T Mbeki: National Council of Provinces Taking Parliament to the
People

2 November 2007

Chairperson of the NCOP
Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP
Honourable members of the NCOP
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you very much for the honour to address this important annual meeting
of the NCOP. I am indeed very happy that my address to the NCOP takes place,
once more, during your programme of Taking Parliament to the People so as to
engage the citizens in matters that confront them on a daily basis.

I would like sincerely to express my gratitude for this campaign of
broadening participation on parliamentary matters ensuring that the work of
this important organ of our public representatives is not just confined to the
Parliamentary precincts but involves, in dynamic engagements, the masses of our
people, giving real meaning to the galvanising liberation call that: The People
Shall Govern!

This year marks the fifth anniversary of this NCOP programme of taking
Parliamentary sittings to the people, which, when we first launched it back in
2002, we expressly stated that it was aimed at ensuring the advancement of the
vision of Parliament, which is:

"to build an effective people's Parliament that is responsive to the needs
of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of
life for all the people of South Africa".

Importantly, this programme has also seen active mass participation by
ordinary people, including women and the youth, throughout the provinces the
NCOP has so far visited.

In this way, our people have been able to share their experiences, both
positive and negative, with their elected representatives, and made useful
input into the improvement of the systems of governance designed to provide
services to communities.

Accordingly, the programme has provided government with an opportunity
positively to impact on the lives of the people by identifying constrains and
weaknesses at the provincial and local levels and to inform the oversight work
of the NCOP.

Honourable members

You have chosen a very important theme for this event: Deepening the debate
on transformation for a better life for all! (Masijule ngenxoxo Mzansi).
Appropriately, this theme seeks to galvanise all of us South Africans, black
and white, urban and rural, young and old, into an on-going and vigorous
process of engagement so as to enhance the quality of the national debate in
the process of transforming of our country.

In this regard, deepening the debate on transformation throws up a challenge
to all of us honestly to confront key issues that constitute the background,
the dynamics and characteristics of our public debate as well as assessing the
breadth and inclusiveness of our national dialogue.

At the same time, engaging in deepened national debate affords us an
opportunity to ask obligatory questions that touch on the ownership, the
production and distribution of the means of information as well as the
consumption patterns of ideas encased in the general rubric we call public
debate.

I am confident that through our national dialogue we are motivated by our
shared national interest to promote the vision of a society free of the
crippling divisions of racism and sexism, working to realise the goal of a
better life for all South Africans.

Critically, the key issue of the production, distribution and consumption
patterns of ideas on the national stage is necessarily compounded by the unique
character of our society, which, shaped by the history of colonialism and
apartheid, is marked by glaring inequalities in the ownership patterns,
literacy capital and in many ways, access to information.

Among other things, the repercussions of this historical reality, which in
turn has disfigured our shared modern reality, serve to forestall significant
sections of our people from meaningful engagement with certain forms of media,
which are powerful and pervasive, thus further distorting prevailing currents
of thoughts in the national domain.

Accordingly, for us to deepen the debate on transformation to build a better
life for all, also means to pay close attention to the matter of who frames the
public discourse in South Africa and why this has been an almost exclusive
monopoly of certain groups; and whether we have the means and the will to
ensure that the production of ideas is a process that serves the interest of
all South Africans as well as advance the agenda of transformation.

Honourable Chairperson,

This theme is also very relevant for the areas of focus that you identified
for this event which, as you know, are:

* social transformation in areas such as education, health, housing, social
security, sport and recreation, land and agriculture
* economic transformation which includes the empowerment of women and youth in
economic programmes and policies, sharing of economic opportunities
* implementation of Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiation for South Africa
(AsgiSA) and Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) to
alleviate poverty, public transport infrastructure and EPWP and job
creation
* safety and security, especially community involvement in fighting crime,
domestic violence, strategies for fighting violent crime
* governance and local service delivery which include the capacity of local
government, strategies to assist local government and intergovernmental fiscal
administration.

For us to be able to deepen the debate on transformation for a better life,
we need, first and foremost, to tell the truth, to tell the truth about the
focus areas you have identified and the general reality of South Africa.

I have no doubt that in your provincial visits as part of the programme of
taking parliament to the people many of the honourable members would have
better understood Amilcar Cabral's famous assertion, tell no lies: claim no
easy victories!

Clearly, to avoid telling lies and claiming easy victory means to know the
actual reality and tell the truth as it is.

I am confident that the NCOP embarked on this programme of taking parliament
to the people so as to avoid telling lies and claiming easy victories; to see
and hear for yourselves the actual living conditions of our people and whether
government programmes have any impact on the lives, especially of the poor, and
identifying things that need to be changed, as well as any additional
programmes that should be put in place with the objective of strengthening the
national effort towards a better life.

Indeed, all spheres of government constantly engage in the Imbizo campaigns
because, among other things, the masses of our people who attend the various
Izimbizo, speak truthfully about their conditions, where progress has been
made, weaknesses in government's systems, where and what to improve.

These masses express their views freely, frankly and in a spirit that shows
they are unencumbered by the so-called 'stifling of debate' from officialdom.
In most instances, these masses address issues, neither in an artificial manner
nor in a sensational way, because to them the resolution of their living
conditions is more critical than melodramatic headlines.

Honourable Chairperson,

Recently Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released 'The Community Survey
2007' findings which revealed, among other things, the level of transformation
in the lives of South Africans.

Having collated responses from over 230 000 households, this Community
Survey is the largest and most comprehensive conducted by Stats SA outside the
census surveys.

The survey, which collected information on population size, composition and
distribution; migration, fertility and mortality; disability and social grants;
school attendance and education attainment; labour force and income, found that
overall, the conditions of life of the majority of South Africans have improved
markedly since 1996.

Service delivery on all these developmental markers has improved
dramatically since the two previous census surveys, underlining the fact that
government has been working tirelessly since 1994 to ensure that it meets its
commitment with regard to the challenge of advancing progressively towards the
achievement of the goal of a better life for all.

The fight against poverty is central to the work of the democratic
government and drives government's Programme of Action. As the honourable
members know, government has different programmes that are implemented in an
integrated manner to push back the frontiers of poverty.

Among these anti-poverty programmes we are working on a comprehensive social
security system further to strengthen the national support system for the poor
of our country.

According to the 2007 Community Survey some 11,2 million South Africans now
access the social grant.

An overwhelming majority (64,5%) of these make use of the Child Support
Grant, while pensions formed the second biggest grant, with just over 21%
drawing from this fund.

We know as a matter of fact that had we not intervened in the manner that we
did through the social security system, the more than 11 million South Africans
would be living in abject poverty.

Further, since 1994 housing has always been an important aspect of our
reconstruction and development programme.

Today over 70% of South Africans live in formal houses, the percentage of
households living in formal houses has increased from 64,4% in 1996 to 68,5% in
2001, and 70,5% in 2007.

In addition, the number of people with no access to any toilet has reduced
significantly since 2001, from 13,1% to 8,2% this year with 55% having access
to flush toilets today, an improvement from 49,1% in 2001.

However, challenges still remain. While we continue to build more houses for
the homeless, approximately 15% of the population still lives in informal
dwellings.

Another important part of the promise for a 'better life for all' includes
the provision of electricity. Today, 80% of South African households use
electricity as the main source of lighting in their homes.

This is a drastic improvement, especially when compared to 69,7% in 2001 and
57,6% in 1996. What is important is the impact that electricity is having,
especially on the rural poor with more people in the provinces that are mainly
rural accessing electricity. For instance, in 2001, 50% of households in the
Eastern Cape had access to electricity. The figure for 2007 has grown to
65,5%.

KwaZulu-Natal has improved from 60,9% to 71,5% of households using
electricity for lighting from 2001 to 2007. Limpopo, on the other hand,
improved from 62,9% to 81% of households using electricity for lighting.
Mpumalanga had 68,9% of households using electricity for lighting in 2001: this
has grown to 81,7%. The North-West moved from 71,8% to 87,3%, the Free State
from 74,4 to 86,6%, while the Northern Cape moved from 72,4% to 82,3% in the
same period.

We have also seen a marked improvement in the area of access to clean water,
with 88,6% of people in the country having access to clean water today.

Further, education, which is undoubtedly the most powerful weapon in our
arsenal in the fight against poverty and which as a result, receive the second
biggest portion of our budget, still poses serious challenges.

Overall, the number of South Africans who now receive some form of education
has increased by nine percent since 1996.

School attendance, which is now compulsory for children aged 7 to 15 has
ensured that 74% of our youth (aged between 5 and 24) now attend school, a
marked improvement from the 63% in 1996.

Today, 40% of South Africans have some secondary education, which is a six
percent increase from 1996, (33,6% in 1996 and 30,8% in 2001).

Higher education, the source of the much needed skills in our country, also
reflects notable improvements.

On this front the survey revealed that 9,1% of people over the age of 20
have now completed some form of tertiary education, as opposed to 7,1% in 1996
and 8,4% in 2001.

Although these figures indicate important improvements in the number of
people who are now able to access education, it is without doubt clear that we
must intensify our work to ensure that access to education is improved and
further enhance the quality of our school leavers and graduates.

Again, we have seen important improvement in the area of job-creation for
the past few years. For instance, between December 2004 and December 2005 there
was a 2,2% increase in employment in the formal non-agricultural business
sector.

Recently, between June 2006 and June 2007 the number of employed people grew
by three percent, adding 238 000 new employees in the formal non-agricultural
business sector. The trend of increased employment continues annually.

We are, of course, the first to admit that we need to substantially increase
these numbers so as to radically reduce our unemployment rate. This means,
among other things, improving the skills of our people, ensuring more
investment in the productive economy and attracting more domestic and foreign
investment into our economy.

All these positive findings confirm our commitment as government to the
pursuit of the goal of a better life for all.

Of importance, Honourable Chairperson, is that we are well on track to meet
most of the Millennium Development Goals to which we committed ourselves.

I have cited these findings of the 2007 Community Survey which communicate
the same message that we get in various Imbizo campaigns that, today life is
better than yesterday and tomorrow it will be much better than today. I have
referred to this Survey also to say that, to deepen the debate on
transformation for a better life means we should tell the truth about the
progress we are making as South Africans towards a better life.

Those who are so bold as to make outrageous suggestions that the lives of
our people are worse than during the apartheid period should tell our people
that a shack is more habitable than a house; that the bucket system is
preferable to a flush toilet; that river water is healthier than clean water
and that candles burn brighter than electric globes.

Honourable members,

In the past few months many South Africans would have seen strong
suggestions form sections of the media that the South African government is
bent on destroying media freedom. A few of these, have even attempted to make
comparison with the repugnant apartheid government which in 1977 banned a
number of publications, including The World and The Weekend World.

These suggestions arose because of two matters: The consideration of the
Film and Publications Amendment Bill currently being considered by this House,
as well as the theft of medical records of the Minister of Health, which ended
up in the hands of a Sunday newspaper.

As you know, with regard to the Films and Publications Amendment Bill it is
stated that the intention is:

To amend the Films and Publications Act, 1996, so as to make further
provision for the prohibition of child pornography; to provide anew for the
designation of the Chairperson of the Review Board; to make certain textual
alterations; to make further provision regarding the classification of films
and publications; to provide for the registration of internet service
providers; to provide for an obligation to report offences involving child
pornography; and to increase penalties for offences involving child
pornography; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Now, you, honourable members must still decide how you would deal with this
Bill. The point I would like to make with regard to the debate around this Bill
is that many of the South Africans who are not in parliament or have not had
the opportunity to read this Bill, but rely on both our print and electronic
media, will be forgiven for thinking that this a law whose intention is to beat
the former apartheid Minister of Law and Order, Jimmy Kruger, in his game of
gagging the media.

In general, not enough has been done to appraise consumers of news of the
main purpose of the Bill, giving the possibility for the media, within this
context, to indicate the areas which in their view may infringe on their
work.

Accordingly, there has been no attempt to deepen the debate on
transformation for a better life. Perhaps government should also accept that it
has not done enough in this regard. This has created the situation in which the
public is fed half-truths and speculations about government intentions, which
have no basis. As a result, our people have been left that much poorer with
regard to their engagement of what is a matter of national importance.

Honourable members,

Government has at all times upheld and defended the Constitution of the
Republic. I would like to reaffirm that we who sacrificed all our adult lives
for this freedom would never trample on this sacred Constitution which
constitutes a pact made by all our people.

Our Constitution is unambiguous on this point. It states that:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes:
* freedom of the press and other media
* freedom to receive or impart information or ideas
* freedom of artistic creativity
* academic freedom and freedom of scientific research."

The democratic state has, since 1994, continued to uphold and respect the
letter and spirit of our Constitution, aware that our Constitution is a
historic, legally binding document that marks out the contours of the new
dispensation and its attendant values, separating the new from the degenerate
apartheid state whose legacy we are working to eradicate.

Among the many challenges government faces, as it continues to grapple with
the issues of poverty, access to basic services and sustainable economic
growth, is the critically important matter of moral degeneration.

Our communities are faced with the daily threat of drugs, alcohol abuse and
the evils of child and women abuse and child pornography.

It is clear that those who engage in these immoral activities like child
pornography are using loopholes in our media laws to commit their depraved
acts.

This licentiousness is not compatible with the ethical standards our people
would like to see upheld and defended at all times.

Among others, government has the responsibility to ensure that the people of
South Africa enjoy and our children grow up in a society marked by consistent
observation of high moral standards.

Therefore, government had looked at the manner in which we can defend our
values of ubuntu and those of the various faiths in our society, when it
re-looked at the Film and Publication Act of 1996.

Ironically, the prevailing interpretation of reality in our public discourse
continues to portray these open and above board process as an act of
constitutional violation and a threat to media freedom.

Accordingly, government's announcement to amend the Film and Publication Act
of 1996 has suffered distortions by the agents of interpretative commentary in
certain sections of the media which depicts this act as a thinly disguised
attempt at limiting freedom of speech.

One can usefully capture the dilemma contained in these assertions as they
play themselves out in the public arena by the English phrase: damned if you
do, damned if you do not!

Precisely, because we have absolutely no intention to limit press freedom,
while, inter-alia, we must deal firmly with the scourge of child pornography,
we are engaged in what have turned into protracted discussions with
representatives of the media. As government we are interested that all of as
South Africans should agree on the matters raised in the amendments to the Film
and Publication Act.

Again, Honourable Chairperson

A case of theft of medical records is investigated and government is accused
of threatening media freedom. If people steal they must expect the full brunt
of the law, irrespective of status in society. Let me state this clearly, it is
not necessary for the government and the president to tell the police to do
their work, they know their responsibility with regard to crime.

Honourable Chairperson,

The task of undoing the damage of history in our country cannot be
quantified. It is an on-going task that requires intensified efforts and steely
determination.

I would like to thank the NCOP for continuing to carry out this work without
fail, and wish that you grow from strength to strength, discharging your duties
with distinction with each passing year.

In this regard it is critically important that we continue to listen to what
the people say, and understand what they think, as you have been doing this
week. The necessary space must be created for the people to participate in the
important process in which the NCOP is involved, the process of deepening the
debate on transformation for a better life for all!

This is not a debate merely to say we have talked. It is a debate to
establish the truth about where we are today on our journey towards achieving
the goal of a better life for all, and what we need to do further to accelerate
our advance, to ensure that tomorrow will be better than today.

One of the best sources of the truth about these matters is the people
themselves. This is precisely the reason why we applaud the work the NCOP is
doing, directly to interact with the people themselves rather than rely on the
interpretation of our reality by people who have their own agendas.

History has imposed on all of us the onerous responsibility to achieve the
goal of a better life for all our people. We dare not fail.

I thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
2 November 2007