the handover of a computer centre to the Legaletlwa School in Limpopo
4 October 2007
Today is International Teachers' Day, viva teachers
Morena Kgoshi Madihlaba
Mayor (Dixon) Mamane Masemola
Mayor (Queen) Mkhabela
Principal Makola
Danny Mackay
State Information Technology Agency (Sita)
Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems)
Department of Public and Administration (dpsa)
South African Management Development (Samdi)
Teachers and learners
Distinguished guests
I am deeply honoured and deeply moved to be here today for the opening of
your new computer centre. Today marks the culmination of hard work and
dedication by the Legaletlwa School community, led by Principal Makola.
Legaletlwa has been on a long journey since its beginnings in 1977. Like many
rural schools under the apartheid system, it existed on the periphery, poorly
resourced and mostly disregarded. With such great disadvantages confronting it,
it could not have been able to serve the community as it would have liked to
and provided the precious tools required to the youth of Legaletlwa to become
skilled and functioning members of society. We are deeply conscious about how
difficult it is to turn an endemically dysfunctional school around. It takes a
lot of courage, conviction and commitment.
There is no doubt that you have the courage, conviction and commitment and
this is reflected in how you have dramatically improved matric pass rates in
the past three years, how your maths results particularly are improving and how
discipline, order and respect have become the overriding philosophy in the
school. Congratulations to you all and especially to the teachers for the
excellent example that you have set.
In our President's State of the Nation Address in February of this year, he
spoke of the imperative to move forward as quickly as possible to build a
country that is defined by a common dream by promoting the growth of the small
and medium business sector and to speed up the process of skills development.
The success of our democracy, the President Thabo Mbeki said, should and will
be measured by the concrete steps we take to improve the quality of life of the
most vulnerable in our society.
Today we are gathered here as a response to the President's call. The
opening of this computer centre, thanks to the generosity of Tactical Software
Systems (TSS) who is represented by Danny Mackay and other members of his team
here today and the facilitation of the State Information Technology Agency
becomes yet another milestone for the school on its journey of excellence. This
milestone is a particularly large one as it is going to introduce the school
fairly and squarely into the era of knowledge and the world of endless
resources. The possibilities and opportunities that will present themselves to
you as learners, and to you as teachers, are infinite and with these enabling
tools, you should be well on the way to becoming a 'connected' learning
institution and an established centre of knowledge and excellence. Today marks
the beginning of a new era at Legatlwa School - an era of opportunity and new
knowledge and new learning horizons - to be grabbed robustly by all
learners.
You will notice that I used the word 'enabling' to describe the technology
that is in your computer centre. Technology is oftentimes seen as providing a
total solution â an answer to all our ills. We need to beware of this and
understand that it is an enabling instrument that will assist you as a school
to strive for even higher goals â it will not create those goals â which you
have to do.
Makola has indicated to me that he plans to open the computer centre to your
sister school in Ga Moloi as well as the community of Ga Moloi. This is very
good news. The message that I believe the principle is putting out to the
community is that the computer centre belongs to all and as such it is
everyone's responsibility to protect and sustain it. The multiple benefit
effects that the computer centre will have on the area as a whole will help all
who live here. As teachers teach pupils in computer literacy, so pupils must
teach mothers and fathers and even grandparents! It is very important that we
become a computer literate nation so that we can compete equally in the world
and build our collective knowledge and skills base.
Here in Sekhukune, growing such expertise will have a positive spin off for
the evolving local economic development initiatives that government is rolling
out. Not only will connectivity bring you into contact with the rest of the
country (and the world) but it will enable you to sustain small and medium
businesses. Government has in place economic development and micro finance
programmes made available principally by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Connectivity will bring these programmes into this school and into your homes.
Community Development Workers (CDWs) â some of whom are with us today - are
being trained to assist and facilitate citizenâgovernment interaction in this
respect.
I therefore urge the leaders of Ga Moloi and surrounding districts to
provide the necessary support to CDWs so that they may help our citizens take
gainful steps to become economically active. I would urge CDWs to encourage and
assist community members to use the computer centre as an enabling business
tool. As our President said in a recent Imbizo to the Eastern Cape, communities
must not wait for government, but they should start initiatives and draw the
attention of government to them through these initiatives. In the CDW cadres,
government has provided you with another enabler, public servants who are
trained to help you in their capacity as agents of development.
As the champion of the community development worker programme, I have a
strong interest in the work of the programme's cadres, community development
workers. I will definitely be keeping the Ga Moloi community in my sights so
that I will be able to chart the progress of your development in the unfolding
months and years.
I'd like to conclude by acknowledge South African Social Security Agency
(Sassa), Gems, Home Affairs, Department of Health, Social Services, Labour
Department and Nedbank and Absa.
Use this centre well, use it wisely and make sure that it works for the
improvement of the community as a whole. I wish you well with your new and
exciting resource.
Thank you
Issued by: Ministry of Public Service and Administration
4 October 2007
