6 JULY 1999
Mr Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable members of the Legislature
Their Majesties the Kings
Honourable Amakhosi
Mayors and councillors
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
History teaches us that humans prove their worth not in good times, but in times of challenges and stress. This is when the weakest go to the wall and the best come into their own.
Indeed the past weeks, months and years were trying times, not only for this government and the people of this province, but also to all South Africans. We can be glad that we are on the road to a great future!
This will not be easy, but we will get there. We can be proud that we have been able to lay the foundation to effect change to the lives of our people. With no experience, from prisons, bushes and trenches in the streets, those who came before us - and of course some are still serving in this government - selflessly dedicated every ounce of their being to create a province out of disjointed entities. And for this the people of this province will be forever grateful.
I must thank our former Premier, Cde Mathews Phosa, and his team, for the contribution they made towards guaranteeing a better life for all our people. I say this out of a genuine appreciation for a job well done under difficult circumstances.
Talking about our former President Nelson Mandela, the late Comrade Oliver Tambo, himself a former President of the ANC said; "Mandela is imprisoned not for his personal defiance of apartheid laws but because he asserted the claims of a whole people living and dying under the most brutal system of race rule the world knows."
It was through that selfless, self-sacrificial and devoted efforts of Comrade Mandela, and others like him in this country, that we are today guaranteed equality, that we can vote in free and fair elections and can enjoy freedoms like the right to speak without fear of being imprisoned,
But above all, our people, for the first time in more than 300 years, have a constitutional right to food, shelter, employment, basic education and access to health facilities.
Mr Speaker, the people of this province have all their trust in us and we owe them a commitment as government, on whose behalf I speak, to deliver to all, even to those in the remotest of areas. We must ensure that the commitments we made to the people of Mpumalanga during the election campaign become a reality.
In the past five years we were reconstructing and reconciling. Now is the time to consolidate, develop and deliver to fulfil our people's expectations
On behalf of my colleagues in the Executive and all of us here in this Chamber, I wish to make this solemn pledge that we shall not fail our people.
We have committed ourselves to:
We already have plans in place to turn these goals of ours into a reality. Our people are vigilant, they cannot be deceived. They will judge us on our word.
In terms of speeding up the delivery of basic needs and developing human resources, our programmes on poverty alleviation, recreation, housing, welfare, healthcare and education need to be accelerated in order to improve the Human Development Index (HDI) in our Province.
We will spare no effort in ensuring that we build clinics in Verena, Kabokweni, Lefiso, Moloto, Nokaneng, Buffelspruit, Seabe and Mmamethlake as well as a pharmaceutical depot.
Already a number of hospitals and psychiatric facilities are under construction or in the process of being upgraded. In some cases upgrading has been completed like at Shongwe and Tonga. Other hospitals where there are upgrades or construction work is Witbank, Piet Retief, Themba, Phola-Nsikazi and Daggakraal.
We will facilitate the construction of 288 classrooms, 10 Specialist Rooms, 10 Administration Blocks and 856 Toilets. But we must agree that this infrastructure will be meaningless if there is no culture of learning in our schools. Our work as Government must ensure that we leave no stone unturned in ensuring that we create the best environment and conditions for our children in schools.
Our housing projects - including extensions, consolidation projects, the people's housing project subsidies and hostels - must deliver on their promise.
No pensioner in Mpumalanga must go without a pension.
We must intensify our poverty alleviation programmes, and build additional elderly centres, women support centres, community-based substance abuse treatment centres and social development centres.
My office will continue its work to support and monitor programmes aimed at our women, the disabled and our youth through its Office of the Status of Women, the Disability Desk and the Provincial Youth Commission. Of no less importance here are our campaigns aimed at Aids Awareness and Violence against Women, as well as the Child Abuse Project and the eradication of death or maiming through preventable diseases.
The recreation activities of our people are, to us, an important component of socio-economic rights.
We will facilities the development of Arts and Culture Centres in parts of our province. We will also be upgrading the KaNyamazane Stadium.
Building the economy and creating jobs, achieving growth, advancing worker rights, promoting investment have always been our priority.
We face tough challenges to facilities economic development. We will develop and implement six industrial clusters in the Province. These are the Stainless Steel Cluster in Middelburg, Wood Cluster in Piet Retief, Petro Chemical Cluster in Secunda, and the Tourism Cluster in the Escarpment, Lowveld and some areas of our Province.
The agro-industry in Nkomazi promises to create substantial employment opportunities through Lake Matsamo irrigation schemes. There is potential for adding value to the wool Cluster in the Ermelo area.
These strategically focused cluster will be the engine for economic growth in our Province.
The Maputo Corridor project will assist to accelerate economic activity in this Province in that eight of the twelve Maputo Corridor anchor projects will be promoted and established.
I am happy to announce that our government will be hosting a conference later this year to facilitate the implementation of the anchor projects. I invite business and other stakeholders to join hands with us in making this initiative a success.
The Maputo Corridor project is also a vehicle for regional economic development in our part of Africa. Through this project Mozambique and Swaziland, together with Mpumalanga, have joined hands.
We are discussing the Borderlands concept which we hope, will culminate in the identification of cross border programmes and projects that will benefit regional development.
The interaction of our province with Africa and the world is in no way limited to this. We have co-operation agreements with other provinces in countries such as Germany, Canada, Austria, Egypt, and Mozambique itself. It is my intention to assess the strength of each of these agreements and opportunities that arise with each of them.
There is a number of vexing problems in the province and I would be failing in my duty as Premier if I do not mention to you that these will be attended to.
We are currently doing an audit of all under-utilised government assets including buildings, with a view of ensuring that these are properly utilised.
May I also mention that we need to finalise the much talked about transformation of the Mpumalanga Development Corporation soon. Talk about transformation without actual action is not good enough.
There have been serious problems around education. I expect to make an important announcement in this regard in the next few days. May I also take this opportunity to announce that the problems of the Parks and Gaming boards will be speedily attended to.
Mr Speaker, there have been exciting developments in the agricultural sector. For example our government has introduced Diploma and Certificate courses in plant production and extension in addition to non-formal training based on the province's needs.
Extension and advisory programmes in Agriculture, Soil Conservation and Veterinary Services, are in place. And so are the Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health programmes, as well as the Agricultural Technology development and adaptation programmes.
Our community-based public works projects are also essential to job creation. I have in mind projects such as the Phiva Community Hall, Sacred Heart Community Hall, Vezubuhle Community Hall, Mbangwane Multi purpose centre, Leandra storm Water Drain, Moloto Employment project and the Mbuzini access roads initiative.
Commuters, motorists and taxi-drivers can rest assured the upgrading our roads will be a priority for this Government. Plans in this regard are in place for areas such as Mashiding, Siyabuswa, Amersfoort, Daggakraal, Moloto, Moteti, Elukwatini, Mooiplaas and Driefontein.
Many of our people, especially those in the remotest parts, have no access to clean water. In some cases people have walk more than half-a-day to find water which in some cases is not even drinkable. This is a challenge that we must take together with the relevant national department to bring water to the doorstep of every household in the province.
In the run-up to the elections crime and corruption featured prominently on the manifestations of a number of political parties. Combating these two evils is a challenge not only for us, but the whole country. We must be firm and decisive in dealing with the perpetrators of crime and corruption. They can expect no mercy from us.
To this end we will vigorously implement the crime awareness campaign. Our police will be better equipped. We will accelerate the transformation of the South African Police Service. Above all we will ensure better police visibility and effectiveness through community-based policing and crime-prevention.
Mr Speaker, in his opening address to Parliament, President Thabo Mbeki listed the greater area of Kanyamazane as a crime hotspot. We are going to flush out these criminals in places like Pienaar.
The gloves are off.
We are going to hound you in the morning, during the day, at night - every hour of the day. The same goes for fraudsters and corrupt officials. We will weed them out and they will be dealt with decisively.
Fighting corruption involves not only improving and strengthening our financial management systems, but also maintaining tight control over financial matters in the Province. This is a challenge that we must all face with a high level of determination.
Our province will be judged in the next five years by the number of strides we will take in facing up to this challenge. We owe it to our people to be among the best run provinces in this country.
Mr Speaker, our public service is currently undergoing immense transformation to ensure that efficiency, effectiveness, and speedy service delivery, do indeed take place.
We will in the next few, months witness the official launch of the Provincial Service Standards that will commit us as Government to improving service delivery.
Our government is committed to the eight (8) Batho Pele principles, and it is within this context that I expect all officials at all levels in the civil service to also commit themselves.
The Batho Pele programme will ensure that we attach ethics and responsiveness to the call of duty in each and every public servant. We must root out corruption, nepotism and non-performance in the public service.
The new Public Service Regulation took effect from the first of July 1999. This ushers in a new momentum and a great challenge to both the Executive Council and senior officials in Departments to ensure that all policies brought in by new dispensation are applied to the letter.
We must ensure that the more than 52 000 workforce is motivated to realise the delivery that our people expect.
Mr Speaker, for us as government to succeed in carrying out our plans, a partnership with the people, including organised business and labour, small and medium-size business and NGOs, will be crucial. I am happy to announce that in the next few weeks we will be taking our programme and this message to all regions of this Province.
All said, Mr Speaker, the challenges that lie ahead require more than mere partnership with the people and our determination. All what we do must be informed by a vision that sees Africa rising into a giant in the next century.
This vision must unify us around common goals and objectives. This calls upon us to close ranks, to overcome barriers that not only stand between this vision, and us but also separate us as patriots.
Ditau gedisena seboka, dikashitwa ke nare ehlotsha.
No longer must our people be victims of poverty, violence and deprivation in the midst of abundance and opulence. We are more fortunate than thousands that came before us that we, this generation, can now give flesh and blood to a dream that inspired generation after generation for centuries.
Yes, we shall be judged by the sins we commit, but the worst of all possible sins will be to fail our people on this historic challenge.
I thank you