Provincial Government delivered by the Honourable Sibusiso Ndebele, Premier of
KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
18 April 2006
Speaker,
Deputy Speaker,
Members of the Provincial Executive Council,,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Mayors and Councillors of Local Government,
Amakhosi present,
Director-General and Heads of Departments,
Excellencies, members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Honourable Chairperson,
It is very appropriate to commence this Budget Speech on a congratulatory
note to the people of our province for the successful local government
elections held recently. That these elections were peaceful is a significant
achievement for a country that is heralded as one of the youngest democracies
in the world. But Mr Speaker, compared to the rancorous recent elections in
Italy, we are indeed taking our place in the family of nations in the
world.
A UNIFIED VISION
The success of the past elections confirms that good governance can truly take
root in KwaZulu-Natal, because representivity through all governing structures
is complete.
1
We have a democratically elected provincial and local government organised in
11 District Councils including the Metro.
There is a clear articulated vision, to be supported through science and
technology and the provision of adequate financial resources. Hence this budget
speech presented to the Legislature on the objectives of government and the
Office of the Premier for this financial year. For inter and intragovernmental
relations at national there is the Presidentâs Co-ordinating Council. In the
Province we have instituted the Premierâs Co-ordinating forum composed of the
Premier and the Executive Council, the 11 District Mayors, the Chair of
Kwanaloga as well as key local municipalities like Msunduzi, Umhlathuze,
Mnambithi, Newcastle and Hibiscus Coast. Other important representivity
institutions at national level are Parliament and the NCOP. At provincial level
we have 80 members of this House comprising representatives of no less than
seven political parties, an inclusive Executive Council of 10 plus the Premier,
61 Local Councils, 11 Districts and 286 Traditional Leaders.
We have also now resolved the long-standing and vexing issue of the
statutory recognition of His Majesty the King. Our first option would have been
the recognition of our monarch through a provincial constitution. As all of us
know we were one vote short of achieving a 2/3 majority. We thus settled for
ordinary legislation to achieve the same goal. Over and above this we have a
vibrant civil society in which the labour movement, business, religion, women,
youth, disabled, cultural and sporting formations are all represented. We have
had formal meetings and interactions with the business sector, religious
groupings, people living with disabilities, womenâsâ groups and the Diplomatic
Corps. All this has been achieved in the last 23 months.
The most important question is how does this provincial government, together
with local government, transform KwaZulu-Natal into the most peaceful, vibrant
economic hub in the SADC region?
Social stability and development
The urgent task for the next three years is going to be the entrenchment of
peace and making peace irreversible. Regarding development we could do more and
perform better still. Therefore, it is the task of this government, working
closely with local government and other structures to make development the
overriding focus in the province. The agenda of every Executive Council and of
every Municipal Council should begin and end with the word âdevelopmentâ. All
of this does not happen in isolation. KwaZulu-Natal is part and parcel of the
international community. Our travels and interactions abroad and with the
international community have one singular goal in mind: bringing international
resources to contribute towards development in KwaZulu-Natal. In a competitive
international arena we need to intensify our efforts in marketing. We need to
be âdevelopment-aggressiveâ and take the Zulu brand to the world. Mr Speaker,
those in leadership positions across the spectrum need to open themselves to
the vibrancy and energy from the ground. There must be a sense of urgency, a
new pro-development attitude.
It is within this context that I will be establishing an International
Economic Advisory Committee to advise on matters that can boost our economy and
the profile of our Province. This Committee will be taking lessons from
international successes stories and see how these can be implemented in our
province. We have engaged the services of an internationally renowned economic
strategist, James Wilson, who has extensive experience in large scale and
international development models, including asset management. He is Dubaiâs
leading property and tourism development expert. Mr Speaker, as the centre of
provincial government it is incumbent on the Office of the Premier to play an
overarching and co-ordinating role in ensuring that the development objectives
of government and the vision for social stability and economic growth are
attained though several high level initiatives requiring inter-departmental,
inter-sphere and international coordination. Such initiatives include the
following:
The 2010 World Cup
Mr Speaker, in the ancient times the people invested in building temples and
palaces. Those iconic features of the past will endure, but the icons of today
are our sporting stadiums. Not only are they emblems of national pride and
identity but they are an economic industry in their own right, contributing
vast amounts to economic growth and investment.
A recent tour under the leadership of the Premier was undertaken of selected
international stadiums:
* Wembley and Arsenal (Emirates) are being built in England
* the Stade de France in Paris was built in preparation for the 1998 World Cup.
They never looked back.
* the Allianz Stadium has been built in Munich to host both the opening and the
semi-final for 2006 World Cup
* the Sport City in Dubai where Manchester United has established a soccer
school, Lords has established a cricket academy and Ernie Els has built a golf
course. Not surprisingly, the city of Dubai is processing no less than 60 000
residentâs visas per month.
This illustrates that one cannot afford to approach an important event like
the 2010 World Cup in a haphazard manner. We need to develop a FIFA fever that
is supported by sound business principles. The development and rolling out of
the 2010 soccer strategy that ranges from establishing a soccer academy, a
coaching school, a schoolâs soccer league, infrastructure development to
developing translators in all the international languages is an all-inclusive
and strategic exercise for the province.
The South African Sports Investment Conference scheduled for 11 and 12 May
this year in London is a major event where the province will be represented by
both government and the private sector. Our delegation to the Conference will
be led by MEC for Finance and Economic Development. I am also pleased to report
that work is well underway in ensuring that our new stadium announced recently
in the State of the Province Address will be ready to host a semi-final at the
2010 FIFA World Cup. KwaZulu-Natal is literally breaking new ground in
following a unique concept. The multi-purpose stadium will be a state of the
art stadium capable of seating some 70 000 people, but will also reflect the
full spectrum of the rich heritage of the people of our province.
Given that economic sustainability is critical, a joint provincial and
eThekwini team is driving this process to ensure that we build a stadium which
leaves a legacy which is affordable, which itself is iconic and also provides
our province with another tourism product of the highest standard. The
Expression of Interest process is completed and some 6 consortia have been
short-listed. They will now enter into a competition phase to come up with a
detailed conceptual design and business plan. At the same time the existing
Kingspark soccer stadium will be demolished in the next few months. By June the
best design and business plan will be finalised and after the detailed design
is complete in late August, we hope to have the sod turning around November
this year.
International Relations
Honourable Chairperson, the province is not an island unto itself. It is one
of a community of provinces and a host of nations. In our pursuit of liberating
the province from the shackles of poverty and under-development, it is our
obligation as government to learn from the experiences of the international
community, to access international resources and funding and to re-connect the
province with the global community:
* From China we have imported the dryland rice and mushroom technology.
* From Indonesia we are importing the skills of furniture making, wood-carving
and building the textile and garmenting industry.
* From Belgium we have obtained a R60 million grant for our food security
programme.
* We are collaborating with the United States of America in fighting the HIV
and AIDS pandemic and to strengthen cultural links, especially museums.
* From Germany the Province is gaining invaluable insight into the organising,
programming and preparation for the 2010 World Cup.
* In France we are establishing a relationship with the province Payes de Lelua
where Nantes the sister city to Durban is located, to advance languages and
sport.
* We are sharing agricultural expertise with Punjab known as the âfood basket
of Indiaâ.
Dube Tradeport
The national government through the Deputy President has announced a programme
of action known as Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa(AsgiSA) for the medium term. The emphasis of AsgiSA is on combining the
strengths of the public sector and parastatals in the delivery of large
infrastructure while leaving room for private sector implementation. For this
province the projects that have been mentioned include the upgrade of the
deep-sea port of Richardâs Bay, the upgrade of the Durban harbour and the Dube
Tradeport incorporating King Shaka International airport. I wish to refer to
the Dube Tradeport mainly in this presentation. The Dube Tradeport was
conceived a long time ago. In fact it predates the democratic government of
this country. What was not present during all these years and continues to
elude us till this day is complete support for the project. By the support of
the project we do not refer to political support. Political support has always
been there. In his State of the Nation address of 2005, the President mentioned
the need for the construction of Dube Tradeport. The National Minister of
Transport Minister J Radebe is in full support of the Dube Trade Port. But full
support can only be achieved when the project gets funding from the national
fiscus and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) since the latter by law
is expected to run airports in this country. AsgiSA is about marshalling
resources of the government and parastatals with a view to delivering large
infrastructure projects.
It is now agreed by all stakeholders that the Dube Tradeport should be
completed by 2008 so as to assist the Province in hosting the 2010 World Cup.
The provincial Government will do all that is necessary to procure funding from
national Government and ACSA.
Heritage
As announced in the State of the Province Address, the year 2006 is a
significant year. Plans are progressing well for the commemoration of the
Bhambatha Rebellion and the birth of Mahatma Gandhiâs Satyagraha. The
exhibitions for the Bhambatha Centenary are ready for the three sites where the
Natal uprisings took place. The exhibition for the Richmond and Baynesfield
museum is almost complete. Further exhibitions are being prepared for the
Greytown museum and the Inkandla Library, which are centres near significant
events relating to the Bhambatha Uprising.
The province remains the premier destination within the country, attracting
some 13 million South Africans a year. It attracts 1,2 million foreign tourists
a year. Tourism generates 10 percent of the provinceâs gross domestic product,
provides jobs for close to 300 000 people and tourists spend in excess of R20
billion in the province each year.
Some of our initiatives include a multi-media centre costing R16 million
that will be built at Umgungundlovu, the site of King Dinganeâs 19th century
Royal Homestead in the Emakhosini Valley outside Ulundi. While this
state-of-the-art facility will showcase four centuries of Zulu history, it will
at the same time serve as a place of reconciliation. It is Amafaâs intention to
develop a Voortrekker Lodge in the valley. An additional amount of R4 million
will be spent during the coming financial year on upgrading all the sites in
proximity to Umgungundlovu, including the burial site of King Cetshwayo at
Nkandla.
It is our intention to establish the worldâs sixth panorama at Isandlwana.
Naturally, this will be done well away from the famous battleground. The
province of KwaZulu-Natal and the Zulu people in particular have also left
their mark on the world stage and it would thus appear logical to seek to
create iconic features to give expression to this fact. The figure that
dominates and is as widely known as the Bonaparte dynasty is King Shaka. This
King should thus be used to position KwaZulu-Natal internationally and to
anchor other heritage initiatives designed to achieve my governmentâs
development plans. I would thus like to suggest that a major sculpture of King
Shaka be commissioned. This should be large enough to become a destination on
its own and rank with statues like the statue of liberty and the Arc de
Triomphe in the popular mind.
I have asked Amafa to investigate and cost such a project. Without wishing
to pre-empt final decisions, our initial thoughts are that this statue be
placed on the south bank of the Thukhela River on the N2. In a nutshell, the
reasons for the sitting are as follows:
* King Shaka was the first King to venture out of the Zulu heartland and
establish a major ikhanda at Dukuza.
* The Thukela on the N2 was the scene of the battle between Princes Cetshwayo
and Mbuyazi in 1856. This is the biggest battle in the history of Southern
Africa and set the scene for the succession of Cetshwayo as King in 1872. John
Dunn fought on the side of Prince Mbuyazi during this battle.
* The ultimatum delivered by the British in 1878 and that was to culminate in
the destruction of the Zulu kingdom was delivered on the south bank of the
Thukhela.
* The site is mid-way between Durban and the major development nodes in the
north and is thus ideally situated to act as a catalyst for the exploitation of
the major tourist destinations that lie north of the Thukhela River.
* There is a provincially-owned nature reserve on the south bank of the river
alongside the N2.
* It was the scene of battles between the Boers and the Zulu people.
* It is a culturally rich area of the province.
South Africa does not currently have the expertise and foundries necessary
to cast a statue of the size suggested. We will thus explore the possibility of
getting help from the French and Belgian governments. Later this year His
Majesty will be unveiling a statute to his great grandfather, King Dinuzulu, in
Durban.
The work will be placed in the proximity of the statute to General Louis
Botha at the lower end of Berea Road. KwaZulu-Natal has been nominated to host
the 70th National South African Museum Association Conference to take place in
mid June this year. As a province, we are honoured to be the preferred province
for such a historical event and would use the conference to highlight the work
of the Directorate and to open further debate about museums and the role they
play in society. The theme of the Conference is Making the Intangible Heritage
Tangible.
Service delivery ensuring development goals
KwaZulu-Natal is a developmental province and its public servants should be
the engine that drives the development programme. However, public servants who
are absent, uncaring, insolent and discourteous undermine the very critical
task of transforming our society. Through the Citizenâs Charter, the
establishment of the Public Service Academy, the provinceâs Fraud and
Corruption strategy, the annual strategic review sessions and other engagement
mechanisms, we will unrelentingly transform the public service to meet the
developmental needs. Strategic Role of the Office of the Premier Mr Speaker, in
presenting the departmental budget of the Office of the Premier let me again
highlight the core strategic goals of the Office of the Premier as derived from
its strategic and central role in the provincial government:
* To achieve co-ordinated provincial government that is aligned with the
national strategic framework of integration and massification. This includes
the co-ordination, driving and monitoring and evaluation of the high impact
priority programmes such as the provincial flagship projects, combating
HIV/AIDS and re-instilling pride in the province through cultural
heritage.
* To promote and ensure governance conditions in respect of human rights and
the protection of vulnerable groups.
* To realize enhanced governance and service delivery within and by the
provincial administration through transformation of the public service.
BUDGET OVERVIEW
Mr Speaker, before moving into our budget for the 2006/07 financial year, we
want to report to the House how the Department has, as promised in my 2005/06
budget speech, disbursed funds in respect of KwaZulu-Natal Peace and Good
Governance Initiative. This initiative has been our responsibility since 1996.
During the 2005/06 financial year the commitments made at that time have all
been disbursed and further commitments have been made during the financial
year. Funds for the KZN Peace and Good Governance Initiative were used for
several social upliftment and governance projects such as the Premierâs
Excellence Awards, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and the establishment of foster
homes. Revenue collected by the Office of the Premier consists mainly of
revenue received from casino taxes and levies, bookmakersâ tax in respect of
horseracing and gaming and other minor items. The estimated total revenue for
the 2006/07 financial year is R196,5 million, consisting mainly of taxes on
gambling and gaming at R195,955 million and other minor items such as
Bookmakerâs licences bringing in an anticipated R589 000.
During the past three years the department, together with the Gambling Board
and the Bookmakerâs Control Committee, embarked on a programme to actively
ensure that all revenue due was collected. As a result, revenue from the gaming
and betting industry increased from R85 million in the 2001/02 financial year
to the more than R196 million tabled today. The intended roll-out of the route
and site industry, during 2006/07, should displace the illegal gambling
industry and should further broaden the gambling market. The national Central
Electronic Monitoring System for limited payout gaming machines will monitor
the KwaZulu-Natal route and site industry, in collaboration with the
KwaZulu-Natal Gambling Board. Secondly, new entrants into the bookmaking
industry have the potential to broaden that market, while technological
advances in the record-keeping software used by bookmakers, will facilitate
better regulation of bookmakers, which is likely to positively influence
betting tax collection levels.
Honourable Chairperson, with regard to Departmental Expenditure the Office
of the Premier continued with the intensive process of re-alignment and
transformation that began during the 2004/05 financial year in order to
establish a structure that will better attain the set goals. The reorganisation
of the Department has a direct bearing on the structure of its budget as funds
have to follow function. In view of this the budget of Vote as tabled today
consists of the following four budget programmes:
Administration: R67,022 million
Public Service Transformation Macro Policy Development, Strategic Planning:
R6,944 million
Monitoring and Evaluation Special Programmes: R179,384 million
Total: R294,740 million
Structural Changes
Several new sub-programmes and business units have been introduced in the
budget with effect from 2006/07, taking into account the recent
reprioritisation and alignment processes. These new functions have been partly
funded as a result of savings made by the rationalisation of the Air Service.
Certain existing functions have been enhanced, including the creation of a desk
dealing with Rights of Elderly Persons, Human Rights, Heritage and HIV and AIDS
Integration.
The pending transfer of the Ulundi Airport to the Zululand District Council,
as well as the imminent re-allocation of the gaming and betting function to a
more suitable institutional structure has resulted in the erstwhile
sub-programmes being incorporated into the Priority Programmes
sub-programme.
The emphasis placed on the provincial priority of developing a comprehensive
provincial response to HIV and AIDS has resulted in the re-instatement of a
fully fledged HIV and AIDS Unit. Negotiations are underway with the Department
of Health to transfer certain of the functions of the Provincial AIDS Action
Unit to the Office of the Premier in order that all the related activities
undertaken in the province can be co-ordinated in terms of the Departmentâs
role.
The baseline allocation for the 2006/07 financial year has been increased by
an amount of R63,950 million as a result of the following approved additional
allocations:
* R2,6 million in respect of the Cabinet Izimbizo
* R5 million in respect of the establishment of the Public Service
Provincial
Training Academy
* R6,350 million in respect of the KZN Gambling Board in order to be fully
effective in stamping out the illegal gambling industry and thereby maximise
revenue to the Province.
* R50 million in respect of soccer development (in and out of school) in
collaboration with SAFA
Mr Speaker, we will now turn to the budget programmes of the
Department
Programme 1: Administration
This programme renders support to the Premier, the Director-General and
departmental corporate services. It comprises the following sub programmes:
Personal Office of the Premier, Director-General Support Services,
Communication, Finance and Corporate Services, KZN Peace and Good Governance
Initiative and Inter and Intragovernment Relations.
Personal Office of the Premier
Additional funding for Izimbizo has been inadequate. As such more funding
will have to be identified in the 2006/07 financial year.
Inter and Intragovernment Relations
Following the recent local government elections, a priority will be the
support, capacity building and strengthening of inter-sphere co-ordination with
local government through the Premierâs Co-ordinating Forum.
Mr Speaker, KwaZulu-Natal is now making its presence felt in the
international arena. A major focus for this financial year will therefore be to
develop a fully capacitated international relations wing that can facilitate
and effectively follow up and drive the provinceâs strategic international
initiatives.
Provincial Government Communications The Communications Sub Programme plans
to implement and monitor the Provincial Communication Strategy as well as set
up and co-ordinate the communication infrastructure in the entire province. A
Provincial Marketing Campaign is being undertaken in order to re brand the
image of the Province as a successful and attractive Province.
Programme 2: Public Service Transformation
The programme comprises of three sub-programmes, namely State Law Advisory
Services, Human Resource Management and Service Delivery Improvement providing
transversal systems and support to all other Departments in the Provincial
Government.
Human Resource Management
The required funding for the establishment of the Provincial Public Service
Training Academy project has been approved over the MTEF period and will be
Commenced in the 2006/07 financial year as the capacity building of staff
continues to be an important and integral part of transforming the public
service. The Human Resources Management sub-programme continues to co-ordinate
and monitor customisation, development and implementation of Human Resource
policies, systems, programmes and plans for the Provincial Administration. This
includes the roll-out of the province-wide Human Resource
Development Strategy
State Law Advisory Services
This sub programme was established in the Office of the Premier as the
centre of government in order to provide transversal law advisory service to
Departments. The State Law Advisory Services sub-programme embarked on a
land-mark project to review all existing legislation in the Province and
rationalise the Provincial Statute Book. This ambitious project is ongoing and
is due to be finalised during 2007.
Service Delivery Improvement
The Service Delivery sub-programme is a unit that was created in the 2005/06
financial year with the purpose of improving provincial and departmental
service delivery in line with the strategic direction of the Province. The
sub-programme will contribute towards the realisation of the provincial goals
as espoused in the PGDS, to improve the lives of the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal
through Improved Service Delivery, guided by the Provincial Citizensâ Charter
and departmental Service Commitment Charters.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Citizenâs Charter was adopted and launched
during the 2005/06 financial year, with all public servants pledging their
commitment to service excellence. The Premierâs Service Excellence Awards
scheme has been redesigned to be in line with the prescripts of the
KwaZulu-Natal Citizensâ Charter and Departmental Service Commitment Charters.
Evaluation is related to all areas of the envisaged Provincial Growth and
Development Strategy (PGDS). The PGDS is used as the benchmark to gauge whether
or not the departments are meeting the basic requirements of the citizens of
KwaZulu-Natal. This is done by assessing how far each department specifically,
and provincial government generally, have gone in providing the needs of the
citizens as stipulated in the PGDS. The Service Delivery Improvement
sub-programme will engage in enhancing the implementation, coordination and
evaluation of the Citizensâ Charter, Departmental Service Commitment Charters
and the âFraud and Corruption Managementâ campaign. The Provincial Batho Pele
Forum will assist the Service Delivery Improvement sub-programme in ensuring
public participation in provincial programmes to improve service delivery.
Programme 3: Macro Policy Development, Strategic Planning, Monitoring and
Evaluation
This programme comprises three sub-programmes, namely Macro Policy
Development and Strategic Planning, Policy Implementation, Monitoring and
Evaluation, and HIV and AIDS Integration.
An amount of R2,833 million is being allocated to start up the Monitoring
and Evaluation Unit and the priority is to implement a fully functional
electronic Monitoring and Evaluation system during the 2006/07 financial year.
Results Based Management has become the key approach and we diligently have to
meet the goals of Governmentsâ Programme of Action. This nerve centre will
provide for an integration of the monitoring and evaluation systems already in
place in provincial departments, local and district municipalities. The
Monitoring and Evaluation unit will also provide recommendations on strategic
interventions required in respect of policy improvements, and provide key
information to aid strategic decision-making.
The HIV and AIDS integration unit has been re-instated to confirm the
commitment to the management of HIV and AIDS in the Province. The immediate
priority set for this Chief Directorate is the compilation of a status report
and the creation of an integrated, spatially-referenced database of all HIV and
AIDS programmes, projects, service providers and infrastructure in the
Province.
Programme 4: Special Programmes
There are three sub-programmes supporting this programme, namely Priority
Programmes, Provincial Information Technology and Science and Technology, as
well as Human Rights.
Priority Programmes
This programme was created to deal with priority projects identified by the
Premier and the Executive Council. The sub programme mainly coordinates those
projects that may not be permanent in nature, and those that are being
initiated for transfer to other departments and other government structures at
a later date as deemed fit by the Premier and the Executive Council. In line
with the purpose of this sub-programme the grant-in-aid payments to the Public
Entities, Amafa aKwaZulu-Natali and the KZN Gambling Board are now incorporated
within this sub-programme. In addition the management of the establishment of
the multi-media centres, in conjunction with Amafa aKwaZulu-Natali falls within
this sub-programme.
An allocation of R50 million has been approved by Cabinet in respect of
Soccer development (in and out of school) in collaboration with SAFA. These
funds will go towards the development and improving on soccer infrastructure in
the Province.
Provincial Information Technology
The priority of the Provincial Government Information Technology Council
(PGITO) is the development of the provincial Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) strategy and repository, developing a fully functional
provincial Geographical Information System (GIS).
Human Rights
During the organisational structural review, a unit dealing with the issues
of the rights of the elderly has been created. This unit has been funded as
part of the reprioritisation exercise and will be capacitated as from the
2006/07 financial year. Clear indicators to monitor and evaluate the
implementation of a human rights based Approach developed to ensure continuous
assessment of quality and improvement of service delivery.
CONCLUSION
The Budget, Mr Speaker, is a systematic and programmatic execution of the
mandate of the department as the centre of government in setting strategic
direction, leading change, and most critically, monitoring and evaluating
progress of the whole of government so that co-ordination becomes not just goal
orientated, but intelligent and meaningful.
We have the will, conducive conditions, the resources and the tools at our
disposal to help us attain our goal of fast tracking the transformation of
KwaZulu- Natal into a peaceful, vibrant and prosperous province.
As various organs of state we depend on each other and require clear
alignment of functions and duties to make development work. The budget, thus
has to be congruent with the strategic development goals for the Province. It
is also imperative that our departments continue to align their goals with the
visions we have set ourselves. For example, the Department of Education should
continue to produce students who perform to their peak, transport department
should continue with construction of roads that link communities, and Community
Safety and Liaison department must ensure that the conditions are created for
investors to inject their capital and their confidence in our Province, and
that peace is entrenched.
There have been only fleeting glimpses of what we can do as a province. The
A1Grand Prix of Nations, the Kora Awards, the Heritage Campaign only announced
us to the world. There are much more to be done.
This should again be the âProvince of Firstsâ.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
18 April 2006
