by T Makwetla
12 June 2007
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Distinguished Members of the Executive Council,
Our Traditional Leaders present and Chairperson of the House, Inkosi Mthethwa,
in absentia,
Heads of Department and senior government officials,
Our Social Partners,
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
The House at large
Madam Speaker, when we tabled the priorities and programmes for the
2006/2007 financial year to this esteemed house, we committed ourselves to
improved performance in providing strategic leadership and support to the
implementation of the provincial Programme of Action. It is encouraging to
highlight that our internal capabilities have been strengthened to enable us to
discharge our responsibilities for overall macro-coordination and monitoring
and evaluation of government programmes. We are confident that the Office of
the Premier is now better positioned to contribute towards improved performance
of the Provincial Administration as a whole.
Part of the strategic leadership role we need to play is ensuring that
provincial priorities and programmes address the national challenges of
poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment and advance socio-economic
development to create a better life for all. It is essential that our
leadership support to the provincial development agenda gives effect to the
realisation of Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA) targets, the achievement of the objectives for the five-year Local
Government Agenda and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Flagships
Madame Speaker, we believe that the 'Big Five' flagship projects presented
during the State of the Province Address in February this year will contribute
significantly to the achievement of development and service delivery. The
flagship projects are provincial priorities which anchor the implementation of
provincial growth and development strategies and programmes across a wide range
of sectors to ensure that the Province improves the delivery of basic services
and stimulates growth that contributes to job creation and the reduction of
poverty.
The Office of the Premier is providing leadership to the flagship programmes
by harnessing the talents and energies of the sector departments to
collectively deliver a range of visible, high impact developmental projects in
the medium term. It is important to highlight that none of the flagships can be
successfully implemented by the Provincial Government on its own. These are
provincial flagships, and therefore, require close collaboration of all the
spheres of government, in particular local government, and all parastatals that
do work in the province.
In grappling with the challenges of poverty and unemployment as the main
strategic goal of the 2004/09 medium term period, the Maputo and Moloto
development corridors provide a platform for stimulating economic growth and
job creation. Private and public sector partnerships will be mobilized to
leverage development and investment opportunities along these two development
corridors. In the spirit of AsgiSA, public investment in infrastructure will
unlock the latent economic potential of these corridors. Our role in the Water
for All flagship is to ensure that we complement project management capacities
required for the effective delivery of water infrastructure and services. This
flagship focuses on accelerating the delivery of water infrastructure and
services to ensure that all the citizens of Mpumalanga have access to safe and
clean water by 2010.
Madame Speaker, the Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism flagship
programme presents opportunities for the restoration, recording and
preservation of Mpumalanga's heritage. It integrates the opportunities
presented by the cultural heritage of this province with the strong renowned
recreational tourism of our province which is based on biodiversity
conservation, sustainable development, and effective environmental practices to
create 'a Green Province". It focuses on the need to conserve sensitive
ecosystems, and to prevent general environmental degradation. It also promotes
Mpumalangaâs proud heritage by establishing fascinating heritage sites and
expanding our pristine pollution-free environs to contribute to the growth of
the tourism sector and foster job creation.
Honourable Members, I am happy to report that following the finalisation of
the Heritage Research Project, the published book will finally be launched on
the 15th of June 2007, with a second launch taking place at the Cape Town Book
Fair on 19 June 2007. We are confident that the book will broaden access for
many South Africans and people abroad to the fascinating heritage of the
Province. This will begin to generate further interest in the Province as both
a tourist and investment destination.
Broader engagement with the heritage findings will hopefully find space in
our schools, communities and the media in our Province, so that they ultimately
serve to deepen knowledge and conversation among all of us, as to âwho we areâ.
This will enhance our appreciation of the dynamic history that we all
share.
In the end, we must celebrate the heritage tapestry interwoven by our common
history that we all share as South Africans and people of Mpumalanga,
irrespective of race, colour or creed. We have a responsibility to develop an
integrated approach to our provincial heritage in order to promote a shared
sense of nationhood. In turn, this will contribute to the promotion of social
cohesion and integration of our society.
In 2007/08 we have prioritised the branding and marketing of the province.
Work on this project commenced last month. We are confident that Mpumalangaâs
captivating heritage will contribute immensely to the positioning of the
provincial brand that engenders confidence and positive perceptions about the
possibilities and opportunities that the province represents. The marketing and
branding of the province should be able to impact positively on tourism growth
and increased investment, as well as enhancing government's communication with
the citizens on development and service delivery initiatives.
Madam Speaker, given that state capacity is a necessary condition to advance
economic and social development, the Accelerated Capacity Building flagship
project lies at the heart of the province's developmental agenda. Its objective
is to develop a world class senior and middle manager cadre in Mpumalanga, who
can be benchmarked against the best public managers in South Africa and the
world. The focus is on enhancing the management and leadership skills and
competencies of our senior and middle managers to improve their performance.
Alongside these training initiatives, we have implemented systems to strengthen
recruitment and selection processes to ensure that appropriately skilled
individuals are appointed and retained in key positions throughout the
Administration as we have previously reported.
The Executive Development Programme (EDP) is a pivotal element of the
Accelerated Capacity Building flagship project. It is a targeted intervention
to respond to the skills deficiencies identified in the Skills Audit. This
training programme comprises four modules: core skills development, growth and
development, service delivery improvement and an international module to expose
senior managers to international best practice. To date 177 executive and
senior managers have completed module 1 of the programme. This month, we are
also commencing the programme for executive coaching and mentoring for senior
management, starting with the executive management layer of Heads of Department
and Deputy Directors-General.
In the current financial year, the EDP is targeting 140 senior managers from
provincial and local government as well as parastatals. In addition, 240 middle
and junior managers, drawn from both provincial and local government, will
undergo training focusing on key competencies such as planning, programme and
project management, applied strategic thinking, as well problem solving and
decision making.
Madam Speaker, high performance organisations are characterised by continuous
learning and innovation. For this reason, in the 2007/2008 financial year, we
will finalise the establishment of the Mpumalanga Management Centre that will
facilitate and co-ordinate management and leadership development interventions.
This will create an institutional base for continuous learning and innovation
in provincial and local government. Working closely with all line departments,
we are also enhancing the effective implementation of the performance
management system to create an organisational culture that makes individuals
accountable for performance at all levels.
Support for the implementation of flagships
The success of the 'Big Five' flagship projects depends on collaboration and
co-operation across provincial departments, municipalities, national government
and our social partners. In order to establish the necessary institutional
capacity to support flagships, a Programme Facilitation Unit (PFU) has been
established to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the implementation of all
flagship programmes. This support entails the mobilisation and deployment of
targeted programme and project management support to the project steering
committees tasked with implementing of the flagships.
The Programme Facilitation unit will provide technical support to the
governance structures tasked with implementation and oversight of the flagship
projects, including the chairs of the three clusters, the steering committees
and project teams. Madam Speaker, our own assessment of progress made in the
implementation of the provincial Growth and Development Summit (GDS)
resolutions is that success has been very limited, and in some instances, there
is no progress at all on a range of agreed areas of collaboration between
government and its social partners (the private sector, organised labour and
civil society). Part of the weakness in the implementation of the GDS agreement
was that, in many instances, the focal themes and areas of cooperation were
broad and diffuse, rather than specific, with measurable targets and
outcomes.
To address this apparent shortcoming, the intention is to harness the
commitment and resources of our social partners for the provinceâs
developmental agenda through support for the implementation of flagship
programmes. This will establish a specific and tangible set of priorities to
which the private sector, labour and civil society can commit their resources
as partners in developing Mpumalanga. We will also focus our international
twinning partnerships with other provinces on supporting the implementation of
flagship projects. We will also ensure that municipal international relations
are strategically targeted to support the implementation of flagship projects
within the local government environment.
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Clusters
Madam Speaker, the cluster system has played an important role in
streamlining and improving the Executive decision-making process by fostering
collaboration between departments that need to co-ordinate their strategic and
operational plans in order to deliver services effectively. The cluster
programmes of action, together with the programmes highlighted in the State of
the Province Address and the resolutions taken by the Executive Council
makgotla, have been consolidated in a Provincial Programme of Action. It is a
strategic priority of the Office to establish a monitoring system that is able
to effectively track the implementation of the Provincial programme of action.
In 2007/2008, we will roll out a monitoring system to effectively monitor the
implementation of programmes, including flagship programmes. This system will
enable us to discharge our responsibility to ensure that departments
effectively implement the programmes they have committed to, in their strategic
plans.
2010 World Cup co-ordination
Madame Speaker, co-ordination and strategic leadership support to the 2010
FIFA World Cup preparations remains one of the key priorities for the 2007/08
financial year. We have no reason to doubt that we will succeed in working with
Mbombela, the host city, to make the Province proud by staging a successful
event.
The implementation of the 2010 Master Plan is currently underway, and there is
political commitment and leadership resolve to fast track the implementation of
key projects identified as critical in hosting the 2010 World Cup.
To streamline all the preparatory work for the 2010 World Cup and ensure that
there is co-ordination among the implementing institutions, an Integrated 2010
Office is in the course of being established to ensure that the work done by
Mbombela Municipality, the Office of the Premier and the Department of Culture,
Sports and Recreation is integrated and synergised.
We should highlight that the onset of the 2010 integrated office will have a
fundamental impact on how we conduct ourselves in this terrain. The stadium is
crucial to our hosting arrangements but we should not forget that the hosting
agreement signed with FIFA has 24 projects, all of which are essential to a
successful event. It is also important to note that the first major event of
the 2010 programme is being held this year in September, in Durban, with the
hosting of the FIFA draw.
All spheres of government will be required to play their roles to ensure a
successful hosting. In this financial year, we will ensure that we accelerate
the implementation of sector plans for which various sector departments and
agencies are responsible. We will continue to monitor progress on the
implementation of sector plans and identified projects.
Madame Speaker, It is also important that neighbouring municipalities and
our neighbouring countries, Swaziland and Mozambique, play their part and
derive the benefit from this event. As a country, a region and continent we
must ensure a lasting legacy for sport, for culture, for social and economic
development. This is an event that we shall only experience once, and we must
therefore give it the focus it needs.
Target Groups
Madame Speaker, the designation of June as a Youth Month is an inspiring
reminder to all of us that we need to constantly place youth empowerment on the
governmentâs development agenda. The plight of the youth (defined as those in
the 15 to 35 age group) is starkly illustrated by the most recent official
statistics which indicate that, in 2006, youth comprised 38 percent of
Mpumalangaâs population and accounted for 76 percent of the unemployed in this
province. It is therefore critical that through Further Education and Training
institutions, we offer opportunities for unemployed youth to undergo training
that provides entry into a particular vocation, occupation or trade. This
intervention will facilitate absorption into the labour market, and afford
opportunities for self-employment and job placement. In partnership with the
Department of Labour, we will be facilitating the implementation of the Scarce
and Critical Skills Initiative to the tune of R99 million to address shortage
of skills in critical areas of the economy and service delivery.
This initiative will benefit the youth by providing skills required by the
labour market. Honourable Members, I should point out that despite
administrative delays, the process of listing the Youth Commission as a public
entity is expected to be finalised by the third quarter of the current
financial year. This has been confirmed by National Treasury. We will continue
to support the work of the Youth Commission to ensure that there is a
comprehensive programme of action aimed at advancing youth development in the
province.
The Youth Commission is working collaboratively with Departments towards the
enrolment of 1 000 young people across the province in the National Youth
Service (NYS). We welcome initiatives such as the ones by the National Home
Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) in partnership with Emalahleni Youth
Housing project and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) on
Ecotourism and Conservation to enrol young people for the National Youth
Service programme. The Department of Public Works has recruited 437 youth into
the National Youth Service as part of our contribution to the national target
of 5 000.
Madame Speaker, the triple oppression of race, class and gender that served
to subjugate women in the apartheid era, is a legacy that persists in rendering
particular segments of our women vulnerable and poor. This is evidenced by the
fact that, according to official data, in 2006 women accounted for a mere 44
percent of the economically active population and 40 percent of those employed
in the province. Of Mpumalangaâs unemployed, 54 percent are women. It is
therefore imperative that the entire Provincial Administration uses all the
policy levers at its disposal from health services to support for farmers â to
empower the poorest and most vulnerable women. We need to vigilantly monitor
the impact of all our programmes on this group if we are to make inroads in
creating a better life for all. As a first step in this direction, I am pleased
to announce that all departments have appointed Gender Focal Points. Of
Mpumalanga's 21 municipalities, 18 have Transversal units. We must strengthen
the monitoring capability of these units to ensure that they are not
established as a matter of compliance, but ensure that all our programmes give
effect to the overriding policy imperative of empowering women.
Madam Speaker, we need to urgently address legitimate issues raised by,
among others, the Disabled People of South Africa. It is critical to fast track
and complete the establishment of disability desks in municipalities and
enhance our efforts to open up more opportunities for the inclusion of disabled
people in learnerships and internships. Like many other citizens, people with
disabilities should be able to access housing and other poverty alleviation
programmes.
The necessary adaptations that make the services we provide to the people with
various kinds of disabilities must be systematically planned, implemented and
monitored by all the provincial departments and municipalities. Clear targets
in this regard should be published.
Madame Speaker, despite our efforts in addressing the service delivery needs
for target groups, we are concerned that our performance in this area has not
been satisfactory. We are currently addressing weaknesses in this area of our
delivery mandate. We welcome progress made through the Expanded Public Works
Programme (EPWP) in targeting women, people with disabilities, and youth as
beneficiaries of job opportunities. As at September last year of the 2006/2007
financial year, 43 206 job opportunities had been created through the Expanded
Public Works Programme since the inception of the programme in 2004. Of the 43
206 job opportunities created, 20 307 (47%) went to the youth, 19 875 (46%) to
women, and 509 (1,18%) to people with disabilities.
House of Traditional Leaders
Madame Speaker, when we opened The House of Traditional Leaders (HTL) in
March this year, we acknowledged the pivotal role that traditional leaders play
in strengthening development efforts in communities under their jurisdiction.
We committed ourselves to providing the necessary space and support to
traditional leadership institutions to enable them to contribute to enhancing
the system of local government through improved participation in development
and service delivery initiatives. In the 2007/08 financial year, we will
continue to provide support to the House of Traditional Leaders so that it is
able to discharge its responsibilities.
At local government level, progress has been made to enhance the
participation of traditional leaders in local governance and service delivery
initiatives. Local Houses of Traditional Leaders have been established in the
three Districts. In February this year, the three Local Houses of Traditional
Leaders in the three district municipalities were elected. Districts
municipalities have committed resources for the provision of accommodation and
support infrastructure required to enable the effective functioning of Local
Houses of Traditional Leaders in Districts.
Cabinet outreach
Madam Speaker, civic engagement and public participation are necessary
conditions to sustain a culture of transparent and democratic governance. We
will continue to use the Executive Council Outreach Programme as a platform to
reach out and communicate with communities to whom we are accountable for
service delivery and development. This programme enables the Executive Council
to constructively engage with communities on issues of service delivery and
development in the Province, especially in localities where they live.
Our system for capturing and tracking issues raised by the communities in all
community meetings has improved. However, it still remains a challenge to
ensure that we improve processes for integrating issues raised by communities
into government delivery priorities and programmes. The Cabinet outreach
programme has successfully enabled the Executive Council and local government
leadership to respond to service delivery obstacles and concerns raised by
citizens during community meetings.
Positioning the Office of the Premier as a Centre of Excellence
Last year when I presented the Budget Vote to this august house, I quoted the
political economist Alan Ehrenhalt, who said, "When government has the right
people and the right systems and the right intentions, many good things are
possible." In order to strengthen institutional capacity for service delivery,
a strategic priority of the office is to become a centre of excellence in terms
of people, systems and values.
Over the last year, we were vigilant to create the foundation for a high
performance culture that will position the Office of the Premier as a Centre of
Excellence. For us to achieve the bold targets that we have set, it is of
utmost importance that we improve internal efficiencies and raise the level of
performance and the quality of outputs by all employees.
We have finalised the alignment of the performance agreements of all Senior
Management Service members with the Office of the Premierâs Implementation Plan
so that we tie senior managers' performance to specific deliverables, thereby
holding them accountable for results. We are also implementing the performance
management development system between levels one and twelve to ensure that
employees account for performance on agreed performance targets and
standards.
Now that we have appointed senior managers and operationalise the new
organogram, we are focusing on building and sustaining the right organisational
culture and systems, characterised by improved work ethic, professionalism,
integrity and high quality of outputs and outcomes.
We will continue to strengthen our financial management systems to ensure we
enhance internal controls and risk management. Our Supply Chain Management
component will be reorganised so that it becomes responsive to quick turnaround
times in project financing and mobilisation. Madame Speaker, we are committed
to enhancing our capabilities in forensic audit services so that we are better
positioned to detect and prevent fraud and corruption in the Administration.
During the 2006/07 financial year a total of 107 cases were investigated by my
office. These included cases related to procurement, misuse of government
vehicles and human resource related matters. In all these cases, we have taken
decisive corrective action to send a strong message that we will take no
prisoners in dealing with fraud and corruption.
We are also creating an Integrity Management unit because we believe that
corruption is not fought only by detecting and punishing it, but by building
values of integrity and professionalism in the organisation. We need public
servants who act with everyone with integrity, not out of fear of being caught
but because they are honest and believe in public good.
Madame Speaker, Honourable Members, we are confident that your support for
the budget of the Office of the Premier will enable us to play our role and
make a meaningful contribution to the vision of a better life for the people of
Mpumalanga. This budget will enable us to discharge our mandate during the
2007/2008 financial year. Madam Speaker, I proceed to table the following
documents for perusal and approval by this august House:
* the Implementation Plan of the Office of the Premier for the year
2007/08
* the budget of the Office of the Premier for the year 2007/08
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
12 June 2007
