Date: 29/11/2002
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Assembly of European Regions in Naples
EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER, MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, ADDRESSING THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLY OF EUROPEAN REGIONS IN NAPLES, ITALY, 29 NOVEMBER 2002
Land Reform, Education, and Health: Sustainable Development in the Western Cape
Introduction
Over the course of this week I have been meeting with European business and government leaders about Africa, South Africa and the Western Cape - and I have been surprised by the amount of goodwill towards, and interest in our country and our continent. The overwhelming sentiment in the Netherlands, France, and Italy seems to be one of cautious optimism about the prospects of Africa - tempered mainly by concerns about Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids, and crime.
Perhaps the most encouraging trend which has been apparent during my meetings and consultations this week is that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU) has caught the imagination of European leaders - and that despite unease about recent confusion surrounding the NEPAD peer-review mechanism, the levels of support for Africa's recovery plan are growing. What is clear is that converting this support to concrete assistance requires Africa as a whole to get our act together - particularly with regard to breathing life into the ideals of NEPAD's founding documents. Clean and accountable governance, a strong commitment to human rights, deepening democracy, and the creation of open, sustainable economies must be our policy priorities.
Building Strong Regions
The Government of the Western Cape firmly believes that the key to the long-term success of NEPAD and the AU lies in the building of strong African regions. The lesson of European regional strength is that strong regions, regional cooperation, and regional integration provide the best vehicles to accommodate diversity within unity.
Capacity building in regions at sub-national level is also of critical importance because it is at the local level that service delivery, education, and efforts to improve the quality of life for people are most effective. In the Western Cape our Provincial Government is committed to building a World Class Province which cares for all of its people - creating a thriving and successful region whose experiences can benefit not only its own citizens, but also the other provinces and regions of Southern Africa.
In the wake of the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development held this year in Johannesburg, it is apt that this meeting of the Assembly of European Regions has chosen to focus on sustainability in the strengthening of regional economies and regional cohesion. Sustainable development has, in many respects, become the defining challenge for modern policy-makers, and pursuing programmes and projects which are both responsible and sustainable is the hallmark of open and accountable governance. In the context of African development, sustainability is of added significance because of the urgent need to address the vicious cycle of poverty.
The Western Cape has identified sustainable development challenges in a range of sectors, but most noticeably in our land reform programmes, education initiatives, and in our battle against the HIV/Aids pandemic.
Sustainable Land Reform
Poverty forces people to make use of any available means to provide for themselves and their families - often at the expense of the environment and a sustainable future. If we are really committed to poverty alleviation, expanding ownership of our economy, and sustainable development, it is vital for us to address the issue of land reform. This is particularly pressing because of the nature of our history which saw the majority of South Africans denied access to productive land, and for us to avoid any repetition of the mistakes made in Zimbabwe. To this end the Western Cape Government has embarked on a comprehensive programme, in partnership with our existing commercial farmers, to establish 7000 new emerging farmers from the black and coloured communities over the next few years.
A great example of successful and sustainable land reform in the Western Cape is the story of Northridge Farms.When the previous owner of these fruit farms went into liquidation, and with the assistance the land reform programme of our national and provincial governments, the workers of Northridge Farms took charge of the business in September 2001.They have celebrated their first year as 100% shareholders with a profit of R1,3 million on a turnover of R7,9 million. With hard work and dedication to making a success of their opportunities the people of Northridge have shown us all what can be accomplished.
Sustainable Education
In our province, we have one of the highest pass rates for the final year of high school in South Africa, at 82,7% in 2001. We also have the greatest proportion of people (10,6%) over the age of 20 with a higher education qualification. Whilst this is high for South Africa, it is low on the comparative global scale. We know if we are to attract growing levels of foreign investment to our province, we need to offer investors a workforce with the skills to make investment worthwhile. If we are to build the Western Cape into a truly World Class Province, which is the aim of our Government, then it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Amongst the initiatives which we have undertaken to address these needs is the opening of the Cape Teaching Academy for in-service teacher training to help update and upgrade the qualifications of our teachers, particularly from disadvantaged communities; the launch of our Partnerships for Progress programme to link schools in formerly advantaged areas with schools in more needy communities to help both schools improve their educational programmes and to advance nation-building in our province; and the much-anticipated opening next year of our Maths, Science, and Technology Academy to nurture learners talented in these crucial fields to become world-leaders in their disciplines.
Sustainable Health
At present it is estimated that between 100 000 and 150 000 people in our province are infected with HIV/Aids. By 2010 this figure is expected to reach almost 400 000 people if we do not act immediately. An estimated 30 000 children will be born with HIV over the next ten years in the Western Cape unless we intervene decisively. The implications are staggering. If we do nothing there will be an increased demand of 1 million new hospital bed days, a 100% increase in the number of orphans, and a 500% increase in demands for child dependency grants. This is why we cannot afford to not make dramatic health interventions - particularly in the prevention of mother to child transmission.
The Western Cape is proud that we have the largest programme with the fastest roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/Aids in Africa, and that we will achieve a 100% coverage rate of HIV-positive pregnant women by the end of this financial year (a year earlier than projected). Two of our four health regions have already achieved 100% coverage - with the infrastructure in place to properly counsel patients and administer the drugs. We are also very positive about our new pilot project of anti-retroviral triple therapy treatment for people living with Aids, which is a step towards treatment in addition to prevention. International evidence suggests that such interventions can add 5-7 years or even longer to the lives of people living with Aids - empowering them to care for their families and raise their children in a sustainable way.
Conclusion
The links between the Western Cape and the regions of Europe are both the links of history and the links of current partnerships. Our vision to create a World Class Province which cares for all of its people, in the context of strengthening African regions in general, makes our relationships with European regions greatly significant and valuable.
ENQUIRIES: RIAAN AUCAMP
CELL: 083-778-9923
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Assembly of European Regions in Naples
EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER, MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, ADDRESSING THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLY OF EUROPEAN REGIONS IN NAPLES, ITALY, 29 NOVEMBER 2002
Land Reform, Education, and Health: Sustainable Development in the Western Cape
Introduction
Over the course of this week I have been meeting with European business and government leaders about Africa, South Africa and the Western Cape - and I have been surprised by the amount of goodwill towards, and interest in our country and our continent. The overwhelming sentiment in the Netherlands, France, and Italy seems to be one of cautious optimism about the prospects of Africa - tempered mainly by concerns about Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids, and crime.
Perhaps the most encouraging trend which has been apparent during my meetings and consultations this week is that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU) has caught the imagination of European leaders - and that despite unease about recent confusion surrounding the NEPAD peer-review mechanism, the levels of support for Africa's recovery plan are growing. What is clear is that converting this support to concrete assistance requires Africa as a whole to get our act together - particularly with regard to breathing life into the ideals of NEPAD's founding documents. Clean and accountable governance, a strong commitment to human rights, deepening democracy, and the creation of open, sustainable economies must be our policy priorities.
Building Strong Regions
The Government of the Western Cape firmly believes that the key to the long-term success of NEPAD and the AU lies in the building of strong African regions. The lesson of European regional strength is that strong regions, regional cooperation, and regional integration provide the best vehicles to accommodate diversity within unity.
Capacity building in regions at sub-national level is also of critical importance because it is at the local level that service delivery, education, and efforts to improve the quality of life for people are most effective. In the Western Cape our Provincial Government is committed to building a World Class Province which cares for all of its people - creating a thriving and successful region whose experiences can benefit not only its own citizens, but also the other provinces and regions of Southern Africa.
In the wake of the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development held this year in Johannesburg, it is apt that this meeting of the Assembly of European Regions has chosen to focus on sustainability in the strengthening of regional economies and regional cohesion. Sustainable development has, in many respects, become the defining challenge for modern policy-makers, and pursuing programmes and projects which are both responsible and sustainable is the hallmark of open and accountable governance. In the context of African development, sustainability is of added significance because of the urgent need to address the vicious cycle of poverty.
The Western Cape has identified sustainable development challenges in a range of sectors, but most noticeably in our land reform programmes, education initiatives, and in our battle against the HIV/Aids pandemic.
Sustainable Land Reform
Poverty forces people to make use of any available means to provide for themselves and their families - often at the expense of the environment and a sustainable future. If we are really committed to poverty alleviation, expanding ownership of our economy, and sustainable development, it is vital for us to address the issue of land reform. This is particularly pressing because of the nature of our history which saw the majority of South Africans denied access to productive land, and for us to avoid any repetition of the mistakes made in Zimbabwe. To this end the Western Cape Government has embarked on a comprehensive programme, in partnership with our existing commercial farmers, to establish 7000 new emerging farmers from the black and coloured communities over the next few years.
A great example of successful and sustainable land reform in the Western Cape is the story of Northridge Farms.When the previous owner of these fruit farms went into liquidation, and with the assistance the land reform programme of our national and provincial governments, the workers of Northridge Farms took charge of the business in September 2001.They have celebrated their first year as 100% shareholders with a profit of R1,3 million on a turnover of R7,9 million. With hard work and dedication to making a success of their opportunities the people of Northridge have shown us all what can be accomplished.
Sustainable Education
In our province, we have one of the highest pass rates for the final year of high school in South Africa, at 82,7% in 2001. We also have the greatest proportion of people (10,6%) over the age of 20 with a higher education qualification. Whilst this is high for South Africa, it is low on the comparative global scale. We know if we are to attract growing levels of foreign investment to our province, we need to offer investors a workforce with the skills to make investment worthwhile. If we are to build the Western Cape into a truly World Class Province, which is the aim of our Government, then it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Amongst the initiatives which we have undertaken to address these needs is the opening of the Cape Teaching Academy for in-service teacher training to help update and upgrade the qualifications of our teachers, particularly from disadvantaged communities; the launch of our Partnerships for Progress programme to link schools in formerly advantaged areas with schools in more needy communities to help both schools improve their educational programmes and to advance nation-building in our province; and the much-anticipated opening next year of our Maths, Science, and Technology Academy to nurture learners talented in these crucial fields to become world-leaders in their disciplines.
Sustainable Health
At present it is estimated that between 100 000 and 150 000 people in our province are infected with HIV/Aids. By 2010 this figure is expected to reach almost 400 000 people if we do not act immediately. An estimated 30 000 children will be born with HIV over the next ten years in the Western Cape unless we intervene decisively. The implications are staggering. If we do nothing there will be an increased demand of 1 million new hospital bed days, a 100% increase in the number of orphans, and a 500% increase in demands for child dependency grants. This is why we cannot afford to not make dramatic health interventions - particularly in the prevention of mother to child transmission.
The Western Cape is proud that we have the largest programme with the fastest roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/Aids in Africa, and that we will achieve a 100% coverage rate of HIV-positive pregnant women by the end of this financial year (a year earlier than projected). Two of our four health regions have already achieved 100% coverage - with the infrastructure in place to properly counsel patients and administer the drugs. We are also very positive about our new pilot project of anti-retroviral triple therapy treatment for people living with Aids, which is a step towards treatment in addition to prevention. International evidence suggests that such interventions can add 5-7 years or even longer to the lives of people living with Aids - empowering them to care for their families and raise their children in a sustainable way.
Conclusion
The links between the Western Cape and the regions of Europe are both the links of history and the links of current partnerships. Our vision to create a World Class Province which cares for all of its people, in the context of strengthening African regions in general, makes our relationships with European regions greatly significant and valuable.
ENQUIRIES: RIAAN AUCAMP
CELL: 083-778-9923
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