S Moloto: State of the Province Address

12 February 2009

Mr Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
Executive mayors and mayors of local municipalities
Honourable members of the executive council
Honourable members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable members of the National Assembly and NCOP
Speakers of municipalities
Leaders of opposition parties
Chairperson and members of the House of Traditional Leaders
Our esteemed Magoshi, Tihosi and Mahosi
Former members of Parliament and members of Parliament legislation
Leadership of ANC and other political organisations
Stalwarts and veterans of our struggle
His Grace the Right Reverend BE Lekganyane of the Zion Christian Church
His Grace the Right Reverend EJ Lekganyane of the St Engenas Zion Christian
Church
Leadership of the South African Council of Churches and other religious
denominations
Our Director General and the senior management of our provincial
administration
Leadership of Chapter nine and ten institutions,
Youth, women, business, labour and community leaders
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
The people of Limpopo

“Uhuru na kazi” – Freedom and hard work

The closing of this third democratic legislature comes at a time when there
is great excitement all over the country about the oncoming general elections,
and the celebration of the first 15 years of freedom and democracy. Nothing can
best satisfy the pride of South Africans than the mere knowledge that we are a
free people; freed from the shackles of hatred and oppression which once made
us the fugitives we were in the land of our birth. We are no longer a nation of
homelands and Bantustans. We can no longer be described merely by the colour of
our skins.

Our government has outlawed from the statute books all derogatory terms that
once classified us in the prisms of those who sought to oppress us. At least
from the point of view of the law, we are prohibited from hurling racial
insults at each other. Built in the conscience of any South African, is a self
knowledge that we are one people, distinguished only by our race, our gender,
the language we speak, the religion and culture we practice, and whether we are
rich or poor. Engraved in our hearts is an invincible spirit that refuses to
surrender even when we are confronted with challenges which seem to be
insurmountable. It is this hope, determination and resilience that saw us
emerging triumphant in 1994 when we attained our freedom.

Fulfilled and content as we are, for having achieved these milestones on
such a short period of time, we are rather sad and worried that our meeting
here, coincides with a difficult episode in humanity’s calendar. Indeed,
one of humanity’s bleakest moments in recent history - a man-made catastrophe
this threatens not only the survival of economies across the globe, but human
beings too. In recorded history such man made catastrophes would always have
been preceded by a conventional world war, but in this case it is a catastrophe
of its own kind.

Never has it occurred since the 1930’s that the world is affected by such a
dramatic decline in socio-economic prospects for the majority of its citizens
than it is the case now. Of course much has been said and written about the
current global economic downturn. It has now spilled over to domestic economies
of rich and poorer countries ever-since the advent of the sub-prime mortgage
crisis in the United States (US).

Some economists have called it the second great depression to happen since
the infamous 1929 great depression.

(1) Others have dubbed it the “economic turmoil” of our time

(2) Some have called it the eventual collapse of the “Money God”

(3) In other quarters it has been referred to as the burst of the economic
success’ “bubble”

(4) Many believe it is a consequence of what happens when individual’s wants
are exaggerated over people needs (greed)

(5) Others have been careful to see it as just a simple crisis of
overproduction of goods beyond certain sustainable ecological limits.

Honourable speaker

Whatever the case may be the fact remains that this challenge is real. It is
now affecting the entire globe and especially the developing countries like our
own. For our country and the continent generally, this crisis can be seen as
more devastating for our people, since it will certainly compound our current
socio-economic problems of underdevelopment, unemployment and poverty. It will
further create obstacles for development. The potential for reversing some of
the gains we have made since 1994 is also huge. It has been predicted that
South Africa could slip into a recession by the end of this year, but signs are
already showing at this stage, that the country is already feeling the crunch
of this meltdown, with the formal unemployment rate of 26% and high levels of
poverty.

One of the sectors that are heavily taking the knock from the current
economic volatility is agriculture. Everywhere, farmers have been cutting their
production capacity in half due to high input costs and non-availability of
markets. Big commercial farmers and agro-processing factories are re-adjusting
their projections as input costs like fuel, chemicals, electricity, water and
fertilisers hit the ceiling. The result of all this, as we know, has been
a deepening problem of food insecurity as the country’s agricultural capacity
diminishes from being the major food exporter to a net importer.

Over the years the agricultural sector had its own fair share of problems.
These will include the complex challenges of land claims and natural disasters
or the ever-changing unfavourable climatic conditions. These have led to the
decline in the sector, resulting in the shedding of jobs over a period of time.
This new global phenomenon will obviously exacerbate the problem of shedding of
jobs in the sector than ever before.

The primary mining sector commodities like coal, chrome, diamond and
platinum of which our province is one of the major world producers, have also
not been spared from this brunt. Anglo Platinum is in the process of
retrenching 1 300 workers in Mokopane alone. Twickenham mine has already
declared 180 workers redundant and are therefore facing possible retrenchment.
Lonmin is shutting down one of its shafts in Zebediela, which will result in 1
200 workers losing their jobs. Venetia Mine at Musina will be abolishing 368
positions and currently 137 workers have been given notices of retrenchment.
Most subcontracting firms providing supplies to the mining operations in the
province are closing down due to the reduction in value of contracts and
downsizing, as many of the operations in the mines are being closed down. The
projections are that more than 2 500 subcontract workers are going to be laid
off.

Other sectors such as metals, engineering, and chemicals have already cut
over 8 000 jobs by the end of last year.

Overall, Statistics South Africa estimates that the country has already shed
about 71 000 jobs in various sectors by the third quarter of last year. The
objective reality is that this is rendering thousands of families destitute as
breadwinners are retrenched, considering the fact that the dependency ratio in
our province is very high at 1:8. This implies that on average every income
earner supports not less than eight people in the family.

Honourable speaker

Over and above retrenchments and job losses, this crisis seems to be also
impacting heavily on the ability of people to service debt. The National
Association of automobiles manufacturers of South Africa reports that each
month, between 6 000 and 7 000 cars are being repossessed nationally.
Banks are repossessing hundreds of homes a month from distressed homeowners and
the numbers are rising as the financial position of families worsens. This
figure has risen from about 55 000 homeowners in the first quarter to about 75
000 in the third quarter of last year.

In hindsight, it is quite obvious that this picture would have been far
worse, had our government not formulated adequate regulatory framework of the
financial sector. The National Credit Act (NCA) came in handy as it was
implemented in the latter part of last year. It is important to recognise the
fact that this legislation was passed long before the actual global financial
crisis erupted.

This was meant to protect our people against crass materialism and a
consumerist culture that had begun to rear its ugly head in our society. This
proactive measure should be commended because it had avoided what could have
been an unprecedented national disaster.

Honourable speaker

All these statistics which we have given relate largely to your lower middle
class - people who have a consistent and reliable source of income. It is
common knowledge that this crisis also has an impact on inflation as a result
of increasing fuel and food prices. As things stand, the impact that this high
inflation has on the unemployed and the poorest of the poor has not been
adequately measured. Most unfortunately, for the poor, we may not be in a
position to measure the impact through repossessions of their valuables. The
only possible repossession the poor could experience is by taking out of their
mouths - which simply means that they will go hungry and ultimately face
starvation.

Honourable speaker

Like we have indicated earlier on, calamities of this magnitude are often
preceded by war. Globally, the international community was caught off-guard
because with this current disaster there were no adequate early warning signs.
As such, there was no readiness, common purpose, common approach and collective
solidarity which are normally brought about by a war situation.

Chances are that valuable time may be consumed by theoretical debates and
arguments about the causes and the appropriate responses to these challenges
rather than viable practical responses.

In our province and country, it should not be forgotten that this global
economic meltdown happened at a time when the country was on a buoyant mood,
prompted by the success of our macro-economic outlook, which had resulted in
one of the longest and sustained economic growth rates in recent history.

In the midst of this challenge, government had to immediately develop a
rescue stimulus plan to counter the negative effects of this crisis on our
people. We chose not to cry over spilt milk, but rather to look at these
challenges in the eye and devise means to overcome them. At a national level
for instance, we have now been forced to alter some of our plans by adjusting
the projected economic growth rate lower. The hallmark of this stimulus plan
revolves around increased investment in the roll-out of both social and
economic infrastructure. We are quite certain that the MEC for Provincial
Treasury will soon outline measures and adjustments to be taken by the province
in cushioning citizens and industries against the full impact of this global
financial meltdown.

Honourable speaker

Over and above this global economic meltdown, the world is still reeling
from other extraordinary setbacks that continue in different ways to dampen
humanity’s spirit.

These include challenges such as global warming and climate change, energy
shortages, the widening of the gap between rich and poor, poverty, crime, HIV
and AIDS, and the endless wars in various parts of the world. These have
unfortunately left others wondering whether these are not the sights and signs
of the times often talked about in the scriptural book of
Revelations. 

Compounding all these worries has been the unacceptable economic and
humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. South Africa, our province in particular,
has over the years been carrying the burden of political and economic
instability that has been happening in that country. The situation worsened
late last year with the outbreak of cholera which as we speak can longer be
attributed to the Zimbabwean situation but has now become our own problem.

This outbreak of cholera has assisted in reminding us of the challenges we
still have to overcome in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The
common public health and hygiene message of our health promotion campaign has
been put to a test. Cholera and many other waterborne diseases remain
preventable, and if we heed to this campaign message we can indeed be able to
prevent them. Our Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) together with
municipalities are called upon to fast-track the provision of clean potable
water for domestic use.

Honourable speaker

We are pleased that at last the Zimbabweans have found each other. We would
like to take this opportunity to congratulate the leaders of Zimbabwe for
finally agreeing to form an all inclusive government. This development will
hopefully enable them to confront the socio-economic challenges they are faced
with, and immediately embark on the reconstruction and development of their
country.

Honourable speaker

Notwithstanding this prevailing sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that
is sweeping everywhere across the globe, we should take solace and
encouragement from the wise words of wisdom and counsel from our former
president, Honourable Thabo Mbeki, when he said “gloom and despondency have
never defeated adversity. Indeed, trying times need courage and resilience. Our
strength as a people is not always tested during the best of times, but rather
when the times are harder. We therefore should never become despondent because
today the weather is bad, nor turn triumphalist tomorrow because the sun
shines”.

In fact, our observation is that many nations faced with various national
calamities and challenges often tend to turn these challenges into
opportunities and advantages by uniting and developing a viable national
response. In many instances, they emerge stronger after they would have
overcome the challenges or adversities they faced. Such adversities may even be
used to correct difficulties and weaknesses which may not have been possible
under normal circumstances. Historically, many nations have made their dramatic
advances in development under conditions of distress.

Honourable speaker

“In every dark cloud there is always a silver lining”. Whatever the
circumstances we may face now, we must always be steadfast in our determination
and unwavering in our commitment to extricate ourselves from these real or
perceived difficulties that are currently holding us back.

The current darkness is nothing new compared to the perils which our
forefathers and mothers conquered during their lifetime. Problems such as these
do not start with us, nor will they end with this generation. Even during
biblical times, there were episodes of hardship which mankind had to endure
through the cause of his evolution and development. At any given time, there
would have been commitments which would have been made in the form of covenants
which would serve as a constant reminder to mankind of the hardships
suffered.

Honourable speaker

The 2004 elections manifesto gave us the mandate of “Building a people’s
contract to fight poverty and create work”. In setting out to define and
achieve this mandate, we developed a Provincial Growth and Development Strategy
(PGDS) whose objectives include: improving the quality of life of our people,
promoting economic growth and development, building institutional efficiency
and effectiveness of government, fostering social and economic regional
integration, and above all, addressing priority programmes such as disability,
women empowerment, youth development, poverty alleviation and HIV and AIDS.

We are pleased to note that in the five years since the strategy was adopted
and implemented, the entire society is mobilised behind it. Government is
better organised, systems are increasingly becoming integrated and our
management programmes are in a better shape. There are signs of improvement in
dealing with corruption and related maladies, which remain some of the
challenges government continues to be confronted with. These improvements
reflect that our adopted strategy is indeed working.

There is also confidence and understanding amongst our people that
government at all levels is steadily but surely tackling some of the most basic
challenges affecting our people. The 2007 community survey issued by Statistics
South Africa confirms many of these achievements on the social front.

As we end our term of office, we can confidently say we have done relatively
well on the social front. In many instances, we have even exceeded the targets
which we have set ourselves. These will include social security grants, no fee
schools, breaking new ground on housing delivery and provision of free basic
water and electricity. The remaining challenge in this sector would be the
covering of the outstanding backlogs and improving the quality of services
provided. Equally, we still have to ensure that the provision of these services
should be integrated in order to provide an adequate and sustainable social
wage.

We can also claim that we have done relatively well on the economic front.
The province has been experiencing a steady economic growth over a period of
time. The latest global economic turmoil which we alluded to has a potential to
undermine this growth pattern. The envisaged economic stimulus package which
the president talked about in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) will come
in handy in this regard.

Honourable speaker

In the previous State of the Province Addresses (SOPA), we dealt at length
with the challenges and threats to our freedom and democracy. It has been
intimated time and again that the biggest threat to our freedom and democracy
is this sense of entitlement, which in hindsight, has proven to be a major
setback which undermines many liberations on the African continent. Realising
the danger of this element, some of the liberation movements which attained
freedom much earlier than us, have correctly identified the means and slogans
to deal with these falsehood and illusion. One such liberation movement was the
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) led by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who
coined the slogan: Uhuru na Kazi - which means freedom and hard work.

This expression was conceived at a time when Africans had been seduced to
believe that after the attainment of freedom they would not be required to
work, as freedom alone was enough to guarantee a better life. There would even
be instances where property and valuables of the former oppressors would have
been taken unduly through the use of force. Everything which had to do with the
past would have been deemed as wrong and therefore should be discarded.
Ill-informed new experiments, populist and ill-conceived adventures had to be
tested. These new experiments would have come at a huge cost, sometimes to the
detriment of that poor nation. These sorts of actions have brought about
serious setbacks and constrained development, than exploiting the potential
which would have existed. The bulk of political instabilities and coup de tats
which characterise Africa are prompted by this phenomenon.

Honourable speaker

Equally here in our province and country, there are many others who still
hold a belief that freedom means entitlement. Some of our people tend to think
that freedom means getting everything free in the literal sense. The assumption
is that government has to provide all these free services and amenities, while
the masses of our people are passive recipients. Unfortunately, this is also
the same mentality which is a source of many conflicts when it comes to
government tenders and contracts. The important consideration of capacity and
skills sometimes takes the back seat.

The damage which this culture has caused to the moral fibre of our society
and the efficiency and effectiveness of our government is of untold proportions
and immeasurable magnitude. The bulk of service delivery related complaints and
protests stems from this phenomenon. These complaints and protests would relate
to poor workmanship in government projects, poor quality of materials used,
poor and harsh labour relations (sometimes even non-payment of subcontractors
and workers). Every one of us knows about incomplete and abandoned projects
which would have already been paid for.

It is our firm belief that we can only overcome this challenge of
entitlement if our people were to be taught the true meaning of freedom and
democracy. These will entail a deeper understanding that freedom and democracy
are not only about rights, but also involve huge responsibilities and
obligations. It is therefore important that we inculcate a sense of new work
ethics and improved productivity levels, considering the fact that our economy
is gradually moving from primary export commodity driven economy to skills and
knowledge based economy. Therefore, the need for efficiency and competitiveness
cannot be overemphasised. We are equally called upon to employ suitably
qualified personnel in order to meet the challenges of our day and time. This
would indeed be embracing the true meaning of the slogan: Uhuru na Kazi
-freedom and hard work.

Honourable speaker

There can be no doubt that our current challenges require strong leadership
that is prepared to curtail this culture from breeding further. Like Julius
Nyerere and the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) did in Tanzania, when
confronted with a similar challenge, we too also deserve leaders who will rise
up to the occasion and confront these issues head on.

There can be no justification for these sorts of practices because in actual
fact, they undermine the essence of freedom and democracy which our people
struggled and died for. To borrow from Vladimir Lenin in one of his classical
collected works, “whilst revolution is an act of spontaneity on the part of the
masses, spontaneity on the part of leadership is often reactionary and
counterrevolutionary”. This teaches us that the hallmark of any good leadership
is the ability to make hard choices and take tough decisions in the interest of
the people, even if such decisions may be unpopular in some quarters.

At the end of the day, whilst slogans are important, they may not be able to
provide solutions to all the problems we are facing. Honesty, sincerity,
truthfulness, and selflessness remain the basic ethos of this good leadership
we have just alluded to.

Honourable speaker

Last night our province has had a rare honour and a privilege to host for
the first time a FIFA friendly encounter between South Africa and Chile. Once
more, we have distinguished ourselves as a destination of choice for many. Our
sincere words of thanks go to the management of South African Football
Association and FIFA for giving us an opportunity to host this prestigious
event.

The enthusiasm shown by the people of Limpopo surpassed our expectation. We
have shown the world that South Africa, Limpopo in particular will present the
best soccer tournament ever in 2010. Judging by the previous performances of
Bafana Bafana, it has become clear that we now have a formidable team which is
ready to compete with the best of the best in the world.

Honourable speaker

Honourable President Kgalema Motlanthe has now announced the date of the
fourth democratic general elections. As we enter the last term of the second
decade of freedom and democracy, the challenges and strains that will
eventually define our triumph remain real. It is in this context that we
encourage eligible voters to go and cast their votes, for the historical burden
bestowed on us by our forebears has not fully disappeared. The quest for
humanity to be delivered from hunger, ignorance, backwardness and despair is
yet to be fulfilled. However, we find solace and inspiration in knowing that
humanity will always conquer.

Honourable speaker

Let us leave here with a renewed sense of patriotism and loyalty. We should
be more inspired and consider ourselves fortunate that we call this province
home, and equally lucky that we have been called upon by history to make a
contribution to her well being in various capacities in which we serve.

None of the things we did were ever going to be possible without the valued
support and cooperation of the various stakeholders. Amongst these we can count
on political parties, traditional leaders, civic organisations, faith-based
formations, organised business, labour, sports people, academics and
non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) to mention but a few. We wish to pay a
special gratitude to each one of them for working hard in order to reach the
goal of human fulfilment.

Honourable speaker

We are confident that, as they have done before, the people of this province
do not only want to see Limpopo achieve its development objectives, but also
have what it takes to accelerate this process. You are distinguished by your
optimism, humbleness, loyalty, resilience and above all, your determination and
courage to turn any untenable situation to your advantage and favour.

It is this attitude you have, which will continue to strengthen and
galvanise the foundation we are building for generations to come. Your
collective effort and wisdom has not gone unnoticed. We have come this far
working together, united in action, we can do more.

The horizon is clear, go for it!

I thank you!

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
12 February 2009
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gautengonline.gov.za)