D Peters: Siyanda District Growth and Development Summit

21 February 2007

Honourable Mayor of the Siyanda District Municipality Alderperson,
Councillor Ntuli,
Honourable mayors of the local municipalities and councillors within the
district municipalities,
Members of the Executive Council present,
Members of the provincial legislature present,
Representatives of the organised labour,
Representatives of the organised business,
Representatives of Community-Based Organisation (CBO) and Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO) sector,
Representatives of DFIs and State Owed Enterprises (SOEs),
Officials of the national, provincial and local government,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a privilege and indeed an honour for me to address this historic and
goal directed and determining gathering referred to as the Siyanda District
Growth and Development Summit. This summit is being held, logically so, after
the State of the Nation Africa (SONA) and State of the Province (SOPA) whose
central purpose is to provide direction and refresh government's delivery
mandates within the short and medium term.

All those that are gathered here either as government officials, private
sector, CBOs and important and relevant stakeholders are aware of and fully
conversant with government's intentions and plans in order for us to create
jobs and to eradicate poverty.

In line with the President's and the Premier's pronouncements [State of the
Nation Address (SONA) and State of the Province Address (SOPA) 2007] on the
District Municipalities Growth and Development Strategies and Summit, let me
commend the Siyanda District Council for the hard work and effort embarked on
such that we are able to record the holding of the second District Growth and
Development Strategy (DGDS) in the province.

Programme Director, the review of our first decade of democracy resulted in
the observation that, "great progress had been made in the first decade of
freedom but that such progress was manifest particularly in areas directly
under the control of the state." Furthermore, the Ten Year Review argues that
and I quote:

"The advances made in the first decade by far supersede the weaknesses. Yet,
if all indicators were to continue along the same trajectory especially in
respect of the dynamic of economic inclusion and exclusion, we could soon reach
a point where the negatives start to overwhelm the positives. This could
precipitate a vicious cycle of decline in all spheres."

It was therefore necessary to define a new trajectory of growth and
development so that all could benefit from the positive growth cycle being
experienced in our country. This is one of the reasons why President Mbeki
called on all district and metro municipalities to have growth and development
summits, so that each of the district municipalities could set its new
direction to contribute positively to the target of economic growth, job
creation and poverty alleviation we have set ourselves as a country.

Guided by the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), our vision is
to build a society that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic.
Central to this is a single and integrated economy that benefits all. The
following are the key objectives for 2014:

* reduce poverty and unemployment by half
* provide the skills required by the economy
* ensure that all South Africans are able to fully exercise their
constitutional rights and enjoy the full dignity of freedom
* compassionate government service to the people
* achieve a better national health profile and massively reduce preventable
causes of death, including violent crime and road accidents
* significantly reduce the number of serious and priority crimes and cases
awaiting trial
* position South Africa strategically as an effective force in global
relations.

This occasion provides us with the opportunity to understand the new
development trajectory that the country, the province and now Siyanda District
Municipality will set for itself.

Through consultation with stakeholders, they have collectively agreed to
focus on medium to high potential sectors of the economy so as to drive growth
and development in the district. The implementation of the strategy that the
district develops is intended to attain the socio-economic vision that the
district will own, guided by the shared analysis of current and future trends
and the forces driving these trends with respect to poverty, inequality,
economic development and ecological sustainability in spatial terms.

Indeed, if decisive action is taken on a number of focused areas, the
convergence of possibilities is such that the district would enter a road of
faster economic growth and job creation, faster and more efficient provision of
quality services, increased social cohesion and reduction of the paradigm of
exclusion prevalent among sections of our society.

Therefore, the decisions to be arrived at during the course of this summit
will seek to steer this Siyanda ship towards the development of a common vision
and an intensified path for job creating economic growth, opportunities and
poverty reduction as its key focus.

Programme Director, better performance by the State has been identified as
one of the major measures to inform the trajectory for the second decade of
freedom, moreover better performance by the State entails three things:

* make government work better in meeting common objectives and outcomes,
(improved planning capacity)
* the need for decisive, co-ordinated interventions to improve the State's
capacity to spend and deliver services
* the need to specifically include a geographical dimension to growth and
employment.

The harmonisation and alignment process currently being driven by the
Presidency, the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and Human
Resources unit (OTP), is directed at the integration of the efforts of the
three spheres of government towards a common set of goals and towards a "better
performance of the State."

The district municipality plays a central role in getting various
stakeholders together to develop a shared understanding of the essential
characteristics, trends and dynamics of the district space economy and
synergises the efforts of the three spheres of government.

The district intergovernmental relation (IGR) forum provides the stage for
discussions and integrated planning to occur across the three spheres of
government.

It is envisaged that the DGDSs will provide an appropriate platform for
joint discussions, interactions and agreed implementation to take place through
a convergence of initiatives of the three spheres of government and provide an
opportunity for partnerships with social partners in the district.

The DGDS should not be viewed as an event but rather as the beginning of
continuing deliberations with stakeholders to plot a way forward to unlock and
exploit the potentials in the district to grow its economy.

The outcomes of the DGDS are to be incorporated into the Integrated
Development Plans (IDPs) of the district municipality and result in the
development of the mandatory credible IDP for the district, indicating the
interventions that will be embarked upon to develop the district and realise
its full potential and ability to create more jobs and decrease the number of
people and households trapped in the cycle of poverty.

We are aware that an economy is grown through investment in areas of
comparative and competitive advantage. We acknowledge, therefore, the role to
be played by the private sector in that through their commitment and
investment, jobs will be created for the unemployed in the district.

We therefore implore business to partner us in developing a vibrant economy
in the district in which all of us will stand to benefit.

We also are aware that the private sector will invest in opportunities based
on their confidence in municipalities. To heed this call, government has
identified as one of four key strategies over the next five years to need to
"build public and market confidence in municipalities."

Municipalities will play an important role by creating an enabling
environment through the provision of infrastructure and services, by-laws,
land-use management and planning and procurement policies in stimulating the
local economy.

Programme Director, according to the National Spatial Development
Perspective (NSDP) spatial profiles, the contribution to the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of the Northern Cape by the Siyanda District is dominated by
agriculture and labour intensive manufacturing (grape farming and related
products). Although some value addition to the primary sector product is
occurring, much is still to be done for innovation that can yield maximum
benefits from the said products.

The province and district continues to experience a structural weakness in
the economy, being trapped in the primary sector with little value adding to
primary products.

It is for this reason that we have as a part of one of the objectives of the
Provincial Growth and development Strategy (PGDS) to "diversify" the
economy.

Furthermore, the Siyanda District is characterised by a 21,7% contribution
to the GDP of the Northern Cape, an unemployment rate of approximately 17%, a
human development index of 0,54 for the district compared to 0,63 for the
province and 14,4% of the people in the province below the minimum living
level, reside in Siyanda.

As a response to the above socio-economic scenario, government has
consciously decided the following:

* With respect to skills development, 20% of the skills development fund
received from the Department of Labour in support of the PGDS and the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) projects be
appropriated for the Siyanda District. We need to ensure that this funding is
directed at skills development in the sectors that the district has identified
as those that have the potential to drive the economy of the district.
* Proceed with the next phases for the building of the Upington Hospital that
will provide secondary and some tertiary services to the district together with
the completion of clinics for primary healthcare in Olifantshoek and
Heuningsvlei.
* Continue to lobby the Minister of the Department of Transport to have the
establishment and building of the second largest cargo hub in South Africa
located in Upington. Studies have shown that it will be commercially feasible
to develop Upington Airport into an alternative cargo hub for South Africa and
will benefit the region with an inflow of capital into the local economy as
well as create job opportunities and stimulate the economy.

Other projects with high potential in the Siyanda District include:

* High speed testing facility

The demand for high speed testing, the lack of a proper high speed test
track, the relative unsafe practice of using public roads for legalised high
speed testing, the attractiveness of Upington as a vehicle test venue, current
strong support from influential European players, the growth of the local motor
industry, the current need to create work opportunities in the non-urban areas
in South Africa and the current positive attitude towards South Africa after
winning the 2010 soccer world cup bid have created a once in a lifetime window
of opportunity for the building of a world class high speed test facility in
the Upington area.

* Hoodia

The climate and availability of land makes the Siyanda District suitable for
the growing and harvesting of Hoodia for which a tremendous global market
exists.

The existence of the beta-carotene factory in Upington has awakened the
interest of potential investors who are looking at extracting the active
ingredient from the Hoodia plant. There is competition though, with other
provinces, for the location of the extraction facility.

Other opportunities that exist are:

* grape seed oil extraction
* bio-fuel, the Department of Agriculture is commissioning a bio-fuel
strategy
* grape farming (table grapes)
* livestock farming, mainly semi-desert areas in Siyanda and therefore suitable
for extensive livestock farming
* salt producing, salt pans in the area
* dry meat
* game hunting.

These are but some of the opportunities that exist in this district. There
are numerous side stream activities that could result from these projects,
ranging from tourism to manufacturing.

The question that we need to ask now is, "What are we doing to ensure that
these opportunities come to fruition? Are we driving these developments
collectively to ensure that the investment comes to our shores?"

It is therefore my contention that this summit that will lead to a Growth
and Development Strategy (GDS) is the starting point to respond to the above
question.

Together as a collective, we are charting a development path for the Siyanda
District. Together as people of the district, we are committing to put shoulder
to the wheel and ensure that we contribute to the targeted 6% to 10% growth by
2014.

Together we will ensure that the strategy becomes a living document with a
clear implementation plan that will ensure the holistic development of the
district.

We will and must succeed in implementing the resolutions of this summit
because in the words of Henry Mintzberg:

"Many great strategies are simply great visions. And great visions can be a
lot more inspirational and effective than the most carefully constructed plan.
Only when we recognise our fantasies can we begin to appreciate the wonder of
reality."

Let me once more call upon all of us to join hands in re-writing the history
of what used to be the green Kalahari into what should be a vibrant, improved
and thriving economic development hub of the Northern Cape.

Let us start today in order to realise what we have decided to set ourselves
as development goals for this district and province.

I thank you, baie dankie, enkosi, kea leboga!

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
21 February 2007