S Moloto: Limpopo State of the Province Address

9 February 2006

Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Deputy Speaker and Members of this august House,
Executive Mayors, Mayors and Speakers of Municipalities,
Honourable members of the National Assembly and NCOP,
Members of the Judiciary,
Leaders of Opposition Parties,
Chairperson and members of the House of Traditional Leaders,
Former MPs and MPLs,
Leadership of the ANC and other Political organisations,
Stalwarts and veterans of our struggle,
Religious leaders,
Youth, women, business, labour and community leaders here present,
Leadership and Heads of Chapter nine institutions and all other institutions
supporting our democracy,
Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS,
Director General and members of our Senior Management Service,
Media representatives,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The people of Limpopo,

In our first State of the Province Address in 2004, we started off by
quoting the words of wise counsel from one of the finest brains of the
province, comrade Lawrence Madimetja Phokanoka who once said:

“We should not make a mistake of finding ourselves on the wrong side of
history. He further intimated that “there is no earthly force which is capable
of stopping a determined nation from achieving its chosen destiny.”

It is unfortunate that once more death has decided to rob us of this
irreplaceable monument which has always served as a guide and an inspiration to
our nation. The province is indeed much poorer at this moment. As if what has
happened to this icon and hero of our struggle is not enough, this august
chamber was equally robbed and weakened of our erstwhile Chief whip in this
legislature, comrade France Mofapa Mohlala who has been very instrumental in
driving and steering the activities of this chamber in order to equal the task
at hand. These two heroes of our struggle and many others in this province who
have departed us, have lived and died for an ideal of a just, non-racial,
non-sexist and democratic South Africa; a South Africa free of poverty, hunger,
ignorance and disease.

We would like to take this opportunity to call on the people of the province
to recommit and rededicate themselves to the vows and resolve they have made at
the gravesides of these gallant heroes who would never have betrayed the ideals
of freedom and democracy.

Ari nga do vha hangwa, vhahali vhahashu! A hi nge swikoti ku rivala tinhenha
ta tiko ra hina! Re ikana go tšwetša pele dikeno ka moka tše bagale ba ba di
lwetšego!

Honourable Speaker

In pursuit of these ideals, the provincial government has been engaged in
fruitful discussions with representatives of the Afrikaner community in the
province. It is heartening to note that indeed many South Africans of various
persuasions and diverse national groupings across the board have embraced the
notion of a just, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa. Our
experience of these engagements with representative of Afrikaans speaking
organisations have proven that we share equal passion and energy in our quest
to build a united South Africa that truly belongs to all.

Dominee Gielie Joubert of Hout-Kruis Gemeenskapkerk, sums up the spirit of
these engagements in the letter he wrote to us dated 23 November 2005 where he
makes the following bold assertion:

“Life is ironic. I have never been invited by a white Premier for talks in
the past and now my first invitation came from a black Premier! Thank you very
much”.

His bold and courageous remarks serve as a good measure of the extent to
which as a country we have moved in achieving the ideal of non-racialism. We
take it that these remarks capture the feelings and imaginations of many South
Africans. Equally we can pronounce that we are on the threshold of significant
racial integration and long lasting reconciliation which guarantees all of us a
good future. Honourable Speaker, It is our pleasure to further take this
opportunity to appreciate the humbling words entailed in the statement issued
by Agri-Limpopo, published in the Observer newspaper of 8 December 2005 where
the same message of reconciliation and goodwill is reiterated. The article
reads as follows:

“Meneer Gert Rall, uitgetrede vise-President van Agri-Limpopo, wat pas
aangestel is as die instansie se regeringskakelpersoon, sê die vergadering was
die tweede van sy soort wat Moloto belê het. Verskeie knelpunte is tydens die
onlangse “baie positiewe vergadering bespreek”.

What the article says is:

“Agri-Limpopo thanks the Premier and also congratulates him for the
successful discussions he has had with different groups representing the
Afrikaans speaking community of Limpopo. This includes Agri-Limpopo, Transvaal
Agricultural Union Northern region, the Afrikanerbond, the Union- Solidarity,
NG Kerk, Reformed Church and various other Church groups.

Mr Gert Rall the former vice-president of Agri-Limpopo, who has recently
been appointed the government liaison person of this body, said the meeting was
the second of its kind which Premier initiated. Several issues of concern were
discussed during these highly positive meeting.

Rall further said that the meeting was in great spirit and that the Premier
endeavours to bring about real reconciliation.

He thanked the Premier for his open door policy by allowing the opportunity
for discussions and the fact that he listens to what the people have to
say”

Honourable Speaker,

This House must take leaf from the courage shown by these leaders of the
Afrikaans speaking community such as Dominee Gielie Joubert, Dominee Gert Kok
of the NG Kerk, Dr Fritz Kok of the ATKV, Dr Mostert of the Afrikanerbond and
others who are unafraid to preach and practice true reconciliation in the
manner they do. We extend an invitation to other South Africans including
members of Opposition parties to emulate the good example shown by these great
patriots from the Afrikaans speaking community who are beginning to play a
leading role in building a kind of South Africa that truly belongs to all,
black and white.

It is not surprising that a common national consensus is emerging as the
late President of the African National Congress (ANC) envisaged in a speech
delivered at the 1989 Lusaka conference between members of the Five Freedoms
Forum (a group of white liberals) and the ANC. In that conference President
Oliver Tambo said:
“It is indeed our collective responsibility to rid our country of the cause of
conflict, deprivation and disunity which has earned it the distaste of the rest
of humanity. We are not an accursed people, singularly incapable of raising
ourselves from the quagmire of racism and human degradation. Ours is a gifted
and industrious society, with as yet untapped potential to offer humankind a
towering example of non-racial unity based on the recognition of the rich
tapestry of cultures that make up South Africa. We can and must do it!”

It is very encouraging that these visionary words of counsel and wisdom
which were said by the President of the ANC, 17 years ago, can now find
resonance amongst people who were regarded as architects or supporters of the
grand Apartheid system, who at the time perceived him as their arch enemy.
Despite these impressive achievements we have made thus far, there are still
few within the Afrikaner and the white community in general who are mistaken to
believe that they can derail this national effort of reconciliation and nation
building. This has been illustrated by the provocative acts of disfiguring of
the road sign posts with colours of the old flag and the offensive painting of
our historical icons like the statue of Makhado. We strongly believe that they
are mistaken as they are more and more becoming isolated because South Africans
of goodwill have seen the importance of this national unity for the good of
South Africa and her people.

Honourable Speaker
We are happy to report that a common consensus and shared vision of the
Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) is emerging. The majority of
the people of the province are now acquainted and familiar with the contents
and vision of this strategy and they seem more and clearer about what needs to
be done in order to develop this province. In an assessment that was done by
the Policy Unit in the Presidency, our Provincial Growth and Development
Strategy has been found to be complying with the guidelines developed by the
Presidency. Like we cautioned last year in our State of the Province address,
the Presidency has equally shared the same concern about having a document
which captures all the ingredients of development which is not implementable.
The greatest measure of its success solemnly lies in its implementation and its
impact on the lives of the people. We have thus seen a great deal of enthusiasm
amongst all the stakeholders championing the various aspects of the
implementation of the strategy.

We have already started as part and parcel of the implementation of this
strategy to develop project business plans for each of the seven cluster value
chains. We have realised the need for shifting away from the general to the
specifics. The process of appointing cluster value chain project managers is
underway. The main responsibility for these managers would be to coordinate and
manage this cluster value chain project on a daily basis. Equally, the need to
streamline, redefine and refocus our provincial public entities (Parastatals)
is becoming more and more apparent. This process would have to be concluded
within the next six months.

Honourable Speaker
For the past three to four years the province has been experiencing drought
which had a severe impact on our agricultural capacity. It is not surprising
that we have recorded a decline in the economic contribution of both
agriculture and mining to our GDP (Gross Domestic Product). We have always held
a view as a Province that water has a potential of undermining our Provincial
Growth and Development Strategy. There are great prospects of overcoming this
constrain because the building of De Hoop dam has been approved through the
national programme of ASGI-SA (Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of
South Africa). It is envisaged that construction work will start from 1 April
and the completion period is estimated to be in 2010. This intervention will go
a long way in addressing the water needs for both domestic household
consumption and industrial use in the whole of Greater Sekhukhune and
beyond.

Like we have said before, many mining prospects in Tubatse area have been
halted due to scarcity of water resources. Equally, we hope that the mining
activities which were halted for the same reason in the area of Mokopane would
soon be commencing now that the raising of Flag Boshielo dam has been completed
and what is remaining is the building of a pipeline to Mokopane.

We hope that this intervention will go a long way in reversing the economic
decline which was beginning to show in these two important sectors. Our effort
of exploring the possibilities of beneficiation on various mineral resources is
still being pursued. There are positive indications that the Waterberg Coal
flagship project may be realised. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
has gone a long way in doing feasibility study about the possible raising of
Mokolo Dam which would definitely add more impetus to the realisation of the
Waterberg Coal flagship project.

Last year we talked about the possibility of establishing a Fresh Produce
Market in the province which is aimed at capturing both the domestic and
regional market. We are delighted to announce that the feasibility studies have
been concluded and a site has already been identified for this purpose. We
trust that the construction work will soon commence in earnest. There is a
significant amount of agro-processing operations going on in the Tzaneen area
and government would continue to support this initiative. In this context, and
as a measure of reinforcing this effort, we are engaging the Department of
Water affairs and Forestry to speed up the possibility of the erection of the
Nwamitwa dam.

The recent announcement by the President in the State of the Nation Address
about the imminent review of the land policy could not have come at the right
time. Like we have said in our Provincial land summit, the slow pace of the
resolution of the land claims brings uncertainty and has the potential of
drastically reducing the productive capacity of the agricultural sector. We
hope and trust that this review process will finally resolve this impasse and
bring stability to this sector. We would appeal to all stakeholders to take
keen interest and actively participate in ensuring that this policy directive
is realised for the sake of the country and its future.

Honourable Speaker
The other area in the agricultural sector we are giving attention and focus to
as part of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) is the
support of small scale and subsistence farmers. Our aim is to enhance
indigenous community assets that is, care of the livestock and encouragement of
our communities to continue to till and cultivate their fields in the trust
lands. Obviously this demands a better coordinated and improved agricultural
extension services. We would expect that our agricultural extension officers
would be better trained and competent enough to equal the task at hand.

Honourable Speaker,
It is however, worth mentioning that there are sectors that have registered a
remarkable increase and thereby contributing to the growth and development of
our economy. These include manufacturing, financial services, construction and
tourism. Tourism industry is beginning to show significant growth despite the
fact that we haven’t as yet introduced new product offerings in this
sector.

These developments signify the great tourism potential this province can
offer. Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board is seized with the responsibility of
developing these new product offerings. We have in this context identified the
Trans-Limpopo Frontier Park as a springboard to the realisation of this
potential. Last year we have been engaged in serious discussions with the two
Zimbabwean Provinces of Matebeleland North and South in order to give effect to
the Trans-Limpopo development corridor. The possible new product offering in
this regard, would give a potential tourist an inclusive package of all the
icons and tourism attractions from Makhado up to Victoria falls. This will
obviously include the great Mapungubwe ruins, Thulamela, great Zimbabwe ruins
up to Victoria falls. The eastern front of Trans-Limpopo would include the
exclusive game parks of Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit through the Gaza Province in
Mozambique up to the warm beaches of Maputo. This has been made possible by the
opening of the Giriyondo border post through the Kruger National Park. It is
said that driving through this route is shorter than driving from Johannesburg
to Durban. The added beauty of this route is that you would be reconnecting
with nature at its best. All of these efforts are in pursuit of our slogan of
being the heartland of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the
fourth pillar of our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy which
emphasises regional integration.

Honourable Speaker
We have always prided ourselves as the home and custodian of wildlife. We still
play host to the natural scenic beauty and the abundance of the Big Five. Many
of us do not know that in fact we are a home and host to the Big six. As
contained in our corporate identity logo, the Baobab tree is a very important
feature which distinguishes us from the rest of South Africa. You will be
delighted to know that the Big Boabab tree in the province has been confirmed
as the biggest in the world. The size of this tree is 39 metres wide, 24 metres
high and over 300 hundred years old. We have instructed the Road Agency to tar
the road to this Big tree and Tourism and Parks board to develop new product
offerings around the Big tree in this part of our Province.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
had already declared Soutpansberg and Waterberg as biospheres. There are many
other icons and national heritage sites which haven’t as yet been developed to
a satisfactory standard. A lot of work would still have to be done to bring
them to an acceptable level. New product offerings would have to be developed
around the Modjadji’s royal palace, Makapane’s valley, Nylsvlei and many
others.

As a province we hold a view that we have succeeded in managing the
transition from Northern Province to Limpopo and everyone in the country now
knows where Limpopo is and what it can offer. We think the next step in line
with this above exposition is to now begin to promote the different Districts
and Towns in the context of Brand Limpopo.

We have raised a concern last year in this House about the profile and
prominence of MORIA City. We are delighted to note that this concern has been
taken seriously particularly in the media fraternity. We have seen more and
more positive coverage about the importance of this city and the role it is
playing in the province, both spiritually and economically. There have been
enquiries and various proposals from many sectors on what can be done to pursue
this endeavour. There is obviously room for further development of new product
offerings in this regard which together with the church, government would have
to look at. There is obviously one other International Church, that is the
United African Apostolic Church in the Nzhelele valley which would also have to
be looked at in pursuit of raising the profile of the province in SADC.

Last year we said that there was a need for the establishment of an
International Convention Centre in Polokwane. We are delighted to report that
the idea has generated too much interest and there are many stakeholders who
are interested to be involved in this venture. Already, Polokwane Municipality
is at an advanced stage in the process of rezoning land and has already
received proposals for the building of a two hundred and fifty bed hotel. We
see these developments as yet another opportunity to give impetus to our
tourism potential.

We have since resolved many of the challenges which have been experienced in
Polokwane International Airport around navigational devices. We have also
succeeded in securing a bigger passenger plane which commutes between Polokwane
and Johannesburg daily. GAAL (Gateway Airport Authority Limited) is now in the
process of negotiating the possibility of a direct flight between Polokwane and
Cape Town. There are also other very interesting and attractive proposals which
are being pursued by the airport authority in relation to further development
of the Airport for both passenger and cargo services.

During the Tourism Summit, we spoke a lot about the volume of traffic which
passes through our province from countries north of our border particularly
Zambia and Zimbabwe who continue to do their trade and business in Gauteng. We
wondered as to what can be done to capture this market in order that the bulk
of this trade is done in the province, taking into consideration our advantage
of proximity to these countries. The idea of a regional shopping complex is
gradually developing and it seems as though Polokwane is well poised to be the
seat of this complex. Our provincial government would continue to support these
sorts of initiatives because they fit very well with our strategic objective of
being the heartland of SADC and gateway to the rest of Africa.

Honourable Speaker
The work of upgrading Peter Mokaba Stadium to host the 2010 world soccer games
has begun in earnest. The designs and building plans have already been
completed and the construction work would be starting soon.

Honourable Speaker
For the past eight months government has been involved in the review of supply
chain management in order to respond to our policy imperatives particularly
around small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) development and Broad Based
Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE). The new policy that has been rolled out
from the beginning of this year is customised to meet the needs and challenges
of the local SMME and BBBEE. We hold a view that the introduction of this new
policy will fit very well with the broad policy objectives of Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGI-SA) about intervention in the
Second Economy. The policy directs supply chain management units of all
departments to give priority to cooperatives and local suppliers.

Another important element of the policy is that if any service provider is
engaged outside the province, that service provider is required to establish
visible significance in terms of plant and staff in the province. The policy
equally directs government in line with Expanded Public Works policy provision
to begin to source out its own supplies for hospitals, clinics, schools etc
from local suppliers and cooperatives, particularly in programmes like primary
school feeding schemes and early childhood development (Crèches). We would like
to call on big business and the corporate world to take leaf from government to
ensure that they source their own supplies from local SMMEs.

We have noted a good example of the engagement of local producers and
manufacturers like it is happening at the Thohoyandou Spar. The store is said
to have opened its doors on 15 November 2002. Within ten months of its
operation it had managed to capture 72% of the trade market share of the town
with a monthly turn-over of R7.4 million whilst the other two competitors are
trailing behind with only 28% market share. Currently the monthly turn-over is
said to be over R15.million with a staff compliment of 450 members.

This is obviously unbelievable at a face value and everyone would wonder how
such a remarkable achievement could have been recorded within such a short
space of time. When the question was posed to management as to what the trick
is, the answer was a simple one, that is, over and above investment in their
workforce, the bulk of their stock is sourced locally. In the fruit and
vegetable division, the only fruit which is sourced outside Vhembe District are
apples from Ceres estate in Cape Town. The rest is “local is lekker”.
Management also claims that their in-store bakery and butchery generate the
highest turn-over within their retail chain stores in the whole of South
Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

The other trick which this management has mastered has been to empower and
train the local producers on how they should improve the quality of their
products. In this sense whilst Thohoyandou Spar management makes their profit,
they also make a valuable contribution in the community by sourcing from local
suppliers as well as skills transfer. We would like to encourage them to
introduce new product lines of local products in other divisions beside food
and vegetables. We are convinced that if all businesses in the province were to
adopt the same model of buying local supplies and training local people, this
would certainly go a long way in growing the economy and making a dent on
poverty and unemployment.

We believe that this good example can serve as an excellent model of the
envisaged Limpopo Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative. In his words Mr
Philip Snyman, the manager of Thohoyandou Spar argues that community
involvement is much more than buying soccer jerseys for the local soccer
team.

Honourable Speaker
Government has long announced the need for commercialisation of about 54 State
owned provincial game parks. The process is being delayed by land claims as the
majority of these parks were and are still under claims. We are delighted to
note that some progress has been made and by the end of the year four of these
game parks would have been successfully commercialised. Like we have said in
the tourism summit, government’s commercialisation process would serve as a
springboard for bringing the historically disadvantaged people into the tourism
industry.

Honourable Speaker
The provincial government has been involved in the process of complying with
the new National Transport Road Transition Act. This act provides that
government should only play a regulatory role in the management of public
transport. The Provincial Government is therefore obliged by this act to
commercialise Great North Transport (GNT) bus fleet. We have been looking at
the appropriate model of commercialisation of this bus fleet. We are now in a
position to announce that this commercialisation process would be concluded by
September this year. Obviously, again the emphasis in this commercialisation
would be on Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment

Honourable Speaker
In our effort to improve institutional effectiveness and efficiency of
government we embarked on operation head count late last year, which has
succeeded in exposing major weaknesses in our administration. Over and above
government losing a lot of money in paying ghost employees, the following are
some of the weaknesses which led to these deficiencies:
* Delays in terminations of deaths, retirements, transfers to other provinces,
resignations and expiry of contracts,
* General weaknesses in personnel management,
* System-related deficiencies compounded by shortage of personnel who are
well-trained in the management of both salary and financial systems.

The whole operation head count has saved government about R30 million a year
and a directive was given to departments to attend to all cases individually
and to develop appropriate sanctions for every human error or omission. Drawing
from the lessons of this exercise, we have also decided to strengthen the human
resource units in all departments, particularly in the personnel management and
salary sections who would be sufficiently trained and well-equipped with
relevant skills to equal the task of updating our records. In some cases where
there are clear indications of fraud and corruption, the cases have been
referred to law enforcements agencies for further investigation and
finalisation while internal disciplinary processes are mooted out against
concerned officials.

These deficiencies and weaknesses which have been unearthed by this exercise
are not different from other weaknesses that government is constantly dealing
with such as queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General, SCOPA and
other various Chapter Nine Institutions. We will continue to strive to improve
in all these areas. We have already, in the same breath, had many interactions
and engagements with most of the Chapter Nine Institutions in order to develop
a common platform and understanding about obstacles and bottlenecks which
continue to have a bearing on improving our reporting and accounting
procedures. We are confident that a lot of progress has been made in this
regard and we trust that there will be significant improvement in the reduction
of the number of both qualified reports and matters of emphasis from the
Auditor – General’s office.

Honourable Speaker
In response to the concerns raised last year in this House, about internal
audit, legal services, asset management and risk management units which weren’t
having the necessary capacity to discharge their functions, that is early
detection of weaknesses and proactive action, we are delighted to report that
staffing in these units has increased to equal the task at hand. Whilst these
positive developments are acknowledged and appreciated, we are still faced with
difficulties and challenges particularly with regard to the internal audit unit
where there is high staff turn over. The majority of staff from this unit is
being recruited by Municipalities in the province. We will continue to develop
appropriate capacity to fast-track training through learnerships and
internships in order to ensure that the capacity of this unit to discharge its
function is not compromised by this phenomenon of high staff turn-over.

Honourable Speaker
We would like once more to commend and appreciate the cooperation which we
continue to enjoy from our Traditional Leaders in the Province. Their
participation in various government programmes continue to give us more
strength and courage in our developmental effort, particularly, in the rural
areas where their role is most significant.

In line with the national Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework
Act we have now enacted two provincial acts which regulate the affairs of
Traditional authorities. The one act deals with the formation of local houses
and the other one focuses on the transformation of Traditional authorities. An
implementation plan for both these acts is in the process of being rolled out
in collaboration with the Traditional leaders. The implementation of these acts
will go a long way in addressing some of the problems that these Traditional
authorities have been confronted with.

At last, the Nhlapho Commission which has been appointed to deal with claims
and disputes of Traditional Leadership has begun its work in earnest. We have
already witnessed the holding of two sessions in Vhembe and Sekhukhune about
these claims and disputes. The amount of work covered thus far, gives us hope
that the outstanding claims and disputes will be amicably resolved sooner than
anticipated.

Last year in our State of the Province address we indicated that we are
supposed to be appointing 1772 Headmen in the province. As of now the number of
all appointed Headmen who are already being remunerated by this government is
1888 and we are now convinced that we have covered all eligible Headmen in the
province.

Honourable Speaker
The commitment we made last year of pursuing creative and innovative ways of
improving the financial, administrative and service delivery capacity of our
Municipalities has gained the required momentum. Through the Premier-Mayor’s
Forum, we have succeeded in pursuing all these stated objectives and we are
delighted to announce that in this financial year 75% of our Municipalities
were able to prepare and table their multi-year budgets within the stipulated
timeframe as compared to only 50% in the previous financial year, 68% submitted
their annual financial statements to the Office of the Auditor-General as
compared to only 31% in the previous financial year and 61% of our
Municipalities compiled their annual financial statements in-house compared to
31% in the previous year. This state of affairs serves as an indication that
there is improved financial administration in majority of our Municipalities
and dependence on consultants to prepare annual financial statements is
gradually diminishing. Late, last year we have allocated R200 million for
drought relief, water provision and electricity. We are convinced that this
intervention will go a long way in responding to the direct needs of our people
as a measure of reducing the backlog in basic services.

Honourable Speaker
We have recently convened district-wide IDP consultative meetings in all our
District Municipalities. This process seeks to ensure an integrated and
coordinated planning framework for both the province and municipalities. It has
come out of these reviews that a lot still has to be done in relation to the
capacity of government in general, particularly in municipalities. The areas
which need more focused attention include forward and proper planning for basic
services, Local Economic Development (LED), town planning and land use
management. If this lessons and experience is anything to go by, Government
should in this coming financial year, dedicate more resources in all these
areas in order to enable new councils to equal the task.
Honourable Speaker

Government continues to take seriously allegations of corruption and
nepotism in the allocation of housing. As promised in our previous State of the
Province Address, corrective action has been taken against those found to be
involved in corrupt activities relating to the allocation of houses. The Task
team appointed last year to investigate this malady made a number of
recommendations which we are being implemented.

In pursuance of some of the recommendations, we have since expelled
officials who defrauded government and their cases are now in court.
Contractors who have been found to be involved in defrauding government have
also been handed over to the law enforcement agencies in line with the
recommendations of the Task Team. Our position still remains in relation to
both service providers and contractors who do business with government but
still continue to exploit their employees. If such service providers and
contractors are known and brought to our attention, they would be blacklisted
and their services or contracts will be terminated forthwith. We will continue
to spare no effort, nor strength, to fight corruption with all its
ramifications both in the public service and the private sector.

Honourable Speaker
Our road upgrading and tarring programme is proceeding very well. We intend
maintaining the current funding levels and continue to explore possibilities of
increasing it. Given this commitment one is certain that we will reach our
target of making sure that one doesn’t have to travel more than 10km before
reaching a tarred road in ten years or even shorter period. Our commitment in
this regard is unwavering.
Honourable Speaker
Access to social security has improved drastically and we are confident that
all beneficiaries who qualify for various social security grants are now
receiving them. The total number of beneficiaries receiving social security
grants in the province is about 1.1 million. Those who are receiving old age
pensions are 300 000. Those who are receiving child support grants are 700 000,
whilst those receiving permanent disability grants are 96 000. Our major
concern remains the question of the integrity of this system and whether all
the people who are receiving these grants do indeed qualify. The department is
seized with the responsibility to improve the status of the credibility our
beneficiary data

Honourable Speaker
During this coming financial year, 18 District Hospitals will expand their
outreach programme through doctor’s visits to primary health care centres.
Plans are underway to recruit more medical specialists for regional hospitals
and the Pietersburg/Mankweng tertiary Health complex. The establishment of a
medical faculty in the Province will further enhance our tertiary health
services capacity.

Honourable Speaker
We have noted that our HIV and AIDS prevalence rate is lower than that of other
provinces but however the infection rate remains higher. With exception of
Sekhukhune district which has seen a slight drop of 13.4% from the previous
14.1%, all the other Districts have registered steady increases. Statistics are
showing that the age group of between 25 to 29 years is proving to be the one
most vulnerable to new infections. We know these are mainly young people who
are at tertiary institutions and in the workforce. It is a worrying fact that
the loss of this young people would certainly have a negative effect on the
economic stability of our country. We call on the youth of our province to heed
the call of the ABC message, which is abstinence, being faithful, or usage of
condoms.

We are nonetheless pleased that the province has increased the number of
sites from 08 to 20 district hospital facilities which are accredited to
provide the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS treatment.

The province has not been performing well in the infrastructural provision
particularly on conditional grants. Our spending levels remain very low in this
area. The major weakness which resulted in this situation has been due to poor
planning and delays in the adjudication and awarding of tenders to the service
providers.

Honourable Speaker
We have corrected this anomaly by ensuring that all the business plans are
ready before the commencement of the new financial year. We have also directed
that every department which takes more than three weeks to finalise the
adjudication process must account for the delay.

The Department of Education is making an impressive record in dealing with
the classroom backlog which is existing in the province. In this financial
year, 279 classrooms are being built in order to accommodate learners under
trees and those who are studying in shacks. In the areas where this process of
building classrooms has been slow, mobile classrooms are being provided. It is
also delighting to note that a plant for manufacturing these mobile classrooms
has been set up in Polokwane and has since developed the capacity to produce
four mobile classrooms per day.

Honourable Speaker
As we pointed out last year in this House, the challenge of overcrowding which
is largely driven by the quest from learners to go to better performing schools
will remain with us for some time to come. We hope that the interventions which
are being made to improve the management of schools and inculcation of a
culture of learning and teaching remain the long lasting solution to this
phenomenon. This is largely a human element which must be corrected.

Honourable Speaker
A national policy decision has been taken to exempt schools that are located in
poorer areas from paying school fees. In our Province this would cover about
2300 schools and over a million learners would benefit from these intervention.
We take it that this intervention will go a long way in relieving poorer
households and parents from the burden of paying schools fees and therefore
improving school attendance.

It is also encouraging to note that the persistent problem of temporary
teachers which characterised the reopening of our schools has finally been
resolved. By 1 April this year, 8661 temporary teachers would be appointed
permanently. We hope and trust that the absorption of these teachers will help
in stabilising and strengthening the culture of learning and teaching in our
schools and thus improving the general performance of our education system. Our
expectation with this intervention is that it would improve our education and
the quality of our matric results; and thus reversing the negative trend which
we have experienced last year.

Honourable Speaker
We have been observing and following the debates regarding the school language
policy with keen interest. As government we remain committed to ensuring that
all languages are promoted and developed in line with our constitution. We
trust that the continuing debate of language policy will not undermine this
fundamental constitutional principle.

Honourable Speaker
We will continue to hold a belief that a good education will depend on a strong
foundation and therefore a need for a comprehensive early childhood development
cannot be overemphasised. In the context of the EPWP in the social sector, the
social cluster will be giving more attention to this programme. The other
priority programme which should also be given sufficient attention is Adult
Basic Education and Training (ABET).

Honourable Speaker
We have intimated in this house last year that our Provincial Growth and
Development Strategy place a high premium on skills development. As part and
parcel of the realisation of the objective of our Provincial Human Resource
Development Strategy, the issue of skills in all sectors of the economy becomes
paramount. The FET Summit which was convened last year confirmed our assertion
about the need for various skills in the Province particularly in the areas of
our competitive advantages, such as mining, agriculture, tourism, research and
development. We note with appreciation the fact that money has been set aside
for the recapitalisation of FET colleges.

We hope and trust that this intervention will go a long way in galvanising
the training effort of various departments and sectors which will largely
benefit the youth of our country. We cannot agree more with the call made by
the President for a well coordinated massive National Youth Service. We think
this intervention will also assist our young people to develop critical life
skills and a sense of responsibility and discipline.

Honourable Speaker
In keeping with our commitment of honouring our historical warrior Kings, to
this end we have erected and unveiled the statues of King Makhado and
Nghunghunyane. As part and parcel of the preservation of our own history and
culture and a better understanding of were we come from, it may even be
necessary to have a better record of all sorts of resistance struggles which
were waged in various parts of the Province. Many of these struggles are not
properly recorded and we rely solely on oral history. With the passage of time,
this important historical account of our Province will face the threat of
fading away.

Honourable Speaker
Many of us in this chamber may not be familiar with the resistance struggles
waged by the people of Matlala - a - Thaba. Historians like Tlou Setumu who has
written a series of historical account of many Traditional Authorities in the
Province must be encouraged to continue with the good work they are doing. We
understand that he would be launching the first series of his books next week
Thursday, 16. We would like to believe that the Department of Sport, Arts and
Culture would take keen interest in this type of work and therefore support
such initiatives.

Mapungubwe Arts Festival continues to serve as a component part of brand
Limpopo strategy. As a measure of improving on the successes of these event
there might be a need to refocus and strengthen the international outlook of
the event, particularly in increasing the participation of artists in SADC and
the continent.

Honourable Speaker
The Department of Safety and Security has held a successful crime summit which
has come up with a Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy. We hope and trust that
the department will continue to implement all the crucial elements contained in
the strategy.

Honourable Speaker
Last year we spoke about the increasing levels of temptations for people to
live beyond their means which lead to all sorts of social problems. The one
thing that we normally overlook which further complicates the situation is
gambling. Many of our people spent their money on gambling of various sorts
like lotto, fahfee (Mchina), casino, cards and dices etc. Obviously all of
these sorts of gambling are played across various social strata. The upper
social strata would be involved in those that are legal like; lotto and casino,
whilst the poor would be predominately involved in the illegal ones like dices,
fahfee (Mchina) and others.

We have constantly been receiving complaints about the abuse of social
security grants like old age pension, disability and child support grants. In
many instances if this abuse is not related to the unscrupulous activities of
“Machonisas” it would involve these sorts of gambling like fahfee (Mchina)
cards and dices. It is unbelievable to note that some of these illegal gambling
particularly, (Mchina) would have a turnover of about R14.000 per operator a
day on a single route which would translate to R15.2 million per month. If this
was a community investment scheme in which the resources are channelled into a
credible community reinvestment scheme like a cooperative, it could serve as a
better way of enhancing community capital accumulation which could then be
redirected to the general upliftment of the very community. It is claimed that
these activities and the turnover increase around the time of the payment of
social security grants. If this is true, then government’s effort of relieving
the plight of the poor through social security grants gets undermined because
the poverty status of the beneficiaries is worsened.

Gambling on its own is not a problem but too much of it can be dangerous
because of its addictive nature. All of the people who get involved in gambling
are driven by this desire to get rich quickly and aspire to lead affluent
lifestyles which they cannot afford as we referred to last year. There is a
need for a massive campaign that is aimed at educating people about the dangers
of gambling. This campaign should involve the moral regeneration movement,
business, labour and all organs of civil society concerned about the
restoration of the moral fibre of our society.

Honourable Speaker
We cannot conclude this address without acknowledging luminaries from the
Province who have continued to carry the provincial flag sky high. These are
sons and daughters of the province who continue to make us proud as they
continue to excel in the world of sports, corporate, Public sector and showbiz.
Though the list is not conclusive, allow me to pay homage to the following
stars from the province:

* Polokwane’s Retief Goosen, World Number 4 Golf Champion, also a brand
Limpopo ambassador, who continues to win numerous golf championships both at
home and abroad,
* Malamulele’s Isaac Hlatshwayo who has just been voted the 2005 South African
Boxer of the Year,
* Mrs. Ntswaki Qwabe of Ga-Mathabatha for scooping the Sowetan-Old Mutual 2005
Community builder of the year.
* Seshego’s Eric Macheru for winning the national “Sokka King”
championship,
* Department of Safety, Security and Liaison for winning the National
Impumelelo Award for being the best innovative public service institution in
the country,
* Phalaborwa Municipality for turning Phalaborwa into the cleanest city in the
country,
* The councillors of Capricorn District Municipality for being counted the
second best in the ZK Matthews award for the best performing group of ANC
councillors
* Thulamela Municipality for winning the 2005 Impumelelo award for community
involvement programme.

We also like to formally congratulate Mr Serobi Maja, the Chief Executive
Officer of our Provincial Gambling Board on his recent election to the
Executive Committee of the International Association of Gambling
Regulators.

In the same breath we also wish to congratulate two outstanding Limpopo
farmers who have done us proud by representing South Africa in this year’s
internationally renowned event of Fruit Logistica Exhibition in Germany. The
two farmers are Mrs Cynthia Legodi, a potato farmer from Elandskraal and Mr
Jameson Nesane, a tomato farmer from Musina. These two ambassadors of the
Province are truly a shining example of what other emerging farmers can achieve
on the national and international stage.

Last year, we also witnessed the bestowal of the prestigious National Orders
of Luthuli on two distinguished gallant fighters of Limpopo, who are comrades
Lawrence Madimetja Phokanoka and Flag Boshielo. Their names would forever
remain engraved in the archival monuments of our Province and South Africa as a
whole.

Honourable Speaker
As a gesture a goodwill and a sign that our collective efforts are indeed
bearing fruit, we were invited to the Ndebele Traditional Authority under
Inkosi Maphepha II of Monsterlos to join them in their celebration of service
delivery achievements. Their invitation letter reads as follows:

“The Ndebele Traditional Authority has decided to have a celebration on 12
August 2005 at Inkosi Maphepha II’s kraal. The celebration is aimed at thanking
the Limpopo government for a number of services delivered in the area. It is
also aimed at congratulating the Premier and his executive council for uniting
the people of the Province in their diversity and making this province a home
for us all.”

We derive more strength and energy out of these invaluable words of
inspiration and courage, and this can only serve to renew our sense of
commitment and loyalty to the cause of making Limpopo a home for all its
citizens, Black and white. We are confident that these words of wisdom and
counsel are a totality of the reflection of the general feeling of all
Traditional Leaders and people of our Province. The introduction of Community
Development Workers (CDW) will go a long way in enhancing and perfecting our
outreach and community involvement programme. We are indeed humbled by the fact
that we have got this strong backing from our people in our endeavour to
develop this Province. In one of the meeting of Ndzalama ya Vuhosi, Hosi Mhlava
of the Bankuna Traditional Authority expressed the same feeling when he said
that in this Province:

“We are all impressed and very optimistic about our future under an ANC led
government”. Hinkweru hi tsakile nakambe hi ni ku tshemba eka vurhangeri bya
mfumo lowu rhangeriweke hi ANC.

We hope and trust that this spirit of unity and togetherness will again be
shown on 1 March when we go to the polls for the renewal of the mandate of our
Municipal councils.

Inkomu!!

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
9 February 2006