Date: 11/11/2003
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: Molefe: Debate on Pres Mbeki's address, NCOP


SPEECH BY NORTH WEST PREMIER DR POPO SIMON MOLEFE ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES, 11 November 2003

The Honourable President, Mr Thabo Mbeki,
The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ms Naledi Pandor,
Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to address you on the occasion of the Honourable President's Annual Address to this august House.

This gathering is taking place at a time when people across the length and breadth of our country are preparing themselves to celebrate the end of the first decade of freedom.

These celebrations will mark yet another political watershed in the unfolding process of transformation in our country. They will mark ten years of the triumph of progress over stagnation, of unity over separation and of stability over instability.

We must, therefore, use this gathering to celebrate our achievements during the first decade of liberation. We must also use this gathering to reflect on the challenges we face as we usher in the second decade of freedom. As we cast a glance on the road we have travelled since 1994, we see the massive progress we made in the ongoing effort to build, for ourselves, a better country.

We see growing evidence that the quality of life of our people is changing for the better.

We are humbled by the fact that, increasingly, our people are taking an active part in the reconstruction and development of our country.

We are inspired by the work our people are doing, in partnership with government, to address challenges such as crime, hunger and disease.

In our province of the North West we are proud of the rural women of Kgalagadi, Motla and other areas who are working hard to make a difference in their lives and in their communities.

As opposed to waiting for government to do things for them they have opted to be their own liberators and are seizing opportunities created by our democracy.

In the North West Province, we count among our successes the fact that we were able to merge three disparate administrations, characterised by duplication, mal-administration and rampant corruption into one coherent administration that upholds the values of Batho Pele.

Our tack record in terms of good governance and dealing decisively with corruption is the envy of many in our country.

We have also succeeded in uprooting the scourge of racism in our schools, farms and communities. Ours has become a province where racial harmony reigns supreme.

This is a direct result of the work we have done, over the years, to build bridges of reconciliation and a common nationhood over gulfs that separated our people.

We are impressed by the progress we are making in expanding access to basic services such as electricity, water and housing.

Figures at our disposal indicate that between 1994 and 2002 we completed over 497 000 new electricity connections. Our figures also show that between 1996 and 2000, the proportion of houses with electricity increased massively from 42% to 74%.

Also impressive is that close to 60% of rural households in our province has access to electricity.

With regard to the provision of water, we are proud that in the period from June 1994 to June 2001, the number of households with piped water inside the yard increased from 145 084 to 320 149. During the same period, households whose source of water supply was dams, rivers and rain water tanks declined significantly.

It is also a matter of pride that in just five years of democracy we were able to build over 50 000 houses and approved housing subsidies to the value of R1,7 billion.

Figures at our disposal also show that from 1994 to 2001, the total number of houses built or under construction was 97 592 and 125 563 housing subsidies were issued.

Honourable Members, what I have just outlined are some of the tangible achievements during the first decade of democracy in the North West Province. There are many others.

It is these achievements that convince us that we have laid a firm basis on which to sustain our offensive on the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. They convince us that indeed the future looks qualitatively than the past and present.

We enter the second decade of freedom confident that acting together, there is no challenge we will not overcome.

We are comforted by the knowledge that our forward march to a better life for all has gathered sufficient momentum to allow us to confront future challenges with even more vigour and determination.

Acting together with all stakeholders, we are determined to continue finding appropriate responses to the key challenges of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment.

We will not tire until the benefits of our hard earned freedom are felt in every corner of our country. Indeed, we will not yield until we have redeemed the pledge we made to our people, the pledge of building a better life for all.

A critical part of sustaining the momentum we have built in the past ten years is to ensure that we strengthen cooperative governance among the various spheres of government.

It is only when there is effective cooperation and coordination among the various spheres, that our policies will deliver maximum results in the shortest time possible.

In this regard, we must continue to strengthen our system of intergovernmental relations and our intergovernmental structures.

The impressive progress we made in the Kgalagadi Development Node, now designated as a New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) pilot project, is a direct result of effective cooperative governance.

We must take the lesson we have learned in cooperative governance with us as we confront future challenges.

I thank you!

Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
11 November 2003