Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
PREMIER'S RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON HIS OPENING ADDRESS 1 March 1996
Honourable Speaker, fellow members.
In general the response to our opening address has been positive, productive and challenging. Of course, there are always exceptions. But more of that in a moment.
We were criticised for speaking too long. Some would say that 90 minutes to talk about the year past and the year ahead in a Province this important is nothing. The problem is that my Ministers are of such a high quality that one could not shorten their critical inputs or ignore each one of the vital departments. At least we did not outclass the 18 hour record of Chief Buthelezi, or his competitor, Fidel Castro.
As a sign of good faith today shall be brief.
Let me begin by congratulating member Cronje on his maiden speech and welcoming members Ramodibe, Mazibuko and Christodolou to the House. Additionally to welcome Mr. Khan to the Executive even though he has not been appointed to a specific portfolio as yet. And my congratulations to Minister Mavuso, the first Provincial Minister to be promoted to the national cabinet. Gauteng leads!
To the Executive, a big thank you. This is a team of industrageous and committed people who have moulded into a team of great competence and expertise.
And finally, thank you to the members of this House for your efforts during the period covered and your commitment to our joint future. And thank you also to the officials of the Legislature who work so diligently.
Having said that I am going to deal briefly with the issues raised.
With respect to housing:
At the Congress of the People in Kliptown in 1955, the people of South Africa stated the need for Home, Security and Comfort for all.
We will never retreat from this principle until all our people are housed.
Botshabelo has not been a failure it has just not worked as well as we had all hoped.
The area of housing is one where we require economic patriotism. Certain negative people have said to us "Build your houses, Slovo, but not in my backyard", "Build your houses, Tokyo, but no bonds for your people", "Build your houses, Sankie, but only with subsidies", "Build your houses, Mofokeng, but with no land". This is institutional dishonesty. I am almost tempted to say Treachery.
With the help of the financial houses, the homeless and those who have the comfort of a home we will break the logjam. We will remove the impediments and we will build as many houses as we can until all our people have a home!
On welfare I would like to add just one thought. The National Party claimed it acted with great haste in dealing with the former national Minister. But the Minister and some of his colleagues claim he was not forced out, he resigned.
We now find ourselves in a situation where Abe Williams says he is so innocent that he had to resign and the Nats say he is so guilty that we had to kick him out immediately! Does the truth lie somewhere in the region of all concerned having a fear of the law enforcement process uncovering damaging details. The scandal will unfold.
Talking of the power of Ministers we want to make it quite clear that we will not countenance any Minister in this Province losing powers in terms of the new constitution. With respect to local government powers, the matter is being addressed and will be reported on. Metropolitan policing is an issue that the Minister is engaged on as you know. She will continue discussions with the Safety and Security Committee. The Land Release programme is making progress as announced. This Province has more projects on the ground with respect to land release than any other Province.
On health the Minister has spoken for himself about the achievements and challenges. Let me just say on the issue of Cuban doctors that it seems that some members of this house are ignorant about the fact that 50% of medical graduates leave this country every year. What we need from them is professional patriotism that will see them follow the committed route of the 50% who stay to serve the people who gave them their advanced education.
We could have imported doctors from a First World country at many times the cost of the Cuban doctors. But instead we went to a country that the World Health Organisation rates as amongst the best in health care and where commitment is paramount. These doctors were evaluated by our leading medical Professors before being chosen to come to South Africa.
On Cuba let me state that obviously the business community thinks differently to the National Party. Our leading mining companies are investigating mining opportunities on that nickle and ore rich island, and significant trading opportunities have been identified in pharmaceuticals and food products by the business people who accompanied us. In today's free trade environment export opportunities bring jobs and revenue. We are well positioned to take advantage of the opening of the Cuban economy in just the same way that Canadian, Mexican, Spanish, Swiss, Japanese, German and many other corporations are doing.
Do not get confused between international political realities and domestic US politics in an election year. We were welcomed at the White House and the State Department when they knew we were heading for Cuba and we met up with prominent American business people in Havana. Further, in the post Cold War era the US/Cuba stand-off makes no practical sense. I get the impression that certain members of this house miss the Cold War and its implications. It is the same amongst American conservatives.
With this in mind let me position the remarks made about Angola in the context of the international environment of the time. First of all. Angola was a tragedy of South African fighting South African. The liberation movement had not only camps in Angola, but hospitals, houses and kindergartens. The Cubans were requested to come in to avoid another Cassinga.
The tragedy is that we lost friends and you lost friends. We all lost fellow South Africans. Your tears are our tears. But what is a disgrace is that the former government sent the cream of the white youth into that war while, all the time, hiding it from Parliament and the public. Thousands of South Africans lost their lives while the regime denied that there were South Africans in Angola. That is the tragedy. But, thank God, those days have past. We work out our differences here in this House, not in a strange land with deadly weapons. The wounds remain ... both physical and psychological. Let us help each other to heal them together.
It is worth noting that the impression is created that we were amongst the first South African leaders to go to Cuba. We were amongst the first legitimate leaders ... But, while young South Africans were dying in Angola, senior members of the regime were smoking cigars and drinking champagne in Havana as part of humiliating negotiations to secure the freedom of captured South Africans.
Our healing the wounds of Cuito is part of our commitment to reconciliation. We must be sensitive to the needs of Afrikaners because, to coin a phrase of another American President, "Ek is 'n Afrikaner". As part of the rainbow nation we are all Afrikaners. When certain members make threatening noises about the Afrikaner I ask myself which Afrikaners are they talking about. The Afrikaners who chanted enthusiastically at President Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park? The Afrikaner farmers who we have been helping with labour issues? The Afrikaans churches who repented for the sin of apartheid and who had to see their leader gunned down in cold blood? The Afrikaner Youth who sent a message of support with the President to FNB stadium for the soccer? My spouse who is from Van Vuuren stock? Or those Afrikaners who parade around in Khaki, imitating Boer Generals De La Rey and Botha, but falling off their horses in the process. My friends, we are all Afrikaners. We are all one nation. We are all committed to nation-building. When an investor arrives, he doesn't ask whether his employees will be black or white, Afrikaans or Sotho. They employ South Africans.
When we go abroad on an investment mission we go on behalf of all South Africans. We generate shared growth for all South Africans, we create sustainable jobs for all South Africans.
And member Leon must not ask insipid questions about delegations who work themselves to the bone flying 14 times in 16 days, when he asks nothing about the R2 billion brought from East Asia or the funds brought from Switzerland and the US. That is unconstructive, ignorant, slanted criticism that has no place in a house of this standing.
His looseness with the facts is underscored by the constructive contributions made by some of his colleagues such as member Goodal, whose views are often different to ours, but he is instructive and constructive and as a consequence when he speaks, we listen.
In this debate member Leon claimed that business (and particularly the Central Jhb Partnership) is having difficulties with the Provincial and Local Governments. Yesterday I received a letter from the executive director of the CJP. He states the following (Read entire letter).
The facts speak for themselves.
As we hope is now clear, following on from member Feinstein, Clinton said to President Bush - " its about the economy, stupid". So we say, in South African parlance, "This speech is about the economy, donner".
It's about jobs and growth. It's about basic needs and empowerment. It's about Gauteng leading South Africa towards an economic miracle that will ensure a better life for all. And to do that we all need to work together as one.
One Province. One Nation.
And when we talk about education we talk about schools for all South Africans.
The fringe right wing have failed to get a Volkstaat in SA, now they want little Volkstaats everywhere. We say:
We will not allow our children to be de-educated. We will not adhere to the failed policies of the past that brought ignorance, poverty and isolation.
Do not imprison the children of this nation in the ignorant ideas of the past. Don't abuse our children mentally. Don't turn the children of this great land against the democratic, freedom-loving values of our constitution. They will grow up to scorn you just as Verwoerd's grandchildren have scorned him and his message of hate!
Our education Minister has done remarkable work in the worst of circumstances. She has had to take the brunt of the cuts that have allowed us to establish fiscal discipline. She is carrying this Province. And in her work lie our future engineers, our future accountants, our future entrepreneurs.
And remember we must be realistic about these budgetary constraints. We cannot have fiscal discipline and massive spending on each and every department. We cannot say show fiscal discipline, but spend more and more. We will rather spend what we have more effectively and on the basis of our new priorities.
This Province has a track-record on spending that Member Leon mustn't come with stories about a spendthrift Premier with three cars when I have one VW and a police car that must be with me by law. And that these two cost less than his one private car. When we have pool cars that are inappropriate to use to transport the Queen of England or Denmark, the President of France or Zimbabwe. In this Province there is no Wabenzi for the Premier, no official house. Although we are discussing the possibility of a vehicle for Heads of State as a courtesy to them.