MEC of Education, Makgabo Mhaule
The Executive Mayor of Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Cllr Jester Sidell
The Executive Mayor of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Cllr Sylvia Nxumalo
Members of the Mayoral Community and Councillors
Traditional Leaders
Executives of State-Owned Companies
Senior officials of my Department
Distinguished guests and
Our main beneficiaries, the 1 500 VIP learners
Abhushene, Ahee, dumelang,
It is neither an accident nor a natural phenomenon that many parents in Mkhuhlu are under-educated and relatively poor, battling for resources and dignity. The quality of their lives and that of their parents and grandparents, were very deliberately imposed on them by the unjust laws of the previous government.
The good news is that because our distorted patterns of poverty, inequality and unemployment are man-made (and I say “man-made” because apartheid rulers were overwhelmingly men) they can be un-made. By all of us. And among the most important instruments we have to achieve this goal are our state-owned companies.
As the Minister of Public Enterprises, I am the shareholder – on behalf of the Government of our country, representing all citizens – of six state-owned companies: Eskom, Trasnet, Denel, Alexkor, South African Express and Safcol. That makes me the shareholders’ representative of some of the largest companies in our country.
These companies have responsibilities above and beyond the responsibilities of private companies, whose only interest is the bottom line. Our companies must not just be profitable; they must also help drive the developmental needs of our country. They collectively employ tens of thousands of citizens.
They have the power, collectively, to drive transformation. But they can’t do it without you. The YOU that comes equipped with maths and science.
Distinguished guests…
When our democratic government rose to power in 1994 it set about scrapping discriminatory laws with determination and vigour.
What it was really doing was removing the false ceilings that limited the opportunities afforded to the majority of the people, and creating a society that enabled all to participate. All to have a chance to lift themselves and their families out of poverty to a better place.
The area in which you live is in the heart of one of the most important tourist economies in our country. National and international tourists flock to the region to visit Kruger Park, and all the other game reserves, and to absorb the abundant natural beauty. You must participate in this economy, but not just as security guards, drivers or low-level conservators… As pilots and engineers, accountants, lawyers, doctors and empowered managers. Maths and Science.
I grew up in what they called a Coloured township in Cape Town, called Mitchell’s Plain. None of us had any thoughts, then, of becoming cabinet ministers. I finished my matric and became a teacher. Because that’s what we did in those days. We became teachers or nurses because that was about as high as we could go. That was the ceiling. Of course we need good teachers and nurses now as much as ever – and security guards and drivers – but we also need scientists and mathematicians.
We need zoolgists and botanists, geolgists, vets, civil, mechanical and electical engineers. And some of them should come from Mkhuhlu.
I must say that I loved teaching, and my father is still angry that I left the profession to join the struggle for equal rights. But I am not sorry. Because today I have the opportunity to inspire you to be bigger than yourselves.
It really does begin with you. When the President delivers the State of the Nation address he is not simply providing a theoretical framework. He is talking about us and our collective future – and more specifically, about you.
When the Minister of Finance delivers the budget, it’s not just about Rands and Cents. It’s about people. And, more specifically, about how we can use the money we have to effect change in our country, to eradicate the evils of poverty and inequality that we inherited from our past. To benefit all, including you.
People of Mkhuhlu…
In April 2016, when we celebrated the electrification of your community, I made a commitment to return with representatives of some of the state-owned companies to create a few engineers and medical doctors from your ranks.
We are here today to honour that commitment, and also to put into effect the Cabinet decision of the NDP 2030 Back-to-School Imbizo Week during the last week of February 2017. We are here with the leaders of your community to hand over bursaries, mobile libraries, school shoes and dignity packs to schools in Mkhuhlu and the surrounding area.
We are not here to play Mother and Father Christmas. We are here to urge you to get the results you need to enter the careers our economy needs.
There is presently a critical imbalance. The unemployment rate is increasing, but we suffer from skills shortages. There are precious few jobs available, but lots of vacancies for those with a grounding in maths and science.
Through the New Growth Path Policy Framework, government and social partners at NEDLAC committed to improving the skills base of the country through initiatives including the Basic Education Accord and the National Skills Accord.
These commitments are based on a frank recognition that while South Africa has made significant progress in establishing a stable market-based economy, it still faces critical challenges consolidating our democratic gains. We need to break down the hideously wide divide between haves and have-nots.
This message was strongly reinforced by the President in his recent State of the Nation Address, when he set out a forthright government agenda of radical economic transformation that emphasised the importance of growing a dynamic and competitive economy and providing a social safety net for the poor.
Business is a key actor in the social and economic change agenda and has a critical role to play if rapid socio-economic transformation is to be achieved within the timelines set by the NDP and the NGP.
Because state-owned companies are sizeable businesses, conscious of the developmental needs of the country, they make a very meaningful contribution to our transformation agenda.
The state-owned companies in the Department of Public Enterprises’ Portfolio have refocused their Corporate Social Investment Programmes to help shape the competitive business environment in which we operate.
The main focus of their support is on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, to create a pool of new job-seekers with the skills to plug the skills shortage.
Between April and September 2016, state-owned companies collectively spent over R81 million on various Corporate Social Investment programmes to benefit more than 569 206 beneficiaries of various education, health and outreach programmes.
Two years ago, we visited Gugulethu in the Western Cape, and signed up six then-matriculants as trainee pilots who had achieved good results in maths and science.
That is the difference we can make when we set our minds to it. The difference we want to begin to make with you today, in Mkhuhlu.
Na khensa
Kea la boga
Thank you
Enquiries:
Colin Cruywagen
Cell: 082 3779916
