Hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP,
The President of the Republic of South Africa, Hon J G Zuma,
The Premier of Gauteng and other Premiers,
Speaker of Gauteng and Speakers of other provinces,
Members of the NCOP and the Provincial Legislatures,
Provincial Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association,
Executive Mayor and Speaker of the City of Tshwane,
Councillors,
The people of Gauteng.
I would like to start by thanking the President for always availing himself to address the National Council of Provinces wherever it seats in the country. In 1996 we adopted the Constitution which provides for a form of democracy that is both representative and participatory.
The Constitution also gave rise to the NCOP which must facilitate public involvement in the legislative and other processes. It further requires this House of Parliament to conduct its business in an open manner and to hold its sittings and those of its committees in public.
As part of furthering its constitutional mandate, in 2002 the NCOP initiated the Taking Parliament to the People programme to enhance public participation. Our aim was to give the people an opportunity to engage their public representatives directly (i.e. participatory democracy).
Our Constitution makes it possible for the NCOP to bring the leaders of the different spheres of government together under one roof (national, provincial and local) in order to solve the challenges facing the people we lead.
Through this programme, we have visited all the provinces around the country.
We:
1) have ensured that people, from even the most rural part of the country, get the information they need and participate in the processes of Parliament;
2) have ensured that people engage directly with their local, provincial and national leaders, including Ministers, thus promoting public accountability;
As such, South Africa is one of the most open societies where challenges facing the people are discussed in an open manner. The programme has contributed positively to development in many of the provinces we have visited. For example, in:
Eastern Cape (visited in 2008):
- 17 cooperatives which were visited during the programme there are now under the guidance of the Cooperative Development Corporation.
Limpopo (visited in 2010):
- In 2010 there was a complaint that the mines had brought nothing to the people and were depleting their water resources. Now a partnership between the mines and the district municipality was formed and programmes have now been put in place that address amongst other things roads, electrification, water and education;
- The community where the Bokoni mine drilled a shaft within the residential area, this community has now been relocated and new houses have been built for them by the mine.
Free State (visited in 2010):
- The Pigzone Youth Project now has a state-of-the-art pig grower house.
Mpumalanga (2013):
- The Minister of Sport and Recreation delivered on his commitment of making available sporting equipment for the youth at Gert Sibande District.
- A partnership with the mines on community development led to a R19 million project that has been rolled out to provide facilities such as an industrial park in Badplaas and community facilities at some traditional offices and roads.
These were some of the many positive responses to issues raised by the people.
This week here the people raised a number of issues.
They acknowledged the work that has been done since 1994. They talked about houses, about new opportunities etc. However, they also said that we must do more so that everybody can have a better quality of life.
Some of the issues raised with us include:
1) title deeds and administration of estates
2) substance abuse
3) access to sporting facilities at schools
4) agriculture (people are willing to be trained and get involved in agricultural programmes),
5) housing – issue of formalisation of informal settlements (the delays are leading people to invade land, especially the backyard dwellers)
6) health – infrastructure and care (long queues); Minister Motsoaledi has announced that government is to build a hospital here in Soshanguve to address this
7) labour-related issues.
Over and above this, we have taken note of all the public and written submissions from the people who attended the gathering. For example, the Department of Social Development has given us a report on how they are dealing with some of the matters raised. They are assisting Mr Sammy Kgomongwe, Mrs Maphutha and many others pertaining to their submissions. Many other enquiries are being processed by other departments. We will monitor the progress.
On Monday I said that development is a process. In 1994 we had the task of starting the process of transforming our society so that development can target and benefit the people. This is an ongoing journey.
We thank the people of Gauteng for their frankness. We commit ourselves to following up on the commitments and to deal with the issues they raised. We will also make our report available to the relevant authorities for action and for noting the achievements made and lessons learnt going forward.
I thank you!
