Speech by Buti Manamela, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, MP, on the occasion of the Debate on the State of the Nation Address.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Over the weekend, I spent time with a group of about 100 young leaders from universities, community and TVET colleges at Robben Island for the Inaugural Mandela-Sobukwe Leadership Retreat.
The focus for this retreat was to illustrate the significance of our history, our constitution, leadership, entrepreneurial and innovation skills.
For many of these young leaders, it was their first visit to the Island.
It was a learning experience for all of us as we explored some of the challenges raised by you, President, at the State of the Nation Address.
These young leaders were asked to have a conversation with the ideal duo, Mandela and Sobukwe, about their most treasured dreams.
One of the groups responded by declaring that, and I quote:
“We still staying I hope/To find peace with ourselves/To use our teachings to better the future/To create jobs and wealth for all /To be able to stand on our own/To live in a world free of hate/To be known past our borders for greater things”.
These are not young people who are oblivious to the challenges that face our country.
They are alive to the challenges of unemployment, electricity crises, water and infrastructure deficiencies, corruption and the scars and roaming ghosts we inherited from our apartheid past.
However, they want to see this parliament seized with the solutions to all these problems as opposed to squandering every opportunity presented for us to exchange counsel.
These young people, across the gender, racial and political spectrum left the Island on Sunday with the resolve that their vision is to work for the South Africa of their dreams.
Your State of the Nation address, as should be, carried with it both criticism and praise. Without doubt it inspired hope that the foundation of a future South Africa can only be built by the dreams of Madiba and Sobukwe and the dreams of those to whom the torch was handed to.
Listening to the debates in this year’s State of the Nation Address, one wished that some who debated here today, especially the Leaders of the DA and the EFF, should have sought counsel from the young leaders from the Island.
For instance, every year for the last five years or so, John here, convenes a few dignitaries and pals to a rabble about what the DA calls the “true state of the nation”.
And as usual, John, Honorable Steenhuisen did not disappoint.
“We are ready to govern, only if the people can stop believing in the ANC”.
“Where the DA governs, we govern better”.
This is the most fascinating one.
The DA propaganda machine has convinced itself, and Twitter followers of the account of Hellen Zille, that wherever they govern, they govern better.
They lie big and they keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.
On the day of the ‘True State of the Nation Address’, and this morning, John, Honorable Steekhuisen, bragged about the municipalities that they govern at, starting with their golden goose, Cape Town, he felt short of mentioning their boogey-city, Tshwane.
This is because on that day, pressure was mounting from the DA coalition partners to boot out the fourth Mayor of the DA in that city in just six years.
Solly Msimang was the first, with a scandal of R12bn allegedly awarded to Glad Africa without following due process.
The second was Stevens Mokgalapa, who was caught munching the scone of one of the executives in the municipal offices.
The third was Abel Tau, who resigned because the DA was not Black Like Him and found a new home in Herman Mashaba.
Then there is this last one. Randall Williams.
Adverse findings by the Auditor General of South Africa. But that’s the tip of the iceberg.
Sewers have not been maintained properly in the last few years in Tshwane.
Waste has not been collected in some areas for the last few weeks.
A looming scandal for a R40bn unsolicited bid for renewable energy.
Withdrawal by the fleet management company from the city because they failed to pay them.
You think it does not get worse, in November last year, the city battled to even pay salaries.
Tshwane is not the only pinnacle of the DA’s failures.
In Modimolle-Mookgophong, where I come from, the DA has effectively run the municipality down by enabling the looting of public resources and glaring ‘state capture’ by a group of businesses allegedly linked to the DA Mayor.
Yes, the City of eThekwini should, and has fixed some of the beaches that were not operational over the festive season, and more beaches will be opened in a few weeks; but here in Cape Town, the beaches remain the preserve of white patrons through systemic exclusion and racial profiling.
Where the DA governs, the group areas act of governing has effectively been restored with the DA mostly servicing their ‘constituencies’ much to the neglect of black communities.
I challenge the Mayor of Cape Town to make public how much business goes to black owned companies compared to whites.
This morning I heard echoes of PW Botha in 1985 when John spoke of crossing the Rubicon, and yes, the DA should cross the Rubicon.
For instance, The DA is no home for black and women who are non-pliant talented leadership. Ask Lindiwe Mazibuko, Mbali Ntuli or Phumzile Van Damme who joined you with the hope that you’ve crossed the Rubicon, and sadly, you crossed all of them, instead.
I also noticed that you didn’t mention EKurhuleni, John, Honorable Steenhuisen.
Precisely because under the DA things have gone worse and it would be ridiculous to even blame the ANC.
The DA is nothing but a pretender to the throne.
Even on our worst day, as the ANC, and yes, we have many of those, but we are correcting them, you will never even be considered as our alternative, especially under you, John, Honorable Steenhuisen.
You represent the past that has packaged itself into a new repentant.
That is why, on the day of the State of the Nation, you wanted to wet yourself trying to appease both your ‘traditional’ constituency by behaving civil, yet steal the attention of those who might sympathise with the EFF.
This wobble of yours, this jelly politics, this ideological flexibility, this spineless stances on the same issues, this opportunism, is exactly why Tony Leon and Hellen Zille will continue ruling through the window, John.
You’ve called for politicians who are upright, ethical and morally uncompromised.
And maybe you ticked all the boxes.
But that can only take you this far, and no further.
We need leaders who know that marching to the Head Office of another political party instead of ESKOM is nothing but provocation. But it also demonstrates the signs of someone panicking because more and more DA Leader wannabes keep raising their little paws.
I hope to see you back here after your elective conference, the backseat that always belonged to you will be happy to see you, John.
On a more serious note, this year, the NSFAS has confirmed funding for close to 1.2 million students.
Yes, there have been delays, and some parents were anxious, but Minister Nzimande has been working around the clock to ensure that registration goes smoothly in all the campuses.
All students who have received messages from the NSFAS that confirms that they are provisionally funded should go and register.
Those who are awaiting appeals will have to wait a little longer, and we appeal to our institutions to be considerate.
This year, Honorable Malema, enrolments at universities have reached close to 1,2 million students, and close to 200 000 of these are new students, are women and are black.
In TVET Colleges, 590 000 students will be registered, and work will be done to ensure that we reach the NDP goals.
The doors of learning and teaching are bursting open.
The NSFAS is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. From a little kitty of a few millions, soon, student funding will be reaching R45bn, with 90% of TVET students being funded.
In response to the devastating effects of COVID19 and the July 2021 uprising, together with the war in Ukraine and Russia and many other global challenges, you launched the Economic Recovery Plan.
Through this Plan, we are now rolling out massive infrastructure, ushering in a new paradigm for energy, implementing an employment stimulus to create jobs and support livelihoods, providing renewed support to grow businesses and fast-tracking reform measures for a competitive and inclusive economy.
Between the third quarters of 2021 and 2022, around one and a half million new jobs were created in our economy.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided work and livelihood opportunities to more than one million people.
Two weeks ago, a new cohort of 150 000 school assistants started work at more than 22 000 schools, offering dignity, hope and vital work experience to young people who were unemployed.
The Social Employment Fund is recruiting 50 000 participants in its next phase to undertake work for the common good, and the revitalised National Youth Service will create a further 36 000 opportunities through non-profit and community-based organisations.
The Department of Home Affairs has appointed the first cohort of 10 000 unemployed young people to digitise more than 340 million paper-based civic records.
We have provided around 140 000 small-scale farmers with input vouchers to buy seeds, fertiliser and equipment, providing a boost for food security and agricultural reform.
This initiative has led to the cultivation of some 640 000 hectares of land. An impressive 68% of these farmers are women.
This year, we aim to provide 250 000 more vouchers to small-scale farmers.
Right now, in our country, there are more than 25 million people who receive some form of income support. In addition, around two million indigent households receive free basic water, free basic electricity and free solid waste removal.
Around 60% of our budget is spent on what is known as the social wage, providing various forms of support, basic services and assistance to households and individuals to combat poverty and hunger.
These interventions are evident and have pushed the GDP from R950bn in 2020 to now 1,16 trillion in the last quarter. Boots on the ground, plates on the table, the country is now grinding forward.
Earlier this month, we lost Ntokozo Xaba, a student at Tshwane University of Technology, allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Ncebo Thusi.
Gender based violence is a serious scourge in our society, and in our institutions of learning. Through policy and institutional reforms, we are working tirelessly to deal with this scourge in our campuses.
Women cannot be killed simply because they have a vagina, and men believe they are entitled to it as and when they decide.
As a society, we need to work together in challenging and changing some of the religious, cultural and traditional practices that promote toxic masculinity.
This extends to discrimination and targeting of lesbian, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queer, intersex plus.
We need to confront socially imposed gender roles. We have strengthened our security on campuses and hope to see more changes in this regard.
We are confronting lecturers who demand sex in exchange for marks. Minister Nzimande has instructed Higher Health to prioritise gender based violence and femicide to bring it to zero levels.
We are doing this in honour of Uyinene Mrwetyana of UCT, Nosicelo Mtebeni of Fort Hare, Zolile Khumalo of MUT, Precious Ramabulana of Capricorn TVET College, Takalani Mbulungeni of Univen, Asithandile Zozo of Wits and many others who died at the hands of their killers.
Over the course of the weekend, the EFF CIC was addressing one of their important gatherings here in the Western Cape. In this important gathering, the EFF CIC started attacking the Xhosa culture of male initiation disguising this as an attack on our Secretary General, Hon Fikile Mbalula.
He went further to mention that our SG doesn’t have certain qualifications, therefore, doesn’t have posterior knowledge. Something everyone in the EFF seem to think is an actual qualification to get once you hail the CIC.
One of our universities have granted Honorable Malema a master’s degree, a thing worth celebrating.
But one who has a master’s degree must express all their faculties, Mr. Malema.
It should heighten our reasoning abilities, and not resort to intimidate our opponents.
It should teach us to argue using our brains, and not our fists.
That we should read more, engage and not intimidate or be personal. What you did here this morning was just to announce that the EFF is having a march soon.
Bullies and stormtroopers of the opposition have only mastered one thing, debate should never be given a chance.
Learn about collective leadership and not summon their leadership collective to come listen to the leader addressing the press and gossiping about people in the ANC.
A Master’s Degree should teach us that in order to lead, we should listen to those with whom we disagree- instead of raising frivolous points of order.
For the record, Hon Mbalula was not elected based on when he went to the mountain.
If that’s the criteria used in the EFF, then we are left to wonder how some even made it to leadership positions in your party.
Mehmet Murat ildan quipped that “A silver-tongued charlatan and a half-wit society are made for each other! When these two come together in an election, a great disaster happens: Charlatan comes to power”.
It would take beyond a century for a Charlatan to come to power, Mr. Malema.
Mr. President, that throne that you occupy, never a charlatan, a loudmouth, a blabber of gossip, a turncoat, a paper tiger, should sit there. Red or Blue. Malema, or Steeunhuisen. The Hounourables…
Since ours is not a half-wit society. They will demonstrate at the polls next year that only the ANC lives, only the ANC leads, and long live the ANC.
And for the rest of the other jokes, minstrels will sing for them…
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
And on his farm he had some cows
Ee i ee i oh
With a blue one here
And a red one there
Ee i ee i oh
Thank you for listening
