Honourable Speaker
Deputy Speaker
Members of the Executive Council
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Acting Director-General
Senior Government Officials
Heads of State Owned Enterprises
Honoured Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Honourable Speaker
Our Nation Mourns!
Grief seeps through our Bones!
We are gathered in this august House as the Nation mourns the untimely departure of Minister Collins Ohm Chabane and his two protectors on Sunday morning, 15 March 2015.
The Imbira beats no more!
Ilanga litshon’emini!
A candlelight blown out too soon!
A journey cut too short! Too soon.
Collins Ohm Chabane is no more!
On behalf of the people of the Eastern Cape, I would like to convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families during this difficult moment. Indeed, the nation and the ANC have lost an outstanding leader, a seasoned politician, political commissar and a loyal dedicated servant of the people.
Hardly a week after we bid farewell to our own Saba Mbixane, Death once more circled closer, pounced and claimed a life of a young and dedicated Mayor of Port St Johns Municipality, Councillor Mangqo. To his family, we say, “Your Loss is Our Loss”,senzakele njengani. Lalani ngenxeba! Honourable Speaker, we meet here during Human rights month, a month set aside to celebrate the restoration of human rights and human dignity brought about by the
ushering in of the new democratic dispensation and our Constitution. This coming weekend, the country will converge in Uitenhage to mark 55 years since the Sharpeville massacre.In four days, our country will also mark 30 years of the Uitenhage Massacre.
We are also grateful to President JG Zuma and National Government for repatriating the remains of our fallen heroes, Cde JB Marks and Cde Moses Kotane, for a dignified reburial in the country of their birth, as an honour for their sacrifices that led to the restoration of human rights and dignity of the majority of the oppressed.
Honourable Speaker, about a month ago, we tabled the State of the Province Address to this House, outlining the plans to achieve the Provincial Medium Term Strategic Framework and Vision 2030, that is, the NDP. In Dec 2014, we also tabled the Provincial Development Plan (PDP) for consideration by this house. The PDP identified five priorities around which the people of the E cape must be rallied around.
These priorities are based on areas where the province has competitive advantage. The priorities set by Vision 2030 and developmental challenges facing the province have necessitated that the OTP reviews the way it has been operating in the past and reposition itself as the strategic centre to drive development. This strategic posture is well articulated in the strategic plan we are tabling today.
The Office of the Premier as the strategic centre of the Provincial Administration has intentionally set out its objectives towards furthering this purpose by providing the required leadership and strategic support to the provincial departments, entities as well as municipalities.
Honourable Speaker, the approved structure of the office of the Premier is composed of four programmes namely; Administration, Institutional Development and Organisational Support; Policy and Governance and, Executive Support Services. A total budget of R3 458,919 million has been allocated to support the work of the department and is now unpacked below.
Programme 1: Administration, with an allocation of R123, 116 million will focus on strengthening the capacity of the department on the provision of leadership and oversight responsibilities throughout the provincial administration. The office of the Director General and its ability to provide strategic support and required intervention will be bolstered through the technical support capability being built within. An initial allocation of R10 million has been set aside for this purpose and we shall continue with the support to the Departments of Education and Health. The diagnostic work that was conducted acknowledges the improvements made with the minimum support that has been placed there over the past two years.
However, there is still much more work that is required, especially in the Department of Education. We are encouraged with the progress we have made in the Department of Health. Hands on support will continue in these two departments albeit at differing levels. In addition, focus will also be placed on supporting municipalities.
Currently the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan and Buffalo City Metropolitan are the first to be targeted. Working together with the other coordinating departments, Treasury and Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Office of the Premier will assess and align the current intervention support being provided by various role players in order to fast track the turnaround. A budget of R2 million will be allocated to conduct the assessment and diagnosis as well as development of the turnaround plans within six months of the commencement of the financial year.
Honourable Speaker, the Office of the Premier will also drive overall infrastructure coordination and develop the necessary capacity to enable efficient and effective planning of infrastructure delivery in the province. The Provincial infrastructure
Development Framework will be revised and enhanced to inform the required structures for this purpose.
Part of integrating and expanding the role of Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) will include the inclusion of the social and economic infrastructure programmes into the work of this entity, moving beyond its current scope of coordination of national strategic infrastructure projects whilst focused on improving the delivery of programmes and services across the provincial administration, the programme will continue to strive for efficiencies in its operations. One of the areas that requires management focus is human resources management and effectiveness thereof. Our assessment of the Human Resources function shows that the department is falling below the desired levels of maturity in human resource management. In addressing this weakness, resources have been committed for improvements in employee wellness; labour relations; training and development in critical core skills and timely recruitment of required capacity.
Honourable Speaker, other areas require sustenance. In that regard, maintenance of the clean audit outcome remains our constant focus. Financial and supply chain management activities will ensure that internal controls are adhered to and there is compliance with laws and regulations. The department has established all the required governance structures. The risk management function has been capacitated to assess the risks posing a threat to the department’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives.
Full speech [PDF]
