the provincial Budget Vote for the 2006/07 financial year
22 June 2006
Madam Speaker,
Madam Deputy Speaker,
Members of the Executive Council,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Traditional leaders,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen;
Our collective efforts have inspired so much confidence and hope among our
people for a better tomorrow. President Thabo Mbeki said during the State of
the Nation address that âour people are firmly convinced that our country has
entered its age of hope. They are convinced that we have created the conditions
to achieve more rapid progress towards the realisation of their dreams. They
are certain that we are indeed a winning nation.â
As elected representatives of the people of our province, we were mandated
to implement policies and programmes that would lead to the overall improvement
in the quality of life of our citizens. Working together with them and the
private sector we need to ensure that the economy grows at higher rates, that
it creates new jobs and continues to develop into a modern and internationally
competitive economy.
The Premier and the Executive Council (ExCo), through the office of the
Premier, are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the provincial government
delivers on these priorities in a co-ordinated, integrated, effective and
efficient manner.
This requires effective communication with the people of the Northern Cape
Province. It requires integration and co-ordination of our policies and
programmes across all spheres of government, ensuring simultaneously that all
target groupsâ interests are adequately mainstreamed and that the spread of
tuberculosis (TB), HIV and AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is
contained more effectively.
Madam Speaker, I can proudly report that we are tackling these challenges
with a sense of urgency to ensure that our programmes have maximum positive
impact on the lives of the poor. Most of our programmes are in fact currently
geared towards the most vulnerable sector of our society, i.e. the poor, people
with disabilities, women, children and the elderly.
We are continuously emphasising the Provincial Growth and Development
Strategy (PGDS) for the promotion of economic growth and social development.
The PGDS recognises the leadership role of government in driving integrated,
holistic, sustainable and participatory growth and development.
It acknowledges and identifies the role of other sectors of society in
ensuring socio economic transformation and seeks to achieve a shared vision for
the achievement of our objectives.
Through its programme of action for this year, government will move faster
to address the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation of
those in the second economy to ensure that the poor share in our growing
prosperity.
This is in line with the countryâs economic development initiative namely
the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA). In
order to achieve its objectives this initiative emphasises partnerships with
business, labour as well as civil society.
Selected interventions are directed at addressing challenges related to
infrastructure, sector specific strategies, education and skills development,
the second economy, public administration as well as macro economic issues. The
Initiativeâs ultimate objective is to halve unemployment by 2014 and to
eradicate poverty.
Shared growth does not mean that there will be some kind of âtrickle downâ
to the poor, it means that our programme to eradicate poverty and to provide
all our people with access to clean water, decent sanitation, better education
and health services as well as electricity forms part and parcel of our chosen
economic growth path.
Of course, economic growth is only one part of the challenge. We have always
been clear that growth is a means to an end and the ultimate goal is a
substantial improvement in the lives of our people.
In order to play its leadership role with respect to these initiatives that
I have outlined, the office of the Premier has been allocated a budget of R282,
741 million for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.
Madam speaker,
Whereas this budget was previously divided into two programmes it now has
three major programmes namely:
1. Administration
2. Corporate support
3. Policy and governance
This is due to the standardisation process of aligning programme structures
of all Premierâs offices as per the guidelines of the National Treasury.
The MTEF budgetâs annual allocations are:
R95,447 million allocated for the 2006/07 financial year,
R91,597 million in the 2007/08 financial year and in the last year of the MTEF
period (2008/09) an estimated R95,697 million.
More specifically the budget for the current financial year (2006/07) is
allocated as follows among the three programmes:
1. Administration R32,480 million,
2. Corporate support R25,277 million and,
3. R36,696 million for policy and governance.
It needs to be noted that this yearâs allocation also include an amount of
R5 million for the renovation of the youth centre in Warrenton and an
additional R3,1 million for the Premierâs Bursary Trust Fund. The real increase
therefore for this year is four percent compared to last year. Employee costs
totals 43 percent of the budget which is in line with the decision to
strengthen the monitoring and evaluation units in the Department. In addition
to this 37 percent of the budget is allocated for goods and services, 12
percent is allocated to transfer payments and four percent is allocated to
capital.
In pursuing some of our goals we continue to explore the forging of economic
and social partnerships with other countries, making better use of the country
agreements which have already been signed by our President. The province led by
the office of the Premier is preparing to sign agreements with China which will
focus on tourism, minerals beneficiation as well as cultural exchanges between
this province and our sister province, Hunan, in China. Further relations
between ourselves and Botswana are also being explored with the view to
focusing on women driven co-operatives, looking at areas of diamond
beneficiation, agricultural as well as tourism related ventures.
Soon we will also be exploring relations with Namibia on the possibility of
working together on educational, cultural and tourism partnerships which are in
line with the marketing of our new brand and the proposed âCape to Namibiaâ
tourism route. In addition to these ventures the Orange River Farmer Settlement
programme will benefit farmers on both sides of the river, in the Northern Cape
and Namibia. In order to improve our ability to benefit from these
international interactions we will be strengthening the International Relations
unit in the office of the Premier.
An area that we are progressively improving on is the critical imperative
for government as a whole, to enhance our ability to work together in a
co-operative manner in order to ensure seamless and efficient service delivery
to our people. The principles of cooperative government are enshrined in
chapter three of our Constitution. To give effect to these principles, the
President has assented to the Inter-governmental Relations Framework Act (Act
13 of 2005) on 10 August 2005.
The Premierâs Office, through the Premierâs Intergovernmental Relations
Forum (PIGF), has already been driving the principles of co-operative
governance for the past three years. It has now become a legal obligation of
all spheres of government to actively participate in this structure and
incumbent on local government to ensure district level replication of the
structure as prescribed in the Act.
Already a number of benefits have been derived from the structure, e.g.
agreements reached on settling of municipal debts by other government
departments, coherent efforts during the disestablishment of cross boundary
municipalities, information sharing and interventions on how to deal with
special target group concerns synergy among departments on delegations to local
government and interactions with their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and
discussions on service delivery challenges.
Madam Speaker,
I can say with confidence that the office of the Premier is increasingly
playing its role in ensuring support for and oversight of local government.
Apart from the co-ordinating benefits derived from the PGIF, there are now even
more pressures on this office to ensure that governmentâs fiveâyear strategy
for building the capacity of local government is executed. To this end during
this year, our PGDS office has already begun to embark on a process together
with the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) to further ensure
synergies between our municipal IDPs and provincial and national planning
frameworks.
Government has adopted a National Capacity Building Framework (NCBF) for
local government which is a much more comprehensive response to the challenges
faced by municipalities, inclusive of existing interventions like Project
Consolidate.
Within this framework the office of the Premier has been charged to ensure
deliverables across all three strategic priority areas in about 17 planned
interventions.
We are all aware of the fact that on 1 March we held local government
elections which saw a number of new councillors entering the system. We are
obliged to ensure that they are capacitated to participate meaningfully in our
Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) structures and to improve on gains we have
made during the past five years of local government transformation.
Madam Speaker;
I now want to refer to the disestablishment of cross boundary
municipalities. During the previous financial year two pieces of legislation
were passed that implemented the disestablishment of cross boundary
municipalities. These are the Constitution 12th Amendment Act 2005 and the
Cross Boundary Municipalities Laws Repeal and Related Matters Act, 2005. In
terms of these Acts the areas in Kgalagadi and Phokwane municipalities that
formed part of the North West Province was transferred to the Northern
Cape.
To give effect to this process the Premier of the North West, Mme Edna
Molewa and I signed an implementation protocol. This agreement allows North
West to render services in these areas until such time as we are ready to
render these services ourselves.
At departmental level more specific matters are dealt with in service level
agreements which are in the process of being signed.
These transfer processes are being managed by joint political and technical
committees. In the main the implications for our province are that our
population increased by about 170 000 and the transfer of a significant number
of personnel such as educators and health personnel.
Another important implication is the transfer of the responsibility for
traditional leaders to our province. The North West Province has a house of
traditional leaders governed by legislation. In response to this we are in the
process of preparing the necessary provincial legislation. We are therefore
making al the necessary preparations to constitute a house of traditional
leaders in this province. A unit in the office of the Premier is being created
which will provide administrative support to this important institution.
Madam Speaker,
We are presently participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
which was adopted by the African Union (AU) and forms part of the New
Partnership for Africaâs Development (NEPAD). This initiative is aimed at
fostering a culture of good governance and consequently creates conditions
conducive to economic growth and socio economic development across the African
continent.
South Africa voluntarily agreed to be reviewed within the framework of the
APRM and opted for an approach that is broadly inclusive and participatory. In
the Northern Cape, the engagement with and participation in the APRM process
has reached many corners of our province.
The process started when we convened the first APRM Provincial Consultative
conference on 15 â 17 November 2005. The conference was attended by
representatives from government, labour, business and a broad spectrum of civil
society organisations. That conference was the first opportunity for different
stakeholders to freely express themselves on the progress made by government
and its social partners in particular and civil society in general.
What followed thereafter was a series of community and sector engagements to
ensure a truly participatory process. We must take this opportunity to thank
and applaud our community development workers for their commitment by taking
the process to our communities in all the districts of our vast province. As a
result the views of our people are captured as part of the Country Self
Assessment Report. This report has been handed over to the Country Review
Mission which consists of members from other African countries and is chaired
by Professor Adebayo Adebeji from Nigeria.
The APRM process has stimulated the minds and passions of the people of the
Northern Cape, echoing in some ways the process that led to the adoption of the
Freedom Charter in 1955.
The people expressed an expectation that their views and aspirations would
be translated into meaningful policies and programmes that would improve their
lives.
The people of the Northern Cape, individually, collectively and through
their organisations and representatives took to the APRM process because it
resonated with their traditions and expectations and with our national culture
of politics, consultations and dialogue.
South Africans from all walks of life including the people of the Northern
Cape have seized the opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue about
progress to date and challenges ahead, free of any constraints, in an
atmosphere of mutual respect.
An amount of R455,908,62 was spent on the first APRM Provincial Conference
as well as on community and sectoral engagements.
Currently, meetings with identified stakeholders including women, the youth
and people with disabilities are underway in the districts until the end of
June 2006.
Our second APRM Provincial Conference is taking place today and tomorrow.
The purpose of the conference is to give our people an opportunity to engage
with the Country Self Assessment Report. We have allocated an amount of
R496,940,00 for both the conference and an extensive media campaign.
The APRM Country Review Mission is scheduled to arrive in the country on 9
July 2006 to meet with a range of stakeholders around how the process unfolded
and the Country Self Assessment Report. The Country Review Mission is scheduled
to visit our province on 24 July 2006 to meet with the Premier, the Executive
Council (ExCo) and the legislature.
Another event in which we are cooperating with the African continent is the
Africa Public Service Day to be held tomorrow the, 23 June. As a build up to
the day we have been engaged in activities during this week which included
unannounced visits to departments by politicians and senior managers.
The theme for this year is âBuilding an ethical Public Service for improved
service delivery in Africa.â
The programme for Africa Public Service Day itself, to be held at the
Galeshewe stadium, includes the signing of a pledge by public servants which
commits them to service excellence.
In our effort to bring government services closer to our communities we have
deployed Community Development Workers (CDWs) in all municipalities throughout
the province. When the programme started in February 2004, 200 CDWs were
recruited and were taken through extensive training by the University of South
Africa (UNISA).
During the course of the training, 20 CDWs resigned from the programme.
Presently we have 180 CDWs who have successfully completed the programme and
graduated on 8th November 2005. They have been appointed as public servants
from 1 October 2005.
In December 2005 the Department recruited another group of 140 learners to
undergo training as CDWs. UNISA is busy providing training and the last block
of training is being conducted this month. Each municipal ward in the province
is allocated one CDWs. They are supervised by mentors who are municipal
officials dealing with community participation.
Madam Speaker,
In order to further strengthen our democracy, the participation of our
people in decision making processes is imperative. Several legislative
frameworks to regulate this are in place across all spheres of government. The
ExCo meets the people programme is a forum for enhancing dialogue and
interaction between the elected office bearers and the people of the Northern
Cape. It provides an opportunity for government to communicate its programme of
action and the progress being made. It further promotes participation of the
public in the programmes to improve their lives. Exco meets the people also
highlights peopleâs concerns, grievances and advice about governmentâs
work.
Last year, the ExCo visited places like Kommagas, Okiep, Port Nolloth,
Alexander Bay, Garies, Kammieskroon, Keimoes, Kenhardt, Upington, Groblershoop,
Grootdrink, Danielskuil, Postmasburg, Kuruman, Deben, Victoria-West and
Colesberg.
This year from August 2006 we shall go back to these communities and report
back to them in terms of progress. We shall also visit other areas not targeted
during the visits of last year.
In addition to our own outreach programme we have also had Presidential
Imbizos during which the President and Deputy President visited communities in
the province. Recently these imbizos have concentrated on local government
issues, in particular the capacity to deliver on mandates. Such imbizos took
place in Siyanda on 20 August and in Francis Baard on 30 September last year.
The visit in Siyanda was by the Deputy President and the Francis Baard Imbizo
presided over by the President.
On the 9 and 10 June, this month, the President also visited the Namakwa
district and the Deputy President will be visiting the Pixley âKa-Seme district
in August.
During the Namakwa Imbizo the particular municipality and various
stakeholders made presentations to the President, the Premier and various
National Ministers and provincial MECs. In addition, a community imbizo was
held at Poffader.
The community of Poffader indicated that in their history of more than 80
years it was the first time they had interacted with a head of State. It was
therefore a memorable occasion for them. These interactions demonstrate our
commitment to listen to our communities.
Madam Speaker,
In view of the number of direct responsibilities and functions the office of
the Premier has to execute, it becomes more important that this office
constantly reviews and amends its capacity to deliver on all of its
mandates.
To this end, the human resource unit within the office of the Premier has
embarked on the following programmes:
* EAP (Development of a Provincial Policy) and Implementation in the
Office of the Premier.
* Implementation of Performance Management Policy.
* Implementation of the Training and Development Policy.
* Development of the Departmental Human Resource Plan (2006).
* Development of Transversal Policies.
* Setting of Standards i.t.o. Batho Pele Principles.
* Ensuring adherence to the code of conduct.
Our PGDS also recognises the need to develop human capital as being critical
to our efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of governance, grow
the economy and accelerate socio economic development. To that extent we
initiated a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme through our
National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE). This programme is delivered by
the Management College of South Africa (MANCOSA). The initial target group is
managers serving within the Northern Cape Provincial Administration (NCPA). The
purpose of the programme is to enhance the capacity of the administration to
deliver governmentâs programmes. Currently there are 27 students enrolled in
the programme and an amount of R420,000 is allocated for this financial
year.
Furthermore, the Department through the Premierâs Education Trust fund
continues to support students at tertiary level to ensure that they acquire the
skills relevant to the development of our economy. We are endeavouring to build
a pool of skills most needed by our province in an effort to ensure that we are
able to provide those to the economic and social development areas. As a result
the allocation to the bursary trust has been increased with an amount of R3,1
million to fund Northern Cape students registered at the National Institute for
Higher Education (NIHE).
The total annual allocation to be transferred to the Northern Cape Premierâs
Educational Trust Fund in this financial year has therefore been increased to
R9,530 million.
As an incentive to the Northern Cape matriculants of this year I want to
announce that the top 100 learners will each receive a 100 percent bursary to
study in disciplines that are required for the implementation of our PGDS.
Madam Speaker,
As the future of information technology unfolds, so has it impacted on how
government delivers its services. The Information Technology and Infrastructure
unit will roll out Netware 6.5 systems to all Kimberley based departments by
the end of this financial year and an amount of R2,198 million has been
allocated for this purpose.. The Information Society Strategy (ISS) programme
will also commence by the fourth quarter of the financial year (January 2007).
The expansion of the General Services Counter (GSC) and the Batho Pele Gateway
to all Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) in the Northern Cape is
currently underway.
Approval of the GSC expansion was granted by the Centre for Public Service
Innovation (CPSI) for the construction of counters and equipment including
computers, fax and telephones.
The opening of the Augrabies Telecentre will take place in due course as
would the opening of the Louisvale in Upington and Calvinia MPCCs. The Calvinia
MPCC will be funded through the neighbourhood development partnership grant
from the National Treasury. The Information Technology (IT) unit has been
allocated a total budget of R9,147 million for this financial year to ensure
that all these plans are implemented.
In pursuit of our objective to improve financial administration in the
provincial administration, posts have been filled in the Internal Audit Unit
and it has now managed to start performing its functions adequately. In this
financial year, the provincial administration will begin to reap some of the
benefits of the work in this unit. As the unit is experiencing some challenges
in terms of co-operation, I want to seriously urge departments to work together
on achieving our decision to have shared internal audit services functioning
well in the province.
The unit has been allocated an amount of R4,485 million for the current
financial year. The Internal Audit (IA) function is also enhanced by the audit
committee consisting of both external and internal members. Regular monthly
meetings are now being held.
The office of the Premier has embarked on a bold move to strengthen the
policy and strategic management division so as to ensure a co-ordinated and
integrated approach to planning, policy research, development and
implementation. For this purpose an amount of R1,953 million has been allocated
for the 2006/07 financial year.
The strategic objectives of the division would be to identify policy gaps,
develop and improve information management functions, improve integrated
planning across all spheres, monitor implementation of the government programme
of action and facilitate evidence based planning and decision making.
The policy unit has embarked on a policy audit and the findings will be
tabled to the relevant government structures in July, with the aim of improving
our ability to report appropriately on gaps both in terms of policy development
as well as implementation. The policy and PGDS units will work together to
ensure that the provincial administration reports a much higher level of
compliance with the government planning and reporting cycle, as prescribed by
National Treasury.
For this financial year the unit responsible for government special
programmes and projects has been allocated a budget of R3,871 million. This
unit will track government performance in respect of its programme of action.
It will also be responsible to drive the PGDS. This will, among others, include
reporting on progress made in terms of the anchor projects as well as the
institutionalisation of the PGDS and its implementation.
In the current fiscal year the PGDS unit supported by the relevant units in
provincial departments, will be responsible for facilitating the drafting of a
Provincial Spatial Development Framework (PSDF) that will ensure the
application of the national spatial development perspective principles in all
levels of government.
Madam Speaker,
The Premierâs office has continued pursuing the objective of improving the
lives of vulnerable groups in our society. These include women, children, the
youth, people with disabilities and the elderly.
To this end our country has marked Child Protection Week (CPW), from 29 May
to 4 June 2006 to urge all South Africans to participate and intensify the
promotion of childrenâs rights and child protection.
This campaign seeks to mobilise families, stakeholders and communities to
work together to address the complex socio economic needs of children. It also
highlighted the critical aspects that children should be loved and not abused.
In an effort to curb the increasingly common and disturbing phenomenon of child
abuse, the communities took to the streets, to raise awareness and campaign
against child abuse and crimes against children. Child protection must be
everybodyâs business and must be upheld throughout the year. Child molestation,
rape, indecent assault and any other form of child abuse is a serious criminal
offence and those found guilty by the courts must be severely punished.
The Office on the Rights of the Child (ORC) conducted an anti-child labour
campaign to sensitise children and communities about the effects of child
labour. 11 schools in the farming areas were reached. An interface was also
conducted with the farming communities and children.
Awareness campaigns were embarked upon during Childrenâs Month with the aim
of developing an identity through popularisation of national symbols and relate
these symbols to South Africaâs evolving national identity.
The process of establishing libraries in hospitals continued at the
Colesberg Hospital. Children of Colesberg are also benefiting from this
project. 20 homeless children benefited from a book writing project that
resulted in a printed anthology.
Ladies and gentlemen, this year, 16 June marked the 30th anniversary of the
heroic struggle waged by our young people against an unjust, brutal and
oppressive system. The youth commission and other youth structures embarked on
a series of activities to pay tribute to the heroic contribution of young men
and women to the building of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and
prosperous South Africa 30 years ago.
This month also gives us the opportunity to take stock of our achievements
in improving the lives of the youth constituency in the province as well as
people in our country at large. 16 June 1976 marked the turning point in the
level of youth involvement in the struggle to liberate South Africaâs oppressed
black majority from the tyranny of apartheid. When students in Soweto took to
the streets in protest against a decree issued by the then Department of
Education declaring Afrikaans as a compulsory medium of instruction for all
black learners, police responded with teargas and live bullets.
This yearâs theme; âAge of Hope: Deepening youth participation in
developmentâ calls on all of us to step up to the challenge of advancing the
development of young people and tackle the challenges we will encounter as we
create a better life for all our people.
As a nation it is extremely vital that we use the memory of the 16 June 1976
uprisings to build a better society which values and respects its youth.
President Thabo Mbeki said, âThe most appropriate way of honouring the
sacrifices of the youth of 1976 is to ensure that the youth of South Africa
remain committed to their revolutionary role of leading the fight against
poverty and for the fundamental transformation of society.â
During our provincial programme to commemorate this 30th anniversary we
unveiled a youth monument in remembrance of those young people who paid the
supreme price in our struggle for liberation. This monument has been erected in
the âGarden of Remembranceâ within the precincts of the legislature. Names of
the fallen heroes will be engraved on the monument in 2007.
The President also announced some key initiatives on youth development
during the State of the Nation address earlier this year. These include work to
be done to ensure youth integration and mainstreaming in the AsgiSA programme,
access for young people to information that would enable their participation in
the economy and the intensified roll out of the National Youth Service
Programme (NYSP).
We have stated on many occasions that the development of youth remains
central to the broader development efforts of our government. Central to this,
is the role that the Northern Cape Youth Commission must play to ensure that
youth development find expression within the programmes and interventions of
the various government departments and municipalities.
As indicated during my budget speech last year, the Provincial Legislature
has passed the Northern Cape Youth Act that would allow for the Youth
Commission to function as a public entity. The preparation process in this
regard is continuing.
In order to improve our delivery on National Youth Service Projects
announced last year we have instituted a number of interventions.
These include:
The appointment of a dedicated project implementation agent to oversee the
management of all three projects.
Centralising resource allocation to ensure effective and efficient spending
against allocated budgets.
A training and development programme is being developed to assist with
building provincial delivery capacity with regard to training service
provision. This would include the Further Education and Training (FET)
Colleges.
The interventions mentioned have already contributed in ensuring progress in
at least two of the projects, with the Platfontein Road Construction project in
the practical implementation phase.
In November 2005 the Youth Commission convened the Northern Cape Youth
Convention, as part of the process for the development of the Northern Cape
Integrated Youth Development Strategy. I am pleased to indicate that the
strategy development process is nearing completion, we would be launching this
strategy during the second half of 2006.
In March we launched the R15 million Basha Enterprise Fund, as a partnership
between the Provincial Government, ABSA and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. The fund
is being managed by the Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) and we will do further work
in the coming period to ensure that products of the fund are aligned to various
other initiatives such as the business opportunities support programme. This
would ensure that young entrepreneurs are provided with a comprehensive service
that would assist in sustaining their businesses.
To drive and direct the youth development response of our government, the
Northern Cape Youth Commission is allocated R8,952 million.
The office on the status of persons with disabilities launched a service
delivery document titled âAccessible Municipalityâ during disability month in
November 2005 to guide and assist municipalities towards better service
delivery for persons with disabilities.
With the 50th celebrations of the Freedom Charter, information was collected
on progress made by government departments in terms of issues affecting persons
with disabilities. This was followed up with managers in different
departments.
Several programmes to train educate and inform stakeholders regarding issues
affecting persons with disabilities were done during disability month. These
include the managers in departments, disabled peopleâs organisations and the
representatives of the different unions. Disability month closed on a high
note, celebrating International Day for Persons with Disabilities and honouring
some for their exceptional achievements on different levels of
participation.
For the current financial year the Office on the Status of Persons with
Disabilities (OSPD) will attempt to develop mechanisms to support âTarget Group
equality within government departments, intergovernmental collaborative
mechanisms and mechanisms for information exchange and collaboration among
local, provincial and national government. Action plans are being developed
with departments in order to ensure that they integrate target group analysis
in their work.â
The OSPD will develop training modules for departments and other role
players and establish accountability and evaluative processes to assess
progress continuously. Furthermore the OSPD will establish a resource library,
developing further reference materials and tools for the use of
departments.
In order to execute these plans an amount of R2,779 million has been
allocated for this financial year.
The Office on the Status of Women (OSW) has been coordinating the 50th
anniversary of the Womenâs March programme which is a year-long programme, and
the 16 Days of Activism on No Violence Against Women and Children, with special
emphasis on the involvement of society at large in the fight against violence
and abuse that is directed at women and children.
Through their campaign in 2005 the OSW in partnership with other departments
has managed to raise funds and assisted four shelters for abused women and
children (Siyanda, Pixley ka Seme, Frances Baard and Kgalagadi) and one home
for homeless children in Frances Baard region. Five young women from Thuthuzela
care centre, who are victims of violence, were assisted with clothing and
toiletries whilst attending training organized by UNICEF and National
Prosecutor Authority (NPA).
On completion of training they will produce a television documentary that
will be shown during 2006. Four wheelchairs were given to women with
disabilities in the Namakwa and Kgalagadi regions.
The unit has also successfully launched South African Women in Dialogue
(SAWID) in all regions and at provincial level.
In the current financial year OSW will be engaging in the training of
domestic workers to ensure that they become more multi skilled but also to
empower them to understand their rights and conditions of service. OSW will
also have information sessions discussing legislation that impact on the lives
of women (e.g. Maintenance Act and Domestic Violence Act.) In their monitoring
and evaluation function they will monitor the implementation of the Employment
Equity Act with a specific focus on women with disabilities. Under the theme
âmen as partnersâ the unit also intends the establishment of men structures
where issues like gender based violence, rape, teenage pregnancy and HIV/Aids
will be debated. This unit has been allocated an amount of R2,606 million for
this financial year.
Another challenge we are faced with, Madam Speaker, is the abuse and neglect
of our elderly as another group of vulnerable people. A number of departments
and non-government organisation (NGOs) have arranged special activities to
honour our elderly but we need a more intensive programme and co-ordinated
approach. We need to restore respect and a more caring attitude that will
affirm the contributions the elderly have already made to society, as well as
their wisdom and experience that we can learn from.
The Premier's Service Excellence Awards third cycle (2004/05 financial year)
was successfully completed with the gala evening held on 3 June 2005 at the
provincial legislature. These awards serve as an excellent instrument to
transform government machinery to be more responsive to the needs of our people
as well as to encourage and promote the principles of âBatho Pele.â It further
serves as a catalyst to improve the quality and accessibility of services
provided by the provincial government. At the last event the judges were
particularly impressed with the spirit and commitment of all the entrants to
delivering better services, some even in the face of considerable constraints.
It was also their opinion that a greater focus on customers and Batho Pele
needs to be properly and fully integrated into all systems and processes.
The awards criteria provide an important instrument for independently
evaluating the quality of work done but to have the greatest value the level of
participation across departments must increase significantly. Internal
monitoring and evaluation and information management, in particular, customer
relationship management systems are some areas needing urgent attention.
The provincial Moral Summit took place from 6 - 8 May 2006 in Kimberley and
focused on the many ills present in our communities. The theme was: "A society
characterised by abuse and crime: a challenge for communities to become
custodians of morality.â Over 500 delegates from all five districts in the
province participated in the summit. The budgeted amount for the summit was
R500,000. The Draft Charter for positive values, drafted from inputs from
across all provinces was launched by the CEO of the MRM (National) at the gala
evening held on 6 May 2006. The draft charter will be taken to all communities
in the province to provide a platform for communities to acquaint themselves
with the Charter and take full ownership for its future implementation.
Resolutions of the summit will form the basis of a provincial programme of
action.
During the 2005/06 and the present financial years we have hosted several
national commemoration days. On 16 June 2005, the province hosted the National
Youth Day event here in Kimberley. The event was successful in that it drew
well in excess of 20 000 young people from across the province, which quells
the notion that our youth are detached in as far as our democratic processes
are concerned. In 2005 we also had the privilege of hosting the National Youth
Month programme in the Northern Cape. This was soon followed by the National
Batho Pele Learning Network Conference in November 2006 and recently on the 27
April 2006, by the National Freedom Day celebration which was addressed by the
President.
On 1 June we hosted the national celebrations of the International
Childrenâs Day which encompasses the Child Protection Week and is the beginning
of Youth Month. This day is intended to celebrate the children and childhood
and also signals the new âAge of Hopeâ declared by government for this year.
All these events have been very successful and they allowed our communities to
participate in high profile occasions.
Madam Speaker,
In conclusion I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who
makes it easier for me to carry out my responsibilities.
Thanks, firstly, to my colleagues in ExCo, national colleagues, PCC
colleagues, MPLs and NCOP members. Special thanks to the office of Premier team
led by the Director-General (DG) who was an all rounder, supporting other
departments and who is trying his utmost with limited resources to ensure we
build a Northern Cape administration with enough capacity to deliver on
electoral mandates.
The ministerial staff that had to huff and puff day and night to meet the
demands of my schedule.
My family for not complaining when I cannot attend to family matters, in
particular my angels Tumie and Kgomotso for being loving, understanding and
caring.
The VIP team, in particular the eight men who provides for my personal
security, who always sacrifices personal and family responsibilities to ensure
that I am safe and well protected from any harm.
Lastly, Cde Sylvia Lucas as chairperson and the members of the portfolio
committee under whose protective arm the office of the Premier resides. Thanks
for keeping the team on their toes and leaving visible tooth marks on them
every time. Your impact is felt whenever they prepare for and departs from the
committee presentations. Thank you very much; the success of government is
improved by the pressure you put on us to account for every cent and for the
delivery of our programmes.
Thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
22 June 2006
