Date: 13/05/2003
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Western Cape Premier's Office Prov Budget Vote 2003/2004
SPEECH BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER, MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, INTRODUCING THE DEBATE ON BUDGET VOTE 1: THE PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE WESTERN CAPE, Provincial Parliament, 13 May 2003
Madame Speaker,
The writer Thomas Fuller once said that great hopes make great men. One of the greatest South Africans of our time, Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, was a man driven by great hope. His hope was for a South Africa in which all people could live free. His hope was for a country united in its rejection of discrimination and oppression. As South Africa mourns his passing and celebrates his achievements I would like to add the tribute of the Government and the people of the Western Cape to his memory.
It is my belief, Madame Speaker, that the single most meaningful and lasting tribute which we can pay to the life of a leader like Walter Sisulu, is to ensure that the freedoms which we now enjoy form the foundations of a better life for every South African.
The cornerstone of this Government's promise is to build, in the Western Cape, a World Class Province, which cares for all of its people. Opening the Provincial Parliament this year, I pledged our Government to securing this ideal through our commitment to iKapa eliHlumayo - which means growing and developing the Cape. This is the challenge for our coalition government - and it is the core business of our Western Cape Provincial Administration.
Although this department has no direct service delivery line function, it must provide both the strategic direction for the Provincial Government, and the blue-print for achieving these strategic goals. In this regard, we must define precisely that which makes us World Class across all departments, and that which we still require to meet this standard.
Being World Class entails a Government which understands poverty and hunger, service delivery and economic growth, and which targets its budgets to address these issues. In the Western Cape, we have done so by gearing our energies and programmes in line with iKapa eliHlumayo because we understand that real and sustained economic growth and job creation are the only lasting solutions to the need for greater human dignity. In May alone we will be assisting more than 473 000 people in the Western Cape with pensions, disability, child care and other social grants to the value of nearly R279 million.
Being World Class means that we must constantly adjust our approach to the provincial economy in order to fuel our most promising growth sectors. This is why we are restructuring the clothing and textile industry, exploring the potential for supplying critical services to oil and gas exploration activities, building capacity for the local film industry, targeting boat-building and information and communication technology sectors, and supporting and driving new tourism ventures like the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This is also why R77, the Treasury for iKapa eliHlumayo has set 7 million aside this year - to kick-start provincial growth and development.
At a much deeper level, being World Class also means understanding that we need to complete the process of reconciliation and healing the rifts of our past. Where incidents like the allegations of the mass grave in Laingsburg or the alleged unfair treatment of people like Lericia Langenhoven raise questions of discrimination, the degradation of human dignity or prejudice, our Provincial Government has acted. We will continue to show that we are not only committed to the protections of the Constitution on paper, but that we live them and actively intervene to show that coloured, white, black and Indian South Africans succeed best when working together.
In the Western Cape, the first province to do so, we also reward excellence and people who make special contributions to creating a better life in our province. That is why we recently, for the first time ever, awarded Provincial Honours to people from the Western Cape, from sporting heroes, to artists and cultural leaders, and from business people to those making direct contributions through their community work. We also wish to invite the people of our province to participate in the process in the forthcoming year, to nominate other outstanding individuals worthy of this honour.
Madame Speaker
Based on the strategic plans and priorities of each and every department of this government, Minister Rasool, our MEC for Finance and Economic Development has presented us with a Provincial Budget, which anchors this promise. The 2003 budget achieves a clearly defined focus on growth and development - balanced with real caring for those most in need. We understand that, to realise our aims, all 13 departments must strive to achieve three main goals: fiscal discipline, the restructuring of services to make them more caring, efficient and effective, and the refocusing of government on improving the lives of our communities through our commitment to iKapa eliHlumayo.
It is my pleasure to introduce today, for debate in this House, Budget Vote 1: The Provincial Administration of the Western Cape. Entrusted with the mandate of leading and co-ordinating government and governance in the Province, integrating and coordinating policy and Cabinet decisions, and facilitating and monitoring the performance of our Provincial Government, this department is at the heartbeat of iKapa eliHlumayo.
As the centre of government, the Provincial Administration is ultimately responsible for positioning our Provincial Government as an agent of service delivery - ensuring that ours is a province with an enabling and stable economic and political environment, equipped with the necessary tools to care for and support the people of the Western Cape.
Ek wil graag van hierdie geleentheid gebruik maak om ons Direkteur-Generaal, Dr Gilbert Lawrence, te bedank asook die topbestuur van die departement, vir hulle toewyding, professionaliteit en leierskap. Ek wil ook graag ons waardering uitspreek aan ons 12 departementshoofde, en elkeen van ons meer as 68 000 staatsamptenare wie se harde werk en professionaliteit steeds voortgaan om ons Regering te rat vir lewering.
Soos ek dit by die Opening van die Provinsiale Parlement in my Openingsrede uiteengesit het, het die Provinsiale Administrasie die doelwitte aanvaar van fiskale dissipline en herstrukturering om beter doeltreffendheid te bereik. As gevolg daarvan, sal die begroting van hierdie departement vanjaar met 22,5% afneem - hoofsaaklik as gevolg van interne herprioritisering (wat sal lei tot 'n afname van R10 miljoen) en deur die oordrag van die Inligtings-en-Kommunikasietegnologie (IKT) eindgebruiker-toerustingfondse na spesifieke provinsiale departemente (R101 miljoen). Ons is van die oortuiging dat hierdie desentralisering van die Inligtings-en-Kommunikasietegnologiefondse baie daartoe sal bydra om die behoefte aan te spreek vir groter aanspreeklikheid en bestuur van die inligtings-en-tegnologiebates wat deur departemente gebruik word as deel van hulle diensleweringsplatforms.
Specifically within the Provincial Administration we understand that to be World Class means that we must plan not only for the next year or two, but at least 10 or 15 years in advance - and in an integrated way. This is why the new Cabinet Cluster system has just been adopted for decision-making and planning purposes. By bringing the Western Cape in line with national Cabinet budget and planning structures, the three provincial Cabinet clusters: Economic Sector, Social Sector, and Governance and Administration, will result in improved effectiveness and seamless planning.
Op dieselfde manier, verg W
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Western Cape Premier's Office Prov Budget Vote 2003/2004
SPEECH BY WESTERN CAPE PREMIER, MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, INTRODUCING THE DEBATE ON BUDGET VOTE 1: THE PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE WESTERN CAPE, Provincial Parliament, 13 May 2003
Madame Speaker,
The writer Thomas Fuller once said that great hopes make great men. One of the greatest South Africans of our time, Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, was a man driven by great hope. His hope was for a South Africa in which all people could live free. His hope was for a country united in its rejection of discrimination and oppression. As South Africa mourns his passing and celebrates his achievements I would like to add the tribute of the Government and the people of the Western Cape to his memory.
It is my belief, Madame Speaker, that the single most meaningful and lasting tribute which we can pay to the life of a leader like Walter Sisulu, is to ensure that the freedoms which we now enjoy form the foundations of a better life for every South African.
The cornerstone of this Government's promise is to build, in the Western Cape, a World Class Province, which cares for all of its people. Opening the Provincial Parliament this year, I pledged our Government to securing this ideal through our commitment to iKapa eliHlumayo - which means growing and developing the Cape. This is the challenge for our coalition government - and it is the core business of our Western Cape Provincial Administration.
Although this department has no direct service delivery line function, it must provide both the strategic direction for the Provincial Government, and the blue-print for achieving these strategic goals. In this regard, we must define precisely that which makes us World Class across all departments, and that which we still require to meet this standard.
Being World Class entails a Government which understands poverty and hunger, service delivery and economic growth, and which targets its budgets to address these issues. In the Western Cape, we have done so by gearing our energies and programmes in line with iKapa eliHlumayo because we understand that real and sustained economic growth and job creation are the only lasting solutions to the need for greater human dignity. In May alone we will be assisting more than 473 000 people in the Western Cape with pensions, disability, child care and other social grants to the value of nearly R279 million.
Being World Class means that we must constantly adjust our approach to the provincial economy in order to fuel our most promising growth sectors. This is why we are restructuring the clothing and textile industry, exploring the potential for supplying critical services to oil and gas exploration activities, building capacity for the local film industry, targeting boat-building and information and communication technology sectors, and supporting and driving new tourism ventures like the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This is also why R77, the Treasury for iKapa eliHlumayo has set 7 million aside this year - to kick-start provincial growth and development.
At a much deeper level, being World Class also means understanding that we need to complete the process of reconciliation and healing the rifts of our past. Where incidents like the allegations of the mass grave in Laingsburg or the alleged unfair treatment of people like Lericia Langenhoven raise questions of discrimination, the degradation of human dignity or prejudice, our Provincial Government has acted. We will continue to show that we are not only committed to the protections of the Constitution on paper, but that we live them and actively intervene to show that coloured, white, black and Indian South Africans succeed best when working together.
In the Western Cape, the first province to do so, we also reward excellence and people who make special contributions to creating a better life in our province. That is why we recently, for the first time ever, awarded Provincial Honours to people from the Western Cape, from sporting heroes, to artists and cultural leaders, and from business people to those making direct contributions through their community work. We also wish to invite the people of our province to participate in the process in the forthcoming year, to nominate other outstanding individuals worthy of this honour.
Madame Speaker
Based on the strategic plans and priorities of each and every department of this government, Minister Rasool, our MEC for Finance and Economic Development has presented us with a Provincial Budget, which anchors this promise. The 2003 budget achieves a clearly defined focus on growth and development - balanced with real caring for those most in need. We understand that, to realise our aims, all 13 departments must strive to achieve three main goals: fiscal discipline, the restructuring of services to make them more caring, efficient and effective, and the refocusing of government on improving the lives of our communities through our commitment to iKapa eliHlumayo.
It is my pleasure to introduce today, for debate in this House, Budget Vote 1: The Provincial Administration of the Western Cape. Entrusted with the mandate of leading and co-ordinating government and governance in the Province, integrating and coordinating policy and Cabinet decisions, and facilitating and monitoring the performance of our Provincial Government, this department is at the heartbeat of iKapa eliHlumayo.
As the centre of government, the Provincial Administration is ultimately responsible for positioning our Provincial Government as an agent of service delivery - ensuring that ours is a province with an enabling and stable economic and political environment, equipped with the necessary tools to care for and support the people of the Western Cape.
Ek wil graag van hierdie geleentheid gebruik maak om ons Direkteur-Generaal, Dr Gilbert Lawrence, te bedank asook die topbestuur van die departement, vir hulle toewyding, professionaliteit en leierskap. Ek wil ook graag ons waardering uitspreek aan ons 12 departementshoofde, en elkeen van ons meer as 68 000 staatsamptenare wie se harde werk en professionaliteit steeds voortgaan om ons Regering te rat vir lewering.
Soos ek dit by die Opening van die Provinsiale Parlement in my Openingsrede uiteengesit het, het die Provinsiale Administrasie die doelwitte aanvaar van fiskale dissipline en herstrukturering om beter doeltreffendheid te bereik. As gevolg daarvan, sal die begroting van hierdie departement vanjaar met 22,5% afneem - hoofsaaklik as gevolg van interne herprioritisering (wat sal lei tot 'n afname van R10 miljoen) en deur die oordrag van die Inligtings-en-Kommunikasietegnologie (IKT) eindgebruiker-toerustingfondse na spesifieke provinsiale departemente (R101 miljoen). Ons is van die oortuiging dat hierdie desentralisering van die Inligtings-en-Kommunikasietegnologiefondse baie daartoe sal bydra om die behoefte aan te spreek vir groter aanspreeklikheid en bestuur van die inligtings-en-tegnologiebates wat deur departemente gebruik word as deel van hulle diensleweringsplatforms.
Specifically within the Provincial Administration we understand that to be World Class means that we must plan not only for the next year or two, but at least 10 or 15 years in advance - and in an integrated way. This is why the new Cabinet Cluster system has just been adopted for decision-making and planning purposes. By bringing the Western Cape in line with national Cabinet budget and planning structures, the three provincial Cabinet clusters: Economic Sector, Social Sector, and Governance and Administration, will result in improved effectiveness and seamless planning.
Op dieselfde manier, verg W
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