Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
Leadership of the African National Congress,
Leaders of Opposition Parties,
Honourable Members of this distinguished House,
Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS,
Esteemed Members of the Judiciary,
Chairperson and members of the House of Traditional Leaders,
Stalwarts and Veterans of our struggle,
Heads of Chapter Nine Institutions
Religious leaders,
Acting Director General and members of our Senior Management Service,
Media representatives,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The people of Limpopo:
It is hardly nine months that I stood on this podium for a similar purpose. I therefore count rare honour and privilege on my part to accept this renewed mandate to continue lead government in our province.
In this regard I would like to, particularly, thank my organisation, the ANC, for once more entrusting me with the responsibility of leading the process of translating its electoral manifesto into a workable action plan.
I am more than humbled by your faith and the unwavering confidence you have shown in me, to become the fifth democratically elected Premier of this great province.
Your confidence in me has placed on my shoulders and those of other deployees a necessary burden to work diligently and tirelessly to change the lives of our people for the better.
I know it as a matter of fact, that my election today is not a personal feat; but a call to action.
As public representatives of the people of this province, we are also humbled by the unequivocal and solid voice of the citizens of Limpopo when they said Limpopo must once again be governed by the African National Congress. The people have indeed spoken. As the ANC we accept your overwhelming mandate, conscious of the service delivery challenges that lie ahead, and we dare not fail. We also welcome the new Opposition Party, EFF, and others that have been returned, DA and COPE.
Madam Speaker
We are called upon to work together to ensure that we create job opportunities for the jobless; that we accelerate the provision of houses for the homeless, above all, deliver water and electricity to the most needy in the vast farmlands and far-flung villages of Limpopo.
Underpinning our electoral mandate is also a responsibility to ensure the empowerment of young people through quality education and training. As President Oliver Tambo, “the nation that does not invest in its youth, does not deserve its future”
In the same vein, the creation of conducive conditions for business to thrive, and participation of our people in the mainstream economy is non-negotiable. In this regard, we are realigning our provincial to National Development Plan in order to put Limpopo on higher trajectory of economic growth and development.
Madam Speaker;
We are alive to the fact that we are called upon to execute an extremely taxing task. However, as revolutionaries we have accepted that ours is not an easy parade, hence it is called a struggle.
It is however worth appreciating that we are not starting from a weaker foundation as the 1994 administration had to do.
We are inheriting a much solid administration and a better province. In this regard, I beg your indulgence, to extend my heart-felt gratitude to my predecessors, Adv. Ngoako Ramatlhodi, Sello Moloto and Cassel Mathale for their varied contributions to our province.
Successive administrations under the stewardship of these leaders have over the past 20 years ensured that Limpopo is a better place to live in. Today, 87% of households are electrified, no less than 86% of households have access to water, 96% of learners are on School Nutrition Programme, we have increased Grade 12 pass rate to over 71% and, more importantly built state-of-the-art schools and other essential infrastructure such as roads and bridges across the province
We pride ourselves that all the people of this province have a sense of belonging to Limpopo. Completely gone are the Bantustans and other aberrations of Apartheid that sought to divide our people along racial and tribal lines. We have a fully-fledged single administration in this part of the country.
Nevertheless, the challenge for this new administration is not to drown in the glory of our past achievements - but to work even harder to make Limpopo a much better place to live in for all her people.
Madam Speaker
It is against this background that, today, we recommit ourselves to jealously guard against any tendency that seeks to reverse the gains of the past twenty years of freedom and democracy.
At the core of these tendencies is crime and corruption. We therefore implore on all of you to join us in our renewed efforts to fight corruption. We must do this because corruption is not only a government problem as others would want us to believe, it is a societal problem that require all us to play our role, be it the ruling party, opposition, business, organised business and members of the public.
On our part as government, we will definitely not tolerate people who use state resources for personal enrichment.
As we have said before, these state resources are meant for nothing else but the improvement of the conditions of living of our people. It for this reason that we will be merciless in dealing with those involved, irrespective of their social standing.
Le go o ka e buela leopeng magukubu a go bona. O se lebale le gore Sekhukhune so bonwa ke sebataladi.
Madam Speaker
I want to conclude my acceptance message by recommitting the new administration to; the building of an inclusive economy that create jobs and prioritise rural development.
In keeping with our commitment to accessible primary health care to all and quality education, the provision of adequate human capital and the improvement of infrastructure in our schools and health facilities, will be high on the agenda of this administration.
Honourable members
Irrespective of party-political affiliations, we must all leave here with a renewed sense of loyalty and commitment to serve the people of our province.
Together we have succeeded in making today better than yesterday, and I have got no doubt, whatsoever, in my mind, that united in action we can make tomorrow better than today.
Lehono go phala maabane, ka moswane a go phale lehono
Pula!
