at the sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature at Vryheid
22 October 2007
Speaker
Deputy Speaker
Honourable Members of the Provincial Executive
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Mayors and Councillors of Local Government
Amakhosi present
The Director-Generals
Heads of Department
Heads of Public Entities
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
People of KwaZulu-Natal:
South Africa is increasingly playing a pivotal role in shaping the direction
of the world. In a relatively short period of time in the long march of history
we have indeed come very far. This year, as a member of the United Nations
Security Council, we have taken our place alongside the most influential
nations of the world.
The blueprint of our democratic dispensation â The Freedom Charter â reminds
us that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white". It went
further to call on South Africans to ensure that we would not rest until the
ultimate goal of participative democracy is achieved by declaring that "The
People shall govern".
In accordance with this principle, the Provincial Legislature convenes here
in Vryheid this week in order to be seen bringing government to the people, as
spelt out in the Freedom Charter and the subsequent democratic Constitution of
the Republic of South Africa. Indeed, the people are governing.
Deepening democracy
In this regard we must thank the Speaker of the Legislature, the Honourable
Willies Mchunu, and his staff for literally "Taking Parliament to the People'.
This is a significant step which ensures that we live up to our commitment as
government to ensure that the voice of our people does not only guide us in our
policy-making, but also informs our programmes of service delivery.
Members of both the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom
Party (IFP) must work together to ensure the deepening of democracy and service
delivery in the province. Members of both these parties are largely people who
were previously disadvantaged by the previous political dispensation.
Service delivery
Together with our Izimbizo programme, "Taking Parliament to the People"
reaches out to our people all over KwaZulu-Natal, irrespective of their
political affiliation, race, gender, religion, class or status. This inclusive
democracy brings in the collective and individual views of our people, and
points us in the correct development path towards a better life for all. While
scientific research provides us with the cold statistical evidence to inform
our planning, it is the live interaction with the beneficiaries of government
programmes which adds significant value and relevance to our work.
Over the past year we have taken government to all corners of KwaZulu-Natal
and we have developed a sense of the common areas of concern among our people.
The recurrent concerns raised in these Izimbizo have centred on inadequate
delivery of services such as water, electricity, sanitation and road
infrastructure.
Freedom has brought progress
When crafting the Bill of Rights, the founders of our democracy were mindful of
the fact that political rights without a sound socio-economic foundation would
be unsustainable.
Our endeavour to eradicate poverty and reducing unemployment has been
sustained within our limited resources.
* This year, our government is spending R7,637 billion on housing, road
construction and maintenance, agriculture, land reform and restitution,
tourism, and corridor development projects in the province.
* The government's purpose is to create jobs.
* The Gross Domestic Product per region (GDP-R), of the province of
KwaZulu-Natal has risen five-fold from 1 percent in 1999 to 5,3 percent in
2005, and is now the second largest in the country. Following this trend, the
provincial economy is likely to reach a 10 percent growth rate by the year
2014, which is far above the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa (ASGISA) target of 6 percent.
We have begun 2007 with confidence, knowing that delivery on some of the key
objectives of Government is on track:
* We have progressively eradicated the bucket toilet system in KwaZulu-Natal
to 100 buckets. In 2003 we had 13 605 households utilising the bucket
sanitation system. We progressively eradicated the bucket system to 3 226 in
2004, and 100 in 2007. By December 2007 we aim to eradicate the remaining 100
buckets.
* The water and sanitation at clinics programme is aimed at the provision of
water and sanitation at the remaining 65 clinics by December 2007.
* The total number of households in the province is 2 272 000. Households
supplied with water are 1 740 786. The provincial backlog stands at 531 214.
During the first six months of this financial year, 45 440 households were
served. In 2005, 1 128 496 consumers received free basic water services
compared to 938 634 in 2004. Twenty water purification plants are being
installed to provide water to remote rural areas. Out of 10 199 345 of people
in KwaZulu-Natal, 2 673 069 are without access to clean water. It is estimated
that R3 207 682 800 billion is needed in this province to eradicate water and
sanitation backlogs. Processes are underway to enlist assistance from National
Government to secure additional funds for the backlogs generated through our
historical imbalances.
* In KwaZulu-Natal 1 218 612 households were supplied with sanitation
services. During the first six months of this financial year 20 504 households
were served. The provincial backlog stands at 1 032 884 households and 433 452
households were targeted in 2004/05.
* The total number of households supplied with electricity is 1 534 125.
During the first six months of this financial year 12 900 households were
served. The provincial backlog stands at 724 975 households. In 2005, 139 718
consumers received free electricity services compared to 2004, where 35 533
received free electricity services.
* We now have Umzimkhulu in the fold of KwaZulu-Natal, and they are
completing our KwaZulu-Natal family.
Business unusual approach
In line with the "business unusual approach", the following critical
objectives were set as resolutions following the Selbourne Indaba:
* Firstly to ensure the targets of basic service provisions is met
* To ensure the strengthening of monitoring and evaluation of government
projects, with regular reports being submitted on progress made
* Prioritisation of 24 Cluster Apex Programmes adopted by Cabinet in October
2007 will be underlined by the intensification of the fight against poverty,
with an added emphasis on improving the ability of the poor to access
government services.
Comprehensive approach in treatment of HIV and AIDS, TB and STIs (HAST)
A comprehensive approach to the treatment programmes of HIV, AIDS,
tuberculosis (TB) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been adopted
involving the community, other sector departments as well as local government.
This includes maintenance of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission
(PMTCT) Programme, the Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) programme for rape
victims and staff, and the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and Anti
Retroviral (ARV) programmes, as well as the multi drug resistance (MDR),
extreme drug resistance (XDR) and Directly Observed Treatment Short-course
(DOTS) programmes.
Eighty percent of the primary healthcare (PHC) facilities have
community-based governance structures. 4 246 Home Based Care (HBC) teams are
providing services at community level. 72 national integrated pilot (NIP) sites
are established, with 24 soup kitchens for the provision of cooked meals to
some 1 300 families.
Sixty-nine ART (Anti-Retroviral Therapy) service points are accredited with
a total of 110 249 ART patients registered, with the target of 120 000 for this
year well in sight. 100 percent of babies that qualified received Nevirapine
doses. In order to improve the comprehensive of the programme, TB clients are
offered VCT whilst HIV positive patients are screened for TB. Nutritional
support packs are provided for patients on TB and ARV treatment, with 81 230
adults and 14 561 children benefiting from this programme during this reporting
period.
The TB Control programme prioritised areas for strengthening of the
programme in order to improve delivery, implementation and management of TB
patients. The overall initial impact of these interventions has seen the
following improvements:
* the provinces bacterial coverage in diagnosis has increased from 75
percent to 78 percent
* the smear conversion rate improved from 54 to 60 percent
* the cure rate improved from 35 to 42 percent
* the defaulter rate decreased from 16 to 13 percent
* the number of TB cases in the reporting and recording system not evaluated
has decreased from 20 to 12 percent.
The number of beds required for the treatment of patients presenting with TB
has been based on the following:
* There are currently 92 000 TB cases. The length of stay for TB treatment
is between seven to 14 days. At least 50 percent of patients are diagnosed at
PHC Clinics and Community Health Centre (CHC) level and 50 percent at
Hospitals. At least 50 percent of patients diagnosed at hospitals are admitted
and require care for an average of 10 days.
* At least 15 percent of the TB cases (13 800) require re-treatment and the
average length of stay is 75 days.
* For MDR and XDR TB there are 683 registered cases. The average length of stay
is 180 days in hospitals.
Masifundisane (Lets educate each other)
The government has allocated R100 million in its campaign to end illiteracy
and innumeracy in this province hence the on-going programme of Masifundisane
hopes to eradicate the problem of illiteracy by 2009.
Heritage
In 2008 the government will continue to implement its heritage programme by
commemorating important historical events such as 180 years since the death of
King Shaka, the commemoration of Impi yaseNcome (Battle of Blood River), 40
years since the death of King Cyprian and father of the reigning King Goodwill
Zwelithini, and 100 years since the sentencing of King Dinuzulu for treason at
Greytown following the Bhambatha uprising in 1906.
The 2010 Football World Cup
Structures:
Fundamental to the successful implementation of the provincial strategy are
sound working arrangements of all structures within the provincial government.
In addition these structures have to cement the working together of the three
spheres of government to deliver a successful 2010 World Cup in the
province.
For this reason it has been necessary to create a hierarchical structure of
governance and technical task teams in the province to co-ordinate all
activities and aspects related to the World Cup. The most important governance
and co-ordinating structures are:
1. The Political Oversight Committee
In August 2006 the Premier-in-Cabinet appointed the MEC for Finance and
Economic Development, Dr ZL Mkhize to chair the 2010 Political Oversight
Committee (POC), supported by the MEC for Sport and Recreation, Mr A
Rajbansi.
The other MECs in the POC are the MECs for: Transport, Safety and Security;
Local Government and Traditional Affairs; Education; and Arts, Culture and
Tourism.
The POC's terms of reference include:
* to provide political leadership, direction and interface between the 2010
Local Organising Committee (2010 LOC), the national government and the
municipalities involved in the 2010 World Cup
* to oversee the continuous improvement of the 2010 Framework Document of the
Province and its implementation
* to facilitate and co-ordinate the involvement of external stakeholders
* to receive and evaluate all project management reports emanating from the
various technical committees and task teams on all facets of the 2010 World Cup
project
* to ensure compliance with FIFA and 2010 LOC requirements
* to lead and guide the Technical Committee to ensure successful preparation
for the 2010 World Cup; and
* to report to Cabinet and the Legislature as and when required to do so.
In addition to the provincial political representatives in the political
oversight committee, the Mayor of the host city is invited as a permanent
representative, while it is also the intention to invite the Mayors of the
District Municipalities identified as potential base camps training venues from
time to time as the need arises.
2. Technical Committee
To support and feed into the Political Oversight Committee, there is a
technical committee at provincial level, made up of Heads of Departments
represented in the Political Oversight Committee and convened by the
Director-General in the Office of the Premier. Its terms of reference are:
* to provide technical and managerial support to the Political Oversight
Committee particularly as it relates to the implementation of the Framework
Document for 2010
* to co-ordinate the full implementation of all activities within the province
to prepare for 2010 within guidelines set by the Political Oversight
Committee
* to develop a detailed strategic plan and to determine specific projects
within the departmentâs areas of work together with the attendant budgets. For
instance, the Department of Transport needs to provide a people movement
strategy within the province and its budget.
* to establish and guide various sub-committee/task teams that are required to
oversee work streams emanating from the 2010 Framework Document; and
* to provide a realistic timetable for activities that must be finalised in the
short, medium and long-term to ensure compliance with the FIFA and local
organising committee (LOC) deadlines.
As directed by Cabinet, the Technical Committee is convened by the
Director-General, who is also responsible for overall co-ordination of 2010
preparations within the provincial government. The DG reports directly to the
Political Oversight Committee. In addition, the DG uses this Committee to
facilitate the bringing together of all relevant stakeholders, including the
Municipal Manager of eThekwini and the targeted District Municipalities, so
that the province has an integrated approach in all matters related to
2010.
3. Provincial Co-ordinator
The Office of the Premier has contracted a full-time co-ordinator to manage
the football development programme in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In addition, a
contract post at the level of Chief Director has been filled to co-ordinate all
2010-related activities within the provincial government, reporting to the DDG:
Special projects and Director-General: the Office of the Premier.
The establishment of a full-time provincial 2010 Office headed by the
provincial Co-ordinator is regarded as critical to the successful
implementation of the provincial 2010 WC strategy. The co-ordinator is a
custodian of the Provincial Strategic Framework, both from a context and
content point of view. To this end the Co-ordinator will create a provincial
link with all key role players at the provincial and national levels. As such
the co-ordinator will drive the technical work streams which prepare work that
is finalised by the Technical Committee.
Municipal technical committees
At municipal level, in the eThekwini Metro and in the four district
municipalities which receive provincial infrastructure grant funding to prepare
for 2010, similar technical committees to co-ordinate activities within that
municipality.
Programmes
* Consolidating a provincial 2010 business plan, incorporating the
work/projects of government departments and the identified
municipalities.
* The province is also working on a Provincial Marketing Strategy to help
position KZN as a world-class tourist destination and to influence decisions by
qualifying teams to set up base camps in the province.
* On the 7 and 8 November the province will host the 2nd Provincial 2010 Indaba
at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC.
* Durban will host the 2010 Football World Cup Preliminary Draw on the 25th of
November this year, drawing over 3000 delegates and journalists from 204
confirmed countries. This will afford us an opportunity to position and
showcase ourselves from the tourism and investment point of view. The presence
of 200 international journalists means the event will be beamed live across the
globe, providing a huge marketing opportunity for us as a province.
* Soccerex is an international soccer exhibition to be held in Johannesburg
from 26 to 28 November, and KZN will participate in this, another opportunity
to market the province to an international audience
* KZN is already engaging a number of top footballing countries to convince
them to set up base camps in the province, the most recent being Germany.
* 2010 will be the first FIFA Football World Cup event in the African continent
hosted by KZN.
* The King Senzakhona International Airport will cost R6,8 billion and the
Moses Mabhida Stadium â which it is hoped will host one of the semi-final
matches â R2,2 billion, a total of R9,0 billion â a first for the Continent of
Africa to be spent in this province.
The new King Senzangakhona International Airport in La Mercy is expected to
be operational by the time the World Cup kicks-off. Thousands of soccer lovers
from all corners of the globe will attend, benefiting not only the established
hospitality industry, but to enterprises such as B and Bs, the small beading
industry, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and others.
All this goes to prove that the 2010 Football World Cup showcase will not
just a frivolous money-gobbling exercise, but will bring about unprecedented
economic and social benefits to provide a rich legacy for generations to
come.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
22 October 2007
