receives standing ovation and thunderous applause in Hannover, Germany
19 October 2007
The Eastern Cape Premier, Mrs Nosimo Balindlela's historic address to the
Lower Saxony Landtag (Provincial Parliament) received a standing ovation and
thunderous applause from all members of Parliament and the public in the
gallery. Premier Balindlela spoke from her heart about the lessons her
government learnt from twinning with Lower Saxony. "We have since mastered the
German efficiency and effectiveness" said Balindlela, who explained that in her
province the word Germany is synonymous with hard work, punctuality and
efficiency.
"Following the success of the e-learning project where servers have now been
installed in the Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, I am committing
to being more computer literate myself and to start using e-mails and internet
without relying on secretarial support. We will never give up on the poor" says
Balindlela.
The first woman Premier in South Africa, and the first Premier to address
the Landtag, Balindlela spoke of the challenges of fast-tracking development
for a better life for all, and highlighted that her government has committed
R20 million to meet the Lower Saxony government's efforts at supporting the
province. 'This is to show that we are equal partners and we are committed to
this long-standing partnership," said Balindlela. The traditionally-dressed and
bare feet Balindlela concluded her address by singing 'Bambelela' (we will
never give up) joined by her delegation, the entire Parliament and the public
gallery.
Premier Balindlela said the song is dedicated to the poor people of the
Eastern Cape. "I would like the poor people to be assured that as long as I am
the Premier, I will strive to look after their interests and I will continue to
do all that I can to fight poverty and under-development."
The Landtag address was preceded by the official opening by Premier
Balindlela of the renowned "Art from the Ground up" exhibition, a joint
collaboration between German and Eastern Cape artists which will soon tour the
Eastern Cape.
Building international public private partnerships for sustainable and
integrated development
After the historic address to the Lower Saxony Landtag, the delegation split
into two to cover as many stakeholders as possible. The Local Government MEC
Mrs Thoko Xasa, in the company of the Head of Department (HoD), Ms Nandi
Sishuba and other government officials visited a factory which manufactures
low-cost housing materials in Germany. "We are engaging the company to
determine if they are indeed in a position to assist by providing structures
that will meet the necessary standards required to assist us in eradicating
mud-schools," said Local Government and Housing MEC, Mrs Xasa. The HoD for
Housing, Nandi Sishuba, said, "we are assessing the possibility of an
international private public partnership with a German company to provide
housing and investment in the Eastern Cape in order to meet the strategic goals
of African sustainable settlements project."
The sustainable settlement project is about an integrated approach to
housing development which includes the provision of water and sanitation,
schools and recreational facilitates backed by adequate infrastructure
development. "We have reached the climax of our visit" says Kiviet, provincial
speaker of the Eastern Cape Parliament.
The delegation led by Premier Balindlela, in the company of South Africa's
ambassador, Mr Chikane, visited TUI (the largest commercial tourism
organisation in Europe) and the Lower Saxony State Athletic Federation, to
conduct consultations on the 2010 Federation of International Football
Association (FIFA) Soccer World Cup with counterparts in Germany who organised
the 2006 World Cup.
At TUI the delegation reached an agreement to pilot tourism packages for the
Eastern Cape and South Africa, noting the requirements and expectations of the
Germany tourism market. Summarising the day, the speaker of the provincial
Parliament, Mrs Noxolo Kiviet said "today marks the climax of our visit. The
road ahead will be strengthened now that we have ended the day on a
business-like tone with a clear action plan and next steps."
Today the delegation programme includes among others the following:
* meeting with the Lower Saxony State Government's Commissioner for
Information Technology, to forge an integrated information and communications
technology solution for the province
* Lower Saxony State Institute for Teacher Education and School Development
(NiLs), to strengthen the e-learning project and build other partnerships to
improve the culture of learning and teaching in the province.
* visit to the Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung (INWENT) to
strengthen partnership and projects designed to capacitate the Eastern Cape
government departments.
Enquiries:
Nomfundo wakwa Luphondwana
General Manager: Provincial Communications
Cell: 082 440 2728
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
19 October 2007
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecpg.gov.za)
