Date: 22/08/2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Launch of Provincial Economic Forum
ADDRESS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC FORUM BY THE MPUMALANGA PREMIER, NJ MAHLANGU, Mpumalanga Parks Board, 22 August 2003
Programme Director
Honourable Executive Mayors Present
Honourable Mayors and Councillors Present
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
Representatives of the Business Community
Representatives of all Key Stakeholders
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am truly delighted to be here this morning, to physically bear witness to the laying of the last brick in the house that has been under construction for quite some time.
I consider it a great honour that the opportunity has finally presented itself for me to address you here, today, at this historic event.
Let me then begin by thanking all of you for accepting the invitation to come and be part of this important occasion.
For me, today signifies the culmination of a personally exciting journey; a journey upon which I embarked four years ago. That is why it feels like I have waited forever for this day to come.
It was about 4 years ago when the idea of interacting with the business community via the economic forum structure was first conceived.
Following the June 1999 elections, when I was asked to lead the government of the Mpumalanga Province, the first step I took was to seek a mandate from the people of Mpumalanga.
It was you, the Mpumalanga residents, who told me what to do. Among your main priorities were: more jobs, and more business opportunities so as to rid yourselves of the squalor of poverty and hopelessness.
And in carrying out your mandate, I, together with the government that I lead, identified three main goals that we set for ourselves:
* The first was - effective and efficient financial management and control
* The second was - effective administration; and
* The third was - economic growth and investment that would lead to job creation.
It was the third objective - economic growth and investment to lead to job creation - that became the foundation for the economic forum concept.
I believed then, as I do now, that via the economic forum route, local economic development (LED) was, just as is the case with the directive of the national Department of Provincial and Local Government, going to be best pursued when localised within municipal boundaries.
The premise of this approach was the recognition that the responsibility of development does not rest with government.
It rests with the residents of the localities in which development takes place. Government is only a facilitator.
And I am sure that everybody in this room agrees with me that unless development is owned in the locality where it is taking place, it cannot be development.
Unless, for example, the programme in Mbombela Municipality is a Mbombela programme, or the programme in the Ehlanzeni District is an Ehlanzeni programme, or the programme in Mpumalanga is a Mpumalanga programme, and that it is owned by the local residents, then there is no way that we can call that true development.
The economic forum approach, therefore, is rooted in the belief that the most effective form of development is engaging the people who are themselves the best at knowing how to get out of poverty because they know best what poverty is, and they are the most committed to get out of poverty.
It is for this reason that it is important to include the people that we are trying to assist in the whole question of community-based development.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the premise of the economic forum structure, starting at the local municipality level, rising to the district municipality level, and culminating, as we gather here this morning, at the provincial level.
Economic forum structures and committees have been launched in every one of the municipalities of the province, both at the local and district levels.
All that has been outstanding has been the launch of the provincial one, and we are doing that today.
Ladies and Gentlemen: there is a widely held view that successful development rests on two pillars:
* A climate that facilitates investment and growth, and
* The empowerment of poor people so that they are able to participate in that growth.
It was indeed my ardent convictions about this same view that gave me the strength to persevere in the drive to convince communities to organise themselves into Forum structures so that communication channels between them and government could be improved.
Every fortnight, during the Cabinet Outreach Programme, I would hold meetings with the business community in every municipality in the Province, urging them to establish Economic Fora/Forums so as to better access government services while at the same time improving the two-way flow of information.
As eloquently put by one resident in one of the Forum meetings recently, the "Economic Forum structure enables participants to condense and synthesise their views, frustrations and concerns, as residents and business operators within a locality, before transmitting these to government".
For government and its parastatals, on the other hand, the Forum Framework makes it easier, faster and cheaper to deliver high quality services to the municipal residents when they are organised into some structure.
In this particular instance, the services include:
* Information dissemination on available services
* Skills development, such as business training and other technical skills; including tendering procedures
* Employment services
* Financial management, and
* Loan finance.
In short, therefore, the essence of the economic forum programme is to build and strengthen partnerships among government, the business community, labour and civil society.
Like the September 2000 Millennium Declaration by world leaders, we, here, believe that while certain activities are most effectively undertaken at the provincial or national level, much of life centres around communities, and communities are often the most effective vehicle for bringing about the transformation of society.
Participation at the community level allows the project choice to reflect the needs and preferences within the community, and the project design to reflect the local information, ensuring that local conditions, preferences, and circumstances are taken into account.
Equally important, local participation engenders commitment, which is necessary for project sustainability over the long run.
And that way, participation in the project itself becomes part of the transformation process.
It is argued that there is growing evidence regarding the positive correlation between participation and development effectiveness.
It is further argued that people and communities progress successfully and sustainably when they themselves are involved at every step in the process of choosing and implementing a path out of poverty.
And that is called ownership. And that means getting involved.
It means taking responsibility for your own future and for that of your community; and it means taking the initiative.
Therefore, let us, together, take responsibility for the economic future of our province.
Many of you, I would like to believe, have already seen the provincial Ten Year Report, and have had time to skim through it. If you have not, ask for copies, they are plentiful.
Do browse through it so as to have a better appreciation of the kinds of challenges your government faces on a daily basis.
What you will find in the Report, are just a few brushstrokes of the potential of our province.
The bigger challenge is for you, gathered here this morning, to capitalise on the progress we have made to date and unlock Mpumalanga's full development potential.
The first pillar is to improve the investment climate, which shapes the conditions for investment, growth, and jobs. The second is to increase the inclusiveness of the development process.
Your THINK TANK committee will address the first pillar, whilst the economic forum structure is aimed at addressing the second.
Like the recently approved roll out of Community Development workers by Cabinet, the economic forum structure brings government services at your "doorstep", in your respective municipalities.
That is why it gives me so much pleasure, this morning, to finally launch the last of the three structures, the Provincial Economic Forum.
Although this day has been a long time coming, I am happy to say it could not have happened at a more opportune time.
A number of pertinent developments have occurred since the launch of the third and last District Economic Forum in January this year.
Not least among these developments are:
* The Growth and Development Summit in June
* The drop in interest rates by the Reserve Bank also in June
* The Cabinet Lekgotla in July
* The launch of our Province's Ten-Year Report at the end of July
* The announcement of the Brenthurst Initiative also early this month; and
* Last, but by no means least, the announcement of a further interest rate cut by the Governor of the Reserve Bank by a full percentage point last week.
What I want us to notice, ladies and gentlemen, is that the common thread through most, if not all, of the events that I have highlighted is the reflection on, and a decision about, the extent to which policy, government and non-government, has led, and can lead, to an attainment of meaningful economic development.
And this is the essence of our gathering here this morning. We are here to take stock and then look ahead, with the sole view of seeking and consolidating optimal ways to win the fight against the most debilitating impediments to real economic development. I am talking about (1) unemployment (2) poverty and (3) inequality.
You know very well that no economy can claim real economic development if it is experiencing an increase in any one of these three evils. How much more, then, if all of them are rising?
So, later on this morning, as you organise yourselves into a policy think tank for the Province, I implore you to keep these economic challenges at the forefront of your discussions.
The challenge is to devise and implement policy decisions that lead, always, to win-win outcomes.
The Growth and Development Summit, for example, laid the foundation for cooperation among you, the economic players, in speeding up investment and job-creation.
We, as a government, on the other hand, continue to pledge our commitment to join forces with you, to strive to reach the common goal of economic advancement and poverty eradication.
At the recent Cabinet Lekgotla it was noted, among other things, that even though on balance the key macroeconomic indicators remained sound, the twin forces of the global economic slowdown and the strong rand continued to hamper the performance of our exports.
Although the strong rand, as reiterated by the Minister of Finance at the recent ANC dinner in Barberton, is good for confidence in the South African economy, as "it would also encourage people to believe in the country and expand investment opportunities"; the negative effects cannot be ignored.
That the export sector is hurting, mining in particular, is obvious to all. And some consequences of this state of affairs are clearly evident in the continued decline in manufacturing production.
And to contribute towards a reversal of this trend, Cabinet, at it Lekgotla, announced a series of measures aimed at stimulating more rapid and robust economic growth.
Included among the measures announced were:
* Providing critical economic infrastructure
* Expanding economic opportunities in the SMME sector, including micro-finance for productive purposes
* Strengthening regulation and management of parastatals.
And the Reserve Bank (we must thank the monetary policy committee), has responded by lowering interest rates by a total of 2.5%, back to back, since the June MPC meeting.
Also, the continuing downward trend in inflation, promising to soon fall within the target range for the first time in 22 months (since October, 2001, when it was 5,9%), means that all of us, especially the poorer among us, and those on fixed incomes, can now put more food on the table.
And so, as I declare the Provincial Economic Forum officially launched today, I challenge you, during your deliberations later this morning, to appoint a committee of dedicated soldiers. Soldiers who subscribe to the "Vuk'uzenzele" philosophy.
We, as government, will rely on your recommendations as you influence economic policy formulation and direction in the province.
Whilst I shall exercise political oversight over the body that will be constitute today, I have made it quite clear that my government and I will keep our distance.
We want this body to be composed of, and run by the private sector and civil society. Accordingly, I expect you to appoint your own chairman from amongst yourselves.
Any involvement by government officials will be on an ex-officio basis, mainly giving you all the administrative support that you will need to do your work properly.
In conclusion, therefore, let me reiterate the position of the ruling party (the ANC) that none of our efforts, as a government, can bear fruit unless we "build strong links with the community organisations, trade unions, religious bodies, business organisations, women and youth structures as well as other organisations to ensure that, in actual practice, South Africans act as their own liberators."
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you an interesting, inspiring and, above all, innovative and creative day.
I thank you.
Issued by Mpumalanga Provincial Government
22 August 2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Launch of Provincial Economic Forum
ADDRESS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC FORUM BY THE MPUMALANGA PREMIER, NJ MAHLANGU, Mpumalanga Parks Board, 22 August 2003
Programme Director
Honourable Executive Mayors Present
Honourable Mayors and Councillors Present
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
Representatives of the Business Community
Representatives of all Key Stakeholders
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am truly delighted to be here this morning, to physically bear witness to the laying of the last brick in the house that has been under construction for quite some time.
I consider it a great honour that the opportunity has finally presented itself for me to address you here, today, at this historic event.
Let me then begin by thanking all of you for accepting the invitation to come and be part of this important occasion.
For me, today signifies the culmination of a personally exciting journey; a journey upon which I embarked four years ago. That is why it feels like I have waited forever for this day to come.
It was about 4 years ago when the idea of interacting with the business community via the economic forum structure was first conceived.
Following the June 1999 elections, when I was asked to lead the government of the Mpumalanga Province, the first step I took was to seek a mandate from the people of Mpumalanga.
It was you, the Mpumalanga residents, who told me what to do. Among your main priorities were: more jobs, and more business opportunities so as to rid yourselves of the squalor of poverty and hopelessness.
And in carrying out your mandate, I, together with the government that I lead, identified three main goals that we set for ourselves:
* The first was - effective and efficient financial management and control
* The second was - effective administration; and
* The third was - economic growth and investment that would lead to job creation.
It was the third objective - economic growth and investment to lead to job creation - that became the foundation for the economic forum concept.
I believed then, as I do now, that via the economic forum route, local economic development (LED) was, just as is the case with the directive of the national Department of Provincial and Local Government, going to be best pursued when localised within municipal boundaries.
The premise of this approach was the recognition that the responsibility of development does not rest with government.
It rests with the residents of the localities in which development takes place. Government is only a facilitator.
And I am sure that everybody in this room agrees with me that unless development is owned in the locality where it is taking place, it cannot be development.
Unless, for example, the programme in Mbombela Municipality is a Mbombela programme, or the programme in the Ehlanzeni District is an Ehlanzeni programme, or the programme in Mpumalanga is a Mpumalanga programme, and that it is owned by the local residents, then there is no way that we can call that true development.
The economic forum approach, therefore, is rooted in the belief that the most effective form of development is engaging the people who are themselves the best at knowing how to get out of poverty because they know best what poverty is, and they are the most committed to get out of poverty.
It is for this reason that it is important to include the people that we are trying to assist in the whole question of community-based development.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the premise of the economic forum structure, starting at the local municipality level, rising to the district municipality level, and culminating, as we gather here this morning, at the provincial level.
Economic forum structures and committees have been launched in every one of the municipalities of the province, both at the local and district levels.
All that has been outstanding has been the launch of the provincial one, and we are doing that today.
Ladies and Gentlemen: there is a widely held view that successful development rests on two pillars:
* A climate that facilitates investment and growth, and
* The empowerment of poor people so that they are able to participate in that growth.
It was indeed my ardent convictions about this same view that gave me the strength to persevere in the drive to convince communities to organise themselves into Forum structures so that communication channels between them and government could be improved.
Every fortnight, during the Cabinet Outreach Programme, I would hold meetings with the business community in every municipality in the Province, urging them to establish Economic Fora/Forums so as to better access government services while at the same time improving the two-way flow of information.
As eloquently put by one resident in one of the Forum meetings recently, the "Economic Forum structure enables participants to condense and synthesise their views, frustrations and concerns, as residents and business operators within a locality, before transmitting these to government".
For government and its parastatals, on the other hand, the Forum Framework makes it easier, faster and cheaper to deliver high quality services to the municipal residents when they are organised into some structure.
In this particular instance, the services include:
* Information dissemination on available services
* Skills development, such as business training and other technical skills; including tendering procedures
* Employment services
* Financial management, and
* Loan finance.
In short, therefore, the essence of the economic forum programme is to build and strengthen partnerships among government, the business community, labour and civil society.
Like the September 2000 Millennium Declaration by world leaders, we, here, believe that while certain activities are most effectively undertaken at the provincial or national level, much of life centres around communities, and communities are often the most effective vehicle for bringing about the transformation of society.
Participation at the community level allows the project choice to reflect the needs and preferences within the community, and the project design to reflect the local information, ensuring that local conditions, preferences, and circumstances are taken into account.
Equally important, local participation engenders commitment, which is necessary for project sustainability over the long run.
And that way, participation in the project itself becomes part of the transformation process.
It is argued that there is growing evidence regarding the positive correlation between participation and development effectiveness.
It is further argued that people and communities progress successfully and sustainably when they themselves are involved at every step in the process of choosing and implementing a path out of poverty.
And that is called ownership. And that means getting involved.
It means taking responsibility for your own future and for that of your community; and it means taking the initiative.
Therefore, let us, together, take responsibility for the economic future of our province.
Many of you, I would like to believe, have already seen the provincial Ten Year Report, and have had time to skim through it. If you have not, ask for copies, they are plentiful.
Do browse through it so as to have a better appreciation of the kinds of challenges your government faces on a daily basis.
What you will find in the Report, are just a few brushstrokes of the potential of our province.
The bigger challenge is for you, gathered here this morning, to capitalise on the progress we have made to date and unlock Mpumalanga's full development potential.
The first pillar is to improve the investment climate, which shapes the conditions for investment, growth, and jobs. The second is to increase the inclusiveness of the development process.
Your THINK TANK committee will address the first pillar, whilst the economic forum structure is aimed at addressing the second.
Like the recently approved roll out of Community Development workers by Cabinet, the economic forum structure brings government services at your "doorstep", in your respective municipalities.
That is why it gives me so much pleasure, this morning, to finally launch the last of the three structures, the Provincial Economic Forum.
Although this day has been a long time coming, I am happy to say it could not have happened at a more opportune time.
A number of pertinent developments have occurred since the launch of the third and last District Economic Forum in January this year.
Not least among these developments are:
* The Growth and Development Summit in June
* The drop in interest rates by the Reserve Bank also in June
* The Cabinet Lekgotla in July
* The launch of our Province's Ten-Year Report at the end of July
* The announcement of the Brenthurst Initiative also early this month; and
* Last, but by no means least, the announcement of a further interest rate cut by the Governor of the Reserve Bank by a full percentage point last week.
What I want us to notice, ladies and gentlemen, is that the common thread through most, if not all, of the events that I have highlighted is the reflection on, and a decision about, the extent to which policy, government and non-government, has led, and can lead, to an attainment of meaningful economic development.
And this is the essence of our gathering here this morning. We are here to take stock and then look ahead, with the sole view of seeking and consolidating optimal ways to win the fight against the most debilitating impediments to real economic development. I am talking about (1) unemployment (2) poverty and (3) inequality.
You know very well that no economy can claim real economic development if it is experiencing an increase in any one of these three evils. How much more, then, if all of them are rising?
So, later on this morning, as you organise yourselves into a policy think tank for the Province, I implore you to keep these economic challenges at the forefront of your discussions.
The challenge is to devise and implement policy decisions that lead, always, to win-win outcomes.
The Growth and Development Summit, for example, laid the foundation for cooperation among you, the economic players, in speeding up investment and job-creation.
We, as a government, on the other hand, continue to pledge our commitment to join forces with you, to strive to reach the common goal of economic advancement and poverty eradication.
At the recent Cabinet Lekgotla it was noted, among other things, that even though on balance the key macroeconomic indicators remained sound, the twin forces of the global economic slowdown and the strong rand continued to hamper the performance of our exports.
Although the strong rand, as reiterated by the Minister of Finance at the recent ANC dinner in Barberton, is good for confidence in the South African economy, as "it would also encourage people to believe in the country and expand investment opportunities"; the negative effects cannot be ignored.
That the export sector is hurting, mining in particular, is obvious to all. And some consequences of this state of affairs are clearly evident in the continued decline in manufacturing production.
And to contribute towards a reversal of this trend, Cabinet, at it Lekgotla, announced a series of measures aimed at stimulating more rapid and robust economic growth.
Included among the measures announced were:
* Providing critical economic infrastructure
* Expanding economic opportunities in the SMME sector, including micro-finance for productive purposes
* Strengthening regulation and management of parastatals.
And the Reserve Bank (we must thank the monetary policy committee), has responded by lowering interest rates by a total of 2.5%, back to back, since the June MPC meeting.
Also, the continuing downward trend in inflation, promising to soon fall within the target range for the first time in 22 months (since October, 2001, when it was 5,9%), means that all of us, especially the poorer among us, and those on fixed incomes, can now put more food on the table.
And so, as I declare the Provincial Economic Forum officially launched today, I challenge you, during your deliberations later this morning, to appoint a committee of dedicated soldiers. Soldiers who subscribe to the "Vuk'uzenzele" philosophy.
We, as government, will rely on your recommendations as you influence economic policy formulation and direction in the province.
Whilst I shall exercise political oversight over the body that will be constitute today, I have made it quite clear that my government and I will keep our distance.
We want this body to be composed of, and run by the private sector and civil society. Accordingly, I expect you to appoint your own chairman from amongst yourselves.
Any involvement by government officials will be on an ex-officio basis, mainly giving you all the administrative support that you will need to do your work properly.
In conclusion, therefore, let me reiterate the position of the ruling party (the ANC) that none of our efforts, as a government, can bear fruit unless we "build strong links with the community organisations, trade unions, religious bodies, business organisations, women and youth structures as well as other organisations to ensure that, in actual practice, South Africans act as their own liberators."
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you an interesting, inspiring and, above all, innovative and creative day.
I thank you.
Issued by Mpumalanga Provincial Government
22 August 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
