Premier's Service Excellence awards, Kimberly
8 September 2006
Programme Director
Members of Executive Council (MECs), Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of
Provincial Legislature (MPLs)
Honourable Mayors and councillors
Officials of government
Leaders of faith-based structures
Business representatives
Representatives of community-based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs)
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
We are gathered here once again to give special recognition and praise to
those of our public servants who remain fully dedicated to their work and
persistently seek creative and innovative ways to meet the challenges facing
them in their daily tasks.
It is with a great sense of pride and joy that we present to the people of
the Northern Cape, the teams of our employees whose creativity and commitment
to the Batho Pele principles have contributed towards making our province a
better place. We look forward to the day when the judges will find it difficult
to select the winners, as all the public servants in the employ of the Northern
Cape government will be deserving winners.
It is indeed very encouraging and heart-warming to note that the modest
contribution you make in continuing to build a better South Africa is being
recognised. What makes your achievements remarkable is the fact that the awards
are a testimony to our commitment to improve efficiency and provide a quality
service to the public and also demonstrate just how far we are able to go to
improve the lives of our people.
Nothing is more exciting than for us to come together to celebrate progress
and achievements. It is therefore imperative that we should continue to award
those who sacrifice their time and are dedicated to delivering services and
ensuring that we fulfil the promises that we made to our communities. Through
these awards we will be encouraging the culture of dedication and commitment
among our public servants.
The fact that we hold this event every year, indicates that each year our
public servants strive to do better, and therefore the way we provide services
to our people improves each year. These awards are made more meaningful by the
fact that your work is being recognised by the provincial government that you
serve so diligently.
We are always in dire need of dedicated, patriotic and action orientated men
and women, intellectuals who will contribute to building the kind of prosperous
and successful society we envisage. A prosperous society that is without
poverty and under-development; where men and women, girls and boys, live in
dignity with access to opportunities to make their lives better and
meaningful.
We all need to be aware of the extreme hardships facing our people and
continue to seek ways of assisting where we can. I am hopeful that the awards
we will be bestowing upon you tonight will contribute in earnest to the process
of developing our province and its people.
We have to continually ensure that our public servants are empowered with
the knowledge and skills in various fields and are able to correctly analyse
the challenges that our province face, and suggest workable solutions.
These should be solutions that are informed by strong Batho Pele
consciousness and supported by time-honoured value systems and ways of doing
things. The solutions we propose to our challenges would be sustainable if they
are informed by this understanding of the African environment we work and live
in.
To our recipients, this award should be a symbol of hope and a spear to
rejuvenate you to continue in your endeavours. It is also an affirmation that
your hard work did not go in vain and is highly appreciated. It is a symbol of
appreciation from our people whom you have touched and helped; it is a candle
which will shine bright, giving hope to the hopeless; it is a diamond which
should shine over others, and make those around you to shine with you.
Government should therefore acknowledge the significant contribution to the
cause of service delivery and continue to inspire past, current and future
recipients. The awards also seek to raise awareness around sustainability and
service excellence and encourage and promote pride amongst our public servants
for their achievements. These awards should create role models and promote
sharing of knowledge and skills for the growth and development of our
province.
I also extend my appreciation to our sponsors who made this day a success by
working tirelessly with our team in ensuring that we celebrate this day with
all of you. We are encouraged by the fact that we are supported by the business
community in celebrating this excellence.
Your contribution is highly appreciated and welcomed by our government and
people. Your support of this initiative is an investment in the prosperity of
the future of our country.
The judges, who travelled throughout the province to evaluate our entrants,
thank you for listening to the President's call of volunteerism. Keep on
keeping civil servants on their toes. These awards are a critical investment in
the future of our country. We salute our recipients for their commitment to our
people; your sacrifice does not go unnoticed by our government and people.
Ladies and gentlemen, in today's knowledge driven world, the wealth of the
country is not limited to the resources beneath the soil, industries and other
forms of production. Our wealth also depends on the knowledge that we have as a
society. It is for this reason that we celebrate the Premier's Service
Excellence Awards.
With these awards the stage is set to entrench such a culture of
excellence.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should always be mindful that economic growth and
sustainable development are dependent on all levels of society engaging in
problem solving and developing innovative solutions.
Within government we encourage innovation among our own employees
particularly those innovations that are people-centred and result in improved
service delivery, better government, and a better life for all.
These awards tally well with our attempts to retain skilled staff and reward
them for work well done.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are faced with desperate levels of hardship for
large sections of our population. One day passing without making progress to a
better life is too long. While speeding up delivery we are expected to
radically overhaul the entire machinery of state.
Such challenges are immensely complex and time consuming. We therefore
cannot over-emphasise the importance of your role as public servants in
ensuring that no day passes by without delivering services to our deserving
people. We count on you to do what is right for our people and to do that in
the spirit of ubuntu.
We strive to keep our democracy in line with the will of the people, giving
direct voice to the people and adjusting our administration in a manner where
the relationship between citizen and official is not one of the powerless to
the all powerful, or ignorant to the know-all expert, but relationships of
empowered citizens who are looking towards public officials to truly serve
their needs and holding them accountable to exactly that.
It is our belief that this will move us well along the road of encouraging
public servants to become problem-solvers, rather than obstacles in delivery,
passing the buck between departments, that they will see themselves as part of
the whole organisation working towards a single goal.
We are pleased with the performance of our Community Development Workers
(CDWs). Indeed this is an important initiative to assist with co-ordination and
integration across government, while directly alleviating the plight of our
people on the ground.
In conclusion, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations to all the teams
that have been nominated for the awards. All of you including those that did
not make it to the final round make the Northern Cape Provincial Administration
proud with the efforts that you put into your work everyday.
I also want to use this opportunity to thank your families, husbands, wives,
children, parents and extended families who continue to give you the support
and courage you need to serve this government. They are the ones who keep you
strong and focused. They are the ones we all draw our energies from when the
levels are low. They are our fiercest supporters but sometimes also the
harshest and most honest critics. They are the ones that perpetually tell you
that quick fixes such as taking sick leave when you are not sick, and the urge
to resign when fed-up with a colleagues or your manager are not the route to
go.
I have no doubts that the support you give to this government will ensure
that we succeed relentlessly and creatively, and let our people live and walk
the aspirations of the Freedom Charter.
While it is individuals who have helped make a difference in service
delivery, we chose to honour teams so as to encourage teamwork and cohesion in
departments or units.
I wish you all well, keep up the good work.
Issued by: Northern Cape Provincial Government
8 September 2006
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.northern-cape.gov.za)
