Date: 03/07/2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Labour market policy conference
WELCOMING ADDRESS BY PREMIER NJ MAHLANGU AT THE LABOUR MARKET POLICY CONFERENCE, Greenwaywoods, White River, 3 July 2003
Programme Director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I cordially welcome you here today to our "Labour Market and Poverty" Conference.
For the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, and for me personally, it is a great honour indeed, to welcome you distinguished and high-ranking personalities in key functions, academics, policy-makers and decision-makers from the political arena and civil society.
I especially would like to welcome Professors Guy Mhone, Cedric de Koning and John Sender, Advocate Rams Ramashia, and Dr Mirriam Altman.
A special welcome also goes to our discussants and speakers of today's opening session and to Mr Nyanisile Jack who is chairing our meeting this morning.
When asked to welcome you this morning I turned to two of Jesus Christ's disciples, Matthew and Luke.
I did that because both at some point are troubled by poverty. Matthew states: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, " while Luke stresses that: "Blessed are the poor."
Theologians tell us that Luke refers to the literally and materially poor, while Matthew makes it more inclusive to embrace everyone deprived of anything.
For the purposes of this conference I believe we are going to focus on the materially poor and the deprivations, which this poverty brings to peoples' lives.
I believe I am correct in assuming that all of us gathered here today are in one way or the other involved in working for a better life for all our people - black and white.
If that is correct, then allow me to point out that if we need to be assured the people-centred society we all yearn to build, we must put all efforts in our struggle to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment in our own province and in our country.
We will do that because all of us are agreed that the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment is fundamental to the well-being of human society.
Poverty alleviation, the creation of employment and social integration are critical issues that demand our immediate attention.
Unless these issues are addressed urgently and effectively, the lofty goals of creating a better life for all will continue to remain elusive; and the very existence of our societies will be drastically undermined.
Poverty and unemployment are very often the underlying causes of social conflict and violence, which undermine and erode the social fabric upon which human prosperity and happiness rest.
Large populations in Mpumalanga suffer from poverty, malnutrition and unemployment.
I know that in this area a lot of households remain below the poverty line. But what is scarier is that a lot of our children in this area are being under-nourished.
That is why we have to continue to strive to alleviate poverty from our communities. That must remain one of our highest priorities.
We all have a continuing task to push back the frontiers of poverty and expand access to a better life for all.
We have to respond to the needs of the fellow South Africans trapped in the vicious circle of poverty. We must do so in a focused and dedicated manner so as to extricate them from their condition.
Programme Director, I see that during the joint sessions and plenary you are going to be dealing with very crucial matters regarding the total onslaught we have to launch against poverty.
You will be looking at immigration and its effects on the provincial supply and demand of skills; employment equity and empowerment, poverty alleviation initiatives; economic development strategies, the province's vulnerable workforce and the rural poor.
Let me confess my wholehearted bias towards the rural areas. It is in these areas that we find the largest concentration of the marginalised sections of our population, which require dedicated interventions to extricate them from conditions of underdevelopment and entrenched poverty.
It is these people who migrate to the cities and towns of this province in search of a better life. But they retain strong roots with families they have left in the rural areas.
It is in this sector of our society that we find the highest rate of under-nourished children and adults. It is here that we find the highest mortality rate.
A recent study shows that on the continent many children under the age of five continue to die from causes traceable to poverty.
And many of the illnesses that killed them are easily preventable with the right combination of hygiene and medicine.
Ladies and gentlemen, social scientists have long observed that malnutrition, hunger, and homelessness are daily threats to those who are poor.
You all know that poverty is truly degrading and dehumanising.
Ask the unemployed man and woman who stand at a traffic intersection begging for food or money.
It is not a nice sight to look into the eyes of a young child with a swollen stomach when you as an adult and breadwinner of the family cannot afford to put food on the table.
Indeed poverty threatens not just human dignity, not just spiritual development, but life itself, and the quality of life of those who are poor.
Poverty often translates into decaying housing, unstable relationships, uncomfortable and inconvenient transportation, and the inability to plan ahead for more than a few days.
Poverty is demanding. It is always the poor that have to travel further and pay more to obtain food and households goods.
They are more likely to be crime victims and, when they commit crimes, serve longer sentences than those who are not poor.
As government we have taken a conscious decision to pay particular, but not exclusive attention to the nodal points already identified in the context of our Urban Renewal and Rural Development Programmes.
And we have also set ourselves the aim of ensuring that social provision reach this sector of our society, to relieve the poverty and suffering afflicting these masses of our people.
I am reminded of a nun who after spending a few days in a poverty-stricken area wrote to her priest and expressed the following sentiments:
"Father, I don't think I could ever work directly with the poor. After seeing their plight, I could never live like them nor work in their living environment. But what I believe I am able to do is to be an advocate for them, and in my work with the well-off, I can tell them about what I learned in this program."
How many of us here today can relate with the honest expressions of that sister?
Are we prepared to spend some time with directly living and working with the poor?
Eliminating poverty, even just in this province, is a formidable task. One of the greatest challenges we have is to raise the consciousness of all South Africans about the presence of poverty and what a responsibility it demands.
I believe that education, training and dialogue are essential in the never be met or won without the contribution of all of us united.
We will never win this war without the unstinting contribution of the skilled workers, knowledgeable managers in agriculture, health and the private sector, or without well trained civil servants who know their job and their responsibilities and who are open to change.
This MUST be our goal and our possible contribution at this conference.
Government cannot fight poverty alone. NGOs cannot do it alone.
The corporate world cannot do it alone. It will take a joint effort of all of us together, and even so, there will be many people who will fall through the cracks.
We must turn the tide. Let us be genuine and honest in building a people's contract for a sustainable coalition against poverty.
I sincerely hope that when the history of this country is finally written the people of this province can rightly state that this is the conference that gave the final push for all of us to move into the realisation of that noble ideal of houses, security and comfort for all.
May your deliberations spur you on to meet any challenge with greater vigour and determination.
Thank you.
Issued by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, 3 July 2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Labour market policy conference
WELCOMING ADDRESS BY PREMIER NJ MAHLANGU AT THE LABOUR MARKET POLICY CONFERENCE, Greenwaywoods, White River, 3 July 2003
Programme Director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I cordially welcome you here today to our "Labour Market and Poverty" Conference.
For the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, and for me personally, it is a great honour indeed, to welcome you distinguished and high-ranking personalities in key functions, academics, policy-makers and decision-makers from the political arena and civil society.
I especially would like to welcome Professors Guy Mhone, Cedric de Koning and John Sender, Advocate Rams Ramashia, and Dr Mirriam Altman.
A special welcome also goes to our discussants and speakers of today's opening session and to Mr Nyanisile Jack who is chairing our meeting this morning.
When asked to welcome you this morning I turned to two of Jesus Christ's disciples, Matthew and Luke.
I did that because both at some point are troubled by poverty. Matthew states: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, " while Luke stresses that: "Blessed are the poor."
Theologians tell us that Luke refers to the literally and materially poor, while Matthew makes it more inclusive to embrace everyone deprived of anything.
For the purposes of this conference I believe we are going to focus on the materially poor and the deprivations, which this poverty brings to peoples' lives.
I believe I am correct in assuming that all of us gathered here today are in one way or the other involved in working for a better life for all our people - black and white.
If that is correct, then allow me to point out that if we need to be assured the people-centred society we all yearn to build, we must put all efforts in our struggle to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment in our own province and in our country.
We will do that because all of us are agreed that the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment is fundamental to the well-being of human society.
Poverty alleviation, the creation of employment and social integration are critical issues that demand our immediate attention.
Unless these issues are addressed urgently and effectively, the lofty goals of creating a better life for all will continue to remain elusive; and the very existence of our societies will be drastically undermined.
Poverty and unemployment are very often the underlying causes of social conflict and violence, which undermine and erode the social fabric upon which human prosperity and happiness rest.
Large populations in Mpumalanga suffer from poverty, malnutrition and unemployment.
I know that in this area a lot of households remain below the poverty line. But what is scarier is that a lot of our children in this area are being under-nourished.
That is why we have to continue to strive to alleviate poverty from our communities. That must remain one of our highest priorities.
We all have a continuing task to push back the frontiers of poverty and expand access to a better life for all.
We have to respond to the needs of the fellow South Africans trapped in the vicious circle of poverty. We must do so in a focused and dedicated manner so as to extricate them from their condition.
Programme Director, I see that during the joint sessions and plenary you are going to be dealing with very crucial matters regarding the total onslaught we have to launch against poverty.
You will be looking at immigration and its effects on the provincial supply and demand of skills; employment equity and empowerment, poverty alleviation initiatives; economic development strategies, the province's vulnerable workforce and the rural poor.
Let me confess my wholehearted bias towards the rural areas. It is in these areas that we find the largest concentration of the marginalised sections of our population, which require dedicated interventions to extricate them from conditions of underdevelopment and entrenched poverty.
It is these people who migrate to the cities and towns of this province in search of a better life. But they retain strong roots with families they have left in the rural areas.
It is in this sector of our society that we find the highest rate of under-nourished children and adults. It is here that we find the highest mortality rate.
A recent study shows that on the continent many children under the age of five continue to die from causes traceable to poverty.
And many of the illnesses that killed them are easily preventable with the right combination of hygiene and medicine.
Ladies and gentlemen, social scientists have long observed that malnutrition, hunger, and homelessness are daily threats to those who are poor.
You all know that poverty is truly degrading and dehumanising.
Ask the unemployed man and woman who stand at a traffic intersection begging for food or money.
It is not a nice sight to look into the eyes of a young child with a swollen stomach when you as an adult and breadwinner of the family cannot afford to put food on the table.
Indeed poverty threatens not just human dignity, not just spiritual development, but life itself, and the quality of life of those who are poor.
Poverty often translates into decaying housing, unstable relationships, uncomfortable and inconvenient transportation, and the inability to plan ahead for more than a few days.
Poverty is demanding. It is always the poor that have to travel further and pay more to obtain food and households goods.
They are more likely to be crime victims and, when they commit crimes, serve longer sentences than those who are not poor.
As government we have taken a conscious decision to pay particular, but not exclusive attention to the nodal points already identified in the context of our Urban Renewal and Rural Development Programmes.
And we have also set ourselves the aim of ensuring that social provision reach this sector of our society, to relieve the poverty and suffering afflicting these masses of our people.
I am reminded of a nun who after spending a few days in a poverty-stricken area wrote to her priest and expressed the following sentiments:
"Father, I don't think I could ever work directly with the poor. After seeing their plight, I could never live like them nor work in their living environment. But what I believe I am able to do is to be an advocate for them, and in my work with the well-off, I can tell them about what I learned in this program."
How many of us here today can relate with the honest expressions of that sister?
Are we prepared to spend some time with directly living and working with the poor?
Eliminating poverty, even just in this province, is a formidable task. One of the greatest challenges we have is to raise the consciousness of all South Africans about the presence of poverty and what a responsibility it demands.
I believe that education, training and dialogue are essential in the never be met or won without the contribution of all of us united.
We will never win this war without the unstinting contribution of the skilled workers, knowledgeable managers in agriculture, health and the private sector, or without well trained civil servants who know their job and their responsibilities and who are open to change.
This MUST be our goal and our possible contribution at this conference.
Government cannot fight poverty alone. NGOs cannot do it alone.
The corporate world cannot do it alone. It will take a joint effort of all of us together, and even so, there will be many people who will fall through the cracks.
We must turn the tide. Let us be genuine and honest in building a people's contract for a sustainable coalition against poverty.
I sincerely hope that when the history of this country is finally written the people of this province can rightly state that this is the conference that gave the final push for all of us to move into the realisation of that noble ideal of houses, security and comfort for all.
May your deliberations spur you on to meet any challenge with greater vigour and determination.
Thank you.
Issued by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, 3 July 2003
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
