentor, refresh and assist all levels of traffic officers at district and station level on the latest technology, legislation, policies, techniques, methods used related to traffic officers and their duties.
Honourable Speaker,
Extended traffic services
The department will extend services of registration and licensing to Dilokong, Thohoyandou and Northam traffic stations. This will assist community members in accessing traffic services efficiently and within reach. The service of vehicle licensing renewals has been extended to 50 additional post offices which brings to 86 the total number of post offices rendering this service in the province. This will go a long way in reducing the long queues in our Registering Authorities and also bringing services closer to communities. All these interventions are aimed at making the lives of our people better and to receive government services within their places of residence, thereby cutting the cost accessing fundamental services.
Honourable Speaker,
GAAL received a transfer payment of R45 million from the department in the past financial year. The majority of the budget was spent on the maintenance of the airside to ensure that Polokwane International Airport complies with South African Civil Aviation Authority regulations. Polokwane International Airport handled 2 461 scheduled domestic aircraft, 3 299 non-scheduled domestic aircraft, 380 regional non-scheduled aircraft and 1 319 international non-scheduled aircraft. An estimated 56 697 scheduled domestic passengers were processed during 2012/2013, 6647 domestic non-scheduled domestic passengers, 865 non-scheduled regional passengers and 2969 non-scheduled international passengers.
A decrease in non-scheduled domestic and regional aircraft and passenger movement is projected for the 2012/2013 financial year compared to 2011/2012. Global and local challenges may have contributed to the projected decrease. International aircraft and passenger movement and domestic scheduled passenger movement indicates a remarkable increase compared to previous years which could be as a result of the expansion of mining and other business activities in Limpopo.
GAAL’s budget for 2013/2014 is R45 million, which includes a transfer payment of R40 million from the Department. GAAL will be erecting a new 2km perimeter fence around the airside of the airport at an estimated cost of R2.5 million to improve on security.
The department together with the Intervention Team will finalise the appropriate model to manage the affairs of the company. Given the challenges of GAAL failing to be a sustainable self-funding institution since its inception, the department believe this is an appropriate time to find alternative model of rendering aviation services in the province in an efficient manner.
Honourable Speaker,
I would like to express sincere gratitude to the staff members of Roads and Transport for their sterling job of advancing the department’s vision of providing quality transport infrastructure and service to the people of Limpopo. Sincere thanks to the Head of the Department, Ms Hanli du Plessis for her selfless dedication in leading the administration of Team Transport. I’m convinced that together we shall provide road and transport infrastructure second to none.
I will be making a cardinal mistake if I do not express gratitude and appreciation to the head coach of team Limpopo, Premier Cassel Mathale for his visionary leadership, unwavering support and wisdom that inspires us to deliver quality and sustainable services to our people. I would like to further extend our appreciation to the portfolio committee under the chairpersonship of honourable, Dr Nethengwe for their continued support in executing their oversight function over the department.
Honourable Speaker,
I hereby present the Department of Roads and Transport Budget of R3, 521billion for the financial year 2013/2014 financial year allocated as follows:
- Programme 1: Administration: R573 million (R573, 117,000)
- Programme 2: Transport Infrastructure: R1,394 billion (R1,394,219,000)
- Programme 3: Transport Operations: R684 million (684, 834,000)
- Programme 4: Transport Regulations: R359 million (R359, 776, 000)
- Programme 5: Community Based Programmes: R509 million (R509,936,000)
- Total Budget for 2013/14 is R3,521,882,000.
Honourable Speaker,
We remain on course to achieve the noble objective of a better life for all. Our hard fought freedom is not complete for as long as many people still struggle for, roads, water, sanitation, food, education, health and many other fundamental rights. During his address on Southern African Development Coordination Conference’s future in Harare on 28 March 1988 the then ANC president Oliver Reginald Tambo said: “Those of us who come from Southern Africa know the true meaning of mass abject poverty.
We have all seen with our eyes and perhaps experienced personally what it means to go without food and to wake up from sleep that had been tormented by nightmares deriving both from hunger and the knowledge that the new day was as much without hope as the last. We have seen the frightened and the pleading eyes of the young and old, reduced almost to an animal condition by want and deprivation. We are familiar with the tragic spectacle of children, mothers and fathers rummaging through refuse heaps in search of morsels of food that had been thrown away because they were no longer wanted.” I’m fully aware that many of us in this house have experienced this sad reality painted by our hero and father of our movement Oliver Tambo. This experience tells us that for as long as this reality persists among us we have a lot of work ahead of us.
I however remain confident that with the ANC at the helm this sad reality will be changed, forgotten and never to be experienced by any of our people ever again. The African National Congress remains the only relevant movement which will deliver total freedom and a better life for all our people. For the ANC no challenge is too great and no mission is too hard as this glorious movement of our people remain focussed in its objective of achieving a better life for all and dealing harshly with the sad but real picture painted by Oliver Tambo. We will move from Good to Great to the benefit of our people.
Honourable speaker,
We are pleased to learn that the father of our democracy and our struggle icon, Tata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is recovering well at home. May God grant him strength for him to continue to be a shining light in our young democracy. As a nation we are confident that he will fully recover and witness the celebration of our second decade of our democracy.
Honourable Speaker,
Much thanks to our living heroes and heroines of our struggle for freedom. I’m referring here to Mma Lydia Komape, Bra Ike Maphoto who has not been well lately; we wish him a speedy recovery, Pharephare Mothupi, Rashaka Ratshitanga, Honourable Marule and of course as I have always mentioned in the previous years on this platform our emerging veteran Tintswalo Goodwill George Mashamba. We appreciate your continued support and mentoring and more importantly guiding us back as we often, in times of weaknesses go astray.
We will forever be indebted to your sacrifices and we promise to never take the struggle for granted. As we march to the second decade of freedom in our country we will forever work tirelessly sparing no effort to the total emancipation of our people. In the midst of all difficulties confronting us we will, however, like to re- assure the people we serve that together we shall arrive at the promised destination which is a better life for all.
God Bless the Republic of South Africa and the people of Limpopo.
I thank you.
