Speech by KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Honourable Sibusiso Ndebele, on the occasion of handing over the role of Rotating Second Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
Honourable Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP
Honourable Mrs Peggy Maud Hollander
Honourable Premiers
Honourable members
Ladies and gentlemen

The National Council of Provinces, this year, celebrates 10 years since it was established. For the people of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa, this is a momentous year in which we also commemorate 40 years since the death of Inkosi Albert Luthuli who passed away in 1967.

As the Chairperson of this House, the Honourable Mninwa Mahlangu said, as far as he knows the NCOP is the only House in the world that combines national, provincial and local spheres of government. It is, therefore, no accident of history that in the year in which the NCOP celebrates its decade of life, we must recall the contribution of one of our greatest sons, Inkosi Luthuli, to the betterment of our lives.

As far as I know, there are few leaders in the world whose characteristics combine so many facets: Inkosi Luthuli was an educationist, a farmer, traditional leader, international statesman, choir master, human rights and religious leader and a revolutionary democrat, all rolled into one.

On 4 November this year, 40 years after his death, we will commemorate Inkosi Albert Luthuli. The Honourable President Thabo Mbeki will deliver the keynote address. Next year we will also remember 180 years since the death of Inkosi uShaka with the death of King Shaka in 1828. We will also commemorate King Dingane and the Battle of Ncome. We will also commemorate the centenary of the trial and imprisonment of King uDinizulu in 1908. The first gesture towards reconciliation was done by General Louis Botha, the first Prime Minister of the Union, who ordered the release of the King in 1910. King uDinizulu became an Honorary President of the African National Congress when it was established in 1912.

We are indeed heading for momentous times. No people have ever been truly liberated without an education. An important aspect of freedom is literacy. As a country one of the enduring legacies of apartheid is illiteracy and innumeracy.

In KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces as well, we are faced with the scourge of illiteracy and innumeracy. In KwaZulu-Natal, where the population now stands at nearly 10 million people, we still have 2,1 million people who are illiterate.

We have realised that we cannot successfully achieve our developmental goals without addressing this challenge of illiteracy head on. As the government of KwaZulu-Natal, we have committed ourselves to eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy by 2009. R100 million annually, has been set aside to address this challenge. In the first month of the Masifundisane Programme, 8 000 people graduates who could not read or write their names or even count change graduated, including a 101 year old grandmother. By 31 March 2008 we intend that 355 000 people would have graduated.

South Africa has evolved from an undemocratic, unequal and racially defined society to a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist country that is characterised by a quest for equity, justice and better living conditions for its entire population. 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.

Sustained poverty reduction is not possible without rapid economic growth. Crime and diseases all militate against this progress. Government adopted a set of programmes within the framework of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), whose primary goal is to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. AsgiSA must be shared among all South Africans. The AsgiSA strategy is to restructure the growth process towards the adoption of investment in infrastructure, skills development and labour intensive techniques such as the Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP).

One of the EPWP projects in KwaZulu-Natal is the Zibambele Programme. This is a labour intensive road maintenance initiative aimed at alleviating poverty and unemployment initiated by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport in 1996. Together with the Gundo Lashu programme in Limpopo, Zibambele has provided us with best practices for labour intensive projects in South Africa. Our EPWP is now recognised internationally for its impact in alleviating poverty and creating jobs.

We have collectively made significant progress in eradicating and alleviating poverty through the social wage and the provision of social services to our people including child, old age and disability grants.

Co-operative governance ensures delivery

Underdevelopment resides at the national, provincial and municipal levels. It is clear to us that solutions must be found and implemented at municipal level, 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 and ten years since the NCOP was established.

As President Thabo Mbeki said in his address to the NCOP earlier this year, it is our duty to:

* inform citizens about the work of Parliament
* provide citizens with an opportunity to see Parliament in action and be able to speak to its members and members of the executive directly
* make citizens aware of the impact that public participation can have on political processes
* enhance the ability of the NCOP to oversee the implementation of
national policies and programmes.

As the NCOP, we must lead the process towards ensuring that government interventions, indeed, do create work and fight poverty. Through this intervention, we will play our effective role in reconstruction and development which moves us closer to people-centred development.

Popular Front Against Crime

Crime remains one of the factors which undermine progress in our country. In this regard, in KwaZulu-Natal we have called for a partnership in the fight against crime and we have established what we call a "Popular Front Against Crime".

This is coupled with our "Communities in Dialogue" programme and the "State of the Village" concept. "Communities in Dialogue" provides a forum where the police, the education sector, transport sector, religious organisations, senior citizens, youth and women are represented. We come together and say "No to crime in our street and No to crime in our village". Criminals are born of families and communities. It is at this level where the real fight against crime begins and will be won. A murderer is a criminal; a hijacker is a criminal and a person who buys stolen goods, is not only a criminal, but make crime viable.

We condemn the murders and hijackings in our country, including that of Lucky Dube, by criminal elements bent on undermining our progress. We are, however, pleased that even in the case of Lucky Dube, it was the police working together with the community who ensured the speedy arrest of the suspects. We must continue to do everything in our power, as government, communities, business, NGO's and all stakeholders to fight crime. Only a 'Popular Front Against Crime' will assist in our fight against crime. We must refuse to be a market for stolen goods and refuse to buy stolen vehicles or their parts. We must isolate criminals in every corner of South Africa. This is do-able and achievable.

We are extremely proud of the spectacular performance by the Springboks, Amabhokobhoko, at the Rugby World Cup Final in France. We also want to commend the spirit of unity displayed by the entire nation. The Rugby World Cup was played on 20 October. As we head towards the 2010 Federation International Football Association (Fifa) Soccer World Cup let us enhance this spirit of unity.

We are pleased that the first official 2010 Soccer World Cup event, the 2010 Soccer World Cup Preliminary Draw, will be hosted in KwaZulu-Natal on 25 November 2007. Representatives from 205 countries will descend on Durban during that weekend in November which will also see a match between Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. KwaZulu-Natal is well prepared and ready to receive the Fifa family and we will do our utmost best to assist the Local Organising Committee to make this first 2010 event a resounding success.

As we move forward, let us declare that it is now time for "business unusual".

May I take this opportunity Chairperson, and honourable members to congratulate the incoming Rotating Second Deputy Chairperson, Premier Moloto, and thank you all for your support and understanding during my stint as Deputy Chairperson. May I also wish you all the best in your future deliberations.

Masisukume Sakhe.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
23 October 2007