Programme director, Professor Mollo
Minister of Public Service and Administration, Mr Richard Baloyi
CEO of Metropolitan, Mr Matlakala
Distinguished guests
Good evening to you all
It's a pleasure to join you tonight on a lighter note, having completed the heady business of the State of the Nation. I am delighted to be part of this Golf Day Challenge this year as the President of the Republic. Since 2002 you have been hosting these Golf Challenges fundraising events for the benefit of many good causes.
As we have seen sport is a great unifier in our country. Now if only our success on the rugby field could be emulated by Bafana Bafana, we may just keep the World Cup longer than 2010. Speaking of soccer, in just ten days time we kick off the Confederations Cup, the dress rehearsal for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
I hope that you will join me in attending the Confederations Cup as we watch the world's best foot-balling nations battle it out on our shores. This comes just weeks after watching the world's best cricketers in the IPL. These tournaments highlight once again the great strides we have made as a country.
This is a measure of our leadership's vision and the world's faith in the South African miracle that continues to grow from strength to strength. Besides the more obvious spin-offs such as stadia, infrastructure and transport development, hosting the 2010 World Cup has already created over 400 000 jobs, with the hospitality and construction industries being major beneficiaries. This despite the challenging economic times we find ourselves in.
While I am sure that we have all enjoyed the day's play, our entertainment does have some serious benefits for the disadvantaged. Our enjoyment here sees us ensuring that we recommit ourselves to our mandate of delivering a better life for all.
Last week we marked Child Protection Week, the aim being to highlight that the care and safety of our children remains uppermost in our thoughts. With this in mind the beneficiaries of today’s golf is the Jacob Zuma Education Trust.
While the world we live in poses numerous challenges for the youth, those growing up in rural areas face a particularly difficult time.
With limited access to education, their hope of breaking the cycle of poverty many of them find themselves in is diminished. This year marks the fourteenth year of existence of the Education Trust. Thus far we have given bursaries to over 20 000 children from primary school level all the way up to university-level. We have thus far produced 65 graduates.
These changes have a ripple effect on the lives of the rural poor, uplifting them one at a time from a life of one condemned to poverty to one full of hope. A good education is the first step in accessing socio-economic benefits.
One of our key priorities over the next five years is education. The key to unlocking potential here lies with our teachers and principals.
To improve school management, formal training will be a pre-condition for promoting teachers to become principals or heads of department, I said this yesterday in my address and I repeat it again here today. And to bring our educators into the 21st century we will be introducing the Teacher Laptop Initiative.
This initiative is part of a critical strategy aimed at enhancing the use of information and communication technology in learning. The initiative aims to ensure that each teacher owns and uses a laptop, by providing them with a monthly allowance that covers the cost of the laptop and connectivity. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) package will consist of appropriate hardware and software as well as internet connectivity, all with prescribed minimum specifications.
Teachers participating in this scheme will be required to utilise their laptop in their teaching as well as for administrative duties. A monthly allowance of R130 will be paid to educators as a contribution towards these costs. The project will be phased in over a two-year period starting from the 1st of July 2009. I am sure that this will work greatly towards motivating our educators to improve the standard of teaching and learning in our schools.
It is great to see all of you using this occasion to give something back. Being a citizen is not only about rights, it is also about responsibility. It is about making a contribution to make our country a better place for us and our children. I hope that this does not mark the end of your efforts.
We all need to ask ourselves what more we can do to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. This country has flourished because millions of South Africans have chosen a life full of hope, rather than one of despair.
Thanks to the efforts of all South Africans we find ourselves on the fairway. We can see the green ahead of us, the better life for which our people have long struggled.
To remain on course, to keep out of the rough, we need to remain focused and committed. The global economy may be testing us with swirling winds and driving rain, but we remain determined to keep away from any water traps and bunkers that may lie in our path.
In a year's time we will host the greatest footballing spectacle the world has ever seen. I hope you continue to join me in ensuring that we work together towards building a better future for all.
I thank you.
Ngiyabonga.
Source: The Presidency
