Chairperson
Speaker
Deputy Speaker
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
Introduction
The core function of the Office of the Premier during this term of office involves planning, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of the provincial government’s service delivery programmes.
Chairperson, we are currently revising the existing organisational structure of the Office of the Premier in line with our core functions and limited financial resources.
As we undertake this task of restructuring, I must hasten to state that we are encouraged by suggestions and positive inputs from various stakeholders including my colleagues in Cabinet. These inputs have been underpinned by the commitment to ensure that this office succeeds in aligning national and provincial priorities.
Chairperson, I wish to inform your house that functions to be moved from the Office of the Premier are Museum, Masifundisane and soccer development. This will also entail moving the staff and the relevant budgets.
The 2010 Unit will however remain in the Office of the Premier and will continue to perform its co-ordinating role to boost the profile our preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
2010 World Cup and image building
We intend to actively drive the public mobilisation in order to boost the profile of the 2010 campaign and highlight the benefits of the World Cup to the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
Our main task is to ensure that a positive vibe is created to characterise the high levels of expectations. More importantly, we want to build on the recent experience we acquired when South Africa hosted the highly successful FIFA Confederations Cup. Whatever we do must impact positively to the success of the event; similarly, we must all look at how we benefit from it.
Chairperson, it is also important for us to create a very wide public awareness to ensure that everybody plays a meaningful role and make it clear that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by each and every citizen of this province. We have also commenced with our Community Mobilisation Campaign and intend intensifying this campaign over the next few months, so that every member of the KwaZulu-Natal community is inspired to welcome international football fans into our shores and ensure we provide a safe environment for all visitors.
This will be facilitated through community event activations at schools, churches, shopping centres, taxi ranks, railway stations, beaches and other natural congregation points; and using billboards, posters, flyers, media partnerships and other above and below the line marketing tools.
Significant progress has been made in ensuring the readiness of the province but one aspect which we will pay more attention to is the image of KwaZulu-Natal.
Part of our marketing efforts will involve portraying KwaZulu-Natal as an attractive destination for tourists and investors alike. We will use local and international soccer events such as the African Cup of Nations 2010 in Angola and Soccerex 2009.
Provincial Planning Commission
This House will recall that in my inaugural speech I announced that this province will have its own Provincial Planning Commission to be located in the Office of the Premier.
We are finalising our consultation with the national government regarding this issue. The Draft Bill has been prepared and will only be processed at the completion of the consultative process.
This commission will accelerate government's efforts to boost the economy, reduce poverty and ensure smooth infrastructure development. It is envisaged that this commission will also be responsible for macro planning Economic Development Strategy (PSEDS).
The PSEDS is premised on the recognition that all government development programmes have to take place within a spatial context. This means that fixed infrastructure investments must be directed to areas of greatest economic development potential as well as areas of greatest need based on poverty densities across all the districts. This will ensure that we maximally benefit from the investment potential.
Working under the direction of the Premier, the Commission will be comprised of the MEC of Finance, MEC of Economic Development and Tourism and MEC of Local Government. Other MECs will participate on the basis of the subject matter at hand.
Amongst other members of the Commission will be people appointed on the basis of particular skills. Background work on Policy Planning and the Secretariat will be provided by the relevant sections in the Office of the Premier. This will also include functions such as monitoring and evaluation.
To a greater extent, macro analysis and planning work will be sourced from existing structures in the Department of Economic Development and Treasury as such capacity is already available. This means that there is no new bureaucracy associated with the Planning Commission.
Ombudsperson to ensure quality public sector service
Chairperson, we have committed ourselves to the creation of a very compassionate and efficient civil service. To that effect, the Office of the Ombudsperson will be established to investigate lapses in service delivery.
A job evaluation process of this post is currently underway and we want to determine the level, skills and competences required to perform this important function.
Honourable members, an effective complaint management system are an essential part of quality public-sector service. Complaints and compliments are valuable sources of information that the provincial government will use to improve the delivery of services to the public.
Every organisation that provides services needs a process of quality assurance and feedback on customer satisfaction to stay in business. This culture must be internalised by all civil servants. Knowledge about Batho Pele and the Citizens Charter are a potent weapon for service delivery improvement in the hands of the voting public.
Government departments exist to serve the public and the citizens have the right to expect quality services. Therefore, we believe that the Ombudsperson will help the provincial government to process feedback information from the consumers of our services. We will use a toll-free number for the registering of complaints. Redresses will be readily available, appropriate to the nature of the complaint.
Immediate action will be instituted to deal with service delivery complaints such as rudeness, delays, inefficiency such as failure to reply to correspondence as well as administrative irregularities.
The Ombudsperson will ensure that members of the public are kept informed of the progress of their complaints and will provide information to departments so that services can be improved.
Where criminal or corrupt conduct is alleged, government will work with specialised agencies such as the Commercial Crimes Branch of the South African Police Services to conduct the investigation. We will encourage the public to use this office to hold public servants accountable to the high standard of service that they are required to render.
We will also embark on a programme to promote the provincial Citizens' Charter as well as Departmental Service Commitment Charters. We will mobilise civil society partnerships to report defaults in these commitments for government to rectify.
Fighting fraud and corruption
The Office of the Premier will work closely with Internal Audit section in the provincial Treasury to monitor fraud and corruption. We are currently investigating the creation of a section that will have the capacity to investigate fraud and corruption antiauthority such as police.
The Fraud and Corruption Forum will be revived and will work closely with the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster of government. Such a section will process the information of criminal nature which may be received by the Ombudsman.
Participatory democracy to ensure effective service delivery Mr Speaker, it is the goal of the new government to heighten the trust of the people of KwaZulu-Natal in the functions of the State. We want to make the public aware that they have a significant role to play as partners in shaping the delivery of their services.
It is the responsibility of government and government officials to implement the programmes which have been designed to ensure a better life for all. We believe that civil society should be well informed about what services will be rendered by government so that they can play an advocacy role. In the process, the community will remain informed of the service that government wishes to implement.
Once community awareness has been achieved, we want to see civil society playing a monitoring and evaluation role through structured processes that will enable government to identify areas of weakness and shortfalls in service delivery. We will be approaching civil society with a view to create partnerships.
This will involve convening meetings of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisations, churches and religious leaders, traditional structures and various other bodies. We want to strengthen already existing relations. The Religious Directorate in the Office of the Premier will work to consolidate outreach work to this sector as part of the broader civil society partnership.
Provincial Government to intensify the fight against HIV and AIDS
The first meeting of the Provincial Aids Council will be convened on 12 August. This council will receive presentations on the National Integrated Plans on Food Security; programmes on Fighting Diseases and plans that have been put in place to create healthy communities. These programmes form the basis on which our fight against to defeat HIV infection, AIDS and TB will be premised.
As announced in the State-of-the-Province Address, we intend to lead a high profile grassroots mobilisation campaign to instil behavioural change. We believe that this will assist in reducing teenage pregnancy and curb the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Such a campaign requires a high profile leadership which the elected of government will provide. The starting point will be convening a conference of stakeholders to unite and harmonise our action. A detailed implementation plan will be tabled by the Aids Council in a conference scheduled to take place in October. This conference will be aimed at mobilising leaders of various stakeholders and different spheres of government to ensure a buy-in of this implementation plan. We want to mobilize every person to join the war on AIDS and TB.
Chairperson, this plan will be detailed and specifically designed to suit the different parts of the province, giving clear guidance on the role of each stakeholder during the implementation process. From the above conference in October this programme will culminate in decentralised conferences to be held on the World Aids Day. This is aimed at ensuring uniformity and synergies in the implementation of the plan. This fight can only succeed if we work as partners across party political lines and put all differences and prejudice aside.
Co-operative Arrangements between the Province of KwaZulu-Natal and international partners
From 2004 to 2009, there has been unprecedented growth in international relations for the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Where before 2004, the province only had but two formal co-operative arrangements, there are now no less than eleven co-operative arrangements spanning the globe.
With every co-operative arrangement, there are on average four focus areas, mainly in agriculture, economic, tourism and sports sectors. Not all co-operative agreements have respective partners, however the implication is that there needs to be greater co-ordination of projects emanating from these co-operative arrangements, if the province is to derive maximum and tangible benefits.
Accordingly, I have established a Ministerial sub-committee to manage and review the Co-operative arrangements forged with the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Programmes
The programme structure of the Office of the Premier is:
* administration
* institutional development
* policy and governance
The total budget for the Office of the Premier for the 2009/10 financial year is R454, 010 million.
Programme 1: Administration (R85, 751 million)
The purpose of this Programme is to provide administrative support to the Premier, Executive Council (Cabinet) and the Director-General in fulfilling their executive functions and promoting co-operative governance.
Programme 2: Institutional development (R107, 241 million)
The purpose of this programme is to improve service delivery through institutional capacity building and transformation management. This programme comprises of the following sub-programmes: Strategic Human Resources, Legal Services, Information Communications Technology and Communication Services.
Legal services
This sub-programme has the function of rendering a comprehensive and professional internal legal advisory service to the Office of the Premier; and a comprehensive, professional, inter-departmental, transversal state law advisory service to the respective provincial line function departments protecting the interests of the entire province.
Twenty five pieces of legislation are due to be introduced in the Provincial Legislature during the 2009/10 financial year. The process of rationalisation of laws will continue in the respective provincial departments as public sector lawyers continue to apply the skills and methodologies they were exposed to during the course of the formal Project.
Strategic Human Resources
This sub-programme's function is to co-ordinate and monitors the customisation, development and implementation of human resources policies, systems, programmes and plans for the province.
Amongst the activities of this component will be:
* revitalising service delivery in the province in line with Batho Pele principles and the Provincial Citizens' Charter.
* revitalising the work ethic in the Province by entrenching the Provincial Anti-Corruption campaign in all departments and public entities of KwaZulu-Natal. The Fraud and Corruption Management Committee has been formed and is in place. This Committee oversees the implementation of the anti-corruption campaign and has an oversight responsibility.
* the re-orientation of staff in the province towards customer care.
* marketing the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Citizens Charter and rolling out the "Know Your Rights Campaign".
The Premier's Service Excellence Awards has been re-designed in line with the prescripts of the KZN Citizens' Charter and Departmental Service Commitment Charters and continues to encourage public servants to perform above the minimum required standard.
Communication services sub-programme
This comprises of Government Communication Services. The Communications Chief Directorate will focus on identifying priorities for provincial government communication for 2009/10 including cluster communication priorities, and will inform the development of detailed communication programmes by clusters, departments and the provincial government.
The State of the Province Address set the stage for intensified and co-ordinated communication in this government's mandated term to promote common action amongst all sectors of our society to achieve faster and more effective progress towards the goals of reconstruction and development that we have set ourselves as a province.
Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM)
This programme will be integrated into the programmes which are aimed at behavioural change. It is important for this programme to be driven at the level directed to young people especially in terms of peer education whilst we enlist parental and leadership support and guidance.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Nerve Centre
The Core focus of Provincial Information Technology is the co-ordination of ICT in province which is performed in conjunction with the Provincial Government Information Technology Officers Council (PGITO).
The Nerve Centre which is a collaborative effort by Monitoring and Evaluation (for data and information) and IT (for technology platforms), provides data and information on the current status of the province at any given point in time. Phase one of the Nerve Centre was completed and launched in August 2008.
It helps decision-makers to gauge the effectiveness of government programmes and initiatives and measure the performance of government against set targets
In addition the development of the spatial database with linkages to the nerve centre will be developed during the 2009/10 financial year.
The Provincial ICT Security Policy and the Provincial ICT and e-Government strategy was presented and debated at the G and A cluster in March 2009. Once accepted by cabinet a roadmap for the implementation will be developed.
Programme 3: Policy and Governance (R261, 018 million)
The purpose of this programme is to initiate provincial-wide development and implementation of strategies and policies to achieve a co-ordinated approach towards sustainable provincial growth and development.
There are six sub-programmes supporting this programme, namely Special Projects, Inter-Governmental Relations, Provincial Policy Management, Premier's Priority Programmes, Heritage and Provincial 2010 co-ordination.
Gaming and betting
We are making steady progress in transforming the demographics of ownership of bookmaking business in KwaZulu-Natal. Once the new gambling legislation is passed, corporate bookmaking will be allowed and the pace of transformation of the bookmaking industry will accelerate rapidly.
Furthermore, more ambitious transformation targets can be set, including targets encompassing not only bookmaking, but the entire horseracing and betting industry including horse trainers, tab agencies, horse owners, jockeys, veterinarians and breeders.
Special projects sub-programme
This sub-programme is responsible to inculcate a culture of human rights, and promotion and protection of human and legal rights of the vulnerable populations, namely, women, children, older persons, youth and people with disabilities.
The sub-programme has a coordination and facilitation role with all government departments. Sectoral strategic programmes and projects must be aligned to National and Provincial Strategies e.g. National Policy Framework on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Integrated National Disability Strategy, National Plan of Action on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy.
The relationship with local government is also critical in ensuring improved service delivery. KwaZulu-Natal has a youthful population with an overwhelming number under 35 years of age. Government therefore has sharpened its focus on young people with particular emphasis on skills development and specialised education.
Inter-governmental Relations (IGR)
The Inter-governmental Relations unit plays an executive supportive role to the Premier and the Director-General in the execution of the Inter-governmental Relations function.
With regard to Co-operative Governance, the Office of the Premier will continue to promote and strengthen intergovernmental relations between spheres of government through participation in forums such as the President's Co-ordinating Council, Premier's Co-ordinating Forum. These forums will be used for the co-ordination of plans and alignment of programmes to improve service delivery.
Provincial Policy Management
This sub-programme consists of the Strategic Planning and Macro Policy Development unit, Monitoring and Evaluation unit and the HIV and AIDS unit. The strategic objective of this sub-programme is the capacitation of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and Administration in governance and public policy management and the effective fight against HIV and AIDS.
Monitoring and evaluation
The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit tracks the accomplishment of the Provincial sector targets set on the Provincial Programme of Action. This is done under the auspices of the Government Wide Monitoring and Evaluation System.
The strategic objective of this unit is to establish and implement a fully functional, integrated, automated Province wide-Government monitoring and evaluation system.
Heritage
The strategic goal governing the Heritage sub-programme is to highlight, conserve, manage and promote awareness of the cultural resources of the province.
Largely our heritage must be used to tell the story and conserve the history of our people and must be used to profile our region and act as catalyst for tourism development.
In keeping with the strategic goal of the unit, various initiatives to be embarked upon will range from the strengthening of the institutional infrastructure which will enable local community participation.
The Provincial Heritage Resources Authority in the form of Amafa will also receive funding to deliver on its mandate; while a fair amount of activity will also focus on the operationalisation of the newly enacted provincial heritage legislation.
Projects to be undertaken during the 2009/10 financial year are as follows:
* commemoration of Mankulumana Ndwandwe-Prime Minister of King Dinizulu
* commemoration-cum-profiling of key heritage events
* research Unit
* building of KwaCeza Chapel
* feasibility Study of the proposed Moses Mabhida Stadium Multi Media Centre
* Ntelezi Msane
Revenue
The revenue generated by the Horse Racing Industry during the 2008/09 financial year totalled approximately R65 million, while the revenue generated by the Casino and Limited Payout Machines (LPMs) totalled approximately R268 million.
In light of the economic crisis, disposable income of the public has subsequently being reduced and it is anticipated that the total revenue collection for the 2009/10 financial year will amount to R325, 052 million.
Conclusion
May I take this opportunity to thank the Acting Director-General, Mr Roger Govender and the staff of the Office of the Premier for their commitment and dedication. I also wish to thank my beloved wife, my children and my family for supporting me all the time as I go about my duties.
With peace, democracy and development having been achieved, KwaZulu-Natal can now only grow further, economically and socially, to achieve a better life for all.
I now formally wish to table Vote 1 with a budget of R454, 010 million before the Legislature.
Together we can do more to build a hope for a better future!
I thank you.
