Premier of the Free State
18 February 2009
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Members of the Legislature
Marena le Dikgosi
Mayors and councillors present
Director-General and all public servants
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
My dear comrades
People of the Free State
"Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again"
Honourable Speaker, this passage from a poem by Maya Angelou espouses the
spirit of continuity and change. This is so, Honourable Speaker, because five
years ago we stood in front of this House to sign a People's Contract to create
work and fight poverty.
We observed then, that our first ten years of freedom and democracy have
been ten years of unity in action, of peace and stability. We have increasingly
made resources available to uplift disadvantaged South Africans, and expanded
opportunities to build a better life for all.
We were inspired by the great achievements of our first decade of freedom
and were even more optimistic by the conspiring fortunes of our immediate
future, made possible by the energy and determination of our people to rise
above the indignity and under-development of the past.
Today, Honourable Speaker, we have a caring government with housing
programmes for the poor, with social security grants for pensioners, young
children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. We have
programmes to redistribute land, quality education that is open to all and
other new opportunities for the youth. We have clinics opened closest to where
people live, households connected to water and electricity, with more people
connected to telecommunications, and with laws to deal with the cancer of
racism.
We achieved all of this because of the contract we entered into with our
people. The citizens of the Free State claimed their rights and demanded better
treatment in government offices. They joined our national call to form
partnership for a better life for all.
Our achievements were in part also made possible by our public servants who
serve the public with respect and efficiency.
We address this Honourable House today, at the commencement of a year filled
with exciting possibilities and developments.
We join millions around the world in congratulating the first ever black
President of the United States of America (USA), President Barrack Hussein
Obama. His election into office signifies the triumph of democracy.
Honourable Speaker, we also address this House when economic recession is
sinking major world economies. Major economies such as Britain, Japan and the
United States (US) are facing unprecedented economic challenges with major
implications for poorer countries. South Africa will not be immune to this
economic meltdown and therefore as we put forward our plans for the next five
years, we do so with the necessary caution and anticipation.
In response to this stark reality of our economy, we initiated a major
percentage shift in infrastructure expenditure according to our Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) priorities. During the 2007/08 financial year we
increased our infrastructure expenditure by 40 percent. It is a bold move by
any standard because government has to lead by example in terms of economic
revival.
Our major investment drive in infrastructure and productivity will however
cushion our economy to some extent. We welcome the boldness of our State
President and the Minister of Finance regarding their relentless articulation
of a pro-poor economic perspective during the recent Davos world economic
forum.
This current crisis calls on all world leaders to move towards a new
thinking on how to manage global economies, which must include an end to a cult
of greed and excessiveness.
This, Honourable Speaker, it is also a year where our many years of
preparations for the FIFA 2010 soccer tournament will be put to test. The
Confederations Cup will be an appropriate dress rehearsal for next year.
The 2010 Soccer World Cup represents the greatest gift to our country and
our nation's greatest dream. It must serve to unite all our people behind their
country, but like Nelson Mandela cautioned: "South Africa must treat this gift
with humility and without arrogance, because after all, we are all equal."
We are excited to declare to this House that the Free State is ready to host
both these major events. We can say it now with confidence that when the final
whistle blows, signalling the end to this global spectacle, the world cup will
have contributed to the advancement of our continent's development agenda. We
will benefit from the promotion of healthy life styles, sports and
infrastructure development, economic spin-offs as well as the appreciation of
non-discrimination.
The year 2009 is also a year of our country's fourth democratic general
elections. These elections are fundamentally about policies and programmes that
will meaningfully improve the lives of the people.
We are confident, Honourable Speaker that the people of the Free State will
come out in their large numbers to confirm that ours is a solid democracy based
on a dynamic Constitution. The voter registration process is an indication of
the overwhelming enthusiasm among our voters regarding these elections. We take
this opportunity of our address to this House, to plead for political tolerance
and an environment conducive for free and fair elections.
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker, when we addressed this House for the
first time five years ago, we too, like our predecessors in a democratic South
Africa, were guided by the Freedom Charter. The Reconstruction and Development
Programme (RDP) was our practical plan of action to roll back the accumulated
deficits of apartheid. Our vision remains to build a society that is truly
united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic.
We committed ourselves to work with communities in forging this people's
contract to build a better country. In this, we were inspired by our commitment
to democratic consultation, mass participation, volunteerism, moral
regeneration and a people centred and people driven development.
We committed ourselves to:
* A growing economy
* Sustainable livelihoods
* Access to services
* Comprehensive social security
* Reduction of crime and corruption
* Constitutional right and governance
* A better Africa and the world
Our priorities were informed by our Vision 2014 which commands us to halve
poverty and unemployment.
Honourable Speaker, I am deeply privileged to stand here in this House to
present on behalf of all the hard working men and women of our democratic
government, an account of this mandate of our people. We say without arrogance,
that indeed we have lived up to the mandate and expectations of our people. We
have brought closer the dream of a better life for all.
In spite of all these milestones, we are the first to concede that working
together we can still do more.
Allow us, Honourable Speaker, to now narrate our journey as ambassadors of
the people of the Free State, by giving a cursory view of the last fifteen
years and a much more detailed reflection of the last five years.
Reflections of the past five years: Proud of our past and confident of our
future.
As we approach the end of the fifteen years of our democracy, there is no
doubt that we have made great strides in the direction that defined the essence
of our struggle. For our people, freedom will go down in history as the
greatest moment infused with a sense of victory and accomplishment.
As we march in celebration of the fruits of our freedom, we should however
not forget that we are the heirs of the great legacy laid by of our
revolutionary fathers and mothers. The architects of our history who endured
decades of pain and suffering in a quest for freedom. As we invoke the genius
of their deeds, we today stand tall and proud among nations of the world.
As we look back, we can say with a deep sense of humility and pride that the
overreaching ideals of democratic transformation in our country, fostering
economic growth, accelerating development and improving the living conditions
of our people for the present and the future generations, has been attained.
Yet we understand that the road ahead is narrow, long and not easy.
Not only were these priorities about addressing past failures and
injustices, they were also about charting a path for the future. In this
regard, government has invested time, resources and commitment in ensuring that
these goals become the defining traits of our democracy now and forever.
Effective governance and administration: A key to effective service
delivery.
The pillars of democracy are now deeply entrenched in the province. These
include accountability, integrity, co-operation and high ethical standards.
Embedded in these is the extent to which democracy is served by elements of
good governance in unravelling development complexities and bringing about
desired democratic transformation in line with values of our freedom.
The province has established the following four cluster committees to serve
as instruments of integrated service delivery and co-ordination: Governance and
administration; social and human development; economic, employment and
investment; and justice, crime prevention and security clusters.
This system has proven to be effective and efficient with regard to:
* Effective co-ordination and integration of cross cutting strategic provincial
issues.
* Implementation of projects and special focused programmes emanating from the
Free State Growth and Development Strategy (FSGDS) and Integrated Development
Plans (IDPs) and also in support of initiatives such as Accelerated Skills
Growth of South Africa (AsgiSA), Joint Initiative on Priority Skills
Acquisition (JipSA) and the National Spatial Development Perspectives.
* Effective redress of barrier in supporting lead departments to co-ordinate
province-wide projects.
* Implementation of effective evaluation, strategic support and monitoring of
departments, municipalities, state-owned enterprises and the private
sector.
The cluster system is based on functional specialisation intended to foster
synergy between policy development and implementation. We have also established
the Premier's Co-ordinating Forum comprising of Executive mayors, mayors,
Members of the executive council, South African Local Government Association
(SALGA), Traditional Leaders and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
representatives.
We all know that the endless discrimination and inequalities created by the
apartheid and homeland systems left no aspect of life, including the public
sector, untouched. As we stand here today, we however can proudly say that this
changed after 1994.
In the past fifteen years, we have seen far-reaching benefits of these waves
of change brought about by our people. Like elsewhere in the country, the
provincial government has made tangible progress in ensuring that
representivity becomes the hallmark of the public sector. Of the total 58 044
civil servants in the province in June 2008, 85 percent were black while 15
percent were white.
Change did however not only end there. Also striking were measures to ensure
gender representivity. Within the provincial government, women now constitute
27,3 percent of the 330 senior managers. Unparallel commitment to
representivity stretches beyond the margins of race balance to disability.
Whilst the percentage of people with disability was 0,3 percent in 2006, it now
stands at 1,2 percent.
The provincial government also placed emphasis on leadership as an essential
ingredient to build organisational capacity. The eleven Heads of Department
(HoD) positions have been filled. Equally important, all Heads of Department
annually sign their performance agreements as the sign of their commitment to
service delivery.
Although there were plans to develop and invest in human capital in the
province prior to 2004, numerous difficulties were experienced. The provincial
government was marred by the challenges of attracting and retaining scares
skills. With time and lessons leant, this has changed.
Envisioned in this strategy is the fact that human capital is fundamental to
effective service delivery. It is the strength of separate yet interdependent
and shared elements of governance intended to revolutionise the public service.
A vivid commitment of this strategy is the Free State Training and Development
Institute which is concerned with facilitating province-wide interventions to
build capacity, including implementing an integrated human resource development
strategy, employment equity plan and retention strategy.
Participatory governance is another enduring trait of good governance in the
province. The province had the third highest voter turn-out of 90,99 percent in
2004. Party representation at provincial, but primarily local government
reflects various ideological strands present in South Africa's political
landscape. Beyond political representation, other participatory democracy
forums include Izimbizo and EXCO-Meets-the-People campaigns.
The provincial government also takes seriously ethical conduct in its
everyday business which stretches to issues of corruption. By its nature,
corruption imposes a high premium on the poor by denying them access to basic
human security needs. As a consequence, the provincial government has embarked
on a number of campaigns over the years to turn the tide against scourge.
An examination of financial misconduct reports by the Public Service
Commission between 2001 and 2007 have shown that provincial departments have
been highly responsive in their submission of finalised cases, where this has
seen 100 percent reporting compared to 80 percent of departments in
2001/2002.
These achievements reverberate in the minds of our people of whom many are
satisfied with the provincial government. In a study conducted by the Human
Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2007 for the provincial government, over 58
percent of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the
performance of the provincial government. A total of 57 percent ranked the
provincial government officials as the friendliest. More gratifying was that a
similar percentage of the respondents also felt that government services were
easily accessible, including inputs by persons with disability in the
province.
You will note, Honourable Speaker that we make reference to independent
studies made by independent and credible organisations so that our performance
evaluation is both credible and objective.
We are growing an economy that benefits all.
Of the many responsibilities of government, we have seen the need to build a
robust economy characterised by equal distribution of wealth. Decades of
economic planning based on the needs of apartheid not only shattered prospects
for economic growth, but mainly the equal distribution of resources.
Impelled by the destiny of democracy fifteen years ago, the most important
task for the African National Congress (ANC)-led government was to engineer a
radical redistribution of wealth programmes and to create a stable economic
climate. This entailed breaking the structural features of poverty by widening
economic opportunities through employment creation and attracting investment
towards the fulfilment of the promise that all shall share in the wealth of the
country.
In November 2004, the province embarked on a rigorous consultative process
to map the provincial shared growth and development landscape. This process
culminated in the development of the Free State Growth and Development Strategy
(FSGDS), which was launched in May 2005 and reviewed in 2006 in line with the
National Spatial Development Perspective.
Beyond mapping the provincial development perspective, the FSGDS combines an
approach to shape integrated governance which includes creating institutional
mechanisms crucial for shared growth. It has created synergy between
development and implementation in attaining shared development outcomes based
on the province's development needs and priorities.
The FSGDS is however an end product of a quest for integrated governing
planning, as well as defining the relationship between departmental
co-ordination and sector specific priorities. This process started with the
development of the Free State Development Plan 2002/05 following the
establishment of the Premier's Economic Advisory Council in 2001 to explore
ways and means towards meaningful economic development in the province.
To embed inter-governmental planning convergence amongst all varying spheres
of government, all district municipalities have aligned their spatial
development frameworks with the FSGDS. This process also includes continuous
review and alignment of the integrated development plans (IDPs) with the FSGDS.
District municipalities have also in the past years convened their Growth and
Development Summits to invigorate growth and development.
In the past five years, the ideals of the FSGDS have produced laudable
results. Marking a break with the past, the provincial economy has achieved
sustained growth rates of between 4,2 percent and 4,3 percent in 2004 and 2006
respectively.
2004 Economic Growth Rate: 4,2 percent
2005 Economic Growth Rate: 3,9 percent
2006 Economic Growth Rate: 4,3 percent
As the economy grew, so did employment opportunities. The tide and burden of
unemployment was markedly reversed.
2005 Unemployment Rate: 28,3 percent
2006 Unemployment Rate: 25,4 percent
2007 Unemployment Rate: 23,6 percent
As mentioned earlier, the province will however not be immune to the current
economic global meltdown.
The yearning for freedom also meant bridging the divide between the first
and the second economy. Measures to stimulate economic growth in the second
economy included Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) development. At
the heart of this intent is the breaking the cycle of economic discrimination
that created barriers to economic prosperity for many people.
The provincial government has developed a number of strategies and policy
documents to bring about shared benefits of freedom in the economic front.
These include the policy to support SMMEs and supply chain management policy to
ensure preferential procurement. In line with these policies and many other
strategies, by June 2008, the Free State Development Corporation had approved
loans totalling over R32 million primarily for SMMEs.
We must mention, Honourable Speaker, that through our land reform programme,
we have concluded a total of 703 projects with a total of 7 672 beneficiaries
of whom 2 071 were women.
We have to date invested a total amount of R157 million in agricultural and
related infrastructure as well as successfully settling 3 049 of the 3 081
claims which benefited 5 831 households.
Our emphasis on skills development especially for youth, has ensured that
through the JipSA and other interventions we have gone a long way in attending
to the production of scarce skills. Our National Skills Development Programme
which we do in partnership with the Department of Labour (DoL), is well on
course.
National Youth Service Programme was another important intervention. Through
this programme, we support nation-building programmes by involving youth in
delivery of services, whilst at the same time it enables them to acquire and
apply skills to access economic opportunities upon completion of the programme.
The first phase of this programme produced 341 beneficiaries who were
successfully placed in government.
Social and Human Development: A better life for all.
Social development is about the formation of human capabilities and the
creation of space for the deployment of such capabilities for humanity to
thrive. It demands of the government to turn the tide against deprivation and
injustices that have for decades defined our country's landscape.
Today the frontiers of poverty have been redefined. Figures available
through Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) point to notable strides in the
provision of the building blocks of a better society that we are today.
Households with access to piped water
Year 2001: 95,7 percent
Year 2007: 97,3 percent
Households with access to piped water within 200 meters
Year 2001: 84,2 percent
Year 2007: 89,6 percent
This implies that nine in ten households in the province had access to piped
water within 200 meters of the households.
The war on poverty was launched in Xhariep in August 2008 by the former
Deputy President. As a province, we have developed and commenced with the
implementation of the Provincial Poverty Alleviation Strategy.
Over 226 outreach campaigns have been successfully rendered throughout the
province through, amongst others, public meetings, social relief of distress
distributions, and door-to-door campaigns. Food and clothing banks have been
established in all five districts.
Honourable Speaker, may we remind this House that the Free State had the
largest backlog of 160 000 buckets which we committed to eradicate. From this
original backlog we have eradicated 136 030 buckets and the remaining 23 970
will be eradicated by the end of March 2009.
Sanitation has implications not only on the living conditions of the people,
but also on health. Unpleasant toilet facilities could lead to the outbreak of
diseases. Of the total 802 872 households in the province in 2007, 61,4 percent
had flush toilets. More plausible is that households without any form of toilet
facilities dropped from 9,7 percent in 2001 to 3,2 percent in 2007.
Whilst 86,6 percent of the households in the province were using electricity
for lighting, 47 percent were using it for cooking and 54,6 percent for
heating.
Honourable Speaker, housing provision is about the intertwined web of social
and economic dynamics central to sustainable livelihoods. It is also a
demonstration of the provincial government's profound determination to rid the
province of impoverishment as a means towards the attainment of a better life
for all.
We are proud to announce that to date, we have completed 48 995 houses.
The gap between the level of education and poverty is enormous. Education
has intrinsic value as it improves the quality of life. Good quality education
enhances development. In the same way, limited or lack of education and the
resultant negative consequence exacerbates poverty.
Education at the foundation stage is also high on the list of priorities. By
2007, the provincial government registered 1 318 early childhood development
(ECD) sites providing services to 82 003 children. Financial support was also
provided to 434 ECD sites benefiting 28 558 children from poor families in 2007
throughout the province.
We are also proud to report that as of May this year, we would have
eliminated all platoon schools as part of our commitment to ensuring that no
learner receives education under a tree. We are equally mindful of challenges
associated with learner transport at the moment and we wish to make a
commitment that this government will soon find a lasting solution to this
challenge.
More reassuring is that access to quality healthcare has seen immense
progress. Over six million people accessed the primary healthcare services by
2007. Healthcare was also extended to rural areas through mobile clinics.
Quality assurance programmes were implemented in all hospitals.
Honourable Speaker, we are very proud of the medical team that performed a
successful operation at the Universitas Academic Hospital to separate the
Siamese twins born at Bongani Hospital. We are equally proud of the team that
performed the first ever bone marrow transplant in the Free State.
Our pilot project to provide Aero-Medical services is well on course and
based on its success, we can ever rule out future possibilities of
expansion.
The magnitude of social relief interventions in the province is substantial.
By February 2009, 756 958 people were benefiting from social grants.
Old Age: 141 220 beneficiaries
Disability: 1 00 553 beneficiaries
Foster Care: 44 139 beneficiaries
Care Dependency: 4 250 beneficiaries
Child Support: 466 758 beneficiaries
At the same time, an amount of R4,1 million was spent on social relief
programme benefiting 8 373 households. The national school nutrition programme
benefits 413 546 learners whilst 10 821 are beneficiaries of the orphan-support
programme.
All these accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by our people. The HSRC
study reveals that almost one in every three respondents said that life in the
province has improved. Over 60 percent were also optimistic that life in the
future will improve. A total of 67 percent of the respondents indicated that
they were satisfied with the housing available to them.
Positive response also extended to the provision of basic services. A total
of 80 percent of the respondents said that water provided in the province was
of high quality. Similarly, 66 percent said that they were satisfied with the
toilet and sewage facilities available in the households.
Whilst 82 percent were satisfied with the provision of education, 80 percent
felt that the provision of education in the past five years in the province has
improved. More gratifying is the fact that 81 percent of the respondents
reported that at no one time in the past year were they or members of their
family went hungry because there was not enough food
Ensuring a safe and secure environment!
Honourable Speaker, I am happy to report that the Free State is one of the
safest provinces in the country. While we acknowledge that more still need to
be done, we have managed to reduce the levels of crime over the last five years
even though we may not have met our targets of reducing contact crimes by
between seven to ten percent per annum.
Incidents of murder dropped from 902 between April 2004 and March 2005 to
879 between April 2007 and March 2008. These constitute a decrease of 2,5
percent, while attempted murder decreased by 29,1 percent. The same trend was
discernable with regards to rape where 29,1 percent decrease was registered.
With respect to common assault 21,1 percent decrease was achieved.
Credit for these achievements must be given not only to the men and women in
uniform but also to members of the community who continue to play a pivotal
role in mobilising our people to take active part in the fight against crime.
Community police forums (CPF), police reservists, victim support volunteers and
other members of the community sacrifice their time and energy in ensuring that
the Free State is a safer province for all. School Safety also received
attention where by 520 officials were trained on Safer School Campaign.
In line with the decision of the ruling party, the community police forums
are busy with the process of establishing street committees, village committees
and patrol committees. These initiatives will further strengthen police and
community relations as well as their capacity to fight crime.
As a means to further enhance endeavours to deal with crime, three
specialised courts dealing with the abuse of women and children have been
established in Bloemfontein, Welkom and Phuthaditjhaba. A specialised court was
established in Bloemfontein to handle incidents of commercial crimes. The crime
prevention efforts also include awareness campaigns where communities are
mobilised to get involved in various crime prevention activities and
initiatives.
The provincial Anti-Corruption Strategy was developed and approved by the
Executive Council (EXCO) in February 2008. The strategy was presented at the
Premier's Co-ordinating Forum in April 2008. To embed the strategy at district
level, District Anti-corruption steering committees have been appointed to aid
in the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy.
The reduction in road carnages in the Free State is thanks to the good work
done by our law enforcement agencies. Accordingly, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank our people for their corporation with law enforcement
agencies and for heeding our Arrive Alive call.
Building a better Africa and the world: international relations and economic
diplomacy
The work on the international relations and economic diplomacy front has
been pursued vigorously in the last five years. The focus in the last five
years was to align the work of the province with the work of the national
government. Our mandate was to ensure that often unco-ordinated visits are
properly co-co-ordinated and aligned with the national priorities.
The province has been marketed extensively in the international arena. It is
known for its relative peace, abundance of natural resources, unmatched beauty
and offering the best of both worlds, rural tranquillity and urban flair.
South Africa has therefore positioned itself for a targeted approach than a
general one used from 1994 to 1999. The targeted approach of clustered regions
focuses on specific cohorts and important regional players in the world.
The focus for our country included the traditional markets such as the
European Union and the USA; Africa with specific attention to SADC countries,
influential countries within the regional economic blocks and war-torn
countries; and The Gulf States; emerging markets particularly, Brazil and India
in line with the IBSA Tri-lateral agreement.
Our province conducted an audit of all foreign visits and relations that
were undertaken since 2004 and began the process of aligning these with those
of the national priorities. As a result of this work, a total of 14 Memorandums
of Understanding (MoU) were signed with various provincial governments and
non-governmental organisations in various countries.
These include MoUs with the following provincial governments: Jiangsu
Province in the People's Republic of China, Shaanxi Province in the People's
Republic of China, Saskatchewan Province in Canada, River Nile State in Sudan,
The Free State of Saxony in the Federal Republic of Germany, Province of
Antwerp in the Kingdom of Belgium, Province of Matanzas in Cuba, Bie Province
in Angola, State of Mato Grosso in Brazil.
The Free State province has also signed purpose specific documents with a
number of international associations including the Veeruin Deutsch Ingenuire
(VDI) being the German Association of Engineering and with the Minnesota-South
Africa Business Council. Other specific provincial government departments were
also twinned to maximize impact. These include the twinning agreement of the
Free State Department of Health (FSDoH) and the Indiana State Department of
Health in the USA.
The province also hosted and visited a number of other provincial
governments in the last five years. Some of the major fruits the province has
yielded as a direct outflow of this work include the training of paramedics and
emergency staff in Antwerp in Belgium. In strengthening our relations with
Belgium, the province of East Flanders and its capital city, the City of Gent
which is a sister city to Mangaung invited our province to be a guest of honour
at the Accenta Trade Fair in 2007. This was one of the biggest successes and
international exposures that our province had ever had, with more than 200 000
European citizens going through the Free State exhibition stall.
The partnership with the German Association of Engineers has also yielded
positive fruits on an exchange programme that placed 10 engineering graduates
from the Free State in German companies in the provinces of Saxony and
Saxony-Anhalt. The provincial Department of Public Works has been co-ordinating
this programme and these students are still placed with these companies and
will return home to plough back in their communities particularly in
municipalities that need these skills the most. Ten post-graduate engineering
students will also be placed here in the Free State and accommodated by
Eskom.
The partnership with Matanzas province in the Republic of Cuba, has seen the
placement of specialists in the Free State Department of Local Government and
Housing. A few of our students have also been placed in universities in Cuba to
study medicine. Consequently, our province has also in the last five years been
a beneficiary of the Cuban Doctors placed in our hospitals.
The province of Saskatchewan had sent a consultant appointed at their own
cost to assist the Free State with the Human Resource Development Strategy.
This person who is the former Director-General of the province of Saskatchewan
visited our province in 2005 and worked closely with our administration. Today
with the work started in partnership with Saskatchewan and later supported by
the Central University of Technology, the province has been able to produce the
Human Resource Development Strategy adopted by the executive council.
We have also signed an agreement with the Flanders International
Co-operation Agreement (FICA). The funded programmes include the R20 million
over a three year period for HIV and AIDS and the SMME development support
programmes. The FICA programme is also funding a Youth and Community Wellness
programme. While we acknowledge the challenges in the implementation of these
programmes, we are confident that these will be revolved soon.
We have also signed a MoU with the province of Bie in Angola. The Governor
of Bie also addressed a successful Free State business seminar on the
opportunities available in Bie. The Free State Department of Agriculture will
lead a technical delegation to finalise details regarding the possibility of
Free State farmers to farm on state land in this province.
Special programmes and social cohesion
In the last five years a concerted effort was made to ensure that the
legislation and policies targeting vulnerable groups result in direct benefits.
Consequently these policies focus on increased representation, job creation,
elimination of poverty, eradication of violence and the promotion and
protection of the human rights of targeted groups. Implementing these policies
and programmes has had a significant impact on special programmes directed at
the following vulnerable groups:
* people living with HIV and AIDS,
* children,
* youth,
* persons with disabilities,
* women, and
* the elderly.
Some of the specific interventions in the last five years included the
following:
HIV and AIDS monitoring and co-ordination office
The provincial government working with civil society, re-constituted the
Provincial Council on AIDS (PCA). This was reconfigured based on the national
model of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). This council has been
advising government on the most appropriate intervention in dealing with the
pandemic on all fronts.
This approach has improved the co-ordination effort and has also ensured
that HIV and AIDS are looked at more broadly than just as a health matter. We
have during this ending term begun to build the necessary capacity and
machinery required to fight the pandemic. We have established sectoral
partnerships and developed with the stakeholders the sectoral plans of action
which are currently under implementation.
Office on the rights of a child
During the last five years we had sought to drive the implementation of the
Children's Act with specific focus on the institutional machinery required to
drive the process and the protection of the rights of children. We have also as
part of the government outreach programmes worked with communities and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in improving the lives of children.
Various other small and focused initiatives were undertaken including the
donation of uniforms to needy children, provision of food to needy children and
children's Christmas parties.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes were fast tracked. This work
focused on training, accreditation and funding of ECD centres. These centres
have begun the process of providing a head start to children in literacy and
numeracy.
Office on the status of women
We have also focused on building partnerships and social networks with women
to ensure their empowerment and equality. Various sectoral programmes have been
undertaken in the last five years to impact positively on the lives of
women.
These include amongst others, facilitation and provision of victim
empowerment centres, a specialised focus programme on young women and their
needs. The provincial government also facilitated a number of sectoral
engagements with women and these have helped to shape government responses in
the last five years. Today more women are represented in decision making
structures and the programmes targeting the girl child have had a huge impact
in the lives of young girls.
Office on the status of disabled persons
Mr Speaker, in the last five years, we began implementing a strategy of
designating jobs for purposes of achieving the required set targets of at least
two percent of the public service to be people with disabilities. Currently,
people with disability constitute 1,2 percent of the total public service
workforce.
We completed an audit of disability friendliness of government and private
buildings utilised by government departments. At the time of the audit, most
buildings remained non-compliant and steps were introduced to work towards
compliance.
Office on the status of older persons
We also introduced a new office to deal specifically with the needs of older
persons. This followed the passing of the Older Persons Act by the National
Parliament. Accordingly, we have begun implementing some of the key tenets of
this act including a campaign to encourage active ageing. This saw the
introduction of the Free State Golden Games.
The province also interacted with older persons in various fronts; these
included amongst others the World Elderly Abuse Awareness Day that was
celebrated in Vredefort in 2008. In addition, we have built greater
relationships and partnerships with organisations of older persons and those
representing the interests of older persons. Furthermore, we facilitated the
launching of the luncheon clubs for older persons where they were
non-existent.
Free State Youth Commission
Mr Speaker, in the last five years we also re-confirmed our commitment to
the development of youth. We re-affirmed the Free State Youth Commission (FSYC)
as a catalyst for youth development in our province. Our role was to strengthen
and support the FSYC to guide and facilitate the development of youth working
through and closely with government departments and state agencies.
We significantly improved the funding of the FSYC to enable it to
consolidate and improve on the good work it has been performing. Whereas a lot
has been achieved on this front, a lot more needs to be done.
We launched the Provincial Youth Fund for young entrepreneurs as one of the
interventions to ensure that young people participate meaningfully in the
provincial economy. These programmes were launched in partnership with
Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the Free State Development Corporation.
We have consistently over the last five years applauded and recognised
talents and pockets of distinction amongst the youth of our province through
the Premier's Youth Awards.
The youth of our province and country represent the future of our nation, we
dare not fail them. It is for this reason that we have made massive investment
in their education, skills development and in assisting them to ensure that the
transition from childhood to adulthood is as smooth as it can be.
We hope to give an integrated expression to youth development in the
province and we are keenly observing the process of the formation of the
National Youth Development Agency, following the adoption by parliament of the
National Youth Development Agency Bill. The agency will be responsible for
advocacy, funding and implementation of an integrated youth development
programme.
In conclusion
Allow me Honourable Speaker, as I conclude, to pay tribute to the people of
the Free State. They are a people with extraordinary resilience and what they
call in Afrikaans "deursettingsvermoë". I am humbled to have had an opportunity
to be of service to this province. I leave this highest office of the Free
State Provincial Government, much wiser as a result of collective counsel,
advice and objective mentorship.
I wish to thank the private sector for their generous partnerships, the
churches for their moral compass, the NGOs and community based organisations
(CBOs) for their extension of government services, the youth and women
formations for their lobby and advocacy as well as organised labour for their
support and thorough engagements. I thank you all for who you are and what you
have made us to be.
Honourable Speaker, let me also take this opportunity to thank my
organisation, the African National Congress, for entrusting me with the
responsibility of leading government for the last five years. It has been five
years of hard work, of tears and joy and of sweat in the service of the people.
I thank my organisation for continued support and leadership in keeping all of
us focused on the fundamental vision of the Freedom Charter.
I want to thank the members of this Honourable House for the support and
dedicated oversight in keeping us in the executive accountable to the mandate
of our people.
Let me also thank Members of the Executive Council who together with myself
had the privilege of executing the programme of action based on our Free State
Growth and Development Strategy. Furthermore, I want to thank these men and
women who put an extraordinary effort and went beyond the call of duty to be at
the disposal of their people. It has been an exceptionally rewarding time to
serve with this Honourable team. Let also take this opportunity to thank the
Director-General, Heads of Department and all the officials for their
dedication and loyal service.
Honourable Speaker, let me also take this time to thank my family who have
stood by me through thick and thin. Their love and support has carried me
through and I am highly indebted to their endless sacrifices.
I know that the cause, for which our forebears laid down their lives, will
triumph. I know that we shall overcome the stormy waters and we shall emerge
victorious. I also know that with our programme of action arising out of my
party manifesto and 8 January statement, we will move with speed to create a
better life for all. Our focus on education crime, on rural development, on
creating decent work and affordable quality healthcare, will add more momentum
to our forward march.
Honourable Speaker, in conclusion, let me once again borrow from Maya
Angelou's words:
"We have lived a painful history,
we know the shameful past,
but [let's] keep on marching forward."
Honourable Speaker and Members of the House, I thank you most
profoundly!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Free State Provincial Government
18 February 2009
