2021 Provincial Budget Speech presented by MEC for Finance, Motlalepula Rosho at the North West Provincial Legislature
Honourable Speaker, Ms.Susan Dantjie Honourable Deputy Speaker, Ms.Viola Motsumi Honourable Premier, Prof Job Mokgoro Honourable Members ofthe Executive Council Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature Executive Mayors and Mayors of Municipalities
Modulasetilo wa Ntlo ya Dikgosi, KgosiMoshe Mabe
Dikgositsa rona
Chairpersons and Board Members of Public Entities
Administrators,Heads of Departments and CEO's of State-Owned Entities Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Bagaetsho, Dumelang.
Honourable Speaker, in honour of the past leaders who fought tirelessly in shaping the democracy that we enjoy today, the African National Congress (ANC) has declared 2021 the year of Charlotte Maxeke. Let me remind this august house who Charlotte Maxeke was. She was a pioneering anti colonialist feminist and an astute thinker who at the turn of the twentieth century spoke without fear on issues affecting black South African women and girls.
As we celebrate this stalwart throughout the year, we must remember that she was an extraordinary individual who rewrote the rules when they were flawed. In her activism and rebuke for the repressive system of apartheid, subjugation, and discrimination against women, she was conscious of what women had to contend with at that time, which was the triple burden of patriarchy, an oppressive regime,and an exploitative economic system.
Honourable Speaker, upon recognising the appalling employment conditions women were subjected to, this revolutionary matriarch opened an employment agency that aimed to structure labour and usher in a new era as women were typically not allowed to work.
This courageous leader fought tirelessly to bring about social change through agitation and protest. One wonders if she would be pleased with the socio economic make-up of our society today, where women and children are relegated to the peripheral strata of the economy and exposed to gender based violence and femicide (GBVF).
We draw strength from the values she has instilled in us and remember that in her interface with people,especially women,she always urged them to uphold values and behaviour that influence unity rather than focus on issues that cause division. Though Mama Maxeke is not with us anymore, her work will always steer us towards the right direction as she encouraged us to internalize the true fundamentals of selfless leadership and Ubuntu.
Honourable Speaker, COVID-19, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) have laid bare the exploitative social conditions women find themselves in, irrespective ofthe measures that have been put in place to fight the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
In our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) her work and teachings remind us that unity must prevail amongst us even during the most trying times. Through her commitment, sacrifice, loyalty, respect, selflessness and patriotism, we are reminded that we must be like good timber.
An inspirational poem by Douglas Malloch states that "Good timber does not grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees, the further the sky,the greater the length, the more the storm, the more the strength".
Honourable Speaker,for us to discover our true potential, we need to stand firm and be like the baobab tree as it grows and reaches its true potential by overcoming adversity as relayed by the State President, His Excellency, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa in his January 8 statement earlier this year.
The baobab tree is a prehistoric species which fights through the harshest of terrains to grow to its full potential. Once it has reached its potential, it becomes a source of life to organisms in its ecosystem including animals and humans as it provides water, food and shelter to them hence it has been termed as "The Tree of Life."
Re tshwanetse go tsaya malebela mo mofuteng ono wa setlhare sa mowana. Ga re kitla re ineela, re tshwanetse go lwa ntwa kgatlhanong le tlala, botlhokatiro, kgatelelo ya bomme le mogare wa COVID-19 mme resale re tsepame jaaka setlhare se. Se kgona go emelelena le maemo a a makgwakgwa mme se tswelele go tlhoga le go gala mo gare ga maemo ao. Se fenya komelelo, lefifi mme se itlhagise go bona tlhabo ya letsatsi mo gare ga sekgwa.
Economic Outlook
The tabling of the current budget comes amidst tough economic times where for the past twelve months, most economic activities were halted at one point or another due to a national lockdown that had to be imposed under the NationalDisasterManagementAct, No.57 of2002.
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the deepest economic recession in decades, threatening health, disrupting economic activity, and hurting people's well-being and jobs. The impact of the pandemic has ravaged through every layer of our social fabric as we know it. While the pandemic continues to turn the world upside down, new realisations are beginning to dawn on us and we have slowly begun to adjust to the 'New Normal' way of conducting our lives.
Honourable Speaker, Minister Mboweni in the 2021 Budget Speech indicated that the globaleconomic growth is expected to bounce back from the contraction of 4.9 per cent in 2020 to 5.5 per cent in 2021 before moderating slightly to 4.2 percent in 2022.
The positive outlook comes on the back of expected rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and other additional policy measures that have been implemented by countries across the globe. Statian economy registered a 7 per cent contraction in 2020.The expectation according to National Treasury is that we will see the economy rebound through a 3.3 per cent growth for2021.
We expect the economy of the province to follow a similar trend to that of the country with regards to expected economic growth. According to forecasts made by IHS Markit, the North West economy is expected to tank by about 10 per cent in 2020 which will be the largest decline since 1997. The provincial economy is expected to bounce back with a positive growth of just below 5 per cent in 2021.
