sitting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), addressed by the
Honourable President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, Arwar
Conference Hall, Ngwathe Local Municipality, Parys, Free State
10 November 2006
Honourable Chairperson
Honourable President of the Republic of South Africa
Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces
Distinguished guests
Ba gaetsho, dumelang!
I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to address you on the occasion
of the Honourable President's annual address to this august House, the
NCOP.
I am more than pleased that the theme of this plenary sitting and therefore
of the President's annual address is "Co-operative Government for Accelerating
the Process of Achieving a Better Life for All."
This is particularly so because in the North West province a new reality has
dawned since the passing of legislation by Parliament last year intended to
reconfigure a number of municipal boundaries in the interests of accelerated
service delivery and of the entire population of South Africa.
Among other things, this reconfiguration resulted in the abolition of the
cross-boundary municipalities, thus eliminating uncertainty and confusion among
affected communities regarding accountability for service delivery, at the same
time as other communities raised critical issues in relation to the
reconfiguration.
In the case of the North West, I am therefore very pleased to report that we
have since welcomed the people of Khutsong into our province and committed the
provincial government to addressing comprehensively all the concerns they have
raised and together we are already engaged in efforts to build cohesion and
engender a new consciousness of development that will benefit all our
communities.
Acting together with the Governments of Gauteng and Limpopo, to which some
of our former municipalities now belong, we are determined to continue finding
appropriate responses to the common key challenges of unemployment, poverty and
underdevelopment.
At this stage, more than any other in the history of our democracy and
freedom countrywide, we must hold steadfast and deliver on the pledge to build
a better life for all. As I have indicated, a critical part of sustaining the
momentum we have built in the past twelve years is to ensure that we strengthen
co-operative governance among the various spheres of government.
Everything we know from our experience suggests that it is only when there
is effective co-operation and co-ordination among the various spheres of
government that our policies will deliver maximum results in the shortest time
possible.
In this regard, we must continue to strengthen our system of
intergovernmental relations and our intergovernmental structures as mandated by
the Inter-Governmental Relations Act of 2005. Our province has begun
implementing provisions of this Act at the provincial level and it is now being
rolled out at district level as required by the Act.
The impressive progress we continue to register in the Kgalakgadi
Development Node, now designated as a Presidential Development Project, is a
direct result of the kind of effective co-operative governance mandated by the
Act and the kind that delivers a better life for all in the shortest time
possible.
The North West province is full of countless other examples, all pointing to
the unmistakable progress we make in accelerating the process of achieving a
better life for all.
As we take stock of this progress and fully regard the challenges that
confront us, we will nevertheless continue on our chosen historical path of
joining our people at all spheres of government into a durable partnership for
reconstruction and development.
As a province we will continue to reach out to our fellow South Africans in
the neighbouring provinces as part of Co-operative Governance and in the effort
to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South
Africa that is our common dream and the envy of many the world over.
I take this opportunity once again to thank the Honourable Chairperson and
Honourable Members of the NCOP as well as President Thabo Mbeki for allowing me
to address this august House.
Let us continue as various parts of co-operative government to deploy our
collective abilities to address the key challenges of unemployment, poverty and
underdevelopment.
I thank you.
Issued by: North West Provincial Government
10 November 2006
