Keynote Address by Ms. Sindisiwe Chikunga (MP) Deputy Minister of Transport on the Occasion of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency at the Royal Elephant Hotel & Conference Centre, Bondev Park in Centurion
Programme Director
Chairperson of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency Board, Mr Mos Ramathe
Cross Border Road Transport Agency Board
Chief Executive Officer of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency, Mr Sipho Khumalo
The Chief Executive Officers of Transport Entities
Management and Employees of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
It is an honour to be part of the Inaugural Cross Border Road Transport Agency Annual Performance Awards.
This is indeed a milestone because this is the first time the Cross Border Road Transport Agency will be hosting an event of this kind to honour and celebrate the Agency’s best performers during the Women’s Month.
More so it is a year in which we honour the great stalwart of South Africa’s liberation struggle, former President of the African National Congress, Oliver Reginald Tambo who would have turned 100 years this year.
Comrade Tambo was a solution oriented leader whose mission was to attain liberation for South Africa and other African nations alike. This is indeed an exciting time for the Agency.
Former President Thabo Mbeki on Comrade Oliver Tambo’s Leadership
Our former President Thabo Mbeki’s focus on comrade President Oliver Tambo when speaking on occasion of a Lecture in “Celebration of the Centenary of the ANC” in 2012, had to say this about the revolutionary leader whose centenary we also celebrate this year: Quote:
“Like some or many of these, what distinguished Oliver Tambo are [among others]
- An unwavering commitment to serve the people of South Africa with no expectation of any personal benefit: this affirmed a value system at the centre of which is respect for the fundamental principle and practice that leaders are there to serve the people;
- A sustained determination to conduct himself in his personal life so that at all times he would never betray the ethical standards which the masses he represented and led viewed as fundamental to their definition of themselves;
- The commitment, to its fullest extent, of the entirety of his enormous intellectual capacity and personal energy to pursue the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution;
- His capacity to communicate well-thought-out, clear and relevant messages to the national democratic movement as a whole about its tasks at all times, which reassured everybody that there was a purpose to their actions and a positive end-game to their sacrifices; and,
- His ability to ensure the cohesion of the forces of revolution by taking all the necessary steps, including through even his personal interaction with the people constituting these masses, which reinforced the confidence of these forces in the apex leadership of the revolution, which strengthened their will and capacity to act as one cohesive force.
I must also state this frankly, that I thought it important to state what I believe set Oliver Tambo apart as the leader he was, to underline the fundamental point that unless we produce other leaders and cadres of the calibre of Oliver Tambo, it is almost inevitable that the National Democratic Revolution will fail”. Unquote.
And when we confer the awards for excellence of service what is it we are trying to say to our people and the rest of the world? What is it we are trying to say to those officials upon whom we are making this gesture of affirmation?
Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to speak very briefly about those elements in the environment of our work.
I wish to speak to the most important aspects of that environment that make up the background and context within which these awards are staged.
In talking about this context ladies and gentlemen, I will refer to our codes of conduct as government broadly and as individuals charged with fulfilling government’s goals and reversing the challenges our people face every day.
The White Paper developed by the Department of Public Service Administration (DBSA) in 1997 on Transforming the Public Service, stated in relation to our Constitution that public services are not a privilege, but a legitimate expectation and thus are a necessary requirement for the deepening of our democracy and the protection of human and constitutional rights of all South Africans especially those previously disadvantaged.
Fellow South Africans, it is also the same White Paper that sets out the constitutional imperatives for excellence. Even then in 1997 the Department of Public Service and Administration had already adopted as its guiding principle of public service transformation and reform the slogan “service to the people”.
The White Paper states and I quote that:
The introduction of a service delivery programme cannot be achieved in isolation from other fundamental management changes within the public service. It must be part of a fundamental shift of culture improvement whereby public servants see themselves first and foremost as servants of the citizens of South Africa, and where the Public Service is managed with service to the public as its primary goal. Unquote
Thus said Ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that the Constitution demands that public service should be of high professional standard, and that public service must imply the efficient, economical and effective use of resources.
It is therefore extremely important that we must impress upon all ourselves gathered here today that this constitutional dictum is itself premised on the important demand by the Freedom Charter in which is stated that the People Shall Govern.
It remains therefore with due respect to not only our campaign to place our people at the forefront of change and quality service delivery , but also an imperative to heed these constitutional imperatives and the compact made in the Freedom Charter in which our people must be at the centre of all government’s achievements.
It is also crucial that we note that the transformation of the public service as I have just mentioned could not have occurred without the dedication of public officials, elected or appointed.
It would also not have occurred Ladies and Gentlemen if government as whole did not instil and show commitment to the resolution of the challenges of our times.
Such excellence of work would also not have occurred without other fundamental changes in the public service, changes which are continuing to unfold out of processes of collective learning and relearning.
We have continued to forge ahead as we respond to the pressing needs of our people especially the eradication of poverty and the effective reduction of inequality and unemployment.
To this end we also continue to find ways in which we can fully bring our strategies as a department into alignment with the bigger vision of The National Development Plan Vision 2030.
Recognising and rewarding best performing employees is the hallmark of building and promoting a high culture of performance in any organization.
This has shown in the effective execution of their responsibilities tied to our strategic plan.
Excellence in delivery of an organization’s goals and objectives stems from the key pertinent roles of its employees.
An organization cannot excel to its full magnitude without its employees high performance and this Annual Performance Awards is an indicator of the recognition that the Cross Border Road Transport Agency confers on its employees.
In recognising the best of its employees, the Cross Border Road Transport Agency promotes and builds a culture of performance thus ensuring that the Agency executes its mandate as a centre of excellence in the transport industry.
Like President Jacob Zuma once said, and I quote:
“To achieve all our goals, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of service, probity and integrity. Together we must build a society that prizes excellence and rewards effort, which shuns laziness and incompetence.” Unquote
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to put service delivery at the forefront and uphold a high culture of performance.
This era has been declared as the Decade of Action and by embracing the values, vision and mission of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency, you will be well versed to serve the South African public with diligence and integrity.
This event is an indication of the incredible job that you do despite challenges that you may have encountered but you still persevered and we commend you for that.
This is a true indication that you made a difference. Today is a celebration of your achievements and I know you are keen to get started.
Let me congratulate the winners of this Inaugural Cross Border Road Transport Agency Annual Performance Awards.
You have done us proud.
I thank you.
