FREE DAILY EMAIL

Date: 25/02/2004
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government
Title: G Akharwaray: Northern Cape Appropriation Bill 2004/2005


BUDGET SPEECH BY NORTHERN CAPE MEC FOR FINANCE, MR GH AKHARWARAY
25 February 2004

Speaker
Honourable Premier
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Comrades and Friends.

1 INTRODUCTION

Writing in ancient Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) is attributed with the statement that "The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt."

In much the same way since 1994 we have advocated and pursued a strategy of increased fiscal discipline, the raising of new revenues, public debt reduction and the development of a cadre of civil servants genuinely committed to the principles of Batho Pele and ensuring maximum development impact from the utilisation of scarce state resources.

Taking into account the appalling legacy of Apartheid and the challenges we faced to confront intolerance, inhumanity and discrimination head on, while at the same time rescuing our national economy, there was no credible alternative. A stagnant national economy with high inflation and a high budget deficit posed the seemingly impossible challenge of not only where to find the resources necessary to finance our Reconstruction and Development Programme objectives, but also how to avoid Rome, or rather Pretoria, from becoming bankrupt?
To cut a long story short, as we stand today at the dawn of the second decade of our democracy we are proud to be able to look back and state unambiguously that not only did we save our economy from bankruptcy, but also made great inroads into the social backlogs that we inherited from the Apartheid State. More importantly, we have laid the foundations from which it will be possible to deal with what President Mbeki has called the co-existence of "excessive opulence" and a "thriving modernity" on the one hand, and "grinding poverty" and "dehumanising under-development" on the other, and find equitable and enduring solutions to the legacy of Apartheid.
In the social arena we have transformed institutions that dispensed their services in a racially discriminatory and non-transparent way, into efficient providers of a wider range of services that are distributed equitably in a transparent manner with full accountability. The net result is that our communities have vastly improved access to housing, water and sanitation, education, health, electricity and social services right across our province and country.
This has all been made possible by our achievements in transforming our economy from an inward looking uncompetitive one that it was under Apartheid, to the globally competitive and efficient one that it has become. The history of the management of our economy during the first decade of post-Apartheid, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist government is tight fiscal discipline and sound monetary policy. Undoubtedly, this has been the major factor contributing to the creation of macro-economic conditions that, together with trade and industrial policy reform, has inspired much improved levels of business confidence and a sense of opportunity in the South African economy. Increased levels of foreign and domestic investment in our economy attest to this fact. Thus, fuelled by what has become the longest period of continuous growth for over fifty years, and by massive improvements in the efficiency of revenue collection by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), it has been possible to achieve growth and development with equity.

Of course, as the President and our own Premier have recently observed in their addresses to the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislature respectively, ten years is not a long time. We are right to tout the greatness of our recent achievements and the fact that our people are, on average, better off than they were ten short years ago. However, we recognise that there is still much to be done before we can finally say we have repaired the damage inflicted by centuries of neglect, deprivation and injustice levelled against our people during colonial times and through the apartheid era. We take heart though in the fact that we are nevertheless on the right road towards the complete normalisation of our society.

As the national Minister of Finance said only last week in his Budget Speech, we recognise that vulnerability remains deep-rooted, exacerbated by rising unemployment and the long shadows cast by the social dislocation and exclusion of the past. Therefore, the fight against poverty will continue. Here in the Northern Cape we will continue to try to improve the material conditions of people's existence, directly through the ongoing provision of social goods and services and indirectly through the promotion of our provincial economy and the creation of sustainable jobs.

2 REFLECTIONS ON THE PROVINCIAL ECONOMY

A decade ago, when we assumed office, we were handed custodianship of what was at that time one of South Africa's nine new provinces - this province of the Northern Cape. Back then we inherited an economy that was dominated by primary production in mining and agriculture. Levels of diversification were low and very little downstream processing and manufacturing were taking place. Non-mining exports were low and producers achieved only limited success in penetrating export markets. Our tourist economy had been virtually ignored and the Northern Cape featured no-where in terms of national economic planning priorities.

Between 1980 and 1995 the province lost about 69 000 formal jobs. At the same time, growth rates in real Gross Geographic Product (GGP) in these periods averaged 0.4% per annum between 1980 and 1990 - and 0,1% between 1990 and 1995. In certain economic sectors, such as mining, manufacturing, construction and transport and communications, growth rates over these periods were actually negative. To all intents and purposes the provincial economy had stagnated.

On top of all of this, levels of private sector development were low and nothing was being done to promote trade and investment or to develop local entrepreneurs, particularly those from a disadvantaged background. In short, the Northern Cape was the forgotten province located on the physical and policy periphery.

What has changed over the past ten years you may ask? In short: a lot! For a start, the transforming macro-economy and our admittance into the global economy has seen our mineral and agricultural exports soar. We continue to enjoy the fruits of the period of rapid growth in tourism to South Africa that followed the democratic elections of 1994 and our prime tourist attractions are increasingly attracting first time and return visitors to our province. Growth in transport and the service industries has been significant and as a result, provincial growth rates have shown significant recovery.

An examination of published data reflecting the share of the Northern Cape province in national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reveals that between 1999 and 2000 the provincial share of GDP has increased in real terms at a rate greater than that of GDP itself. In other words, in real terms the provincial share of national GDP has grown - by something in the order of 2,3%.

For now it is in mining and agriculture that we enjoy a comparative and competitive economic advantage. With a new legislative and policy environment that promotes increased access to the mining industry and land and agricultural policies that promote growth and redistribution there is therefore considerable scope for growth in mining and agriculture in the Northern Cape. Similarly in other new natural resource based industries such as tourism, mariculture and game farming, prospects for growth are also good.

In short, I believe that the prospects for sustained economic growth in the provincial economy are good with growth projections over the next 4 years averaging 2,7%.

3. REVENUE


In terms of current inter-governmental fiscal relations, Provincial Governments are largely reliant on transfers from the national fiscus through the "equitable share", which determines provincial allocations by way of a revenue sharing formula that takes into account factors such as demographic and economic profiles as well as recognising that certain provinces suffer greater backlog needs.

Facilitated by an increased global allocation to the provinces by national government, the Northern Cape provincial allocation in terms of the equitable share rises by 9% to R3,839 billion for 2004/05. A further amount of R0,573 billion is provided by national government in the form of conditional grants. This together with own revenues that are anticipated to amount to R94,305 million in 2004/05 results in total provincial receipts of R4,506 billion for the 2004/05 financial year. This increases to R4,882 billion and R5,254 billion for the 2005/06 and 2006/7 MTEF years respectively.

Provincial own revenue of R94,305 million in 2004/05 referred to above will be raised through various user-charges and licensing fees (the main contributors being R61,716 million from motor vehicle licensing, R16,751 from patient fees and R8,881 million from gaming and racing).

4 ACHIEVEMENTS IN PUBLIC FINANCE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Mister Speaker, on of the criticisms of governments all over the world is that there is an enormous chasm between the relatively rich and powerful people who make decisions and poorer citizens who must depend on these decisions to alleviate the problems caused by their lack of power and influence.

Until 1994, things were no different. Prior to the democratic elections of 1994 the Apartheid government and the various organs of the State simply could not be relied upon to make such decisions over public finances in the best interests of all South Africans. In the hey days of apartheid, the chasm I refer to was in fact a yawning abyss, a gulf so wide and so muddied by ill-will and bad intent, that for all intents and purposes it was a void that provided no scope for the majority of South Africans to question the allocation of public finances.

Today, all that has changed. Our public finances, financial administrative systems and procedures as well as the budgeting process itself are totally transparent and characterised by high levels of accountability entrenched in the Public Finance Management Act. Moreover, our processes and procedures provide for a high level of participation in the budgeting process, which require spending agencies to consult widely with their client community.

I'm sure you will agree that this is incontrovertible evidence once again of our success in transforming the public sector into a ent-centred, people first institution.

Over and above our achievement in transforming the very essence of public finance and budgeting, there are a number of other changes that we have made here in the province on the financial management front to increase efficiency and equity in our spending.

Firstly, as I have already alluded to elsewhere, our initial focus after the democratic elections of 1994 was to re-direct spending to address the enormous backlogs in social services and to do so in an equitable manner. In doing so and in devoting as much as 85% of our spending towards this end, we honoured the commitment we had made to our constituency. Whatever your political persuasion you just could not argue against the merits of doing so. As a consequence, we have made great strides in the provision of education, improved health care and the extension of social welfare services in the province and we continue to march onward to the eradication of the backlogs we inherited.

Secondly, we have consistently asserted the interests of the Northern Cape in the debates on the national fiscal agenda. From the early days of the Financial and Fiscal Commission policymaking process to the various Budget Councils and Lekgotlas. From the MINMECs to the various platforms and fora where public finance is debated we have consistently made representation that calls for more explicit recognition of the fiscal challenges facing the Northern Cape. I believe that we have succeeded. The result of our efforts is that with a population of only 2% of the national total, we received 2,6% of the national budget initially with an agreement to reduce this to 2,4% over 5 years. This allowed us to address certain unique initial backlogs and put in place delivery mechanisms and institutional infrastructure that were not available to us when we assumed office in 1994. In granting this concession national government acknowledged the higher costs associated with our large land area, sparse population and higher take-up of social security grants.

Thirdly as I have already mentioned, we have modernised public finance and budgeting procedures. The link between policy and budget is established, as is the link between strategic and development plans and budgets. It is now possible to measure the performance of spending agencies against their stated spending priorities. This ensures complete transparency and a lot more accountability in the budgeting and financial management process.

Fourthly, and again as I have already mentioned, sound and prudent financial management and strict fiscal discipline has been the mantra of this government since 1994. By affording the budget the status of law we have ensured greater rigour and efficiency in the budgeting and financial management systems of the province. Through Legislative interventions (PFMA) we have also delegated authority for spending to managers within line function departments. At the same time we have also put in place mechanisms to build their financial management capability and ensure that they can be held accountable for how they manage public finance. As a result, we have witnessed better planning and execution of spending, improved financial management, reduced incidence of fraud, and strict control of overspending, which we have reduced from around 6% in 1996 to approximately 1% this current financial year.

Fifthly, we have also radically overhauled the public procurement process so that is can be employed transparently as a means to supporting the processes of SMME development and black economic empowerment. I am happy to report that as much as 55% of the value of tenders awarded by the provincial government go to Northern Cape based SMMEs. We believe that this is clear evidence of the successful utilisation of public sector finance to stimulate entrepreneurial and local economic development.

All in all Mister Speaker, I am satisfied that we have installed efficient public finance management systems and procedures. Moreover, I am also confident that we have empowered those that make spending decisions to be able to do so secure in the knowledge that the decisions they take will contribute to the achievement of government's goals and objectives for social and economic development.

5. POLICY UNDERLYING THE 2004/05 BUDGET ALLOCATION Before turning to the specific proposals for the MTEF period commencing 2004/05, Mister Speaker, let me share with you some of the thinking and key considerations that lie behind this budget.

Looking back on what we have achieved and what we still need to achieve, we make no apology for the fact that in the period immediately after the democratic elections of 1994 we concentrated the majority of our spending on addressing the social, infrastructural and economic backlogs and distortions that Apartheid had bequeathed us. Besides the overt focus on social spending per se, we also focused at the time on achieving greater social equity through a redistribution of our spending on social, economic and infrastructural goods and services. As I have already said, this was undeniably a necessary path to follow.

At the time of the budget that preceded the 1999 general election, we took the conscious step to bring about greater balance between social and economic spending. This was in recognition of the fact that it was necessary for provincial government in the Northern Cape to become more interventionist in the provincial economy where market and institutional distortions justified this. As a result, we allocated a higher proportion of the total provincial budget to those departments that were regarded as being principally concerned with economic services and the promotion of our provincial economy.

Now, as we stand on the verge of the celebration of ten years of democracy, we recognise that we must attach an even greater priority to promoting economic growth in our province. After all, it is principally through the promotion of sustainable economic growth that we will create the livelihoods that allow people to generate the income they need to satisfy their basic needs. In so doing we will also reduce levels of dependency in our province and restore the basic human dignity that has been injured amongst too many of our people, and which over time, has also contributed to some of the often tragic social disorders that afflict many of our communities. We have lost too many of our citizens to poverty, disease and social dislocation. Improved economic growth, job creation and productive investment are a far superior solution to these problems than social welfare and consumptive expenditure. Our challenge of course is to do more to promote economic growth without compromising the range and quality of social goods and services that we provide.

To this end, we will avoid creating instability through sudden and unwarranted budgetary shifts. We will do what we can to leverage additional funding, for the promotion of economic growth. In this years budget we will show our commitment to growing our economy by increasing allocations to departments rendering economic services at a higher rate than those providing social services. For 2004/05 allocations to economic services will increase by 19.8% on average as compared to allocations to social services which will grow at 7.2% on average. I should also add that the provincial Budget Council has directed that in future this relatively higher growth in spending on economic services should be sustained in accordance with our stated shift in emphasis in favour of the promotion of economic growth. I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that allocations for administrative costs will be kept low at 4,9% whilst personnel costs are reduced as a proportion of the total budget to 44,3% in 2004/05 and 42,6% by 2006/07, down from a high of 49,7% in the 1997/98 budget. Bearing in mind that each 1% of our budget equates to approximately R45 million, this shift frees up a significant amount of money to finance direct programme expenditure across the various spending agencies.

6 ALLOCATIONS TO SPENDING AGENCIES I read somewhere that "a budget takes the fun out of money". Certainly I'm sure you will agree that this may be true in daily life particularly when we are trying to balance the household budget. However, let me say that the transparent and participatory nature of our budgetary process also makes the determination of the annual provincial budget a highly entertaining exercise. In the process, those that are involved invariably, argue, lobby, push, cajole, plead, beg, laugh and cry as they make the case for their own budgetary allocation. Never a dull moment indeed! Today's budget is the manifestation of many rounds of such interactions and it is with great pleasure that I will now highlight the various allocations that are proposed to the respective votes for the 2004/05 year (as well the estimates for the two outer years of the MTEF). I will only highlight key issues, as the details thereof are obtainable from the published budget statements and estimates of expenditure.

6.1 Economic Services As I have already noted our priority for the future is the growth of our provincial economy. Driven by the need to exploit our under-developed economic potential and create jobs as the most direct means of addressing poverty we have committed ourselves to employing public finance as a catalyst for economic growth in conjunction with our partners from the private sector, the labour movement and the communities of the Northern Cape.

Consequently, fiscal allocations to spending agencies responsible for the provision of economic services are set to rise by 19,8% during 2004/05, resulting in an aggregate allocation of R532,591 million to these agencies. This is an increase of R87,894 million over the comparable figure for 2003/04 and over the three years of the MTEF the total voted to these spending agencies amounts to over R1,698 million! The main recipients of this funding are the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment and Conservation (Vote 12), which receives R112,445 million in 2004/05 - up from R92,372 million this year, the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism (Vote 6) which receives R60,004 million in 2004/05 - up from R52,184 million this year, and the Department of Transport (Vote 5) which receives R360,142 million in 2004/05 - up from R300,141 million this year.

Some of the examples of where provincial government will play an active role in stimulating economic growth are in areas such as: The comprehensive agricultural support programme for which R39,443 million is voted over the three-year MTEF period. This programme provides so-called "sunrise packages" to assist emerging farmers with the capital infrastructure and equipment necessary to engage in commercial production. The provincial Innovation Fund for which R75 million is voted over the MTEF period. Through this fund we aim to stimulate economic growth through innovation, particularly in the SMME sector and especially amongst historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs as part of our commitment to the process of black economic empowerment (BEE). For tourism promotion and development a total of R10,970 million is allocated over the three year MTEF period. Of this R6,3 million will be made available to the NCTA for the purpose of tourism marketing. Added to this, agreement has been reached for the District Municipalities to match this figure so as to reinforce tourism-marketing activities across the province. Small, medium and micro enterprise development, which receives R21,538 million for the coming MTEF period. The Expanded Public Works Programme for which around R1,650 billion is voted over the next three years for spending on social and economic infrastructure. Announced by the President recently, this nation wide programme will employ public sector budgets to draw significant numbers of the unemployed into productive work, primarily on government programmes, to gain skills and increase their capacity to earn an income. For the coming MTEF period for hard social infrastructure that underpins economic development we have set aside R354 million for sanitation and municipal infrastructure, R267,4 million for housing, R13,7 million for electrification, and R61,200 million for the final eradication of the bucket system. For the Mayibuye Centre we have set aside R30 million. For the direct stimulation of local economies and the creation of new economic opportunities we will set aside R18,3 million over the MTEF period for the construction of a bridge across the Orange River at Riemvasmaak, a contribution of R5 million for the upgrade of the R60 million Douglas-Belmont railway line by Spoornet, and R30 million over the MTEF period for the Karoo Water Scheme. The Galeshewe Urban Renewal Programme - a presidential project that seeks to upgrade municipal and social infrastructure to accelerate the rejuvenation of this historic township - for which R75,9 million has been voted over the coming MTEF period, R30 million of which is earmarked as noted above for the Mayibuye Centre. Skills development to meet the needs of the economy and train the youth, for example through the Premier's Bursary Fund for which R20,145 million is voted over the next three years. We believe that the above-mentioned allocations will influence the growth path of our economy in the medium-term and we dedicate ourselves to working with our economic and social partners to maximize the efficacy of our spending in pursuit of economic growth. However, in the short-term we will also have to continue to address the problem of absolute poverty head on. We will have to continue to finance programmes managed by the social services spending agencies such as the school nutrition programmes, food security initiatives and special job creation projects that maximize employment through the adoption of labour intensive technologies. As a sign of our commitment in this regard, we have allocated R165,820 million over the three-year MTEF period commencing 2004/05.

6.2 Social Services Whilst we are to afford relatively higher importance in coming years to the promotion of economic growth in our province, with attendant higher proportionate increases in budgetary allocations to spending agencies providing economic services, this does not mean that we will neglect spending on the provision of social services. There is after all on ongoing need to continue to support the process of human development and this is in any case the principal responsibility of provincial government. For that reason, the bulk of the provincial budget will still be disbursed in support of the achievement of the goals and objectives of the social spending agencies. For the 2004/05 financial year R815,141 million is voted for the Department of Health (Vote 10), R1,114,561 million for the Department of Social Services and Population Development (Vote 11) and R1,435,245 million for the Department of Education (Vote 4).

In education the upgrading of school infrastructure remains a high policy priority and R94,379 million is voted for this purpose. An amount of R98,938 million is voted for the MTEF period in question for Adult Basic Education, a programme intended to afford adults previously denied access to education the opportunity to better themselves, and, R23,999 million for Further Education and Training, a programme designed to provide technical training in line with the known needs of the local economy.

In health, an amount of R43,829 million is voted for the three year MTEF period to finance rural allowances for professional health care workers. This is regarded as a necessary means to enticing health professionals to rural areas that are typically under-serviced relative to their health care needs. A further R116,582 million is voted for the training and development of health care professionals.

Hospital revitalisation, specifically the upgrading of hospital buildings, medical facilities and the acquisition of hospital equipment is, of course, ongoing. Over the MTEF period R194,080 million is voted for acceleration of this process in order that we can provide not only better medical care to all of our communities but also provide a good work environment for our health workers.

An additional amount of R89,827 million is voted for the purchase of medicines, R58,000 million of which is for the acquisition of medication for the treatment of those infected with HIV. The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains one of the biggest challenges we face. Believing as we do in a comprehensive approach to tackling this challenge, our budgetary allocation for this purpose is actually split across a number of budget votes. Funding totalling R231,423 million is voted over the MTEF period through the Departments of Health, Education, Social Services and Population Development and Finance for the financing of programmes that focus on prevention, awareness, home-based care, welfare services, curative care and medication. I believe that this is a clear commitment on the part of this provincial government for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In the arena of social services our policy is to provide a comprehensive safety net to deal with the symptoms of poverty while at the same time addressing poverty reduction through the promotion of pro-poor programmes that tackle the cause of poverty at its economic source. We are particularly concerned about the school-going youth in our province for they are particularly vulnerable to the deprivation brought about by poverty.

By March 2004, there will be approximately 71 758 beneficiaries of the Child Support Grant system. The Premier recently announced that we would spread the welfare net by incorporating an additional 35 000 children between the ages of 9 and 11 this year. Of course this places pressure on our resources but all the same we have allocated R65,272 million in 2004/05 to meet this new obligation. In 2005/06 we will make a further allocation that will allow for the inclusion of the age 11 to 14 cohort.

Provision has also been made for the recently announced social pension and disability grant increases of R40 to R740 and child support grant increases of R10 to R170 a month. The impending Child Justice Bill consolidates a number of pieces of legislation in so far as they apply to children and in effect enforces the rights of the child in terms of the criminal justice system. This is a progressive piece of legislation that affords protection to juveniles who have fallen foul of the law by ensuring that they are treated in accordance with the protection afforded to them through the constitution. The anticipated cost of implementation of the new legislation is catered for through an allocation of R30,215 over the MTEF period under review.

Social workers play a critically important role in our society. However, they are required by the very nature of what they do to operate under trying conditions and difficult circumstances. As a result, we have experienced a high level of attrition amongst social workers and it has been very difficult to retain their services. We have therefore decided to allocate R5,944 million over the MTEF period to improve the service conditions of this category of public servants.

6.3 Other Allocations Apart from the allocations made to those spending agencies that can readily be categorised as either providers of social or economic services, there are a number of other key spending agencies that I would like to turn to now.

Prime amongst the remaining budget votes that I have yet to mention is Vote 1: Office of the Premier. Mister Speaker, I'm sure that you will agree that for the Office of the Premier to function effectively it must be properly resourced. After all, it is from this office that the Premier so skilfully dispenses the leadership and guidance that steers us in what we do as an administration. Therefore in acknowledgement of the role that this office performs an amount of R74,461 million is voted for 2004/05.

Equally importantly, it is the Provincial Legislature that exists to guide and oversee the passing of legislation that empowers the various spending agencies to execute the functions that they are constitutionally mandated to perform. The Provincial Legislature must also work ceaselessly to entrench and administer democracy in our province. For these reasons, an amount of R44,122 million is voted for the Provincial Legislature (Vote 2) for 2004/05.

For the Department of Finance (Vote 8) an amount of R98,132 million is voted for 2004/05 inclusive of various contingency reserves set aside for unforeseen expenditure that may be incurred such as disasters during the coming financial year.

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (Vote 7) will receive an allocation of R57,864 million for the 2004/05 financial year, which includes an additional allocation of R2,189 million for the procurement of books for provincial libraries over the three-year MTEF period. A total of R11,987 million is voted for Provincial Safety and Liaison (Vote 3) for the 2004/05 financial year in order that they can fulfil their responsibility to monitor the conduct and performance of the SAPS, support crime prevention, and promote good community-police relations. Last but not least I would like to turn to the Department of Housing and Local Government (Vote 9). For the 2004/05 financial year, an amount of R251,779 million is voted for the provision of housing and local government services. To some extent it is difficult to classify the activities and functions of this department as it is to a greater or lesser degree a provider of both social and economic services. For the three year MTEF period an amount of R250,738 million is allocated for the provision of subsidies to enable the construction of housing, R14,592 million for enhancing our capacity to deal with disasters, and R61,200 million for the eradication of the bucket system. A further R22,675 million is voted for 2004/05 for the provision of special support to municipalities while the 2004/05 allocation for local government services is R118,912 million.

6.4 Summary In summary Mister Speaker I believe that we have compiled a budget that provides scope for all spending agencies to advance the economic and social development programmes that they are entrusted with managing and implementing. As my colleague the national Minister of Finance said in quoting Joseph Schumpter, the "budget and its progressive evolution is a powerful index of a society's values, not merely in its language and numbers but in the lived experience of its impact on people, families, workers, businesses and organisations". I would like to believe that in years to come, those that will analyse the budget that I am presenting here today will look back on the achievements of our spending agencies in improving the lives of the people of this province and declare, as Samuel Pepys did in London in 1667 that "it is pretty to see what money can do". 7 CONCLUSION The budget that I have presented here today must be seen in the context of the ongoing challenges that we face as a province. As I have said repeatedly, while we have made considerable advances over the past decade in the provision of social goods and services, we must now afford a higher priority to promoting economic growth and development as a means to incorporating ever increasing numbers of our economically active population into the mainstream of our provincial economy. It is only by doing this that we can hope to achieve the twin societal goals of growth and development and the elimination of poverty.

As we reflect on the choices we must make and the decisions we must take, we must keep at the forefront of our minds the fact that for as much as we have achieved since 1994 there remains even more to be done. For too many people in our province poverty, inadequate shelter, joblessness and despair are the order of the day. All too often we have seen this despair manifest itself in some socially dysfunctional way. So, when our President calls upon us to increase the number of people in society who depend for their livelihood, not on social grants, but on normal participation in the economy we are duty bound to heed his call.

But we are in this together. Government cannot tackle the challenge to promote economic growth single-handedly. Last year's Growth and Development Summit is evidence of the creative power of joint responsibility between government, employers, trade unions and communities. By committing to reducing the unemployment rate by half by 2014, the stakeholders to the Summit have committed themselves to an extended period of close collaboration on matters pertaining to the management of our economy. Here in the province, I would like to appeal to business leaders, the labour movement and communities to work with us to maximize the prospects for increased economic growth in our province. As provincial government we are committed to working with stakeholders to maximize the impact of public spending in so far as it can be used to stimulate economic growth here in the Northern Cape.

Mr. Speaker, in any given year, the budget is a product of a large collective. Please allow me to express my profound appreciation to:

* My cabinet colleagues in the Executive Council for their co-operation and commitment * The National Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance, the National Treasury and members of the National Budget Council for their co-operative style in dealing with policy, budget processes and division of resources, as well as the members of the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) * The Honourable Members of this House * The various Accounting Officers and their staff for their co-operation and commitment to sound financial management.

* The officials of the Department of Finance and especially those in the Budget Office who laboured tirelessly to ensure that this budget is tabled correctly and on time as well as the staff in the Ministry of Finance.

* And lastly, but for particular emphasis, to the Honourable Premier for his visionary leadership and support over the past ten years generally but especially for his backing and encouragement of me in my role as MEC for Finance. As you know it is a lonely job.

Mister Speaker, it is with pleasure that I table: * The Northern Cape Appropriation Bill, 2004 * The Budget Statements for the 2004/05 financial year and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework period 2004/05 to 2006/07, which include the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year ending 31 March 2004 * The Northern Cape Interim Appropriation Bill, 2004, to authorise expenditure to be incurred before the annual budget is passed.

I thank you
Kea leboga
Ndiyabulela
Dankie.

Issued by: Department of Finance, Northern Cape Provincial Government

25 February 2004

Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.northern-cape.gov.za)

SPONSORED BY

Advanced