10 February 2000
Mr Speaker
Honourable Deputy Speaker
Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders
Kings of the Six Regions in the Eastern Cape
Distinguished Diplomats
Members of the Security Cluster (Justice, Police, Defence and Correctional Services)
Religious Leaders
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Distinguished representatives of Local Government
Distinguished guests from all walks of life
INTRODUCTION
My few years in Parliament and this Legislature have taught me that politicians tend not to make a difference between Reporting to the House and opening speeches. The former is done by each Department to inform the House on what has been done and what new programmes are contemplated. The opening address is an attempt by a Government to explain why a particular policy route will be preferred to others. It is an attempt to argue for the legitimacy and moral correctness of its policies and programmes. In doing so, the address reviews the past, scans the present and charts the way forward. This is what we will attempt to do.
At the dawn of the 21st Century, the whole world was glued to their TV sets. The Melanesian islands of Fiji, Tonga were the first to enter this Century or Millennium. Miami and Alaska were the last. But more coverage was given to the entry of New Zealand, Australia, Miami and the US (Alaska) than the front-runner islands. This was a macrocosm of which we are a microcosm - the problem of the colour line. History has destined us to tackle and change this situation.
THE REVIEW
Almost 10 years ago, South Africa embarked on a new route, the route of a negotiated settlement. We say "almost" because, contrary to the modern version of events, negotiations between the ANC and the Government of the time started in the mid eighties, not in 1990. People like Cobbie Coetzee, not Mr F.W. De Klerk, were pivotal in such discussions. These, of course, led to the expected announcements of February 1990 and the rest that followed. Exciting and challenging times for South Africa and the world.
The period between 1994 and 1999 saw South Africa grapple with the tasks of Reconciliation and Nation building on the one side and of socio-economic Transformation on the other side. Only the insane, the infants or outright liars will deny the FACT that South Africa succeeded very well at the political level. Where we have not done as well as we would have liked is at the socio-economic level.
As a Government, we set our primary objective as the establishment of a free non-racist, non-sexist and Democratic South Africa. Aristotle argues that the basis of a democratic state is liberty. One of the principles of such liberty is the opportunity for all to rule and be ruled in turn (the election of leaders by all out of all). Aristotle, however warns that Responsibility and Justice are part of democracy. Everyone should be responsible to others. There is no such thing as absolute freedom, he says.
We can all be proud for achieving the above elements of democracy. Those who thought they could put up squatter camps on the road or next to the Ministerial complex in Bisho have tasted such restrictions on their misguided desires to do anything they want.
Both Plato and Aristotle agree that for democracy to work, a country needs statesmen (and states women) rather than politicians. Qualities of the statesperson are given as patriotism, modesty, good manners, the quest for the virtue of the citizens. As Aristotle puts it: "he who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander." [The Works of Aristotle -Book III 1277b]. The statesperson, says Plato, does not follow the formula: "Help your friends and harm your enemies." [The Republic I, IX]. By contrast, the politician is portrayed as an opportunist and a demagogue. We cannot say that members of this House, Government and of the Eastern Cape have always showed statesmanship. Most of the time we have heard or seen the opportunistic politician. This does not help our fledging democracy very much.
All analysts agree that the greater difficulty is to preserve democracy than to attain it. Vigilance is always needed against the destructive elements of society. Aristotle warns that the way even a Democratic constitution is administered should take into account the way citizens respond to it. For transformation to democracy to work, the new government may have to use tactics that are not in themselves democratic. This is because, says Aristotle, "good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government." (ibid. 1293b). Both Plato, Lenin and a number of other authors support this view. Our experience in South Africa and the Eastern Cape compels us to agree with them. Good people are not always good citizens, and vice-versa. The democratisation of society is not an event. It is a process. Of course those in power have to resist the temptation to revert to an undemocratic form of governance.
The above statement is not intended to threaten the Human Rights ethos. It is merely a realistic analysis based on our experience. In fact the ambivalence between being accused as a soft government at some stage and a harsh one at others confirms our view. As leaders of this Province, we are determined to lead our people without fear in the knowledge that their jostling opinions will in time catch up with what is right. We know that children of democrats are not necessarily democrats too. Society must be led not followed.
Statesmanship, it has been said, is a practical science, the foundation of which is knowledge of the history of how the problems to be dealt with arose in the first place. We cannot be found wanting at this level. But the solution itself takes time to make sense to those witnessing and expecting without making a contribution. In such things ten years are like one day. [And then days follow which are a concentration of the essence of the efforts of twenty years or more.] We live in the period in between.
THE PRESENT
Both in July 1999 as well as in December 1999 we clearly stated that total freedom is still evasive. Racism and discrimination in the access to resources and services is still rife, we said. This did not go down well to some. But these utterances have since been repeated (albeit differently) by many analysts, including the President of the Republic of South Africa. We must reiterate that there is need for a new spirit of patriotism in this Province. Even if you hate the Governing Party, please refrain from damaging the potential of our Province. It is the only place some of us have, unlike the 800,000 S. Africans with British passport Mrs Thatcher was referring to in 1986.
One of the opposition Parties had accused us of not planning for the future. I hope that Party will find solace in the knowledge that we have completed our strategic planning for the next five (5) years. Our priorities have been determined predictably as: co-ordination of good governance, improving the Education and training of our people, providing the much-needed infra-structure, improving the economic well-being of our people especially through Agriculture, Tourism and SMMEs and also to do battle against unemployment, poverty and HIV/AIDS. Each of the relevant Departments has developed its own programme around these priorities. Of course Human Resource Development remains our priority and will be until all are satisfied with the levels of service delivery by public servants. In short, we are committed to creating an Eastern Cape Province which is non-racial, non-sexist and democratic, where the disparities of the apartheid legacy are a thing of the past. We repeat what we said last year, this is not going to be easy. But we are determined to win.
But, Mr Speaker, we have also trimmed our 5-year Plan into a short-term Plan for the year 2000. We are confident that we will do well in fulfilling these plans. We have an enthusiastic and committed Executive Council. Very diligent young people. We are confident that members of this House and Councillors will be able to carry the community with them as we try to implement policies mandated by this House. Both the NGO's, CBO's, Churches, Traditional leaders, Business, Labour and the rest of civil society will help by putting their shoulders behind our shared vision : A Better Life For All the People of this Province. No patriot can be opposed to this.
OUR PROGRAMME FOR THE FUTURE
THE OFFICE OF THE PREMIER
This Department is not responsible for a line function. Rather it co-ordinates the functions of the Provincial administration and Departments. It is to give leadership and support to the administration of the various spheres and sectors of the Province. We are also responsible for policy research, development and implementation. This is what we are going to do and we have organised our organogram accordingly. We mean to be hands-on, as usual, without taking over line functions of Departments
As the main political office in the Province, we mean to keep close interaction with foreign Governments to encourage investor confidence. As such we will continue to denounce disruptive and anti-Eastern Cape strikes like the recent one at VWSA. We call on all our people to desist from creating further hardship for others by following misguided demagogues with no political vision. We take this opportunity to commend the way both NUMSA, COSATU, the Leadership of the Alliance as well as the Management of VWSA for not bending down to unprogressive demands. We have promised to protect and create jobs; no one will be allowed to derail this objective.
One of our biggest challenges continues to be corruption. The Anti-Corruption Summit held in East London last November was a dynamic partnership of Government, civil-society and the broad public. The Report of that Summit has now been released. We are committed to an effective and systematic implementation of the Resolutions of that Summit. The Director-General will lead this process of implementation.
The Provincial Anti-Corruption Forum will be in place by the end of this month. It will be chaired by the Director-General and will be formed by all sections of society, including women, youth and people with disabilities. The Forum will launch and sustain anti-corruption campaigns.
The Summit proposed the establishment of an Audit Committee. The processing of nominees to this Committee has already begun. The Internal Audit Division has been established and will be fully functional by the end of March. The filling of the posts will, however, be staggered.
An Information Manager for the Provincial Administration has also been appointed in line with the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) policy. Steps have also been taken to strengthen our interaction with some of the existing anti-corruption agencies.
Mr Speaker, allow me to duly declare the year 2000 as the Provincial Anti-Corruption Year. May many be found who share my commitment to making such campaign against corruption worthwhile.
Cabinet work has been put under three main Clusters : Social Needs, Economic Development, and Public Service and Administration. The Service Delivery Committee of Cabinet co-ordinates the plans of these clusters. This way planning is integrated and Departments work as one team. The Budget is also allocated on the basis of agreed-upon Provincial priorities. This does not mean we have enough funds. Hence the MEC for Finance will be heard talking a lot about "ring-fencing" of certain funds this year. What cannot be done in one year will be done in another year. We cannot rely on spontaneous allocation of resources. To this end we are pleased to announce that the National Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Plan is alive. A lot of plans have gone into it but local communities in the Wild Coast District must still interact with the process and plan with us how to participate. Mr Nogxina co-ordinates the process at national level and our Director-General does the same at the Provincial level. The President assured South Africa this programme will be implemented this year.
Our Office is also engrossed in endeavours to improve inter-Governmental co-operation amongst Provincial and National Departments, Local Government, Service Providers and the Private sector. We are improving every month the way Government works as one institution.
Training of Civil Servants continues to be our priority. Resources from countries like Sweden, the UK, Germany etc. continue to be helpful in this respect. Our office co-ordinates these efforts. Our immediate target is the improvement of the management of leave and performance management so that the performance contracts can work effectively. This year we also expect to see our final and full participation in SITA.
We hope to bring government even closer to the people by dismantling regional offices and strengthening District offices. More decision-making will be delegated to the District level where Districts are ready. The vexing question of personnel additional to the establishment should be finalised this year. As we reported last year, the relevant Minister is negotiating a new wage policy as well as developing a national retrenchment tool.
All these need to be vigorously brought to the knowledge of all our people. For this reason our Communication Section together with the National GCIS will be kept very busy. We hope our hot-lines with the Media will remain hot. Without exaggeration, reporting has improved in this Province as compared to a few years ago. The First Prize must again go to SABC's Umhlobo Wenene. This is a media house which leaves no stone in trying to be an INFORMATION Resource rather than a political activist. They too have their mistakes. We all have such mistakes. But they are trying hard. Transformation is not easy. Not even for the media. The Daily Dispatch has also improved. May we all keep on improving. Our Province deserves it. Modern day advocates of the rural poor need to check all facts - both of the situation as well as of their actions. One reporter told me it was a successful marketing strategy for their Newspaper to have a Headline like : "Another Bisho Bungle." This is probably true of the sales. But at what price to integrity?
EDUCATION
This is the most pressing challenge and a tricky one. It is an emotional issue and commentators tend to go into preferred corners. For instance while we agree with Mr Kin Bentley that we need to get back to the roots in sorting out our Education, (E.P. Herald, 22/1/2000) we cannot agree with some of his analysis of what is happening and what must be done. He even claims that civil servants were efficient under apartheid. He probably has no experience of how people were turned into cunning law-breakers as they flouted apartheid laws (influx control laws, tax laws, fraudulent charges in house tenancy etc.). I suppose he "did not know".
The MEC will go into detail on our plans to improve the management of education, the morale and discipline of educators, the discipline of learners and the capacity of SGB's and parents. I wish to mention only the following issues in respect of Education: Plato regards Education as the major tool for the statesmen in building democracy. We agree with him. To that end, our children and the illiterate adults MUST be educated and trained. The hard/productive sciences must be taught to as many as possible. But they must also be taught critical and systematic thinking. Only this way will ALL participate EQUALLY in the democratic and economic processes.
MEC Sizani has our full support in his programme of not compromising with indolence, indiscipline and mediocrity. If this looks like a guerrilla strategy to some, so be it. We do not have the luxury of being nice and of begging people to do what they must. We must and will turn the education situation in our Province.
About farm schools; most of those who talk about it know little about it. ALL of them have never attended a farm school (unlike the MEC and myself). We are very concerned with the situation. But our solution is not to make segregated schooling workable. Farm schools must be phased out. Our children, like their white counter-parts since the Second World War, must attend boarding schools in town. This, in our view, is a more empowering and transformative approach. The MEC has been asked to research the situation, budget for the future and bring forth the enabling law.
Lastly, the MEC and I have agreed that middle class and professionals should be organised to assist in the revival of Education in this Province. Churches and the Private sector must assist in providing buildings so that we can do our core work, providing education and training.
With all the tornadoes that destroy the inadequate infra-structure, in our schools, we cannot be expected to build ALL the required schools. Focus will be on efficient management of what we have. More schools will be provided later. We must develop centres of excellence.
AGRICULTURE
This is not a farming Department. It must and will focus on providing advisory services and regulatory framework to improve the production of marketable commodities. The production of food and fibre goods will contribute to food security and economic activity. These will alleviate poverty and improve the state of health.
Together with the other Departments in the Economic Development Cluster and in partnership with private agencies and District Councils the Department will play a great part in rebuilding the economy of this rural Province. Pilot project in Olives, sugar beet, hemp etc. already show how great our potential is. Much work must still be done on developing land use and land tenure policies. This is necessary for there is no example in history where peasants readily adopt new techniques which need specialisation. History has, however, shown that powerful, productivity-raising advances in agriculture almost always have been bound up with increased specialisation. The Department will constantly stimulate communities towards specialisation and improved food production.
HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Urban areas continue to be smarmed by informal settlements. The Department is challenged, therefore, to be innovative in providing houses. The People Housing Process will be promoted as it provides larger and less expensive houses. But housing will be part of the urban and rural planning strategies. Departments like Water Affairs, Health, Education etc. (Social Needs Cluster) will work closely together to maximise resources and accessibility to infrastructure.
A major Challenge will be at the Local Government level. Hitherto we tended to be hesitant from getting involved with local authorities. Clearly they need our assistance in a number of management systems, technical and other levels. The transition to the new demarcations and municipalities is going to be demanding at the political leadership level also. We are confident that with the leadership of the MEC Nkwinti, we are ready for these challenges.
The question of intergrating rural and "urban" communities needs a lot of interaction between government and traditional leaders and communities. There is a lot of disinformation that is doing the rounds already. Most of it is based on limited information or simple selfishness. For who can boldly say that they want rural communities to be excluded from development AGAIN? The myth that rural and traditional communities are unique to Africa must be exposed for the opportunism that lies behind it. ALL countries of the world once had rural and tribal communities. They only think unique about Africa is that we left way behind in socio-economic development. We do not want to remain behind.
HEALTH AND WELFARE
Improvement here in the long term will be a product of better education, less poverty and an improved economic situation. In the meantime we must strengthen the Victim Empowerment Programmes with respect to victims of child and domestic violence. Access to social security grants and old age pensions will be priority number one. The long-delayed outsourcing of payment and securing of resources will be finalised. The Department will then be released to perform its core function, viz. the development of an integrated and comprehensive developmentally oriented social security system. This, hopefully, will lead to a statutory framework which averts the sad saga of the late Mr Engelbrecht and many faceless others like him who die unnoticed in the corners of our rural areas. The Department will also develop a better strategy for our participation in non-state hospitals. To shoulder 90% of running costs and participate in 10% of decision making cannot be right.
With the assistance of Legal Services Section, the MEC for Health has been instructed to develop legal frame work that will deal with the problems related to the circumcision of young men in this province. The continued mutilations and death of the initiates can no longer be tolerated. Enough workshops and speeches have been organised around this issue. We must now protect both the lives of these young people, the morals of our society and the cultural values of our people. It is common knowledge that the real problem there is negligence and indiscipline on the part of the parents and sometimes the initiates themselves misbehave. Parents and relatives will now be provided with a mechanism to lay charges against whoever is responsible for the unfortunate occurances around the rite of circumcision. Offenders must be sent to jail. We believe this is the only message that will make sense to the negligent parents and irresponsible ingcibi and amakhankatha.
The Department of Health will also concentrate on improving the management, equipping and administration of existing institutions. Clinics without water, electricity or access roads will benefit from our integrated plans. Immediate challenges are the reduction of maternal deaths; reduction of infant immortality and the death of children under five (5) years old. Access to immunisation will be increased and ongoing constructions will be completed.
HIV/AIDS continues to be the most outstanding singular challenge, not only for Health. It is a welfare, labour, economy and all - embrassive threat and challenge. The MEC for Heath has been charged with the co-ordination of a Provincial HIV/AIDS strategy under the guidance of the Premier's Office. All Departments have budgeted in personnel, money, policy or in other kind for the battle against HIV/AIDS. The MEC for Finance will say more on this when the time comes for that.
CRIME
It is common knowledge that crime in Tsolo, Qumbu, Port St Johns taxis and on the farms has dropped in this Province. This is no cause for complacency. We must still do more. We salute the security forces that have achieved these relatively low levels of crime. It is proper at this stage to formally welcome Ms Karen Geyer who heads our Provinces' unit of the Scorpion. May her sting paralyse all thought of criminality. We give them our full support. This should be no source of envy to other policing units. "One for All and All for one". One Police Service One Objective.
We have always contended that the final solution to crime is economic improvement. The rich already posses the external/material advantages that tempt the have-nots to commit crime. I refer members to my favourite quotation of St Anton Rupest: "If they don't eat we don't sleep". So we must focus on the short to medium strategies of combating crime. These are : strengthening policing structures, implement the National Crime Prevention Strategies and making sure as many sectors of society as possible participate in fighting crime. Awareness and alertness campaigns are important here for building a vigilant society.
The New Commissioner of Police will have to review the policing structures, demarcation of areas and allocation of resources. This must be done so that policing and resources are equitably distributed. At this point let us wish Commissioner Slabber a restful retirement.
ROADS AND PUBLIC WORKS
This is one of our priority Departments, for obvious reasons. The recent rains have not made our challenges here any lighter. So we have decided to attack the road crisis in a staggered way. Rather than focus on one road at a given financial year, we believe we can achieve more by spreading our funds over a number of years. To this end substantive funds have been earmarked for Roads repairs and construction. The Department together with District Councils and National Departments will be better equipped this time to attack its tasks. We hope the Build and Transfer strategy will access private sector funds too. Together with other Public Works Community Projects, this will provide jobs to many people. Above all, it will provide the much needed infra-structure for economic growth and Tourism.
SPORT, ARTS, CULTURE AND RECREATION
This Department must and will continue to build the marginalised cultures and sports persons of this Province. This is important for the psychological Renaissance of our people. Self esteem and mutual respect will only come when we can all look at each other as equal citizens of South Africa. Apartheid will not go away by sacrificing "the nigger" and the game will be easy as Milner thought on 1899 (Milner Papers). We must affirm all equally if the South African Nation is to be a balanced nation.
Together with Local Government, the Department will work at the accessing of facilities to all. With the Department of Education they will work at developing a sustainable schedule for schools sport which integrate our schools. I am not amused at finding an all-white schools tournament in Sundlands and an all-African schools tournament in New Brighton. This is contrary to our stated objectives of building a non-racial society.
Mr Speaker, allow me to pause here and salute all Eastern Cape top performers of the last and current seasons. We are proud of them. We are also proud of the excavations by Rhodes University near Humansdorp. We need to market these achievements vigorously. Without a good performance by this Department, Tourism will be the poorer.
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
I left this part till the end for the sake of emphasis. Of all the challenges facing South Africa and the Eastern Cape, Economic growth is simply the most important. On it depends education resources, jobs, social services and a better quality of life. It is also the most controversial (at the theoretical level). I hope, like good wine that comes last, that it will generate a lot of debate which may lead to a better consensus. Here we go:
GEAR is the given economic policy of our Government. It is designed to be a fiscal reform aimed at reducing the size of government deficit, lowering inflationary pressure and to build investor-confidence. It is hoped that the recurrent economic growth will lead to more jobs and resources to meet social backlogs.
Unfortunately most of its opponents do not quite understand gear. Some of those who oppose it have no alternative policies to offer. They have opinions on how the economy will grow. The South East Asia economic crisis affected world economies, including ours. So the anticipated percentage growth was not achieved. The end result was that jobs were lost, the economy did not grow fast enough and poverty remained with us.
Should we then change gear in respect of economic policies?
It seems to me that what we need to do is to retain GEAR but improve it by incorporating a socio-economic strategy that must address the demands for greater equality. No one says we should retain the old economic policy framework. But international research shows that the positive elements of economic reform take time to be realised. This raises the sense of insecurity and inequality in a community. South Africa is experiencing such tensions. The tension between the need to fulfil the promises of equality and a macro-economic policy that seems to deliver inequality is great. But in order to fulfil the promises of equality the state needs the wealth generated by a competitive market economy. From it will be funded education, health, houses etc. This is the case in the capitalist reality of South Africa.
The Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Plan, the urban Renewal Programme and other economy - improvement strategies are designed to address the needs of the poor simultaneously with the building of the economy. This should complement GEAR. So we are opting for the development of such socio-economic strategies that must complement than replace GEAR. We do this conscious of the macro-economic context in which we live.
For this reason MEC Godongwana and the Economic Development Cluster will focus on developing the sound strategies and sell them to National Government. We will also step up our development of SMMEs and Tourism as well as agriculture-based economy. We were pleased to hear the President announce the restructuring of Khula and Ntsika. Together with IDC, Transnet, and other parastatals and the private sector, we should be able to improve on work already started. The contribution of NGO's and their expertise is going to be helpful here.
Both Coega and the Wild Coast SDI's will be active this year. This will strengthen the already strong investments in the manufacture sector in this Province. We will work harder to get Home Affairs to be more receptive and responsive to the needs of potential investors. At the moment the situation is just embarrassing. We hope that the Transport sector as well as the hawkers will gear them up to benefit from these developments.
Black Economic Empowerment needs more co-ordination and attention. The Anglo-American Co-operation continued to dominate the economy long after the Nats took over in 1948. The situation has not changed today. Afrikaners fought for over 10 years since 1948 before they could get a foothold in commerce and industry. The time of the grand - children of the mine-workers and farm - workers has also arrived for them to have a foothold in the economy of our country - by fair and legal means. Only those who think we are inferior creatures will disagree with this.
The African woman who subsidised the super profits of the mines from miserable earnings in the reserves and the farms must get her chance. The youth who was "too chicky" to be employed and was marginalised in the labour market must get their chance. People with disabilities must also be incorporated in the economy. The relevant Cabinet Cluster is working on strategies to make these happen. The relevant MEC will provide the details.
CONCLUSION
We have come a long way over the last 10 years. The prospects of success continue to be bright to those who see beyond the immediate fog. To go beyond the sordid legacy of glaring disparities left by a violent system of the systematic oppression and exploitation of its majority we need a dynamic economic growth and an innovative socio-economic development strategy. It is not race that gives to inequality but inequality that gives rise to racism. We must fight inequality and poverty. This needs strong statesmanship and leadership. We are not lacking in these.
Political freedom does not automatically create social justice. We will continue the quest for economic justice and growth. We have built a good network which is beginning to pay dividends in investments. The requisite action plans are in place. We are aware, as Plato says, that the ideal situation is only a pattern to build towards. But we are determined to get as close to the ideal as possible. Not only for the ANC members. Not only for Africans. For ALL the people of God in our Province.
We are determined to be bequeath to posterity a better place than the one we inherited. No one can do better than that.
Thank you for your ears.
Isued by the Office of the Premier,
10 February 2000