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Date
: 27/06/2005
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government
Title: Peters: Municipal Conference
Speech by Northern Cape Premier, D Peters at the Municipal
Conference, Kimberley, 27 - 30 June 2005
Programme Director
MECs, MPs & MPLs
Judge President Kgomo
Honourable Mayors and Councillors
The leadership of SALGA
Officials of Government
Traditional leaders present here
Leaders of Faith Based Structures
Business representatives
Rep of CBOs and NGOs
Media representatives
Distinguished guests
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.
We are privileged and honoured to host this very important
conference, and be part of a forum which seeks to embark upon an
enthusiastic debate on challenges confronting our
municipalities.
Allow me ladies and gentlemen to acknowledge with appreciation the
presence of all our dignitaries who have heeded to our call to be
part of this conference and join us in these deliberations.
I also wish to acknowledge the presence of eminent friends and
partners of our provincial government, those whose partnership is
critical to our functional efficacy. Your support will go a long
way in assisting us in fulfilling our mandate to our people.
I also believe that your presence here is an unequivocal
manifestation of your conviction and commitment to our common goal
of ensuring that people living with disabilities benefit from the
political transformation of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m particularly excited about the
timing of this conference which coincides with the celebration of
an important charter of our people, the Freedom Charter. Yesterday
we joined the rest of the country in celebrating this charter which
clearly defines the very essence of forums like these and spurs us
on to act.
June 25 and 26 1955, are dates indelibly impressed on the minds and
hearts of many freedom loving South Africans. On those two days,
our country witnessed the climax of months of efforts on the part
of the people of this country, men and women throughout the country
striving for the liberation of their country. The adoption of this
historic Freedom Charter forms part the basis of our policies
today.
On those days, freedom loving South Africans gathered at Kliptown
and amongst others said that in a truly democratic South Africa:
there shall be houses, security and comfort for all. Failure to
provide these services means that we are in part failing the
aspirations of our fore-bearers whose hopes were pinned on a local
government which can respond to the basic needs of all its
citizens.
As South Africans, the People’s Contract unites us. This
contract includes a responsibility to progressively improve access
to services by all South Africans regardless of whether they are
classified as living with disabilities or not. Our municipalities
are the closest we get to our people and they should take the lead
in addressing the critical issue of how we provide services to our
people. We have learnt that as much as we strive to address lack of
services in our communities we are leaving a very important section
of that community.
We have a responsibility to create a nation that is all inclusive,
tolerant and healthy enough to enjoy these freedoms.
* How do we diminish the loneliness and isolation experienced by
people living with disabilities?
* Do the facilities we are building such as clinics, sports
facilities, community halls etc address these challenges or are
they blocking people living with disabilities out.
* Have we made the necessary adjustments to the physical features
of our premises to overcome physical barriers to access
* Do the facilities we are constructing in the country provide
people living with disabilities with a sense of belonging and
enable them to form lasting friendships and develop the necessary
skills to be come integrated into their communities
* How do we increase civic participation of people living with
disabilities, is it by engaging them in volunteerism and increasing
awareness issues impacting them.
* Many people living with disabilities in our country enjoy leading
independent live. Often people with disabilities or their families,
friends and caregivers need reliable health information to overcome
barriers affecting their quality of life, are we providing enough
information
* How do we address discrimination against people living with
disabilities as most of them are still subjected to different forms
of verbal and physical abuse, lack of access to social
opportunities and barriers to employment?
* Despite the commendable efforts of government and community
organisations in advancing the challenges faced by people living
with disabilities, more still needs to be done on disability
awareness programmes
* How do we devote our energies as a collective with a shared
commitment towards gaining a full understanding of the potential
within each individual that every person regardless of their
apparent limitations can thrive and benefit from our young
democracy
* How do we ensure that our municipalities are capacitated with the
knowledge and skills that allows them to provide quality support
programmes for those in need for the developmentally disabled and
its auxiliary services
* How do we ensure that our municipalities develop creative
programs to promote the quality of life and personal growth of
people living with disabilities
* How do we ensure that our institutions in and outside of
government dedicate themselves to adhere to progressive legislation
in order to expand our service delivery programme and provide
social, health and community resources for people at risk and those
in need of assistance
* How do we ensure that democratic and developmental local
government, which empowers our people to act as their own
liberators and directs reconstruction at local level, is further
strengthened to play its role.
I do not believe that any of the challenges we face are
insurmountable. During these deliberations we should arrive at
strategic objectives which seek to advance our service delivery
objective to people living with disabilities. We should treat all
our citizens as members of our communities, as dignified citizens
who have responsibilities and rights.
In our quest to reach all our people, we should ensure at all times
that we introduce programmes which adapt to the different needs of
our people and utilise public and private resources effectively and
equitably to carry out our mandate.
Ours is to promote equal opportunities for disabled people and
eliminate discrimination against disabled people. We should
encourage good practice in the treatment of disabled people.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should bear in mind that it is unlawful to
treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a
reason related to their disability. Government will and shall
defend this right all the way.
This conference provides us with a rare opportunity to set the pace
for further integrated planning and the implementation of many
other initiatives. We should participate in this conference with
great optimism, as it should chart the way forward, and produce
clear strategies that will locate all stakeholders, at the centre
of the programme of action.
In the Northern Cape more than anywhere in the country, we need
devoted men and women who will bring together this common vision,
and create opportunities for our people. We must also ensure that
people living with disabilities themselves are part of the
implementation process of some of the strategies that are drawn
from this conference.
Our starting point is to get the basics right.
It is our function as government to ensure that all South Africans
have access to all our services and that no individual or group of
individuals lay claim to, or monopolise these services in any form,
to the exclusion of others.
Some of our answers lie in the Project Consolidate Programme. This
is a two year engagement programme which will allow national and
provincial government, together with other key partners in the
private sector, to find new, creative, practical and impact
orientated modes of engaging, supporting and working with local
government.
We are excited as most municipalities which have substantially high
levels of service delivery and infrastructure backlogs are now
receiving systematic support which is rendered in terms of Project
Consolidate. It is the combination of this support and the
expansionary budget allocated to municipalities which offer the
potent material for acceleration.
This exercise is aimed at assisting government on how to develop
more intimate familiarity with the needs and priorities of local
communities. It will also help to bring local and provincial
priorities into synergy with national objectives.
One of the key objectives of Project Consolidate is to increase
local government capacity for strategic planning. The capacity of
our municipalities to prepare good Integrated Development Plans
remains uneven.
We hope that the progress we are making thus far will ensure that
we reach every corner of our country and access opportunities to
all. These are very important building blocks for the developmental
stage. This conference should therefore be geared towards
empowering our municipalities on how to integrate our service
delivery programme and also forge partnership.
By converging here today, you have all placed a permanent mark that
indeed you are serious about seeking constructive participation to
better service delivery to persons with disabilities. I am the
first to admit that this process will not be easy. But will be
achieved if undertaken in a manner that encourages high levels of
community involvement. Seeking this constructive participation is
therefore a responsibility of each and every one of us. As
government we believe that this interaction is inherent in good
citizenship.
Ladies and gentlemen, you’ll agree with me that providing
essential services to our people is a very important activity in
our society. It is also a very important indicator of how a
particular society is organised. For this reason, our country too
has a responsibility to use all available resources to assist our
people to move in a particular direction.
A direction which creates a South Africa that is also biased in
favour of the poor and those at risk, such as our youth, women and
people living with disabilities. We can only achieve this objective
through your contribution and commitment. Through your strategies
and plans, we will begin to make the wishes of our people come
true.
People living with disabilities rely on each and every one of you
to participate fully to ensure that we grasp all opportunities and
maximise the value of our programme of action. The importance of
caring and responsive governance that is embraced by the spirit of
Batho Pele is absolutely essential. The need to compliment our
skills with the necessary values and attitudes should be
emphasised.
We certainly hope that your contribution will go a long way in
ensuring that we achieve our objectives. We should be developmental
activists and champions of people centred strategies. After all, we
are the servants of our people and the public will hold us
accountable.
What guides our approach is that each one of us should lend a hand
in doing the simple things that will make a difference to the lives
of our people.
I believe that there are men and women who can take bold
initiatives to make a difference.
There is no doubt that discriminating against people living with
disabilities is a gross human right violation. But it is critical
that we realise that human rights cannot be proclaimed by
government alone. What we require is the development of a culture
of human rights, where every individual is accorded the dignity and
respect that the Constitution envisages. This means we must
continue to act every day, in every sphere of society to realise
our common humanity. To this we will remain committed.
Our optimism also stems from the fact that the political will to
turn the situation around for the better exists, and a lot has
happened already to demonstrate this.
I wish you well in the course of your deliberations and call upon
you to continue with the unflinching commitment displayed by your
presence, by working harder than ever before to make our response
effective and efficient. I cannot finish my address without
expressing my profound appreciation to all of you for taking part
in this conference.
I congratulate the MEC for Housing and Local Government, Boeboe Van
Wyk and your team, Speakers and facilitators, Mr Twasa and his team
in the Office of the Premier, and all members of the organising
team who worked hard to ensure that this conference is a
success.
I hope what I have shared with you will serve as a board for more
ideas. Together let us do what we have to do for the sake of our
people who are living with disabilities.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial
Government
27 June 2005
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