Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Members of the Executive Council and the Legislature Executive Mayors
Mayors
Speakers
Chief Whips and Councillors
The Chairperson of SALGA-Free State and the Executive Committee
Heads of Department
Marena le Dikgosi
Distinguished guests
Comrades and Friends
Speaker, kajeno re ka hara motsana o monyane wa Foreistata o ileng wa thewa ka 1924. Ho thehweng hwa oona o ne o itshetlehile temong. Baahi ba motsana ona ba 3 000 feela. Speaker, ha re ne re mema batho le ho ba tsebisa hore puo ena ya ditekanyetso e tla mona Van Stadensrus, batho ba bangata ba Foreistata mona ba ne ba re Van Stadensrus ke ho kae. Ma-Foreistata ke yona Van Stadensrus ena. Kajeno re ka hare ho Van Stadensrus Speaker, re leboha wena ka lenane la hao la Public Participation ho isa Palamente bathong.
Re ile ra tjho hore puso ya ANC ke puso ya setjhaba ka setjhaba. Re leboha Premier wa rona, mora Magashule, ka ho re kgothalletsa hore le metsaneng e menyane re fihle. Operation Hlasela e kena corner to corner ka ha re ho Free State. Ho Ma-Van Stad ntho e tjee ha ba so e kgolwe. Re tlile ka sepheo mona Masepaleng wa Naledi. Batho ba Naledi ba fitile dinthong tse ngata tse seng monate. Hara tse ding e bile ho bolawa hwa mohlanka, morumuwa wa ANC majoro Motlatsi Motloi. O ile a bolawa ka sehloho ke dinonnori tsa dinwamadi tse neng di tshepetswe ho mo tshehetso.
Our coming to Naledi today is a special tribute to Motlatsi Motloi for his contribution to the people of Naledi. This budget speech is intended to heal the wounds of the people of Naledi. Lelapa la ha Motloi le teng ka hare ho ntlo ena. Re nka motsotso ona ho ba leboha ka bophelo ba ngwana wa bona. Speaker, 15 March 2010 my predecessor MEC Zwane “Mangethe”, stood in this august house to make commitments of our two year plan on how the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Human Settlements intend to improve the lives of our people. Among others were the following:
- Faster and efficient service delivery
- Encourage the department to kick-start forward planning
- Encouraging a real black economic empowerment
- Ensuring that we observe a saving by just doing things differently
- Ensuring that we build better, bigger homes.
Our presentation today will be based on that solid foundation. Speaker, we are taking the process forward towards 2014. Allow me then speaker to give account on the policy pronouncement and present the policy programmes for the financial year 2011/12.
On demarcation processes
We worked with the demarcation board to finalise both the Ward delimitations and the outer boundaries of municipalities. We acknowledge that the final determination of the demarcation board may not have produced the ideal results for our province and that we will continue to engage with such challenges post Local Government Elections. We have finalised Section 12 notices in relation to the establishment of Mangaung as a metro, the disestablishment of Motheo District and the re-establishment of Xhariep and Thabo Mofutsanyana Districts to incorporate Naledi and Mantsopa into the Xhariep and Thabo Mofutsanyana Districts respectively. Speaker, sena se bolela hore ho tloha ka mora dikgetho ha re sa hlola re eba le bo-Masepala ba 25 empa batla ba 24:
- 19 Local Municipalities
- 4 District Municipalities
- 1 Metro
Re ne re e na le di-Wards tse 300, jwale di tla ba 317 on elections Naha ya rona e tumme ka bokgone ba ho tshwara dikgetho tse nang le kgutso le kgotso tlasa boetapele bo hlwahlwa ba Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Ka di 18 Motsheanong 2011, e tla be e le dikgetho tsa bo Masepala. Re kgothalletsa batho bohle ke hona, hore ba rate naha ya bona ba ye ba ilo Vouta ka kgutso le kgotso. Lefapha la rona le fuwe maikarabelo a ho tshehetso mosebetsi wa IEC. Re ba tsheheditse ka nako ya ho ingodisetsa dikgetho. Batho ba mona ke dipaki. Re tlile Van Stadensrus, Wepener le Dewetsdorp, ra kena ntlo le ntlo, ra ba ra ya dikerekeng le dibakeng tsa boingodiso.
Speaker, when driving this voter registration campaign, we were with a young and very energetic gentleman Themba Nofemela - popularly known as Ranthomeng, husband to Thandaza Buthelezi in Muvhango on SABC 2 – a ruta batjha ka bohlokwa ba ho ingodisetsa ho vouta le ho vouta and ba registerile batjha he speaker.
On local governance
Speaker, we need to take the opportunity from the interest shown by the youth in Local Governance matters by rolling out Youth Mock Council sittings in all Municipalities. We will also work together with the Department of Education to practice this Youth Mock Council sittings in school debating sessions. Speaker, we will continue to strengthen our partnership with (SALGA). Immediately after the coming municipal elections, we will jointly induct and train the newly elected councillors. R3.8 million has been set aside for this programme. We will jointly with SALGA ensure that Municipal Managers and Section 56 managers sign the performance agreements by 31 August 2011. This will enable us to closely monitor the performance of our municipalities within the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
On service delivery
Speaker, in his State of the Province Address, the Honourable Premier stated that, “There can be no doubt that our people‟s experience with local government and human settlements service delivery, is a key contributor in their overall perception of government as a whole. Local government is at the coal face of service delivery, and we cannot be found wanting in our commitment and effort to ensure that this sphere of government operates at maximum efficiency and effective levels”. In keeping with our Honourable Premier’s directives, we hereby commit to monitor, support, strengthen and intervene where necessary in municipalities through the MEC and Local Government Forum (MECLOGA) and the Premier’s Coordinating Forum (PCF). Working together with Treasury and SALGA:
- We will continue to ensure that municipalities are run effectively and efficiently
- That communities participate in IDP processes and that the IDPs are credible
- We will ensure that Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG) are channelled towards the people’s needs and that the MIG funds are spent in time.
Speaker, re sa ntse re bua ka MIG, ho R869 million e ileng ya fuwa bo-Masepala, R438 million e ne e se e sebeditse ka Pherekgong 2011. Tjhelete e setseng e tla sebediswa ho qetella selemo sa bona sa ditjhelete se fellang mafellong a Phupjane. Speaker, ka tjhelete ena re hlasetse:
- tlhokeho ya metsi - ra hokahanya malapa a 3662 le ho fumana metsi. Joo!! bohloko ba le Bucket, ke ya e tshaba apartheid
- re kgutlisitse seriti sa malapa a 25 012 ka ho ba fumantsha matlwana a metsi
- re hlasetse disterata tse neng di sa tsamaehe ka hara makeishene – 12 745 kilometers ya disterata e paved (batho ba di- wheel chairs ba thabile)
Selemong sena sa ditjhelete, MIG e tla fumana R1.04 billion mme mmoho le bo-Masepala, re tla fana ka ditshebeletso tsa mantlha. Among others:
- R244 million will be for water
- R286 million will be for sanitation
- R375 million will be roads and storm water
- R50 million will be for sports and recreation facilities
- R33 million will be for solid waste disposal
- R56 million will be for other services such as cemeteries, high mast lights and for the establishment of a project management unit.
Ha re ne re na le kopano ya setjhaba mona Van Stad ka di 23 March 2011, batho ba ikopetse ditsela le di-high mast lights tse pedi. Speaker, mmuso wa ANC o a tsotella ebile o a tshepahala. Re tla kgutla. Speaker, because we now all understand, that local government is everybody’s business, the Development Bank of Southern Africa has partnered with us under the Siyenza Manje Programme.
Through this programme we deployed 10 technical experts in the different municipalities in order to assist and support them. A further 3 was deployed in the department to also enhance our own capacity. We are repositioning this programme towards a targeted approach, by incorporating the finance component into Treasury and the technical component into Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). Speaker, we now see the results of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy as introduced by Minister Sicelo Shiceka.
All our municipalities have adopted their Municipal Specific Turnaround Strategies and are now more responsive and accountable. Re batla ho nka monyetla oona re re ho Ma-Foreistata “Setjhaba ke bomphato ba rona ntshetsopeleng ya puso ya selehae”. Kahoo nkang karolo meralong ya di-IDP bomasepaleng hobane ke yona pilara ya ntshetsopele. Speaker, VIP toilets will remain a temporary feature as an alternative form of sanitation especially in areas where there is insufficient water or inadequate infrastructure.
To this end, we have revitalised the life-span of 40 026 VIP toilets – 25 922 in Mangaung and 14 104 in Maluti-A-Phofung. Through the Provincial Infrastructure Fund, we will have R15 million for such a programme in this financial year. A further R10 million will be provided to address critical infrastructure challenges within identified municipalities.
Seventy two community development workers have completed their learnership programme as at end March 2011. They will be deployed to their respective communities with effect from 1 June 2011. One of these special cadres is Mamokete Lesekele of ward three, Van Stadensrus. What was known as the Township Board, Speaker, has been newly reconstituted as Land Use Advisory Board and Mr Thabo Mongake was appointed as its full-time chairperson. This board acts as a quasi-judicial body and makes recommendations to the MEC regarding all land development issues. The basic consideration elements are the public interest and the interest of the area while stimulating development and ensuring that liveable communities are created.
We wish to take this opportunity to call on our communities to refrain from unlawful occupation of land as this hampers proper planning. We appeal to all municipalities to enforce their by-laws wherever this continues to happen. We call upon all our municipalities to proactively promote orderly planning by identifying suitable land for various land uses, amongst others, agriculture, industrial development and human settlements to trigger local economic development.
Speaker, currently we have multiple pieces of legislation regulating planning environment; we will be tabling before this House a Bill on Land and Development Planning that will consolidate and rationalise matters of planning.
On operation clean audit
We took a decision to commence with a pilot project in the Xhariep district to enhance financial management and increase skills to contribute to the achievement of improved audit opinions. This pilot was also extended to those municipalities that were under administration. Gradual progress is being realised in Operation Clean Audit 2014. The 2009/10 brought some improvements in the audit opinions of all our five district municipalities and two local municipalities. We call on all those municipalities that submit their annual financial statements late to the office of the Auditor-General, to improve in this financial year.
In partnership with the Provincial Treasury, we will continue to expand our efforts to build capacity of municipalities towards Clean Audit 2014.
The support will amongst others entail:
- Assisting Municipalities to establish Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) to extend and reinforce the accountability aspect
- Members of the Municipal Audit Committees will be trained and capacitated
- Municipal Internal Audit Units will be strengthened and capacitated
- Maintaining a record of Municipal Audit findings and support Municipalities in addressing them
- Reviewing Municipal Financial Management systems including consumer debt management.
On disaster management
Speaker, we successfully hosted 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup without any disastrous incidents in our province. We wish to extend our appreciation to all stakeholders that were involved in the joint operations of the province. We also congratulate our municipalities for the critical role they played during this period. The recent weather phenomenon La Nino, resulted in severe flooding in the province with the following three district municipalities, namely, Thabo Mofutsanyana, Xhariep and Fezile Dabi declared disaster areas during the declaration of national disaster by the President. We were mostly hit in the following sectors:
- Roads and bridges were damaged to the cost of R516 million
- 4988 houses were damaged to the value of R314 million excluding damaged mud houses
- 133 farmers were negatively affected and 18 269 hectares of field crops were destroyed to the value of R95.3 million
- The total infrastructure damages is estimated at R15.5 million
- A total of 50 schools around the province were adversely affected by the floods disaster to the cost of R12.6 million
- 12 clinics were damaged to the cost of R2.3 million
- Testing station and library were damaged to the cost of R1 million.
The full report has been submitted to the national Department of COGTA and the Presidency for support on this matter. However, the preliminary indications reveal that the costs of our damage far exceed financial resources available. We have been able to manage the current flood disaster in an effective manner by evacuating affected families and placing them in safe accommodation; provided tents where necessary and all needed facilities. We call on all our municipalities to improve their capacity and readiness in managing disasters. Speaker, we may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but we can mitigate risks of disaster through our Disaster Management Plans. We will in this financial year strengthen our capacity and infrastructure in our Provincial and District Disaster Management Centres.
Ho tsa setso
Mohlomphehi Speaker, re ananela le ho hlompha setso sa rona, mme re ntse re tshwara ka katleho mekete ya rona ya selemo le selemo ya ho keteka botjhaba ba merabe e mehlano e ananetsweng ke puso. Re tla sebetsa ha mmoho le marena le dingaka tsa setso ho tshehetsa letsholo le etelletsweng pele ke lefapha la tsa Bophelo bo Botle la ho bolotswa hwa banna ka mokgwa wa dipetlele le dingakeng ho lwantsha lefu lena la kwatsi. Re tla matlafatsa tshebedisano-mmoho dipakeng tsa Ntlo-ya-Borena le dingaka tsa setso ho eletsa mebuso yaselehae ha ba etsa melawana e amang ditaba tsa setso.
Re se re dumellane le Ntlo ya Borena ho tataisa batjha ditabeng tsa setso ka ho ba memela tshwantshisong ya dipuisano tsa makgotleng a Marena (mock kgotla sittings). Mohlomphehi Speaker, re sa le ditabeng tsena tsa botjhaba, ntumelle re bue ka taba ena ya puo tsa setso. Re bona ka maswabi ho qhelelwa ka thoko hwa puo tsa rona tsa setso puong ya ka mehla le ditlwaelong tsa bophelo. Re bona jwale senyesemane se nka karolo e kgolo bophelong ba rona ho feta dipuo tsa rona tsa setso. Re tla sebetsa mmoho le Marena ho kgothalletsa boqapi ba puo le tshirelletso ya puo. In our quest to regulate and harmonise the environment wherein the Traditional Leadership operates; we will be tabling before this House the following pieces of legislation:
- Free State Traditional Leadership Act, Amendment Bill
- Free State Provincial and Local Houses Bill.
To strengthen the work and programmes of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, R12.7 million has been set aside for this purpose. Re ile ra ba le kopano le Ntlo ya Borena ka di 17 March 2011, moo ba ileng ba re tekela ditabatabelo tsa bona. Ho a thabisa ho tsebisa Ntlo ena e Hlompehang ho re re sentse re arabela ditabatabelo tsa Borena. Mmoho le Lefapha la Ntshetsopele ya Mahae le Phumantsho ya Mobu, re se re phethela dipuisano le beng ba mobu ho fumana lefatshe mane ho la Phumelela moo Morabe wa Batlokoa ba Mokgalong ba tlang ho fuwa sebaka. Katleho eo e tla re fihlisa pheletsong ya ho ba le borena bo senang lefatshe mona profinsing.
This is one of the many achievements of the ANC led government to restore the rights and dignity of our traditional leadership. This is the land that was brutally dispossessed from our traditional leadership by the illegitimate apartheid regime. Morena Wetsi o tena a dula mahaheng jwalo ka phoofolo ka lebaka la ho hlothwa seriti sa hae sa borena le botho ka sehloho ke bahanyapetsi. Jwale, ka lenane lena re kgutlisa seriti seo. Mohlomphehi Speaker, re amohela ka thabo ho ananelwa hwa Morena-e-Moholo wa Bakoena, Morena Thokoana Mopeli, le Morena-e-Moholo wa Batlokoa Morena Lekunutu Mota, ke MoPresidente Jacob Zuma ka ho ba abela ditifikeiti tsa kananelo jwalo ka Marena-a-Maholo (Kings) kgweding yane ya Pudungwane, ngwahola. Ebile le makoloi a bona a mane a se a fihlile jwale. Tse ding re tla di arabela ka mekgahlelo, jwalo jwalo.
On human settlement
Speaker, allow me to borrow a leaf from President Jacob Zuma during his May 2009 State of the Nation Address when he said “As part of social infrastructure development we will provide suitably located and affordable housing and decent human settlements ... it is not just about building houses. It is also about transforming our residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities.”
Speaker, in an endeavour to kick-start forward planning, in response to the President’s call, we allocated 25 000 housing units for financial years 2010/11 and 2011/12, in all housing programmes, as per following districts: Motheo (7 076), Xhariep (1 649), Lejweleputswa (4 549), Thabo Mofutsanyana (4 729) and Fezile Dabi (6 997). Of the allocated 25 000 housing units:
- 21 600 is for Breaking New Ground (BNG) – commonly known as RDP houses
- 1 550 is allocated for incomplete houses
- 1 400 is for Land Restitution
- 450 is allocated for Emergency houses.
In partnership with the private sector, we will facilitate access to affordable housing finance, through piloting a project of housing assistance for public servants. A total of 250 housing units are planned in Bothaville, Nala Municipality. Speaker, in line with the proclamation of the metro status of Mangaung Local Municipality, we have accredited this municipality to implement housing programmes such as beneficiary management, subsidy budgeting and planning, infrastructure installation and priority programmes.
An amount of R411 million has been allocated by national Department of Human Settlements to this municipality to perform the above housing programmes. Naledi Local Municipality has been allocated 650 houses in memory of comrade Phalatsi and comrade Motloi, who were both community leaders in this area. 150 of this allocation have been set aside for Van Stadensrus and to date, 150 applications have been completed. Of the 150 units to be built, 40 sites have been allocated. We must, however, indicate that not all beneficiaries will be afforded houses at this instance, due to none availability of sites for construction. We are working together with the municipality to facilitate further development of sites to ensure construction of the remaining 110 housing units.
Speaker, re maoto re oka ditlhabela, re lebelong la ho aha matlo. Maobane ana a maobane re nehelane ka matlo a 12 ho maqheku a Van Standensrus, a 3 a tla sala a qetellwa. Sena e le karolo ya 150 eo re buang ka yona for Van Stadensrus.
Speaker, provisioning of shelter to our communities remains a key factor in the creation of sustainable human settlements. We wish to acknowledge to this house that there have been challenges in the provisioning of houses in 2010/11.
Speaker, ke Mmusong wa ANC feela moo e reng ha re ile ra kgopjwa, re emang pontsheng re ipuele nnete feela ho setjhaba sa rona. Re le lefapha re ile ra lahlehelwa ke R263 million eo re ntseng re buisana le ntlokgolo ka yona. Re na le tshepo e tiileng ya hore tharollo e tla fumaneha mme tjhelete e tla kgutla. Ho supana ka menwana ha ho na thusa ka letho ho fihlella tharollo.Re le Lefapha le bomphato ba rona kahong ya matlo, re tlameha ho jara maikarabello a diphephetso tseo re ileng ra thulana le tsona. Ha ra tsona re ka qoholla tsena tse latelang:
- Tlhokeho ya di-serviced sites
- Unlawful occupation of land by our communities
- Lack of bulk infrastructure
- Tlhokeho ya di-credible beneficiary lists
- Di-contractor tse sa bueng nnete ka capacity ya bona
- National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) e se nang capacity
- Dipula tse matlopotlopo
- Ho hloka a fully functional project management unit lefapheng
- Ho hloka a fully functional planning unit lefapheng.
In spite of these challenges we were able to build 5 216 aesthetically bigger and better houses and have put corrective measures to address such challenges. Among others we will be filling 101 critical vacancies in order to adhere to the directive of the Premier relating to the filling of all funded vacant posts.
The intention is to enhance our capacity to deliver on our mandate. We will prioritise people with specialised expertise such as Town Planning, Project Management, Engineering and Urban Design. In close collaboration with National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency (NURCHA), we will be rolling out hands-on Technical and Project Management support to the contractors to empower them as well as to ensure that we accelerate housing products on the ground on time. In this process we will also explore implementation of our Ranking and Grading strategy of performance of contractors. Working closely with the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA), 70 contractors will be identified and assisted with construction administration programmes, skills development and other construction related courses.
In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), 12 contractors will be identified from the current running projects for empowerment opportunities. Each contractor identified will receive funding to the amount of R1 million to be used as follows:
- R800 000 for purchasing of tools and machinery
- R200 000 for capacity development in business administration and management.
Speaker, let me point out that in identifying the contractors, the intention is to ensure that there is gradual progression ... to maximise the potential and quality delivery of our end products. Emerging contractors, with particular emphasis on Youth and Women contractors will benefit in this regard. We will also develop thirteen multi-purpose halls in the under mentioned areas to celebrate our heroes and heroines of the struggle in:
- Mangaung (Bloemfontein), we remember leaders such as Mandela’s 12 Disciples and Me Ma-Mohlakoana who was the woman to be elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC. She was also the founder member of the ANC Women’s League. She took part in the Defiance Campaign of 1952, was a delegate during the formation of the Freedom Charter in 1955 and a 1956 Treason trialist
- Moqhaka (Kroonstad) – Reverend Z Mahabane who was once the first 2 succession President before the unbanning of the ANC
- Maluti-A-Phofung (Qwaqwa) – Thabo Mofutsanyana, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of South Africa in the 1930’s and a member of the NEC of the ANC in the 1940’s
- Phumelela (Warden) – Anton Lembede who championed the ANC Youth League Programme of Action of 1949. He also taught and stayed in Frankfort
- Mohokare (Rouxville) - Albert Nzula founder member of ANC Youth League
- Matjhabeng (Welkom) – Ndoyisile Xhamfu, a cadre of Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) assassinated by the racist apartheid regime in 1985
- Nala (Bothaville and Wesselsbron) – Mpho Robert Letele, fighter for the people‟s rights in Marantha, Wesselsbron. He passed on in 2002
- Ngwathe (Parys) – Fezile Dabi young intellectual and founder of COSAS. Politician of dialectical material to conscientise young people
Speaker, on our journey to the centenary of ANC existence, we commemorate the historic march of women to the Union building in 1956. To this end, we commit to 13 construct 1 956 housing units through the women’s build programme. This programme will be implemented by women contractors in addition to our annual programme of building houses for identified beneficiaries during the 16 Days of Activism of No Violence against Women and Children. The Women’s Build programme will be rolled out in selected towns throughout the province, amongst others: Winburg, Brandfort, Ladybrand and Rouxville.
Speaker, in this financial year we seek to provide housing to educators that commute between their places of residence and places of work on farms. We have allocated 50 housing units for this programme in various farming localities.
In the last financial year we committed to the development of housing units in the rural and farm areas, 27 housing units were built with 23 structures still at various levels of completion at Diyatalawa.
During 2011/12 financial year, we will construct 50 housing units in Wilhemina farm and undertake planning and surveying of Slabberts Farm. The apartheid history was characterised by land dispossessions leading to landlessness and homelessness. This resulted in indigenous households stripped of their dignity. It is only now in the ANC government that this dignity is restored through Restitution of Land Rights, Land Reform and Redistribution as well as handing over of title deeds.
Last year, 257 houses were built for Land Claims Restitution Beneficiaries. We will continue to construct 392 housing units in Odendaalsrus, 59 Dealesville, 226 in Schoonplatz and 59 Ladybrand in 2011/12. Speaker, during this financial year we will build rental housing units in the following areas:
- 150 Brandwag in Bloemfontein (Social Housing)
- 392 Zamdela, Sasolburg in Metsimaholo (Community Residential Units)
We are currently conducting feasibility studies to determine the potential and demand for tenure options on the Social Housing, Community Residential Units (CRU) Programme and the Affordable Rental Housing in Dihlabeng and Kopanong Municipalities.
Our program to register and transfer 215 houses owned by the department as housing assets to the current occupants is on track. At present, we have already transferred 98 of these units in various localities and 74 sites to the Metsimaholo Municipality in terms of the dictate of the Housing Act. The transfer of the remaining 117 houses will be finalised during this financial year.
Speaker, there is an adage that says “Water is life, sanitation is dignity”. In pursuance of this ideal, 17 528 sites were planned and surveyed in the last financial year, this year we are installing infrastructure on 6950 of these sites.
An amount of R146.2 million has been set aside for installing various modes of infrastructure (e.g. water reticulation, sanitation and solid waste removal) in the following areas:
Mantsopa: (1 000 sites) Naledi (1 000 sites) Kopanong (914 sites) Setsoto (1 000 sites) Phumelela (1 000 sites) Ngwathe (780 sites) Dihlabeng (1 256 sites). In 2010/11, sixteen (16) land parcels were purchased in the following municipalities: Metsimaholo, Ngwathe, Moqhaka, Mohokare and Setsoto. We will acquire 6 land parcels that are well located and suitable for human settlements development to the amount of R20 million in the following municipalities:
- Nketoana (Reitz and Lindley)
- Maluti a Phofung (Harrismith)
- Ngwathe (Koppies)
- Phumelela (Vrede)
- Mafube (Frankfort)
- Moqhaka (Kroonstad).
In our attempt to accelerate beneficiary management, we will in collaboration with municipalities introduce a functional Housing Needs Register and a credible Housing Demand Database System in order to ensure a transparent beneficiary list management by municipalities. Vulnerable social groups such as the elderly, child-headed families and persons with disabilities will receive preferred consideration.
To this end, we are purchasing two trucks embedded with the mobile Housing Subsidy System (HSS) and the Housing Needs Registry (HNR). In this manner we will be able to reach far flung areas and be able to provide real time information in regard to beneficiary information. Queries can also be handled on sight. This year, R13 million is allocated for the transfer of deeds to 14 000 beneficiaries who qualify in terms of Enhanced Extended Discount Benefit Scheme and BNG households. Furthermore, we will also facilitate the opening of 20 Township Registers in the Province.
In seeking to address the apartheid spatial distortions, we intend to rollout Mixed Housing Development in the strategically located land which was used as a buffer zone to divide the erstwhile Black communities from the erstwhile White communities. The objective is to integrate the various property classes together into functional human settlements.
We aim to mix private and public properties ensuring that private properties have a higher percentage than the publicly supplied. Speaker, in line with exploring clean energy alternatives, we are rolling out a pilot project of 300 houses using material that saves energy, solar geysers and lighting and a unique sewer purification plant in partnership with the private sector.
This plant will also be producing paletted fertilisers for agriculture. A community bakery will be built, a light factory producing solar light unit as well as school will be provided through donor funding. The youth in the community will be trained in various skills such as plumbing and masonry as well as sound waste management and recycling. When building houses together with our contractors, we will compliment the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in greening and beautifying our gardens with vegetables as part of environmental care.
MEC Zwane, re mmoho! on skills development
In fulfilling the mandate of Skills Development Programme in the province, the ANC led government has the pleasure to announce that here in Naledi young people were awarded bursaries in various fields of study. We acknowledge the presence of some of these bursary holders in our midst who are residents of this town. After finishing their studies, we encourage them to come and plough back in the Free State and particularly in Naledi. In this financial year, here in Van Stadensrus there will be 25 learnerships trained in Mixed Farming who will be receiving a stipend of R1 200 per month.
In conclusion Speaker, let me restate the words of our icon Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela in his book „Conversation with Myself‟ when he said, “The ideals we cherish, our fondest dreams and fervent hopes may not be realised in our lifetime. But that is beside the point. The knowledge that in your day you did your duty, and lived up to the expectations of your fellow men is in itself a rewarding experience and magnificent achievement.”
Let me take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to the Premier and Members of the Executive Council for their continued support, Members of the Portfolio Committee and the Legislature, the Heads of the two Departments and staff, all the municipalities, South African Local Government Association (SALGA)Free State and my organisation the African National Congress. Let us salute the outgoing councillors for the sterling role that they played. We accept that the role and responsibilities of a councillor are immense and sometimes unbearable. Ha ke ananele ka hlompho tshehetso le mamello ya molekane wa ka le lelapa, mosebetsing ona o matla o re tobileng. Speaker, I hereby present the budget vote of the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; and Human Settlements, as appended.
Ke a leboha.
Source: Free State Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements
