Date: 06/11/2006
Source: KwaZulu Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Induction as Deputy Chairperson of National Council of Provinces
Speech delivered by the KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, on the occasion of being inducted as rotating second Deputy Chairperson of National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mninwa "Johannes" Mahlangu,
Deputy Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mrs Hollander,
Outgoing second Deputy Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mbhazima Shilowa,
Free State Premier, Honourable Beatrice Marshoff,
Mpumalanga Premier, Honourable Thabang Makwetla,
North West Premier, Honourable Edna Molewa,
I would like to thank the members of the NCOP who have elected me as rotating deputy chairperson of this august Chamber. As someone involved in the provincial tier of government since 1994, I have come to appreciate the vital role provincial government plays in the context of rebuilding our country.
Remembering the icons
Rebuilding means that we take a leaf from the wisdom of the past icons who already had a vision of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa. I come from a province where this year 2006 is being the 100th year since the famous Poll Tax Uprising was set aside to honour Inkosi Bhambatha ka Mancinza Zondi and Mahatma Gandhi who gave us the treasure of Satyagraha as we know it today. We are also looking forward to 2007, which completes four decades since the death of Inkosi Albert Luthuli. It was Inkosi Luthuli, as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) who first made the call for the international isolation of apartheid South Africa as early as 1959.
Inkosi Luthuli had a vision of a non-racial, democratic and non-sexist South Africa at the time when this dream was believed to be impossible.
But Inkosi Luthuli asked for more than freedom. He said the people should have a government that is "democratic to the core."
In an article headlined "What would I do if I were a Prime Minister?" published in 1962, Inkosi Luthuli wrote:
"The main thing is that government and the people should be democratic to the core. It is relatively unimportant who is in the government. I am not opposed to the present government because it is white. I am only opposed to it because it is undemocratic and repressive. I do not cherish such expressions as the "all black government", the "African majority". I would like to speak about a "democratic majority," which would be a non-racial majority and so could be a multi-racial or not."
Bringing world attention to our country, Inkosi Luthuli was visited by the United Sates of America (USA) Democrats Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1966, who was assassinated two years later.
It was only 20 years later, in 1986, when the USA administration came out in support of the struggle against apartheid.
Democrat's Senators Kassabaum and Luger played an influential role passing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 despite President Ronald Reagan's obstinacy. Quite clearly, therefore, our journey to democracy has not been easy.
Celebrating the present
It is 2006 and the doors of freedom have been opened. If Inkosi Luthuli were alive today, he would have been a happy man experiencing the deepening of democracy. This government has been truly democratic with a national, provincial and local government functioning with true democratic values. We celebrate these feathers in our cap, the latest being South Africa earning a seat in the United Nations Security Council.
South Africa has evolved from an undemocratic, unequal and racially defined society to a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist country that is characterised by equity, justice and better living conditions for all the people.
Together with the National Assembly, the provincial legislatures and the municipal councils, the NCOP is an important institution that ensures that we indeed have a vibrant and participatory democracy. It occupies a unique place in our system of co-operative governance.
It straddles the three spheres of our system of governance. It is through the NCOP and its sister legislatures that we have succeeded in entrenching democracy in our country.
Having built and consolidated democracy which we must continue to defend and entrench, the dominant challenge that must occupy the collective mind of our movement is, clearly, the question of the development of our country so that we defeat and eradicate poverty and under-development. This is not a new issue. But given the progress we have made in the area of political transformation, we now have a better possibility to accelerate our advance in the struggle against poverty and under-development. What then does democracy mean to a person in a taxi rank?
Democracy means that there should be food, shelter, clothing, education and all that is necessary to for a decent livelihood. In KwaZulu-Natal we have decided that the entrenchment of democracy means that 1,5 million people will be literate by 2009.
We know that by 2010 that those people will be able to read the scoreboards across the country and be able to share in the growth of our country and that real empowerment comes from them having being able to read and write.
NCOP and Soccer World Cup 2010
It is opportune for us to have lived through the past to look forward to our future. In four years time, the landscape of this country will change with the hosting of 2010 Soccer World Cup. The very provinces represented here have a crucial role to play during this time.
In this crucial link role akin to a midfielder in soccer, provincial governments have a multiplicity of tasks. We have to implement national policy, develop policies of our own in the context of the different historical trajectories of our province and ensure synergy and the fundamentals of co-operative and good governance of local municipalities. This is where the coalface of delivery is.
This is, however, a tall order for it involves looking upwards and downwards at the same time. In this context the NCOP is a vital form of representation. It brings the provinces together and allows us to share experiences and develop coherence in our work.
Given the imperatives of speeding up our transport and communication networks and infrastructural developments in the context of World Cup 2010, the work of the NCOP is crucial. President Thabo Mbeki's assurance to the FIFA soccer world body two days ago is a testament that our work is cut out for us.
For as we know for World Cup 2010 to work we need a well functioning midfield, a midfield that can defend with determination, attack with purpose in a way that meets our goals and redistribute possession not simply to hang onto it.
Co-operative governance ensures delivery
We would need to sit together and assess what issues are emerging from the ground, from our constituencies, from our local municipalities who stand at the coalface of delivery. Once we understand these needs, we put these issues on the national agenda.
To use an old cliche if you have a beautiful roof and beautiful ceilings but do not have a solid foundation all that gets washed away.
The foundation of real governance is at the municipal level this is where the citizens meet government.
We should continue to respect and entrench the system of co-operative governance and within this context ensure that we empower local government to discharge its development and service delivery obligations, drawing on the lessons provided by Project Consolidate.
We have made major strides since 1994 but many challenges still lie ahead. Many of our municipalities which are central to the implementation of government policies still do not have the necessary capacity even where resources are available to implement government programmes and ensure that there is sustainable delivery of basic services.
We need to ensure that each municipality has a realistic Integrated Development Plan (IDP), a credible local economic development programme, material and human resources, and management and operational systems needed to implement programmes.
At the NCOP level, we can call on our members to engage and participate more fully in Project Consolidate and to help in whatever ways necessary to add capacity to local government structures and ensure effective and efficient service delivery to all our people.
This is important because these interventions are part of government's broader programme of creating work and fighting poverty. It is a critical part of our Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) through which we seek to achieve a people's centred development.
Improving communication
Allow me to return to my introductory remarks. I see the NCOP as a vital player in the reconstruction of our country. In my own experiences as Premier I have adopted a hands-on approach to development protects and governance in the province.
There is of course a fine line between the relative autonomy of MECs and the Office of the Premier. I have often walked that line without in any way undermining MECs. I have done this in the context of the fact that at the end of the day the buck stops at the Office of the Premier.
In similar vein I do not see my role as deputy chair of the NCOP as ceremonial or hands off. I would like to repay the confidence you have shown in me by actively and creatively getting involved in improving the lines of communication between MECs and the NCOP.
At the level of the NCOP, I believe it is crucial that as deputy chair I meet with the leadership of the NCOP at least once every two to three months to look at what issues are emerging from provinces and how this can be taken further because this is a House of provinces.
There are many creative ways in which the NCOP can improve its mandate to the people we serve and I think given the talent, experience and youthful exuberance that fills this august body we will rise to the challenge.
Remember midfielders are usually the engine room of any team and often that contribution is not recognised. So if we do not make headlines on a daily basis do not get despondent but rather find solace and encouragement in the work we do and the confidence our people have placed in us.
Inkosi Luthuli was the first to internationalise the debate about South Africa, starting in 1959. The response he got was that of winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 and a barrage of world attention. All eyes are on South Africa now again because we will host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. But let us look beyond that. After the games we need to ensure that we are succeeding with our campaign against poverty and eradicating social ills. Then we will be totally free.
Thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
6 November 2006
Source: KwaZulu Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Induction as Deputy Chairperson of National Council of Provinces
Speech delivered by the KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, on the occasion of being inducted as rotating second Deputy Chairperson of National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mninwa "Johannes" Mahlangu,
Deputy Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mrs Hollander,
Outgoing second Deputy Chairperson of NCOP, Honourable Mbhazima Shilowa,
Free State Premier, Honourable Beatrice Marshoff,
Mpumalanga Premier, Honourable Thabang Makwetla,
North West Premier, Honourable Edna Molewa,
I would like to thank the members of the NCOP who have elected me as rotating deputy chairperson of this august Chamber. As someone involved in the provincial tier of government since 1994, I have come to appreciate the vital role provincial government plays in the context of rebuilding our country.
Remembering the icons
Rebuilding means that we take a leaf from the wisdom of the past icons who already had a vision of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa. I come from a province where this year 2006 is being the 100th year since the famous Poll Tax Uprising was set aside to honour Inkosi Bhambatha ka Mancinza Zondi and Mahatma Gandhi who gave us the treasure of Satyagraha as we know it today. We are also looking forward to 2007, which completes four decades since the death of Inkosi Albert Luthuli. It was Inkosi Luthuli, as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) who first made the call for the international isolation of apartheid South Africa as early as 1959.
Inkosi Luthuli had a vision of a non-racial, democratic and non-sexist South Africa at the time when this dream was believed to be impossible.
But Inkosi Luthuli asked for more than freedom. He said the people should have a government that is "democratic to the core."
In an article headlined "What would I do if I were a Prime Minister?" published in 1962, Inkosi Luthuli wrote:
"The main thing is that government and the people should be democratic to the core. It is relatively unimportant who is in the government. I am not opposed to the present government because it is white. I am only opposed to it because it is undemocratic and repressive. I do not cherish such expressions as the "all black government", the "African majority". I would like to speak about a "democratic majority," which would be a non-racial majority and so could be a multi-racial or not."
Bringing world attention to our country, Inkosi Luthuli was visited by the United Sates of America (USA) Democrats Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1966, who was assassinated two years later.
It was only 20 years later, in 1986, when the USA administration came out in support of the struggle against apartheid.
Democrat's Senators Kassabaum and Luger played an influential role passing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 despite President Ronald Reagan's obstinacy. Quite clearly, therefore, our journey to democracy has not been easy.
Celebrating the present
It is 2006 and the doors of freedom have been opened. If Inkosi Luthuli were alive today, he would have been a happy man experiencing the deepening of democracy. This government has been truly democratic with a national, provincial and local government functioning with true democratic values. We celebrate these feathers in our cap, the latest being South Africa earning a seat in the United Nations Security Council.
South Africa has evolved from an undemocratic, unequal and racially defined society to a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist country that is characterised by equity, justice and better living conditions for all the people.
Together with the National Assembly, the provincial legislatures and the municipal councils, the NCOP is an important institution that ensures that we indeed have a vibrant and participatory democracy. It occupies a unique place in our system of co-operative governance.
It straddles the three spheres of our system of governance. It is through the NCOP and its sister legislatures that we have succeeded in entrenching democracy in our country.
Having built and consolidated democracy which we must continue to defend and entrench, the dominant challenge that must occupy the collective mind of our movement is, clearly, the question of the development of our country so that we defeat and eradicate poverty and under-development. This is not a new issue. But given the progress we have made in the area of political transformation, we now have a better possibility to accelerate our advance in the struggle against poverty and under-development. What then does democracy mean to a person in a taxi rank?
Democracy means that there should be food, shelter, clothing, education and all that is necessary to for a decent livelihood. In KwaZulu-Natal we have decided that the entrenchment of democracy means that 1,5 million people will be literate by 2009.
We know that by 2010 that those people will be able to read the scoreboards across the country and be able to share in the growth of our country and that real empowerment comes from them having being able to read and write.
NCOP and Soccer World Cup 2010
It is opportune for us to have lived through the past to look forward to our future. In four years time, the landscape of this country will change with the hosting of 2010 Soccer World Cup. The very provinces represented here have a crucial role to play during this time.
In this crucial link role akin to a midfielder in soccer, provincial governments have a multiplicity of tasks. We have to implement national policy, develop policies of our own in the context of the different historical trajectories of our province and ensure synergy and the fundamentals of co-operative and good governance of local municipalities. This is where the coalface of delivery is.
This is, however, a tall order for it involves looking upwards and downwards at the same time. In this context the NCOP is a vital form of representation. It brings the provinces together and allows us to share experiences and develop coherence in our work.
Given the imperatives of speeding up our transport and communication networks and infrastructural developments in the context of World Cup 2010, the work of the NCOP is crucial. President Thabo Mbeki's assurance to the FIFA soccer world body two days ago is a testament that our work is cut out for us.
For as we know for World Cup 2010 to work we need a well functioning midfield, a midfield that can defend with determination, attack with purpose in a way that meets our goals and redistribute possession not simply to hang onto it.
Co-operative governance ensures delivery
We would need to sit together and assess what issues are emerging from the ground, from our constituencies, from our local municipalities who stand at the coalface of delivery. Once we understand these needs, we put these issues on the national agenda.
To use an old cliche if you have a beautiful roof and beautiful ceilings but do not have a solid foundation all that gets washed away.
The foundation of real governance is at the municipal level this is where the citizens meet government.
We should continue to respect and entrench the system of co-operative governance and within this context ensure that we empower local government to discharge its development and service delivery obligations, drawing on the lessons provided by Project Consolidate.
We have made major strides since 1994 but many challenges still lie ahead. Many of our municipalities which are central to the implementation of government policies still do not have the necessary capacity even where resources are available to implement government programmes and ensure that there is sustainable delivery of basic services.
We need to ensure that each municipality has a realistic Integrated Development Plan (IDP), a credible local economic development programme, material and human resources, and management and operational systems needed to implement programmes.
At the NCOP level, we can call on our members to engage and participate more fully in Project Consolidate and to help in whatever ways necessary to add capacity to local government structures and ensure effective and efficient service delivery to all our people.
This is important because these interventions are part of government's broader programme of creating work and fighting poverty. It is a critical part of our Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) through which we seek to achieve a people's centred development.
Improving communication
Allow me to return to my introductory remarks. I see the NCOP as a vital player in the reconstruction of our country. In my own experiences as Premier I have adopted a hands-on approach to development protects and governance in the province.
There is of course a fine line between the relative autonomy of MECs and the Office of the Premier. I have often walked that line without in any way undermining MECs. I have done this in the context of the fact that at the end of the day the buck stops at the Office of the Premier.
In similar vein I do not see my role as deputy chair of the NCOP as ceremonial or hands off. I would like to repay the confidence you have shown in me by actively and creatively getting involved in improving the lines of communication between MECs and the NCOP.
At the level of the NCOP, I believe it is crucial that as deputy chair I meet with the leadership of the NCOP at least once every two to three months to look at what issues are emerging from provinces and how this can be taken further because this is a House of provinces.
There are many creative ways in which the NCOP can improve its mandate to the people we serve and I think given the talent, experience and youthful exuberance that fills this august body we will rise to the challenge.
Remember midfielders are usually the engine room of any team and often that contribution is not recognised. So if we do not make headlines on a daily basis do not get despondent but rather find solace and encouragement in the work we do and the confidence our people have placed in us.
Inkosi Luthuli was the first to internationalise the debate about South Africa, starting in 1959. The response he got was that of winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 and a barrage of world attention. All eyes are on South Africa now again because we will host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. But let us look beyond that. After the games we need to ensure that we are succeeding with our campaign against poverty and eradicating social ills. Then we will be totally free.
Thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
6 November 2006
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