Date: 04/11/2003
Source: Department of Education
Title: Asmal: Anniversary of the UK bilateral development assistance programme in SA
ADDRESS BY KADER ASMAL, MP, MINISTER OF EDUCATION AT THE 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF THE UK BILATERAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME IN SOUTH, Africa HSRC Building, Pretoria, 4 November 2003
Director of Ceremonies
Mr Chris Mullian, UK Minister for Africa
The British High Commissioner, Ms Ann Grant
Mr Sam Sharpe, Head of DfID in Southern Africa
Honoured and distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me begin by congratulating Mr Hilary Benn on his appointment as Secretary of State for International Development, and wish him well in this position. He assumes the portfolio at a rather difficult time, when his government is cutting back its programme. He will need a lot of strength in ensuring that the cause of international development to deserving countries is not eroded.
His Department for International Development is one of the major funders to South Africa, both the public and civil society. I am therefore pleased to be here to recognise, and to celebrate with DfID, their numerous achievements over the period from 1994. In particular, to express our appreciation for a programmatic approach, which is fully participatory, with emphasis on South African ownership and at the same time, being equally flexible and highly responsive to the changing needs of a democratic South Africa. I regret to say that many of our relationships, both bilateral and multi-lateral, are not characterised by such responsiveness, and that some of them seem to require so much time and effort to get off the ground that we really wonder whether it is worth the effort and distraction.
South Africa may not be classified amongst the poorest group of countries but the historical pattern of social, political and economic exclusion brings with it very difficult development challenges. In this context the assistance provided by DFID, as part of the bilateral partnership between Britain and South Africa, has been critical to achieving some of the new policy objectives of our government.
Apart from developing a partnership that has allowed the sharing of experience in critical areas of policy and funding for education, the relationship has also had a direct impact on improving the quality of education at the school level.
In education, DfID is providing support to two of our poorest provinces - the Eastern Cape, with whom there seem to be a special affinity, perhaps as a legacy of the 1820 settlers, and Limpopo. In the Eastern Cape, the Imbewu Project is currently receiving 22 million pounds (R242 million at the current exchange rates) over 7 years, in Phase 2 of the project. More recently in Limpopo, a similar amount of 19 million pounds (or R250 million) has been made available by DfID to the Khanyisa Education Support programme to ensure that the provincial department as a whole is able to deliver on its strategic plan. The impact of these projects has been enormous, and although we are confronted with many challenges, we should think about what it might have been without DfID support for these provinces.
Just 4 days ago I was in Hackney, a depressed part of London, where I had the pleasure of opening the Tirisano wing of a Community College and we have had over eighty South African "Tirisano Fellows" working in British FET Colleges under the auspices of the British Council. Our interests are remarkably similar - how to ensure that children from poor areas - rural and urban - get the chance to compete in the national economy, in a productive way.
In addition to the technical assistance provided to my department, a major area of support has been directed at the South African National Literacy Initiative, SANLI. In partnership with Unisa, SANLI has managed to reach over 1 million illiterate adults over the past three years, and in so doing has created a model for sustainable delivery of adult education and training. The use of volunteers, who know their communities, and a flexible approach to the ways and means of doing the teaching, has created a vibrant and exciting programme. This initiative will undoubtedly bring long-term benefits, as these newly literate adults begin to assert their newfound independence and abilities.
In support of government priorities and innovative education programmes, DfID is also assisting NGOs such as the Open Learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET), which promotes and provides radio-learning opportunities to children and teachers. OLSET has reached over 70 000 teachers and 1.5 million pupils in the predominantly rural areas of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. This partnership is highly commendable.
On behalf of the South African people, I must express our appreciation for these acts of solidarity, ultimately funded by the people of Britain. They have made a difference, and will continue to do so in future.
But, I would be failing in my duty if I did not express concern about the threat to these sources of funding, which have been the subject of speculation since the recent conference in Madrid. The Guardian newspaper of 23 October 2003 suggests that the source of funding for Iraq, an amount of 267 million pounds, will be through the axing of numerous anti-poverty programmes in "middle income "countries, of which South Africa is one. A "re-prioritisation" of programmes, with the re-allocation of 100 million pounds from existing programmes, has unpalatable undertones, and we trust that the UK government will not act to penalise countries like ours for their limited successes.
I am currently engaged in discussions with the Delegation of the European Commission in Pretoria who are similarly in the process of de-committing funds earmarked for South Africa. The unilateral manner in which these cutbacks are imposed does not augur well for the notion of genuine partnerships and severely undermines our planning integrity.
The proposed funding cuts, represents a severe blow to the impetus of the powerful Government /NGO/ DfID partnership efforts in eroding the backlogs in poverty, education, human resource capacity and redistribution and will have effectively set back the momentum of change by years. The rationale that South Africa constitutes Middle to High Income country belies the Two Nation society prevalent in our country that the President has spoken about. This new cutback on the basis of our being a Middle Income country begs revisiting, if it is not to undermine the considerable strides made jointly over the last ten years. Perhaps a more rational review of DfID's role and partnership with the South African government and civil society will be necessary, before the anticipated drastic steps are effected, much to our prejudice.
However, I am somewhat comforted by the comments of Paul Baoteng, Minister in the Treasury, who assured the London Solidarity Conference a week ago that all commitments and agreements would be honoured, and we hope that this is indeed the case. It also appears as if Africa in general is not the primary target of any cutbacks, with the more likely targets South America, Central Europe and the Middle East, but in solidarity with these countries, this is cold comfort indeed. With respect, those who have created the need for reconstruction efforts in Iraq, which are indeed required, should be expected to pay for these themselves, and not expect others to carry the burden of ill-advised and precipitate actions.
We have relied on the UK government in times past, and they have shown us that their commitment is indeed a strong one, as it is said "an Englishman's word is as good as its honour". We go forward in the same spirit, able to rely on one another, in good times, and also when things are more difficult. We thank you for your past support, your current commitments, and we look forward to building even further the historic ties that bind our nations.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Education (http://education.pwv.gov.za)
Source: Department of Education
Title: Asmal: Anniversary of the UK bilateral development assistance programme in SA
ADDRESS BY KADER ASMAL, MP, MINISTER OF EDUCATION AT THE 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF THE UK BILATERAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME IN SOUTH, Africa HSRC Building, Pretoria, 4 November 2003
Director of Ceremonies
Mr Chris Mullian, UK Minister for Africa
The British High Commissioner, Ms Ann Grant
Mr Sam Sharpe, Head of DfID in Southern Africa
Honoured and distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me begin by congratulating Mr Hilary Benn on his appointment as Secretary of State for International Development, and wish him well in this position. He assumes the portfolio at a rather difficult time, when his government is cutting back its programme. He will need a lot of strength in ensuring that the cause of international development to deserving countries is not eroded.
His Department for International Development is one of the major funders to South Africa, both the public and civil society. I am therefore pleased to be here to recognise, and to celebrate with DfID, their numerous achievements over the period from 1994. In particular, to express our appreciation for a programmatic approach, which is fully participatory, with emphasis on South African ownership and at the same time, being equally flexible and highly responsive to the changing needs of a democratic South Africa. I regret to say that many of our relationships, both bilateral and multi-lateral, are not characterised by such responsiveness, and that some of them seem to require so much time and effort to get off the ground that we really wonder whether it is worth the effort and distraction.
South Africa may not be classified amongst the poorest group of countries but the historical pattern of social, political and economic exclusion brings with it very difficult development challenges. In this context the assistance provided by DFID, as part of the bilateral partnership between Britain and South Africa, has been critical to achieving some of the new policy objectives of our government.
Apart from developing a partnership that has allowed the sharing of experience in critical areas of policy and funding for education, the relationship has also had a direct impact on improving the quality of education at the school level.
In education, DfID is providing support to two of our poorest provinces - the Eastern Cape, with whom there seem to be a special affinity, perhaps as a legacy of the 1820 settlers, and Limpopo. In the Eastern Cape, the Imbewu Project is currently receiving 22 million pounds (R242 million at the current exchange rates) over 7 years, in Phase 2 of the project. More recently in Limpopo, a similar amount of 19 million pounds (or R250 million) has been made available by DfID to the Khanyisa Education Support programme to ensure that the provincial department as a whole is able to deliver on its strategic plan. The impact of these projects has been enormous, and although we are confronted with many challenges, we should think about what it might have been without DfID support for these provinces.
Just 4 days ago I was in Hackney, a depressed part of London, where I had the pleasure of opening the Tirisano wing of a Community College and we have had over eighty South African "Tirisano Fellows" working in British FET Colleges under the auspices of the British Council. Our interests are remarkably similar - how to ensure that children from poor areas - rural and urban - get the chance to compete in the national economy, in a productive way.
In addition to the technical assistance provided to my department, a major area of support has been directed at the South African National Literacy Initiative, SANLI. In partnership with Unisa, SANLI has managed to reach over 1 million illiterate adults over the past three years, and in so doing has created a model for sustainable delivery of adult education and training. The use of volunteers, who know their communities, and a flexible approach to the ways and means of doing the teaching, has created a vibrant and exciting programme. This initiative will undoubtedly bring long-term benefits, as these newly literate adults begin to assert their newfound independence and abilities.
In support of government priorities and innovative education programmes, DfID is also assisting NGOs such as the Open Learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET), which promotes and provides radio-learning opportunities to children and teachers. OLSET has reached over 70 000 teachers and 1.5 million pupils in the predominantly rural areas of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. This partnership is highly commendable.
On behalf of the South African people, I must express our appreciation for these acts of solidarity, ultimately funded by the people of Britain. They have made a difference, and will continue to do so in future.
But, I would be failing in my duty if I did not express concern about the threat to these sources of funding, which have been the subject of speculation since the recent conference in Madrid. The Guardian newspaper of 23 October 2003 suggests that the source of funding for Iraq, an amount of 267 million pounds, will be through the axing of numerous anti-poverty programmes in "middle income "countries, of which South Africa is one. A "re-prioritisation" of programmes, with the re-allocation of 100 million pounds from existing programmes, has unpalatable undertones, and we trust that the UK government will not act to penalise countries like ours for their limited successes.
I am currently engaged in discussions with the Delegation of the European Commission in Pretoria who are similarly in the process of de-committing funds earmarked for South Africa. The unilateral manner in which these cutbacks are imposed does not augur well for the notion of genuine partnerships and severely undermines our planning integrity.
The proposed funding cuts, represents a severe blow to the impetus of the powerful Government /NGO/ DfID partnership efforts in eroding the backlogs in poverty, education, human resource capacity and redistribution and will have effectively set back the momentum of change by years. The rationale that South Africa constitutes Middle to High Income country belies the Two Nation society prevalent in our country that the President has spoken about. This new cutback on the basis of our being a Middle Income country begs revisiting, if it is not to undermine the considerable strides made jointly over the last ten years. Perhaps a more rational review of DfID's role and partnership with the South African government and civil society will be necessary, before the anticipated drastic steps are effected, much to our prejudice.
However, I am somewhat comforted by the comments of Paul Baoteng, Minister in the Treasury, who assured the London Solidarity Conference a week ago that all commitments and agreements would be honoured, and we hope that this is indeed the case. It also appears as if Africa in general is not the primary target of any cutbacks, with the more likely targets South America, Central Europe and the Middle East, but in solidarity with these countries, this is cold comfort indeed. With respect, those who have created the need for reconstruction efforts in Iraq, which are indeed required, should be expected to pay for these themselves, and not expect others to carry the burden of ill-advised and precipitate actions.
We have relied on the UK government in times past, and they have shown us that their commitment is indeed a strong one, as it is said "an Englishman's word is as good as its honour". We go forward in the same spirit, able to rely on one another, in good times, and also when things are more difficult. We thank you for your past support, your current commitments, and we look forward to building even further the historic ties that bind our nations.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Education (http://education.pwv.gov.za)
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