Date: 21/02/2003
Source: Free State Provincial Government
Title: Direko: State of the Province Address - Free State
PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE, MS IW DIREKO, SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT: TOWARDS A UNITED AND CARING FREE STATE, 21 February 2003
The second term of governance marked the coming of age of the Free State both for the people and indeed for the Government itself. The people looked to us with high expectations and correctly so. The Government on the other hand was faced with a daunting task of delivery of public services to alleviate poverty among the majority of our people and to create much needed jobs.
Initially, the efforts of Government were hampered by lack of experience in management and governance because black people were previously barred from participation in government. By the turn of the second term of the provincial administration we had certainly grown in stature and more than ready to discharge the mandate of the majority of our people to unite in action in pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
Consequently today marks the beginning of the last lap towards the finishing line of our second term which in turn ushers in the first decade of our democracy. For this reason, it becomes crucial to us to provide an adequate report card to the people of this Province. Correctly anticipating that we will reach this stage of our governance, we introduced in 2001, the three year Free State Development Plan to help us to effectively deal with the reconstruction and development of the lives of our people. This was to be our master plan as we build a united and prosperous Free State that will fulfil the needs of all its people.
Performance Review
The big question, therefore Mr Speaker, is how have we performed against what we set out to do. It is with a special sense of fulfilment and pride that today we assure the people of the Free State that the ever-elusive prudent financial management has been attained. This is evidenced by the reduction of qualified audit opinions from 4 to 2 in the previous financial year.
The feedback we received from and the public pronouncement by the Provincial Public Accounts Committee of this house, indicates beyond any doubt that the governance of the Free State Provincial Government has come of age and can be matched with the best elsewhere in this country.
The 70.7% matric pass rate for 2002 is not only higher than the target of 60.4% but even surpassed the 2005 target of 65.5%. It is particularly gratifying to note the steady improvement against the national average. From 6% below the national average in 1999 to 3% above the national average. We have also declared that never again shall our pass rate be below the national average.
Our commitment to the provision of adequate primary health care services through our "clinic build and upgrade programme" has ensured that 4 new clinics have been built and 9 others have been upgraded throughout the Free State. Our Hospital revitalisation programme has resulted in 9 hospitals viz:
- Pelonomi, National, Universitas , and Moroka in Mangaung
- Ladybrand in Mantsopa
- Harrismith, Elizabeth Ross and Manapo in Maluti-a-Phofung
- Boitumelo in Moqhaka and
- Virginia in Matjhabeng being upgraded.
Concerned with the high incidence of poverty in the province, we have and continue to broaden the social safety net in the Free State. To this end, we have issued 5000 food parcels to the poor people of the Free State and registered 137 864 children for child support grants. All in all we have 322 364 beneficiaries who receive their pensions at 177 pay stations throughout the Free State. This is an increase of 137 105 beneficiaries after the cleaning up of the social security database.
Our people's response to the President's call for Letsema is commendable. People from different backgrounds generously volunteered their time and services towards building a unified and prosperous Free State. More than 1000 volunteers currently give care to our sick and frail through out the Province. More than 9000 volunteers joined forces with the police in different roles , from painting police stations to joining local Community Police Fora. A huge number of our people descended on Charles Mopeli Stadium on the 25th of January to volunteer their time to assist in registering applicants for the Child Support Grant and identification documents. We are humbled by this warm gesture.
On the local government front, all 25 municipalities have finalised their integrated development plans and their alignment to the Free State Development Plan is underway. Provision of clean water has been remarkable. 371 651 households have had metered connections installed while 113 417 households were provided with un-metered connection and 94 760 households have standpipes installed. We are also delighted to announce that out of 1,970,032 households in the Free State 890 032 receive free basic services.
The launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement in the Free State was another milestone in the building of a new and better Free State. The Free State was the first province to launch the provincial chapter in collaboration with NGOs, CBOs and faith based organisations.
Driven by the spirit of a community that cares and protects the vulnerable, the Inter-sectoral Victim Empowerment Programme Forum was formed to co-ordinate services to victims of violence and abuse. This resulted in 24 hour victim support services being provided in all districts targeting mainly women and children who are victims of abuse. These include Tshepong Crisis Centre in Mangaung, Kopano Victim Support Centre in Lejweleputswa and Philani Victim Support Centre in Trompsburg. 21 other victim support centres were established at different police stations throughout the Free State.
After careful consideration of how Youth Affairs were handled, The Free State Youth Commission was converted into a fully fledged public entity on 1 April 2002. The administrative and legislative space created by this move assisted in lending impetus in matters affecting young people of the Free State. The creation, among others, of the Youth Research Unit in collaboration with the University of the Free State and the erection and unveiling of the Youth Martyrs Memorial Stone on June 16 2002 in Bloemfontein, demonstrates the capabilities of our young people when given space and reason for independence.
Once more, the Mangaung Cultural Festival (MACUFE) continues to grow in stature. The 10 day cultural festival saw 5276 artists of which 86% were from the Free State, performing before a collective audience of 52 326. A welcomed economic boost for Bloemfontein.
The centrality of the Free State poses unwelcome difficulties in respect of traffic safety and control. Be that as it may, our strategies in this regard are beginning to deliver. Despite the increase of around 25% on road fatalities during the festive period, the Free State registered a decrease of 12%. We hope that this is the beginning of good times on our roads all year round.
The Free State Government continues to make significant progress on the land reform and agricultural development. As at the end of December in 2002, 236 agricultural projects settling new emerging farmers on 69 077 hectares of land were completed. R54.7 million worth of state grants were issued to 1552 beneficiaries throughout the province.
This, Mr Speaker, by any standard is a record to be proud of. These achievements are made possible by sheer hard work and dedication demonstrated by men and women who took up the national call to unite in action as we push back the frontiers of poverty. I therefore use this platform to call upon all the people of the Free State to partner this government as we create a cadre of public servants with renewed patriotism to build a new and a better Free State.
Our challenge in the months ahead is how we turn the economy of the Province around so that we can continue to create enough jobs for our people. For us to succeed, our plans and strategies should reflect new realities. The economy of this Province is driven by secondary and tertiary sectors like finance, real estate and business services and manufacturing due to a significant decline in primary sectors like agriculture and mining.
Poverty alleviation remains at the core of this government's programme of action. Guided by the unity of our purpose, we declare a total onslaught against poverty and underdevelopment in our rural areas.
Our chance to deal effectively with these issues, is drastically improved as we once again turn to the Free State Development Plan. This plan Mr Speaker, remains our bible which guides us as we unveil the caring and unified nature of this government towards the people who put it in power to ensure that it fulfils their needs.
Good Governance
Our call, as the Free State Provincial Government, is to discharge the public mandate the overwhelming majority of the people of this country gave the ruling African National Congress. Our challenge therefore, is to ensure that this mandate is also understood and carried out by the 59 000 public servants employed by this Government. We need to assure our people that we are succeeding in building an efficient public service that is sensitive to the needs of the majority of the people we serve.
Our starting point is to include as part of each government department's programme of action, an effective diversity management plan. Our plans and programmes should reflect a clear programme in respect of the emancipation of women, development of youth as well as empowerment of people with disabilities.
To address this and other related matters, we have undertaken to beef up our Human Resources Development Strategy. This strategy will have at its core the Free State Training Institute that I am proud to announce that it has commenced with its operations. This institute has received support from the international community with amongst others the USA , Canada and France having already committed themselves in joining the people of the Free State in making a success out of it. We therefore invite all the people of the Free State to join us when we officially launch this important institute on 22 April 2003 and the official opening on the Public Service Day.
Responding to the national call of public accountability and bringing the government closer to the people, we have committed the Executive council to regular interaction with the publics of the Free State through EXCO Meets-the-people campaign, PROVLOC and the Mayors' Forum. These interventions continue to be an important source of information and inspiration to this Government. I call upon the people of the Free State from different formations to support this interaction because it is through this intervention that service delivery can be enhanced and public accountability guaranteed. The completion this year of the Multi Purpose Community Centres in Zastron and Trompsburg will improve this community interaction tremendously.
In support of this principle, this Government is committed to ensuring integrated and focused service delivery in the Free State through the Clusters of the MECs. Central to this commitment is the improvement of the way government engages its stakeholders and the community in policy and decision-making so that knowledge, wisdom and practical experience of the community sector contribute fully to policy decisions and service delivery.
Our efforts to build a new and better Free State depends largely on how and to what extent do we capacitate our municipalities. This process calls upon us to safe guard the following important tenets;
- Deepening democracy through effective ward committee system
- Building sustainable local government able to meet the needs of the communities
- Financial sustainability of municipalities through effective revenue collection strategies
- Completion, alignment and evaluation of Integrated Development Plans (IDP's)
- Accelerating local economic development to create much needed jobs for our people
The Local Governance Unit to be established in April this year in partnership with SALGA and the University of the Free State will help in building capacity among Councillors and Managers in the Municipalities.
We are truly heartened by the fact that there are municipalities who, driven by these principles, made considerable improvement from a hopeless situation they were in a few months ago. These include, Letsemeng, Tswelopele and Maluti-a-Phofung Municipalities.
Collectively, as at August 2002, the local government in the Free State is owed R2.2 billion in unpaid accounts. This can no longer be allowed to go on. In the true spirit of Masakhane all municipalities will be expected to implement strict credit control measures as well as the indigence assistance policy. No individual and institution that is able to pay will be let off - the party is over. The Department of Local Government and Housing will assist in building the required capacity within municipalities to eradicate this problem.
In our effort to provide appropriate support to our traditional leaders, the House of Traditional leaders was transferred to the Department of Local Government and Housing. Subsequently the White Paper of Traditional Leaders has since been tabled before the Executive Council and the process of soliciting inputs is underway.
Re kopa hore marena arona le setjhaba ka kakaretso a etse bonnete hore maikutlo a boholo ba baahi ba Freeistata a hlahella ka botlalo tokomaneng ena molemong wa bokamoso ba puso ya borena.
We continue to build and maintain good intergovernmental relations with our partners around the world. Due to effective structured and targeted international missions, 16 out of 22 project proposals submitted to our Belgian counterparts have been approved and will be funded to the tune of R40 million. Our twinning arrangement with Canada makes us the biggest beneficiary of administrative and technical support from the Canadians in this Country.
Job Creation and Economic Development
Urgent and vigorous transformation of our economy is inevitable. According to Statistics South Africa our economic growth is the second lowest at -0.6%. Whilst we may want to contest these findings, we know that our plans and strategies were hitherto based on the premise that our economy is dependant on the primary sectors viz. agriculture and mining. This, according to latest survey is no longer the case. The secondary and tertiary industries are now the biggest contributors to the Provincial GDP.
The higher test therefore, is that our plans and strategies should reflect this new reality. With a 34% unemployment rate, the need to turn the tide cannot be over emphasised. This however should be viewed against the understanding that the supply of labour is directly linked to supply of appropriate skills as modern production methods increasingly make use of technologies requiring skills for effective operations.
Die kritiese toets is dus dat ons planne en strategiee hierdie nuwe realiteit moet weerspieel. Met werkloosheidsyfers van 34%, kan die noodsaak om die gety te draai, nie oorbeklemtoon word nie. Dit moet egter gesien word in die lig daarvan dat die aanbod van arbeid direk gekoppel is aan die beskikbaarheid van toepaslike vaardighede, aangesien moderne produksie metodes toenemend gebruik maak van tegnologie wat vaardihede vir doeltrefende toepassing vereis.
What we are told is that the implication is that investment flows will increasingly follow the flow of skills, because without the necessary skills, capital equipment will be used less effectively. Our challenge is how to deal with this dichotomy.
Talking about investment flows, we continue to give urgent attention to areas in the Southern Free State. Welcome news to an otherwise economically depressed area is the R60 million private game lodge development funded jointly by IDC and DBSA between Smithfield and Bethulie. This and other ventures, are still at the planning stage, are an indication of the commitment of this government and its partners in the southern parts of the Free State.
It will be remiss of me not to spend a few minutes to talk about state tenders now that we are talking about economic transformation. Our efforts to have a clean government are often bedevilled by people's personal interest in tenders. For this reason the state procurement system has been transformed. The erstwhile State Tender Board has since been abolished and replaced by the Central Procurement Committee. The benefit from this exercise is faster adjudication and approval of tenders and procurement being kept within budget. We have to instil within and among ourselves the most responsible way of dealing with state resources. There is no amount of persuasion that will convince me that it is correct for Government officials both at executive, administration and councillors to unfairly benefit from state tenders in what ever form - this is non-negotiable.
In the interest of improved service delivery, state tenders should be looked at once more. A proper screening system that compliments the compliance process should be considered to minimise losses to the Government due to entrepreneurs who are not able to execute their tender obligations.
The government should be firm on the practice of 'fronting'. We need to be ruthless with those who misrepresent themselves in the name of state tenders. This practice undermines the noble intentions of the Government with Black Economic Empowerment.
For all intends and purposes, state tenders should be meant for those who make a meaningful contribution to the economy of this province and help the state in creating the much needed jobs.
Sustainable Infrastructure
Our fight against poverty and underdevelopment is underpinned by the provision of adequate and sustainable infrastructure. Our integrated sustainable rural development and urban renewal programmes are at the centre of this fight. Through these programmes this Government 'pools' together all available resources both financial and human and channel them to the most deserving communities. This was our answer to the needs of the community of Maluti-a-Phofung specifically in Qwaqwa where the deepest poverty pockets were found. Our efforts, both as National, Provincial and local Government delivered a total of thirty developmental and poverty alleviation projects.
Clustered in infrastructural, social and economic development and institutional capacity development projects, these programmes have so far created more than 4000 jobs with around 2000 of them sustainable. The social impact of these projects has been an encouraging one with 31.3% of the total people employed are women and 23.6% the youth. Our hope against this fight is in labour intensive schemes.
The development and provision of decent housing, clean water, access roads, sanitation, electricity should be stepped up. To successfully tackle the provincial housing backlog of 253 262 as at March 2001 we undertake to build 12 000 units per year. We want to reiterate our promise to the people of the Free State that we are making satisfactory progress with our plans to wipe off the bucket system in the Free State. We will work at a double with the help of the Department of Water Affairs and other international partners to realise this dream.
Our road network of 48 728 km throughout the Free State is receiving attention through an elaborate maintenance and rehabilitation programme. Thirteen primary and secondary roads are currently under construction. In an effort to speed up this process few arterial roads have been handed over to the National Roads Agency for upgrading and maintenance. These are the Senekal/Paul Roux; Reddersburg/Smithfield Roads and the Theunissen/Virginia and Bloemfontein Road which will be upgraded to the NI status. Work on these roads will start in the new financial year.
Ons padnetwerk van 48 728 Km regdeur die Vrystaat kry aandag deur 'n uitgebreide onderhoud en rehabilitasieprogram. Dertien prim
Source: Free State Provincial Government
Title: Direko: State of the Province Address - Free State
PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE, MS IW DIREKO, SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT: TOWARDS A UNITED AND CARING FREE STATE, 21 February 2003
The second term of governance marked the coming of age of the Free State both for the people and indeed for the Government itself. The people looked to us with high expectations and correctly so. The Government on the other hand was faced with a daunting task of delivery of public services to alleviate poverty among the majority of our people and to create much needed jobs.
Initially, the efforts of Government were hampered by lack of experience in management and governance because black people were previously barred from participation in government. By the turn of the second term of the provincial administration we had certainly grown in stature and more than ready to discharge the mandate of the majority of our people to unite in action in pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
Consequently today marks the beginning of the last lap towards the finishing line of our second term which in turn ushers in the first decade of our democracy. For this reason, it becomes crucial to us to provide an adequate report card to the people of this Province. Correctly anticipating that we will reach this stage of our governance, we introduced in 2001, the three year Free State Development Plan to help us to effectively deal with the reconstruction and development of the lives of our people. This was to be our master plan as we build a united and prosperous Free State that will fulfil the needs of all its people.
Performance Review
The big question, therefore Mr Speaker, is how have we performed against what we set out to do. It is with a special sense of fulfilment and pride that today we assure the people of the Free State that the ever-elusive prudent financial management has been attained. This is evidenced by the reduction of qualified audit opinions from 4 to 2 in the previous financial year.
The feedback we received from and the public pronouncement by the Provincial Public Accounts Committee of this house, indicates beyond any doubt that the governance of the Free State Provincial Government has come of age and can be matched with the best elsewhere in this country.
The 70.7% matric pass rate for 2002 is not only higher than the target of 60.4% but even surpassed the 2005 target of 65.5%. It is particularly gratifying to note the steady improvement against the national average. From 6% below the national average in 1999 to 3% above the national average. We have also declared that never again shall our pass rate be below the national average.
Our commitment to the provision of adequate primary health care services through our "clinic build and upgrade programme" has ensured that 4 new clinics have been built and 9 others have been upgraded throughout the Free State. Our Hospital revitalisation programme has resulted in 9 hospitals viz:
- Pelonomi, National, Universitas , and Moroka in Mangaung
- Ladybrand in Mantsopa
- Harrismith, Elizabeth Ross and Manapo in Maluti-a-Phofung
- Boitumelo in Moqhaka and
- Virginia in Matjhabeng being upgraded.
Concerned with the high incidence of poverty in the province, we have and continue to broaden the social safety net in the Free State. To this end, we have issued 5000 food parcels to the poor people of the Free State and registered 137 864 children for child support grants. All in all we have 322 364 beneficiaries who receive their pensions at 177 pay stations throughout the Free State. This is an increase of 137 105 beneficiaries after the cleaning up of the social security database.
Our people's response to the President's call for Letsema is commendable. People from different backgrounds generously volunteered their time and services towards building a unified and prosperous Free State. More than 1000 volunteers currently give care to our sick and frail through out the Province. More than 9000 volunteers joined forces with the police in different roles , from painting police stations to joining local Community Police Fora. A huge number of our people descended on Charles Mopeli Stadium on the 25th of January to volunteer their time to assist in registering applicants for the Child Support Grant and identification documents. We are humbled by this warm gesture.
On the local government front, all 25 municipalities have finalised their integrated development plans and their alignment to the Free State Development Plan is underway. Provision of clean water has been remarkable. 371 651 households have had metered connections installed while 113 417 households were provided with un-metered connection and 94 760 households have standpipes installed. We are also delighted to announce that out of 1,970,032 households in the Free State 890 032 receive free basic services.
The launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement in the Free State was another milestone in the building of a new and better Free State. The Free State was the first province to launch the provincial chapter in collaboration with NGOs, CBOs and faith based organisations.
Driven by the spirit of a community that cares and protects the vulnerable, the Inter-sectoral Victim Empowerment Programme Forum was formed to co-ordinate services to victims of violence and abuse. This resulted in 24 hour victim support services being provided in all districts targeting mainly women and children who are victims of abuse. These include Tshepong Crisis Centre in Mangaung, Kopano Victim Support Centre in Lejweleputswa and Philani Victim Support Centre in Trompsburg. 21 other victim support centres were established at different police stations throughout the Free State.
After careful consideration of how Youth Affairs were handled, The Free State Youth Commission was converted into a fully fledged public entity on 1 April 2002. The administrative and legislative space created by this move assisted in lending impetus in matters affecting young people of the Free State. The creation, among others, of the Youth Research Unit in collaboration with the University of the Free State and the erection and unveiling of the Youth Martyrs Memorial Stone on June 16 2002 in Bloemfontein, demonstrates the capabilities of our young people when given space and reason for independence.
Once more, the Mangaung Cultural Festival (MACUFE) continues to grow in stature. The 10 day cultural festival saw 5276 artists of which 86% were from the Free State, performing before a collective audience of 52 326. A welcomed economic boost for Bloemfontein.
The centrality of the Free State poses unwelcome difficulties in respect of traffic safety and control. Be that as it may, our strategies in this regard are beginning to deliver. Despite the increase of around 25% on road fatalities during the festive period, the Free State registered a decrease of 12%. We hope that this is the beginning of good times on our roads all year round.
The Free State Government continues to make significant progress on the land reform and agricultural development. As at the end of December in 2002, 236 agricultural projects settling new emerging farmers on 69 077 hectares of land were completed. R54.7 million worth of state grants were issued to 1552 beneficiaries throughout the province.
This, Mr Speaker, by any standard is a record to be proud of. These achievements are made possible by sheer hard work and dedication demonstrated by men and women who took up the national call to unite in action as we push back the frontiers of poverty. I therefore use this platform to call upon all the people of the Free State to partner this government as we create a cadre of public servants with renewed patriotism to build a new and a better Free State.
Our challenge in the months ahead is how we turn the economy of the Province around so that we can continue to create enough jobs for our people. For us to succeed, our plans and strategies should reflect new realities. The economy of this Province is driven by secondary and tertiary sectors like finance, real estate and business services and manufacturing due to a significant decline in primary sectors like agriculture and mining.
Poverty alleviation remains at the core of this government's programme of action. Guided by the unity of our purpose, we declare a total onslaught against poverty and underdevelopment in our rural areas.
Our chance to deal effectively with these issues, is drastically improved as we once again turn to the Free State Development Plan. This plan Mr Speaker, remains our bible which guides us as we unveil the caring and unified nature of this government towards the people who put it in power to ensure that it fulfils their needs.
Good Governance
Our call, as the Free State Provincial Government, is to discharge the public mandate the overwhelming majority of the people of this country gave the ruling African National Congress. Our challenge therefore, is to ensure that this mandate is also understood and carried out by the 59 000 public servants employed by this Government. We need to assure our people that we are succeeding in building an efficient public service that is sensitive to the needs of the majority of the people we serve.
Our starting point is to include as part of each government department's programme of action, an effective diversity management plan. Our plans and programmes should reflect a clear programme in respect of the emancipation of women, development of youth as well as empowerment of people with disabilities.
To address this and other related matters, we have undertaken to beef up our Human Resources Development Strategy. This strategy will have at its core the Free State Training Institute that I am proud to announce that it has commenced with its operations. This institute has received support from the international community with amongst others the USA , Canada and France having already committed themselves in joining the people of the Free State in making a success out of it. We therefore invite all the people of the Free State to join us when we officially launch this important institute on 22 April 2003 and the official opening on the Public Service Day.
Responding to the national call of public accountability and bringing the government closer to the people, we have committed the Executive council to regular interaction with the publics of the Free State through EXCO Meets-the-people campaign, PROVLOC and the Mayors' Forum. These interventions continue to be an important source of information and inspiration to this Government. I call upon the people of the Free State from different formations to support this interaction because it is through this intervention that service delivery can be enhanced and public accountability guaranteed. The completion this year of the Multi Purpose Community Centres in Zastron and Trompsburg will improve this community interaction tremendously.
In support of this principle, this Government is committed to ensuring integrated and focused service delivery in the Free State through the Clusters of the MECs. Central to this commitment is the improvement of the way government engages its stakeholders and the community in policy and decision-making so that knowledge, wisdom and practical experience of the community sector contribute fully to policy decisions and service delivery.
Our efforts to build a new and better Free State depends largely on how and to what extent do we capacitate our municipalities. This process calls upon us to safe guard the following important tenets;
- Deepening democracy through effective ward committee system
- Building sustainable local government able to meet the needs of the communities
- Financial sustainability of municipalities through effective revenue collection strategies
- Completion, alignment and evaluation of Integrated Development Plans (IDP's)
- Accelerating local economic development to create much needed jobs for our people
The Local Governance Unit to be established in April this year in partnership with SALGA and the University of the Free State will help in building capacity among Councillors and Managers in the Municipalities.
We are truly heartened by the fact that there are municipalities who, driven by these principles, made considerable improvement from a hopeless situation they were in a few months ago. These include, Letsemeng, Tswelopele and Maluti-a-Phofung Municipalities.
Collectively, as at August 2002, the local government in the Free State is owed R2.2 billion in unpaid accounts. This can no longer be allowed to go on. In the true spirit of Masakhane all municipalities will be expected to implement strict credit control measures as well as the indigence assistance policy. No individual and institution that is able to pay will be let off - the party is over. The Department of Local Government and Housing will assist in building the required capacity within municipalities to eradicate this problem.
In our effort to provide appropriate support to our traditional leaders, the House of Traditional leaders was transferred to the Department of Local Government and Housing. Subsequently the White Paper of Traditional Leaders has since been tabled before the Executive Council and the process of soliciting inputs is underway.
Re kopa hore marena arona le setjhaba ka kakaretso a etse bonnete hore maikutlo a boholo ba baahi ba Freeistata a hlahella ka botlalo tokomaneng ena molemong wa bokamoso ba puso ya borena.
We continue to build and maintain good intergovernmental relations with our partners around the world. Due to effective structured and targeted international missions, 16 out of 22 project proposals submitted to our Belgian counterparts have been approved and will be funded to the tune of R40 million. Our twinning arrangement with Canada makes us the biggest beneficiary of administrative and technical support from the Canadians in this Country.
Job Creation and Economic Development
Urgent and vigorous transformation of our economy is inevitable. According to Statistics South Africa our economic growth is the second lowest at -0.6%. Whilst we may want to contest these findings, we know that our plans and strategies were hitherto based on the premise that our economy is dependant on the primary sectors viz. agriculture and mining. This, according to latest survey is no longer the case. The secondary and tertiary industries are now the biggest contributors to the Provincial GDP.
The higher test therefore, is that our plans and strategies should reflect this new reality. With a 34% unemployment rate, the need to turn the tide cannot be over emphasised. This however should be viewed against the understanding that the supply of labour is directly linked to supply of appropriate skills as modern production methods increasingly make use of technologies requiring skills for effective operations.
Die kritiese toets is dus dat ons planne en strategiee hierdie nuwe realiteit moet weerspieel. Met werkloosheidsyfers van 34%, kan die noodsaak om die gety te draai, nie oorbeklemtoon word nie. Dit moet egter gesien word in die lig daarvan dat die aanbod van arbeid direk gekoppel is aan die beskikbaarheid van toepaslike vaardighede, aangesien moderne produksie metodes toenemend gebruik maak van tegnologie wat vaardihede vir doeltrefende toepassing vereis.
What we are told is that the implication is that investment flows will increasingly follow the flow of skills, because without the necessary skills, capital equipment will be used less effectively. Our challenge is how to deal with this dichotomy.
Talking about investment flows, we continue to give urgent attention to areas in the Southern Free State. Welcome news to an otherwise economically depressed area is the R60 million private game lodge development funded jointly by IDC and DBSA between Smithfield and Bethulie. This and other ventures, are still at the planning stage, are an indication of the commitment of this government and its partners in the southern parts of the Free State.
It will be remiss of me not to spend a few minutes to talk about state tenders now that we are talking about economic transformation. Our efforts to have a clean government are often bedevilled by people's personal interest in tenders. For this reason the state procurement system has been transformed. The erstwhile State Tender Board has since been abolished and replaced by the Central Procurement Committee. The benefit from this exercise is faster adjudication and approval of tenders and procurement being kept within budget. We have to instil within and among ourselves the most responsible way of dealing with state resources. There is no amount of persuasion that will convince me that it is correct for Government officials both at executive, administration and councillors to unfairly benefit from state tenders in what ever form - this is non-negotiable.
In the interest of improved service delivery, state tenders should be looked at once more. A proper screening system that compliments the compliance process should be considered to minimise losses to the Government due to entrepreneurs who are not able to execute their tender obligations.
The government should be firm on the practice of 'fronting'. We need to be ruthless with those who misrepresent themselves in the name of state tenders. This practice undermines the noble intentions of the Government with Black Economic Empowerment.
For all intends and purposes, state tenders should be meant for those who make a meaningful contribution to the economy of this province and help the state in creating the much needed jobs.
Sustainable Infrastructure
Our fight against poverty and underdevelopment is underpinned by the provision of adequate and sustainable infrastructure. Our integrated sustainable rural development and urban renewal programmes are at the centre of this fight. Through these programmes this Government 'pools' together all available resources both financial and human and channel them to the most deserving communities. This was our answer to the needs of the community of Maluti-a-Phofung specifically in Qwaqwa where the deepest poverty pockets were found. Our efforts, both as National, Provincial and local Government delivered a total of thirty developmental and poverty alleviation projects.
Clustered in infrastructural, social and economic development and institutional capacity development projects, these programmes have so far created more than 4000 jobs with around 2000 of them sustainable. The social impact of these projects has been an encouraging one with 31.3% of the total people employed are women and 23.6% the youth. Our hope against this fight is in labour intensive schemes.
The development and provision of decent housing, clean water, access roads, sanitation, electricity should be stepped up. To successfully tackle the provincial housing backlog of 253 262 as at March 2001 we undertake to build 12 000 units per year. We want to reiterate our promise to the people of the Free State that we are making satisfactory progress with our plans to wipe off the bucket system in the Free State. We will work at a double with the help of the Department of Water Affairs and other international partners to realise this dream.
Our road network of 48 728 km throughout the Free State is receiving attention through an elaborate maintenance and rehabilitation programme. Thirteen primary and secondary roads are currently under construction. In an effort to speed up this process few arterial roads have been handed over to the National Roads Agency for upgrading and maintenance. These are the Senekal/Paul Roux; Reddersburg/Smithfield Roads and the Theunissen/Virginia and Bloemfontein Road which will be upgraded to the NI status. Work on these roads will start in the new financial year.
Ons padnetwerk van 48 728 Km regdeur die Vrystaat kry aandag deur 'n uitgebreide onderhoud en rehabilitasieprogram. Dertien prim
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