E Molewa: North West Office of the Premier Prov Budget Vote
2007/08

8 May 2007

Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Members of the Legislature
Members of the Executive Council
Leaders of Political Parties
Honourable Members from the National Parliament
Honourable Executive Mayors, Mayors, Speakers and Councillors
House of Traditional Leaders le Magosi a otlhe a a fano
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs),
faith-based organisations, business community and organised labour
present
Acting Director-General of the Provincial Administration
Heads of Departments and Senior Managers
Members of the press
The people of North West
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

In the tradition of good governance and accountability – which defines the
emerging democratic culture of our government – I am here to report on the
Office of the Premier's performance against the resources you so graciously
extended to us during the last Budget Vote. In the culture of service delivery
I am here to say that last year you gave us the tools and we have done the job
to the best of our ability. In the spirit of continuous quality improvement and
our inexorable battle against poverty I stand here today to table the Office of
the Premier's plans for the 2007/08 financial year and to request the House to
empower us financially to turn them into palpable reality for the people of our
province.

It therefore gives me great pleasure to table, for your approval, our
estimates of the new financial year for the Office of the Premier. As we do so,
we begin by noting that there is a song whose words are most appropriate for
our session today. The words are: "You can't always get what you want". Simple
words, indeed, but profound with wisdom. They are a constant reminder about
life and the limits we face as we go about our daily challenges.

As we meet today to reflect on our capacity to deliver against our
development agenda, we have no choice but to remember that, indeed, we can't
always get what we want – because we do not have unlimited resources.

In a strange sort of way, however, we have to be thankful that we can't
always get what we want, for that actually forces us to make our choices
wisely. It compels us to make our selections with care and caution, and to
determine our priorities with rhyme and reason. The success of the Office of
the Premier, as our catalogue of achievements in the past year will
demonstrate, is ascribable to a careful and prudent selection of interventions
to make with the limited resources at our disposal.

From the limited resources we have, we strive for the maximum possible
gains. As the good English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, "Out of little,
much; out of much, much more." Indeed, our performance over the past year has
been an achievement of much out of little, and much more out of much.

Madam Speaker, last year we said we shared the sleepless nights experienced
by our country's Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, on the skilling
of our nation, especially in the context of the Accelerated and Shared Growth
Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative on Priority
Skills Acquisition (JIPSA).

Accordingly in the last financial year we paid serious attention to capacity
building, in the process training 1 128 officials on policies and procedures,
22 on the highly-acclaimed Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA) course and 180 shop stewards on applicable policies and
procedures, inclusive of collective agreements and the legal effects thereof
with a view to enhancing employer-employee relations.

During the year under review, we allocated an amount of R2,1m for skills
development and the training of employees in programmes such as Adult Basic
Education and Training (ABET), internships and learnerships. We are proud to
announce that by January 2007 the Office of the Premier had facilitated the
training of 491 public servants in various transversal skills programmes,
registered 19 unemployed youth in a learnership programme and 10 unemployed
graduates in an internship programme.

Where inter-departmental skills are concerned, we facilitated a skills audit
and competency profiling of 227 senior managers, exposed 22 senior managers and
312 employees to the Induction and Reorientation programme, and registered 65
employees in the ABET Programme.

To empower the oft-marginalised members of our society we are happy to
report that we have secured an amount of R81,6 million from the Department of
Labour's National Skills Fund to provide skills development, in the context of
the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS)/AsgiSA Programme, for 2
335 unemployed youth, women and people with disabilities over the next three
years. This is in the context of our increasingly visible partnership with
stakeholders and Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), a process
supported by the departments of Education and Labour. Key among our collective
achievements in this regard is our hosting of a successful Provincial Skills
Conference in July 2006.

Madam Speaker, I reiterate the point we made during the State of the
Province Address about the need for a province-wide Information Communications
Technology (ICT) strategy that will optimise the pace and extent of addressing
our provincial growth and development plans. I am confident that the
Information Society and Development (ISAD) Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR)
Forum that was launched in December 2006 will help to drive this process.

I hope, Madam Speaker, that Office of the Premier's commitment to the
employment of people with disabilities is apparent from our involvement in the
design of an intervention strategy called Job-Access 2006-2010, a programme
aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities in
the public service.

We have started with stakeholder consultations around this programme and we
will develop a provincial plan for implementation in the current financial
year. It is through this programme that we will radically change the provincial
picture on the employment of persons with disabilities in the public
service.

In June 2005 we launched the Provincial Disability Forum (PDF) with the aim
of creating structured relations between government and organisations for
people with disabilities in the province. I am pleased to report that the Forum
has developed its constitution as well as a programme of action and is fully
functional.

The PDF is engaging the Executive Council, departments as well as the North
West Premier's C-oordination Council (NWPCC) on issues affecting people with
disabilities in the province. Members of the forum have also made constructive
inputs in their participation in all the major disability programmes
co-ordinated by our Office on the Status of Disabled Persons (OSDP). It is our
intention to ensure the participation of the PDF in all the PGDS Working
Groups. We will proceed to launch similar Forums in all the District
Municipalities in the new financial year. The Forum and the Office will develop
a programme of action on activities affected this sector this year.

Of equal value to us among the historically marginalised are women. In this
regard, I wish to recall the successful co-ordination of our province's
participation in the national programme of action to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of women emancipation in the country. That historic moment during
which we erected a monument in Dinokana, Lehurutshe, in honour of the struggle
of rural women against pass laws, will remain indelible in the hearts and minds
of the people of our province.

Towards the end of last year we convened a Bahumagadi Conference, in
partnership with organisations of civil society, where they openly talked about
challenges facing us and about their role in promoting women emancipation and
empowerment. This conference has set a tone for future engagement with
Bahumagadi. Kana Motswana a re mmangwana o tshwara thipa ka fa bogaleng. Over
and above the conference itself, we held several meetings in which we engaged
women's organisations on government programmes and their relevance to them.
These engagements will continue.

One of the fruits of our engagement with our mothers and sisters was the
launch of a women's co-operative, the Bothakga jwa Bomme Initiative, in
Rustenburg, the aim of which is to assist women to take their rightful place in
economic development. We are working closely with other structures and civil
society organisations, such as Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Local
Economic Development Unit in the Department of Economic Development and XTRATA
to make sure that this Initiative grows across the province.

Office on the Status of Women has continued with its constitutional mandate
of ensuring that gender equality is attained in the entire public service. The
gender focal points have been functional. A challenge continues to be
participation by the departments in terms of reporting, however, the
departments do adhere towards achieving gender balance. More work needs to be
done in improving reporting using the Provincial Gender matrix.

In June last year, we hosted the Premier's Children's Day. On that occasion,
we had the honour of hosting the Deputy President. We also managed to send 25
children to the Year of the African Child which was hosted in Soweto and
involved eight countries. North West children also participated in the Child
and Media symposium which meant to inform the African children about their
rights and responsibilities.

Madame Speaker, we have been able to demonstrate our commitment to youth
development through empowering young people in various areas, that include
social upliftment, economic development as well as job creation projects such
as car wash. This culminates into the Premier's Youth Awards which serve to
acknowledge excellence and achievements by young people. The Provincial Youth
Commission works with departments to structure these youth development
initiatives.

Through the Youth Development Trust, we were able to offer bursaries to 333
young recipients to pursue their education in tertiary institutions. We are
also lobbying for the absorption of post-graduate and graduates into various
companies for full-time employment and learnership programmes.

We will continue to strengthen the effectiveness of Youth Desks that have
been established in municipalities.

Madam Speaker, you might recall our reiteration of the centrality of the
public service ethos during last year's Budget Vote. I am therefore pleased to
say over the past year, the Office of the Premier massively supported the
roll-out plan for the revitalisation of the Batho Pele principles in the
province. We also participated in the Public Service Week during November, a
highlight of which was the innovation of officials visiting families in the
community to exchange ideas on better service delivery.

Our service to the public, however, will be qualitative to the extent that
we also demonstrate care towards and concern about our own employees. Employee
wellness, then, has been a hallmark of our past year's agenda. We had very
successful advocacy campaigns as well as practical strategies to support those
infected and affected by HIV and AIDS in the workplace.

The feedback we are getting from our peer educators, endearingly referred to
as Wellness Buddies, shows that our strategies are starting to bear fruit as
there is a notable increase in the number of self-referrals and status
disclosures.

Madame Speaker, through the State Advisory Services, we have been reviewing
and drafting legislation as part of our effort to create an enabling regulatory
framework through which we can discharge our mandate more effectively. The
following Acts and Bills reflect are the products of the work that we have
done:
The Provincial Council on Aids Amendment Bill, 2005 has been finalised and will
be introduced to the Executive Council committees in due course. Our work in
this regard is consonant with our announcement last year that the consolidation
of the Office of the Premier's role of strategic leadership in the fight
against HIV and AIDS was one of our strategic thrusts for the 2006/07 financial
year.

We need to take decisive steps in ensuring that we manage HIV and AIDS in a
co-ordinated manner. This year we will see the introduction of the management
of HIV and AIDS programme in the workplace that should lead to the reduction of
the effects and impact of HIV and AIDS on the performance of our public
servants.

Madame Speaker, we in the North West province, working with our partners in
civil society, are determined to ensure that the National Strategic Plan on HIV
and AIDS launched by the Deputy President recently is fully implemented. We
will spare no effort as we mobilise the people of our province to respond with
the necessary urgency and energy to defeat this scourge.

Guided by our firm belief that AIDS is not a responsibility of the
Department of Health alone and that it is a matter that concerns the whole of
government, we have tasked the Health and Wellness Unit to drive the provincial
effort in this regard. Together with the Department of Health and the
Provincial Council on AIDS, the Office will ensure that our integrated response
to the challenge posed by the AIDS pandemic is implemented in a co-ordinated
and integrated manner.

With regard to legislation pertaining to our traditional leaders we have, in
the Office of the Premier, drawn proposed amendments to the House of
Traditional Leaders for the Province of North West Act. The amending Bill will
be tabled before the Legislature. At the same time, we are please to inform
this House that we are at an advanced stage of drafting regulations in terms of
section 41 of the North West Traditional Leadership and Governance Act, Act No.
2 of 2005.

Madam Speaker, the House might recall the dispute over the chieftainship of
the Batlhako Ba Matutu Traditional Community. I am pleased to report that the
matter was resolved with both parties agreeing with the findings of the Khumalo
Commission of Inquiry, which we had appointed to investigate the matter.

Madame Speaker, as per our commitment in 2004, we have made tremendous
strides in strengthening the institutions of traditional leadership, including,
in the past year, making financial investments in the implementation of the
legislation on traditional leadership. Funds have been put aside for the
implementation of this legislation; establishing two local houses, which will
soon be inaugurated, in Bojanala and Modiri Molema; addressing, with the
Department of Developmental Local Government, matters affecting the
participation of Dikgosi in our local municipalities; committing, since 2004,
R14 million has been committed for the refurbishment and construction of
traditional council offices. Thus far six offices completed and four under
construction.

Another of our interventions to enhance the status of Dikgosi is our
managing, together with the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, for
dikgosi to secure a deal that enables them to purchase cars from a motor dealer
at reduced and special rates.

Our activities on the legal front have not been confined to lawmaking only.
We have also developed a Litigation Policy – into which departments made some
inputs – to ensure uniformity in the handling of all litigious matters for or
against the Premier, Members of the Executive Council (EXCO) and departments
generally.

In the law courts, we registered victory in most of our cases. Internally,
where provincial staff is concerned, we have registered success in the
investigation of misconduct in the Premier's Office, provincial departments and
other entities, thus giving practical effect to or commitment to root out fraud
and corruption, among other transgressions.

We do, however, combine the stick with a carrot, as our development of a
working document to educate officers in various Departments about misconduct
and the implications thereof demonstrates. Additionally, A Layman's Guide on
Public Service Laws has been drafted and circulated to departmental legal
advisors for their inputs prior to our referring of the publication to
EXTECH.

The Office of the Premier has also assisted with dispute resolution in
matters involving, among others, the communities of Uitvalgrond; Krokodilkraal;
Rankelenyane; Bodibe; Dithakwaneng, Bethanie, Amahlubi and Mantserre. These
matters involve various issues such as mining rights, community development and
leadership disputes.

We have also had to play a leading role in forging relationships with our
sister provinces of Gauteng and Northern Cape during the disestablishment of
cross-boundary municipalities. We have been able to negotiate and draft working
documents such as the Protocol Agreements and Agency/ Service Level Agreements
which have been adopted by our province as well as the two aforementioned
provinces. A full report will be presented to the House in due course.

Communication, Madam Speaker, is the foundation of our freedom and
democracy, and is critical to the consolidation of our emerging democratic
culture. It is against that understanding that in last year's Budget Vote, I
said one of our strategic thrusts involved intensifying the Office's engagement
with all our stakeholders.

Consistent with that commitment, including bringing government closer to the
people, during the Imbizo Focus Week in April 2006, we opened the Vukuzenzele
Multi Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) in Manamela in the Moses Kotane Local
Municipality and, during Human Rights Day this year, we launched the Kgetleng
Thusong Service Centre. We are succeeding in our historic mission of shortening
the distance between government and the people, and we are on track towards
meeting the Presidential directive of at least one MPCC (Thusong Service
Centre) per local municipality by 2014. May I take this opportunity to inform
this House that what we used to call Multi-Purpose Community Centres will now
be referred to as Thusong Service Centres.

Madam Speaker, Imbizo, continues to be a dynamic platform to enhance
participatory democracy. We value the inputs we receive from our communities,
and we are addressing our capacity to respond appropriately and timeously to
the issues raised by our people. We are also increasingly succeeding in
informing the public about how government is implementing its mandate both
through our own initiatives and by providing strategic leadership and support
to government departments and cluster committees in the province. In order to
improve and sustain effective communication, a constant and critical review of
the performance of our communication system is critical.

Consistent with the resolution of the January EXCO Lekgotla, we will be
embarking on a skills audit across government to determine the skills and
expertise of our communication cadres. We are confident that the result of this
audit will enable us to respond and intervene appropriately so that
communicators at all levels can be empowered to discharge their communication
mandates more effectively.

The Office of the Premier has conducted workshops in three district
municipalities on the integration of population factors into municipal plans.
These had the added benefit of sensitising municipalities about population
policies as planning tools. Related to this we commissioned a Provincial
Population Migration Study so as to better understand how to spread our
resources for optimal development. In pursuit of a better understanding of the
service needs of citizens, we have embarked on a revitalised Batho Pele
Customer Satisfaction Survey to reconfirm people's needs. We will also continue
with the Premier's Public Service Excellence Awards.

We have placed research high on our agenda, fully aware that research is
critical to effective governance and service delivery. Accordingly, the North
West Research Co-ordinating Committee produced a research agenda for inviting
research proposals and recently 27 research proposals have been submitted to
the Research Appraisal Team for appraisal.

Madame Speaker, last year I made reference to our bilaterals with Japan, and
also alluded to an impending economic interface with other countries. True to
promise, we participated in three outbound missions to Europe, Japan and
Canada, accompanying the Minister of Minerals and Energy.

We also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the province of Kronoberg
in Sweden; concluded a deal with Herman Brochut on granite beneficiation to be
rolled out in Bethanie during the course of this year. A relationship is being
structured with Leicestershire in the United Kingdom in the areas of education,
culture and social cohesion.

In Japan, we visited the province of Yamanash, focusing on skills
development in platinum jewellery and manufacturing, and the second round of
discussions will take place during the course of this year.

During the course of this year, we will proceed to sign a Memorandum of
Understanding with Eastern Java of Indonesia. We will also follow up on our
relationship with the Chinese province of Henan as well as implementation of
the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with Cuba.

We have reviewed the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy 2004;
produced quarterly reports on the National and Provincial Programme of Action;
provided support to District Municipalities in the formulation of their
District Growth and Development Strategies; produced – as part of the Social
Indaba – the Poverty Alleviation Strategy and also produced Draft Indicators
for comment by stakeholders before final adoption.

The initial introduction of the national Infrastructure Delivery Improvement
Programme in the province in 2006, starting with education, has contributed
towards enhanced planning and identified certain capacity shortages to be
addressed. Effective compliance and quality control of programme and project
design and implementation and Project Plan Appraisal added to improved
planning, project accountability and budgetary alignment; and the re-design
into a more user friendly and web-enabled North West Project Management
Information System provided the provincial administration with a central
database of all development-orientated projects undertaken in the province.

Madame Speaker, consistent with our resolve to win the battle against fraud
and corruption, we have realigned and re-oriented the Forensic Unit. You will
recall that in September last year, we launched the Centralised Provincial
Management Forensic Unit following the transfer of the function of forensic
investigations from Provincial Treasury to the Office of the Premier. The
Forensic Management Unit, as led by the Provincial Forensic Management
Committee, is now fully functional.

We will be working with the Special Investigating Unit in line with the
Memorandum of Understanding we signed with them recently. As members are fully
aware, the Special Investigating Unit is a state organ established through an
Act of Parliament to investigate serious malpractices relating to state assets
and public funds. Its role is to work with government to root out corruption
and initiate investigations where necessary.

We remain confident that this collaborative effort will yield positive
results in our collective endeavour to safeguard government assets and
resources. As we have said repeatedly, our approach to corruption is guided by
the principle of zero tolerance. I therefore call upon Honourable Members of
this House and all citizens of goodwill to join me in the ongoing effort to
ensure a clean, accountable and transparent administration.

I conclude this part of this Budget Speech, Madam Speaker, by underlining
our continued commitment to ethical governance and general morality in the form
of reporting on the establishment, as I promised last year, of a Moral
Regeneration Directorate. I am pleased to announce that a fully-fledged Unit
has been established.

We are rolling out a comprehensive multi-sectoral strategy that will guide
all our endeavours of instilling Ubuntu and nation building. Partly pursuant
thereto is our intention to host a provincial conference on Moral Regeneration
this year.

Outlook for 2007/08

Clearly, Madam Speaker, the Office of the Premier has, through its programme
of action, led by example in ensuring that resources availed to it by this
House are deployed in line with our national priorities and provincial
imperatives.

Aluta continua this year, Madam Speaker, as we accelerate our programme to
build an ever-improving public service; enhance skills development; ensure
better employee health and wellness; address the disadvantages which
characterise disability; continue to enhance the status of Dikgosi; translate
the PGDS into palpable reality; attract more investment; plan according to the
realities of our population growth; fight corruption and build a moral society
with ubuntu-botho as a founding stone, we continue to call on the collective
wisdom of members of this House and our people to continue supporting and
guiding us.

Our humble request to this House, therefore, is that we be empowered,
through a sufficient budget, to embark on our programme for the 2007/08
financial year: We will also continue to host the Provincial Skills Conference
to review progress made to achieve set skills development targets, at the same
time as we accelerate the roll-out of the skills development interventions in
the PGDS/AsgiSA Strategic projects.

We will register more unemployed youth in line function learnership and
internship programmes. Where our senior managers are concerned we shall
co-ordinate their training in Project Management and other priority learning
areas, the aim being to close gaps identified during the competency assessment
programme.

We shall manage the R9 million bursary scheme to address fields where gaps
have been identified and finalise the accreditation of the Public Service
Training Academy. One of the interventions in this regard will be in the area
of increasing the participation of employees in the ABET programme as per
different NQF levels.

This skills development drive should, together with a rigorous design of
service delivery improvement plans that we shall be implementing across
departments, including the deployment of senior managers to the coalface of
service delivery to address service blockage, make a visible and qualitative
difference to our work.

With regard to employee health and wellness we shall institutionalise the
broader Employee Health and Wellness approach which has recently been proposed
by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). We shall also
continue to improve turn around times and investigate the possibility of
developing internal processes or policies that will expedite the resolution of
employees' grievances within the shortest possible period of time.

Where people with disabilities are concerned we will work with the Office of
the President and other stakeholders to formulate an Integrated Disability
Strategy for the country. This strategy will inform the Provincial Strategy we
shall be developing.

For Dikgosi we shall be implementing a capacity building programme which is
a comprehensive national programme approved by Cabinet. The Programme will be
implemented by Local Government SETA.

We will conduct an audit and confirmation of Dikgosi in the whole province,
and address matters to do with the reconstitution of Dirubi and
Khuduthamaga.

The North West Premier's Co-ordination Council (NWPCC) has been fully
established and is functional. This forum is used to ensure integrated planning
and to promote co-operative governance in accordance with the Intergovernmental
relations framework. The Office of the Premier will ensure that the 67 actions
alluded to in the Five-year Strategic Local Government Plan are implemented. We
will do that in line with Section 154(1) of our Constitution which enjoins to
support the local government sphere to discharge its responsibilities.

We shall also improve the integration and planning cycle within the three
spheres and ensure the incorporation of the Infrastructure Development
Implementation Plan within the planning cycle.

With regard to the PGDS we will work with the Economic Advisory Council to
support PGDS implementation, integrate the Poverty Alleviation Strategy into
the PGDS; disseminate the reviewed PGDS information; and strengthen the
operations of the clusters and working groups.

A joint Task Team between Public Works, Office of the Premier and Treasury
will usher in the Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme (IDIP) as per
the Lekgotla resolution to improve planning and delivery. The provincial plan
in terms of IDIP is to be rolled out to Public Works and Health during
2007/08.

Business planning and project appraisal processes will be supported through
additional technical and content knowledge to provide departments with extra
qualitative advice. Out of this process a pool of expertise is being developed
that departments and municipalities can source from for their specific planning
and implementation needs. Improved business planning should also open doors to
access external funding and promote public-private partnerships.

The North West Project Management Information System (NWProMIS), integrated
with IDIP, will be relaunched and will progressively assist the province as a
whole to better integrate, plan, monitor and report progress on project and
programme level.

To be able to better utilise and deploy resources at our disposal for
optimal development we shall finalise the Batho Pele Survey on how services are
conducted at service points in the province. We will also finalise the
Migration Patterns Research and secure research funding for selected
projects.

To safeguard state resources and to promote a culture of transparency, good
governance and accountability, we will strengthen the co-ordination of
provincial anti-corruption measures by formulating an integrated
anti-corruption strategy; hold a multi-sectoral anti-corruption summit; adopt
an integrated anti-corruption programme for the province; and establish and
launch a multi-sectoral Provincial Anti-Corruption Forum. We will ensure that
our anti-corruption measures are well resourced.

We will strengthen our collaboration with the Special Investigation Unit
(SIU), in line with the Memorandum of Understanding recently signed with this
corruption-busting unit, which also provides technical and secretariat services
to the now fully functional Provincial Forensic Management Services.

Madame Speaker, as stated in the State of the Province Address, we are
engaging in a branding process for the province.

In this regard, a process will begin with a provincial conference on
branding the province. This will require the active participation, input and
focused involvement by all relevant stakeholders because effective branding of
the province requires partnerships with all institutions and organisations
whose work entail marketing the province. We remain mindful that effective
branding of the North West province will, among other things, depend on the
attitude of the people of the North West towards their own province as well as
visible programmes to address a number of perception challenges.

If I may now, Madam Speaker, indicate that for the Office of the Premier to
perform its functions effectively and optimally in the year 2007/08, we would
require an amount of R246 277 000, which will be allocated as follows: R43 063
000 or Provincial Management and Admin Support; R46 568 000 for Corporate
Services; R10 217 000 for Legal Services; R20 550 000 for Communication; R102
082 000 for Governance and Special Programmes; and R23 797 000 for Policy
Management.

The breakdown is as follows:

Departmental Summary
2007/08 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF

* Provincial Management and Admin Support: R43 063 000
* Corporate Support Services: R46 568 000 * Legal Services: R10 217 000
* Communications: R20 550 000
* Governance and Special Programmes: R102 082 000
* Policy Management: R23 797 000
Total: 246 277 000

Programme 1: Provincial management and administration support
This programme supports the Director-General in her various functions and
responsibilities, which are: Secretary to the Executive Council; Accounting
Officer for the Office; Co-ordinator of the Provincial Actions and Legislation;
ensuring inter and intra-governmental relations.

This programme consists of the following sub-programmes
1. Director-General Support
2. Management of the Office and administrative leadership in the province;
Forensic Audit and Government Information Technology Officer (GITO)
functions
3. Premier Support
4. Co-ordination and management of administrative and political support to the
Premier
5. Executive Council Support
* Provision of administrative and committee secretarial support to the
Executive Council and support to the Director-General in her capacity as
secretary to the Executive Council.
6. Security Services
* Co-ordination, facilitation and monitoring of the implementation of Minimum
Information Security Standards (MISS) of the North West Provincial
Government
7. Finance and Administration
* Management of financial systems and controls according to the Public Finance
Management Act and Treasury Regulations.

For this programme we request an amount of R46 063 000 (forty six million
and sixty three thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF
1. Director-General Support: R19 549 000
2. Premier Support: R9 524 000
3. Executive Council Support: R2 847 000
4. Security Services: R2 441 000
5. Finance and Administration: R8 702 000

Total R43 063 000

Programme 2: Corporate Support
* Management Support
* Management of Corporate Services
* Employee Wellness Programmes (EWP)

The component is charged with the development of EHWP related policy and
programme frameworks, procedures and processes of excellence to enhance and
assure quality EHWP services to NWPG employees and their dependants by the
respective Provincial departments

The component is also charged with the provision and co-ordination of EAP
services in the province. Added to the above it provides advice and support to
management on Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) interventions. The component
is also charged with the co-ordination of HIV and AIDS Workplace Programme as
stipulated by chapter VI of the revised Public Service Regulations.

Labour Relations

The component is mandated to manage and monitor labour relations in the
province and is responsible for capacity in line management responsibility for
managing labour relations

Human Resource Management

The component is mandated t render the oversight function through
co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the
Provincial Human Resource Policies, as well as to provide PERSAL user support
and training in the North West Provincial Administration.

Human Resource Development (HRD)

The Directorate is tasked with developing integrated human resource
development policies and strategies, co-ordinating Provincial HRD efforts,
monitoring of HR outside government, provision of internal training and
developmental services and the management of bursaries and grants.

Organisational Development (OD)

The component ensures improved co-ordination of job grading by means of job
evaluation policies in provincial departments. Provides support in structural
design and realignments within the legal framework and political mandate.
Co-ordinate Batho Pele and service delivery interventions linked to the
national roll out plan. Ensures effective utilisation of office space.
HIV and AIDS

Co-ordination of HIV/AIDS programmes

For this programme we request an amount of R46 568 000 (forty six million
five hundred and sixty eight thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF
* Management Support: R3 321 000
* Employee Health and Wellness Programme: R3 215 000
* Labour Relations: R3 279 000
* Human Resources Management: R6 533 000
* Human Resources Development: R27 378 000
* Organisational Development: R2 641 000
* HIV/AIDS: R201 000

Total: R46 568 000

Programme 3: Legal Services

This programme provides legal support at a strategic level to all
departments and operationally within the Office of the Premier and certain
departments and Public entities. These services include opinions and contracts,
litigation support, legislation and the handling of misconduct matters.

The demand for legal opinion peaks at various periods in the year depending
on the activities of various principals. Legislation to deal with new
priorities is drafted at the instance of each department in accordance with the
law making process. Litigation is best avoided but when this is not possible,
the litigation policy applies. Advocacy programmes seek to prevent misconduct.
However, where this fails, the programme provides investigative and presiding
services to all departments.

For this programme we request an amount of R10 217 000 (Ten million two
hundred and seventeen thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF

* Management Support: R2 010 000
* Legislative Drafting: R1 545 000
* Litigation Support: R1 661 000
* Contracts and Opinions: R1 216 000
* Misconduct and Investigations: R3 785 000

Total: R10 217 000

Programme 4: Communications

The following constitute the mandate of the Chief Directorate:
To ensure that citizens are informed about how government is implementing its
mandate and programme of action. It is charged with the responsibility to
communicate government's efforts to create a better life for all. The unit has
to communicate the overall vision of government as well as its achievements and
the challenges that government has to contend with in the process of executing
its mandate. To provide leadership to government communication in the province.
Among other things, this entails developing policies and strategies for
effective communication as well as co-ordination of government-wide
communication initiatives.

The Chief Directorate is made up of the following sub-programmes:
Media Liaison
* Strategically managing the media and utilising it to communicate government
messages and programme of action
* Co-ordinate regular cluster media briefings and EXCO media briefings
* Support the Premier in all her/his media activities
* To ensure a healthy relationship between the provincial government and the
media. This includes frequently hosting the media to extend relations and
making them aware of the government environment, visiting the media houses to
extend relations and learn about their environment, arrange media interviews
for government leaders, and respond to media enquiries. Arrange regular media
briefings to deepen the understanding of the media of certain policies and
pronouncements.
* To do daily media monitoring and analysis in order to respond intelligently
and rapidly to issues that affect the provincial government. This shall also
include the evaluation of each day's media initiatives and interventions.

Strategic Support and Liaison
* Development of communication strategies for government programmes and
campaigns
* Support departments, clusters and municipalities in developing their
communication strategies and policies
* Analysis of the communication environment
* Ensuring implementation of integrated government communication strategy and a
common communication methodology across government
* Responsible for message and content management
* Ensuring that government events are effectively utilised to communicate
government messages and programme of action
* Promoting participatory democracy by ensuring direct and unmediated
interaction between government and citizens (co-ordinating Izimbizo and Roving
EXCOs).

Corporate Communication
* Playing a central role in the efforts to brand the North West province
* Improving internal communication within government
* Ensuring a uniform and single corporate identity and branding for the Office
of the Premier/North West Provincial Government; and to help improve the
corporate image of the provincial government
* Effectively using government publications to communicate government messages
and programme of action
* Managing the production and distribution of government publications and
materials
* Produce branding and corporate identity materials
* Ensuring that major provincial events are kept on video and keeping an
archive of video material

For this programme we request an amount of R20 550 000 (twenty million two
five hundred and fifty thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF
* Management Support: R1 959 000
* Corporate Communication: R5 876 000
* Strategic Co-ordination and Liaison: R8 849 000
* Media Relations: R3 866 000

Total: R20 550 000

Programme 5: Governance And Special Programmes
Governance and Special Programmes is responsible for:

Urban and Rural Development
Co-ordination of rural and urban initiatives

Intergovernmental and International Relations

Facilitation and co-ordination of Intergovernmental and International
Relations
Traditional Leadership and Institutions

Provision of administrative and technical support to the institution of
Traditional Leaders

Youth Support
Co-ordination of youth development integrated programmes

Special programmes

Co-ordination of gender and disability programmes

For this programme we request an amount of R102 082 000 (one hundred and two
million and eighty eight thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF
* Management Support: R2 876 000
* Urban and Rural Development: R1 698 000
* Youth Support: R6 332 000
* Intergovernmental and International Relations: R3 780 000
* Special Programmes: R5 964 000
* Traditional Leadership and Institutions: R81 432 000

Total R102 082 000

Programme 6: Policy Management
The development, facilitation, co-ordination and monitoring of systems for
sustainable and integrated policy formulation, planning, programming, project
management, research, population policy and information management in the
province.

Policy and Planning
Initiation, development and continuous improvement of policy frameworks and
plans

PGDS Implementation
Implementation of a Results Based Management Process to deliver on the
provincial strategy and plan

Development of improved decision making capability and capacity to improve
project development

Information Management
Improvement of information gathering and dissemination capability and capacity
for informed knowledge management

Monitoring and Evaluation
Proactive performance analysis and interpretation to strengthen a client
focused and delivery oriented administration

Research and Population
Quality research and population analysis trend forecasting for strategic
decision making and knowledge management

For this programme we request an amount of R23 797 000 (twenty three million
seven hundred and ninety seven thousand rand) which is made up of the following
sub-programmes

Programme summary
2007/08
MTEF

* Management support and PGDS Implementation: R3 519 000
* Project Management: R4 262 000
* Policy and Planning: R4 895 000
* Monitoring and Evaluation: R2 298 000
* Information Management: R3 298 000
* Research and Population: R5 543 000

Total: R23 797 000

Conclusion:
Madam Speaker, our programme for the new financial year is an all-embracing one
based on the fact that we have, in the last thirteen years of our democracy as
a country, made appreciable strides in virtually all areas of our
socio-economic existence.

The thrust of our provincial trajectory is economic development through
skills development and the empowerment of key sections of our society – all
this in the context of a well-oiled administrative machinery, ethical norms
throughout our society, and the eradication of poverty.

As Winston Churchill said in his own context, give us the tools and we will
finish the job.

I thank you all

Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
8 May 2007