Honourable Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Mpumalanga Legislature
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable members of Parliament and Members of the Mpumalanga Legislature
Our Honourable Mayors, Councillors and Leaders of SALGA
Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Ikosi SE Mahlangu and Kgoshigadi AS Mohlala and our revered traditional leaders, Amakhosi/Magoshi
The Director-General of the province, Mr J Rabodila
The HOD of COGTA, Mr MD Mahlobo and his management team
Heads of Departments
The Executive Heads of our parastatals and Board Chairpersons
Members of the Provincial Executive Committee of the African National Congress and the Alliance partners
Leaders of business, labour and civil society
Last but not least my loving wife, Makhosazana Mokoena, family and friends
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
Honourable Speaker, I rise to submit to this August house that local government remains the most significant trajectory in the provision of a better life to the broader citizens of our province.
History books tell us that we are the cradle of humankind that the evolution of humankind started in Africa, the renowned civilisation and science started on our continent. I do agree that all that I envy is in Africa ‘Konke engiku funayo kuse-Afrika’. All eyes are on this great continent and this beautiful land.
With 28 days before we host the world soccer premium event on our African shores, all eyes are on this great continent and beautiful land. Mpumalanga province will equally be placed on the radar. Mpumalanga, with its special people and its unparalleled landscape of fauna and flora, is a province with such potential all we need is to look beyond the current constraints and optimise the existing opportunities at our disposal.
This will enable us to develop a comprehensive socio-economic development package that will socially and economically re-energise our municipalities through agricultural reform, infrastructure development and sustainable human development.
2010 is also a year in which the country seeks to radically change the focus on our system of local governance. It is also a year in which government has taken a decision to make sure that we do things differently and that we accelerate the provision and delivery of services to the many South Africans, who after 16 years of democracy, still do not have access to decent sanitation, clean water, electricity, streets and houses.
In the words of Amilcar Cabral, a poet, revolutionary and son of the African soil, who argues in his book, Materialist, Theory and Practice of Culture and Ethnicity, that, “Always bear in mind that people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head, they are fighting to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children”.
When President Jacob Zuma delivered his State of the Nation Address on 11 February 2010, he declared 2010 as the year of action. He further said that “The defining feature of this administration will be that it knows where the people live, understands their needs and responds faster. Government must work faster, harder and smarter.” His words were further echoed by Premier DD Mabuza when he delivered his State of the Province Address on 19 February 2010, when he said, “We are calling for less s’chamtho but more action, action and action.”
The marching orders given by both President Zuma and Premier Mabuza clearly state what is expected of us both as public representatives’ and government officials to implement our election manifesto mandate.
Achievements of the past year
During the State of the Province Address on 19 February 2010, our Premier, Honourable DD Mabuza said, “In the long term, the province will develop a comprehensive turnaround strategy for local government that will place local government into a sustainable developmental path.” In the same address he further said, “In this regard, we will convene a Local Government Summit before the end of this month to craft practical programmes that will assist municipalities to be more people centred and service delivery-driven.”
I am pleased to indicate that, as a department, we have responded accordingly to his marching orders of “less s’chamtho but more and action, action and action” when we successfully convened an all inclusive Provincial Local Government Indaba on 25 to 26 February 2010 in Secunda in the Gert Sibande District.
The indaba was graced by the leadership of local government, provincial administration, traditional leaders, State Owned Enterprises, sector departments, organised labour, civil society and non-governmental organisations. A number of resolutions were taken by this august gathering and I will allude later on how these decisions will be taken forward.
The province delivered on the promise made to develop a comprehensive local government turn-around strategy to respond to the challenges faced by this important sphere of our government system. The Provincial Local Government Indaba adopted a provincial local government turn-around strategy that has formed the basis for the development of individual Municipal Turn-Around Strategies (MTAS).
I wish to commend all our municipalities and the role-payers who have demonstrated high levels of commitment and goodwill through their active participation in this process. I am pleased to announce that, to date, all 21 our municipalities have finalised their MTAS, and 19 of them have been endorsed by their respective councils and accordingly have been respectively signed-off by the executive mayors and the municipal managers.
What remains to be concluded in the planning phase of this important initiative is the integration of the MTAS into the respective integrated development plans.
Honourable Speaker, allow me to share with this august house how we intend to provide practical and sustainable support to our municipalities to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in a more responsive, effective, efficient transparent and accountable manner; or in the words of President Zuma, ‘to work faster, harder and smarter’.
Last year the department committed to providing support to municipalities to speed up access to basic services. Honourable Members, our hands-on experience during the election campaigns, Executive Council Outreach Programme and other stakeholder engagements with our communities has shown that access to reliable and affordable electricity, clean water, efficient sanitation and proper waste management remain a challenge in many communities.
We are pleased with the outcomes of the Water Summit, held in September 2009, wherein we managed as a province, to diagnose the challenges of water supply and demand in the province and to craft a provincial water plan that will be used as a guide as we tackle the challenges of water demand and supply in the province.
Our subsequent discussions with Eskom have resulted in an agreement that they will share the water they transport to power stations with communities that have no water.
As a department we are pleased to announce that we deferred the construction of two Thusong Centres, indicated in my policy and budget statement last year, to redress service delivery pressures with respect to water and electricity provision.
The department managed to equip and drill 57 boreholes throughout the province as part of our contribution to alleviate the problem of water provision in areas that are highly stressed. We furthermore spent R10 million on the construction of phase one of the Bethal Electrification Project in partnership with the Gert Sibande District and Govan Mbeki Local Municipalities. This initiative in addition contributed in a small way towards uplifting emerging contractors and created 456 short term jobs during the upgrading of the substation that will increase the electricity capacity in Bethal, addressing the challenges of power outages, especially in winter months.
The capacity of some municipalities remains a challenge and is a direct cause of low spending by various municipalities with respect to their municipal infrastructure grants. The province currently stands at 60 percent MIG grant spend and municipalities have a remaining 40 percent to spend in less than two months. The slow spending trends, besides technical capacity constraints, include, inter alia, slow procurement processes, poor planning and bureaucratic business appraisal processes. The department supported municipalities in engaging national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and National Treasury to prevent the unspent funds being surrendered.
We are pleased that our intervention yielded positive results and that we are closely monitoring the situation through assessing project plans, visiting the worst performing municipalities, and crafting acceleration plans. We have agreed with the Department of Water Affairs to fast-track the appraisal of technical reports.
Honourable Speaker, we further committed in last year’s policy and budget statement to deal with the question of poverty and unemployment through stimulating local economic development. Working together with our partners Department for Economic Development Environment and Tourism (DEDET) and GTZ we concluded maturity assessments on the status of LED in each of our municipalities as well as on the capability of the provincial COGTA and DEDET LED Units to provide support to municipalities in this area of our work.
Through our LED initiatives we managed to provide hands on support to municipalities in developing their LED strategies and we have trained 36 LED Officials in partnership with WITS, who graduated earlier this year.
Lastly I promised that we shall spare no effort in restoring the dignity that should be accorded to the institution of traditional leadership. I am pleased to indicate that the renovation of the traditional councils’ offices has commenced in eight of the ten offices through our partnership with the MRTT. I must hasten to indicate we experienced some regrettable delays in commencing with this task due to the verification and procurement processes.
Through this process we have created 109 short term jobs for local young men and women, who had an opportunity to be exposed to life skills training.
Honourable Speaker, allow me to express appreciation for the marked improvement in the participation of traditional leaders in municipal councils in terms of section 82 of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act. I am pleased to confirm that I have signed off and published the names of traditional leaders who will serve on municipal councils.
Disaster management
Our disaster management capacity was put to test over the past year when we were called upon to assist with a number of incidents, which included a fire outbreak as well as a foot and mouth disease outbreak in Mbombela, and adverse weather patterns that affected 12 municipalities.
The 120 skid units procured by the department and supplied to each of the districts, together with our education campaigns and commitment and participation by stakeholders, yielded results in preventing the severe fires experienced in the Province two years ago.
The department assisted communities affected and/or displaced by heavy storms with 356 blankets, 68 tents and 285 tarpaulins. A soup truck was also dispatched to affected communities. Approximately 600 houses and 65 schools were affected due to storm damage, with the regrettable loss of life when a child passed away during the Langeloop storms.
Infrastructure damage to roads and bridges is close to R55 million. At this stage, I want to thank Mr Whitey Basson of Shoprite Checkers who did not hesitate to provide a soup truck when I approached him last year.
State of our local government in the province
Service delivery protests
Hardly two months into office, when we were still setting our plans and structures in place the province was marred by service delivery protests that were characterised by violence, intimidation, destruction of properties and in some instances loss of lives.
Largely, these protests pointed to challenges in areas of financial management, institutional capacity and leadership in some of our municipalities. Such manifestations of poor performance, poor communication and perceived ‘social distance’ between the servants of the people and people themselves should become focal points of attention as we continue to turn our local government system around into a better performing machinery.
As a democratic state we will at all times respect the right of people to voice their concerns through protests; however the violent protests, wanton destruction of property and intimidation will not be tolerated.
The damage to properties is estimated at R38 280 588, which includes damage to councillors’ properties that were destroyed. I have placed this matter on the agenda of MINMEC to deal with the policy vacuum in dealing with matters of how to compensate public representatives for the damage to property during service delivery protests. We have advised municipalities in the interim to enlist with South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA) to cover such instances.
The number of man days lost during these service delivery protests amounts to 84 working days, spread as follows per district: Ehlanzeni District 22 (26.19 percent), Gert Sibande 52 (61.9 percent) and Nkangala 10 (11.9 percent). It is interesting to note that whilst the service delivery protests in Mpumalanga received the most media coverage, Gauteng in fact experiencing the highest levels of service delivery protests, followed by the North West.
The former President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, urged us not to run away from the challenges we face, not to seek refuge in faraway locations, hoping the multiple challenges we face will fade away. He said, “We must not run away, yes, we won’t run away, we shall turn the system of local government around, we shall make sure that local government works, we shall emerge victorious against unemployment and poverty.”
Those opportunists who are riding on the back of our communities’ genuine service delivery issues should however be warned you will be exposed! As government we are remain committed to meeting the basic service delivery needs of our people we will not run away. Municipal Interventions in terms of Section 106 and Section 139(1) (b) of the Constitution
The province had to intervene to support municipalities that were confronted by service delivery protests as a short term immediate measure. In some municipalities, we had no choice but to put them under administration. In others, the ruling party effected leadership changes to bring stability to these institutions.
There are currently five municipalities that are under curatorship in terms of section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution, namely Pixley Ka Seme, Mkhondo, Thaba Chweu, Lekwa and Thembisile Hani Local Municipalities. I am pleased to report that significant progress have been made in these areas with respect to restoring public confidence, and fostering social cohesion and stability through the implementation of the section 106 investigation report recommendations and the actual recovery plans.
We have been steadfast in our resolve to root out corruption and deal firmly with manifestations of maladministration and financial misappropriation. Accordingly, a number of people have been subjected to due legal processes. A number of managers are currently suspended, some have been dismissed, and companies that have conducted themselves in an improper way have been blacklisted.
We are currently moving with speed in cost recovery, criminal proceedings and asset forfeiture by working closely with the relevant law enforcement agencies against those who have been cited in these reports and have a case to answer. Of the R3,2 million that was reportedly siphoned out of Thaba Chweu, we have now recovered R2,3 million and SAPS and the banks are assisting us to recover the outstanding R900 000.
We are pleased to note that due to our intervention the Lekwa and Thaba Chweu local municipalities have been able to significantly reduce their debts to their creditors like Eskom and Water Affairs. Lekwa Local Municipality has managed to settle the R32 million owed to Eskom and I wish to thank those consumers who have paid their accounts and the sterling work done by the administration team and other partners.
I also wish to express our gratitude for the support provided by Mondi, Sasol, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Xstrata, mining houses and government departments for their support in turning the situation around. The enthusiasm and goodwill by individuals, body corporate and all sectors to make local government everybody’s business is amazing and humbling.
I am pleased to announce that the intervention in Pixley ka Seme has yielded the desired results. Late last year we scaled down our intervention, the new political leadership of the municipality is now in place and we are currently finalising the process of the appointment of the municipal manager. We hope to withdraw the intervention within the next few weeks, but shall oversee the transition and ensure a smooth hand-over.
In the intervening period, the Executive Council have visited all the municipalities under administration and conducted outreach programmes. We are generally satisfied with the advances recorded to date. During Cabinet’s interaction with communities, we received positive feedback about the success of these interventions in the affected municipalities. Communities also used the opportunity to flag on challenges that require attention going forward. We shall continue to interact in a dynamic fashion with our communities to ensure that government is on top of addressing these challenges experienced by our people.
Local government assessments
The ‘state of local government report’ points out that there are some good practices that are taking place at the local government level, but that these good practices tend to be overshadowed by a range of problems and challenges that have placed the local government system in distress.
The report reveals that:
* There are serious governance challenges in many municipalities
* Administrations of many municipalities are not functioning properly
* Finances of many municipalities are not in good shape
* Many municipalities unable to deliver some of the basic services
* There is failure by sector departments to provide appropriate supervision, monitoring and support.
A plan for building a developmental state through a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system
Our work as a department is premised on the mandate given by the ANC through its election manifesto. This plan is aligned to government’s medium term strategic framework priorities and outcomes. In order to achieve the government objective of building an effective, efficient and responsive local government system, COGTA will implement the resolutions of the Provincial Local Government Indaba, guided by the local government
Turn-Around Strategy and the Local Government 10-point plan:
* Improve the quantity and quality of municipal basic services to the people in the areas of access to water, sanitation, electricity, waste management, roads and disaster management
* Enhance municipal contribution to job creation and sustainable
* Livelihoods through local economic development (LED)
* Ensure the development and adoption of reliable and credible IDPs
* Deepen democracy through a refined ward committee model
* Build and strengthen the administrative, institutional and financial capabilities of municipalities
* Create a single window of coordination for support, monitoring and intervention in municipalities
* Uproot fraud, corruption, nepotism and all forms of maladministration affecting local government
* Develop a coherent and cohesive system of governance and a more equitable intergovernmental fiscal system
* Develop and strengthen a politically and administratively stable system of municipalities
* Restore the institutional integrity of municipalities.
In addition, the province has committed itself to strengthening the role of the institution of traditional leadership to be at the centre of development in their areas of jurisdiction.
In this policy and budget statement we have prioritised resources on five areas of our work.
Improve the quantity and quality of municipal basic services
The department will spend approximately R47 million in supporting municipalities through the provision of reliable bulk water infrastructure. In the next few weeks we shall conclude the construction of the Delmas Water Treatment Plant and the installation of five boreholes to ensure adequate water supply to the plant. We shall in addition assist those municipalities that have high water stressed areas by equipping and upgrading and drilling an additional 26 boreholes.
The commissioning of the Delmas Bulk Water Pipeline that will be constructed by Rand Water shall commence as per the agreement signed by COGTA, the Department of Water Affairs and the Victor Khanye Local Municipality. The department is contributing an amount of R25 million to the achievement of this bulk infrastructure.
As part of our contribution to access to electricity, we are in the final stages of wrapping up the construction of the Bethal Electrification Project phase one. The department will contribute an additional R10 million in this financial year as per the agreement signed by COGTA, the Gert Sibande District and the Govan Mbeki Local municipalities on the implementation of the phase II.
The department will commence the consultation process on the provincial disaster management framework this year to strengthen provincial disaster management capacity. Dedicated support will be given to municipalities in developing their municipal disaster management plans. The provincial disaster management centre will finally be completed in the next two months. We have made a provision to equip the provincial disaster management centre with the requisite state of the art ICT infrastructure and to procure fire fighting vehicles.
As part of our efforts to bring government services closer to our people with regards to service access points, we have decided to continue with the construction of four Thusong Centres at an estimated cost of R9 million. I have accordingly directed the head of department to look at innovative ways of rolling out this access service infrastructure in our rural municipalities, for example by considering a shared services model especially in areas under the jurisdiction of traditional authorities, where the situation is dire.
Build and strengthen the administrative, institutional and financial capabilities of municipalities
The department will spend most of its budget on this area of our work to strengthen support to municipalities.
Strengthening the department’s capacity to respond to the new mandate through a reorganisation exercise is currently underway, and we are expecting to roll-out the new structure of the department in the next financial year.
We will establish the Provincial Rapid Response Unit in order to strengthen COGTA’s ability to support municipalities. This unit will streamline and coordinate all municipal support initiatives and ensure that timeous intervention where there is a need, takes place. This unit will mobilise capacity to support municipalities and then demobilise after the intervention is concluded.
We have a collective duty to strengthen the capacity and capability of municipalities by ensuring that all the vacant top 4 municipal management posts are filled by suitably qualified persons by 2011.
We have agreed at the Local Government Indaba that COGTA, in partnership with SALGA and the Provincial Treasury will conduct capability and competency assessments for municipal managers, chief financial officers, planners and technical directors be concluded for all municipalities in this financial year.
Furthermore, the department will be issuing 25 external bursaries in various fields to create a pool of young people that can be trained for the sector, as well as enter into agreements with three universities in areas of public management, technical and engineering services, legislation and compliance to strengthen our capacity to provide efficient and effective support services to municipalities.
In addition, we are exploring a partnership with ICT Works for the uptake of a number of learnerships in the areas of ICT and risk management through National Treasury support.
We shall furthermore deepen our support to municipalities to develop credible Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) through district engagements. I have requested the Director-General (DG) and HOD to ensure that all the district IDP forums conclude their work before the commencement of the Soccer World Cup. Municipalities are currently consulting communities on their plans and budgets.
As part of our commitment to good governance, the department, in collaboration with the Provincial Treasury, will this year build on our work to lead, support and monitor the implementation of the Operation Clean Audit 2014 Plan for the province. The department will provide targeted support to ten identified municipalities with respect to their financial turn-around. This support will look at areas of asset management, financial systems, revenue enhancement and debt management. This year I will also drive the process of reviewing all oversight governance structures such as the internal audit unit, strengthening audit committees and accelerating the process of establishing the municipal public accounts committees.
Enhance municipal contribution to job creation and sustainable livelihoods through local economic development (LED)
The department will deepen its work on local economic development, as LED has a positive net effect in our quest for creating decent work, fighting crime and stimulating local economies for sustainable livelihoods. With DEDET we shall ensure that we support municipalities to produce realistic LED plans. Accordingly, I have been knocking at the doors of various business institutions to request them to be practically involved in the development of local economies.
Through these engagements Xstrata has committed a total of R3.2 million to youth development, enterprise development and education priorities in Thaba Chweu. By December 2010 Xstrata would have spent R6.3 million as part of LED initiatives. Discussions are also taking place with the mining houses and other private sectors companies in the province and I am optimistic that these talks will yield positive results.
These partnerships have expanded to areas of telecommunications. I have engaged with Sentech and Vodacom in helping those municipalities that have challenges with access to communication services. This relationship will enhance access to government services, including through our Thusong Service Centres. For the first time a community such as Ekulindeni in the Albert Luthuli Local Municipality will receive a signal and will be able to watch Bafana Bafana and other games live in the comfort of their homes.
Vodacom has furthermore committed to the roll-out of services to some of the most remote corners of the province following engagement by Premier DD Mabuza and myself. The Donkerhoek Mobile BTS and new base stations in Commondale, Ajax, Klein Vaal rivier, Broederstroom Farm and Skoongesigtht have been completed, and a number of other initiatives are in the pipeline.
Ensure the development and adoption of reliable and credible IDPs
Participatory governance, where citizens take an active part in the planning, implementation and monitoring of development in their communities, is an important tenet for sustainable development. It is therefore important that municipal plans, popularly known as IDPs, should be centred on the will of the people.
People should be involved in a genuine process of consultation in crafting the IDPs. I expect that all councils, after passing their service delivery budget implementation plans, will return to their communities and provide feedback to all the wards on the outcomes of the IDP and budgetary processes. Councillors are furthermore expected to provide quarterly feedback to all wards on municipal performance against the IDPs.
As I alluded before, the time for adopting non-credible IDPs is over! Exco has finalised all the provincial plans and the departments need to engage and integrate their plans aimed at supporting municipalities. All sector plans will be included in the IDPs.
Service delivery forum are currently being established to ensure proper harmonisation of our efforts and delivery at a faster pace as part of the newly adopted outcome-based approach to service delivery. We will be entering into implementation protocols signed between line function departments and municipalities.
Strengthen and support the institution of traditional leadership within government activities
Premier DD Mabuza, during the opening of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, made a number of pronouncements. In carrying this work forward, we shall close the policy gap with respect to tools of trade for Traditional Leaders in this financial year. The department will spend approximately R20 million in the purchasing of 59 vehicles for the 59 Traditional Councils. Accordingly, I have instructed the department to proceed with the necessary paperwork through Exco to ensure that the vehicles are handed over later this year. Our newly established Traditional Councils will be provided with the necessary training and support, including the deployment of additional support staff, to empower these institutions in carrying out their developmental mandate.
Honourable Speaker, allow me to express appreciation and gratitude for the leadership provided by the Executive of the House of Traditional Leadership, under the stewardship of Ikosi Mahlangu, in fostering cooperation between municipalities and traditional leaders in our shared vision of fostering sustainable, integrated development in our rural communities.
Building a developmental state including improvement of public services and strengthening democratic institutions
For government to deliver on our mandate, we need well-oiled machinery that is accountable, transparent and people-centred. We need to spare no effort in changing the organisational culture at local government level and in the provincial administration to demand professionalism, excellence and accountability for results.
As government we need to take bold decisions to enforce the culture of performance management by rewarding those who are excelling in their duties and equally, ensure that there will be consequences for poor performance.
As a province we shall spare no effort in instilling a new culture and new value systems amongst those working for the provincial administration, local government and state owned enterprises. To turn the situation around, we need to strengthen our engagements with citizens through izimbizo, ward committee meetings, IDP forums and hearings.
Accordingly, I will be championing the revival of the Batho Pele/ Bantu Phambili/People First/ Mense Eerste programme through a campaign aimed at capacitating those individuals at the forefront of service delivery in the department and in our municipalities. These measures are aimed at developing a cadreship that is to be of service to the people, whilst imbued with a caring attitude in dealing with citizens. We must build a bureaucratic capacity that will live up to the challenge.
I will also be championing the roll-out good citizen campaigns to foster patriotism, caring communities and ensuring that local government becomes everybody’s business.
Fighting corruption
The battle for control over resources has impacted negatively on municipalities. The strengthening of procurement systems and controls at municipalities will be fast-tracked by the lead provincial departments, including implementation of anti-corruption strategies. Premier DD Mabuza, in his State of the Province Address in February 2010, indicated our resolve and commitment in dealing decisively with corrupt individuals across spectrum.
Our resolve in dealing with mal-administration and corruption has no boundaries. As a department we walk our talk, and we had to investigate allegations with respect to water for all and related projects in my department. The officials that are implicated in the report were duly charged by the Department and due legal processes are currently underway.
Conclusion
Honourable Speaker, we need to respond to our clarion call “Working together to make local government everybody business”. As practitioners of local government, we must spearhead the process to turn around our local government system. Whilst we are still sorting out the long term strategic issues, there is a need to come up with immediate and practical actions that we can do now to alleviate the plight of our people.
As indicated earlier, we have just concluded the individual Municipal Turn-Around Strategies (MTAS). We have observed with appreciation that all municipalities have been successful in completing their MTAS, thanks to the active participation of councillors and senior management of municipalities during long hours of debating, reprioritising and engaging on key issues that should make an impact in our communities.
I must immediately indicate that these Municipal Turn-Around Strategies are not just documents of compliance that, once developed, will then just be filed away to gather dust. The department will ensure that these strategies are incorporated into the IDP’s, and that the targets and deliverables are worked into the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans (SDBIP’s) as well as the performance contracts of Municipal Managers and Section 57 Managers. The department will continuously monitor progress.
We need to move faster in implementing our programmes in the same spirit that the Honourable DD Mabuza, the Premier of the province, has called upon us into action, “Less s’chamtho, action action and action”.
In conclusion, allow me to express my appreciation to Honourable Premier DD Mabuza for his visible and sound leadership, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honourable SPD Skhosana, the Head of Department, Mr MD Mahlobo, the staff in the office of the MEC and the department at large, the African National Congress, and last but not least, my wife and family for their unwavering support.
Mr Speaker, allow me to table the budget for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and I accordingly request the house to approve the amount of R404,093 million for the financial year 2010/11.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
13 May 2010
