Issued by Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
13 November 2001
President of the Republic
Chairperson of the NCOP
Honourable Members
As public representatives of the people of our country, we were elected and mandated to implement policies and programmes that would lead to the overall improvement in the quality of life of our citizens. Working together with them and the private sector we need to ensure that the economy grows at higher rates, creates new jobs, and continues to develop into a modern and internationally competitive economy.
The overwhelming mandate we received in 1994 and 1999 respectively indicate our people's confidence in our ability to lead the process of change and steer our country to its destiny.
Having placed us in this position of responsibility and leadership, the people did not abdicate their responsibility to work with us and to give us the necessary support to ensure that we succeed. They continue to influence our policies and programmes and ensure that we do not veer of the path to a better South Africa.
A challenge for us in government is to ensure that the people are better able to participate in our work and influence legislation making and policy formulation and implementation. We are obligated to create possibilities for the exchange of information within and among communities and between government and society.
The RDP document says:
"Open debate and transparency in government and society are crucial elements of reconstruction and development. This requires an information policy which guarantees active exchange of information and opinion among all members of society. Without the free flow of accurate and comprehensive information, the RDP will lack the mass input necessary for its success".
In Gauteng we have made communication and interaction with the people on an ongoing basis an integral part of our work. In our daily work we seek to give practical meaning to the principle; "government work is public work"
Dynamic and direct interaction and dialogue with our people where they live continues to be a permanent feature of our work. This people-centred approach is a principle of democratic governance. It is also an effective mechanism to ensure that as government we are in constant communication with our people; that we indeed address their needs; that we remain accountable to them and that they are indeed able to impact on governance and work with government in addressing common challenges.
Tomorrow the Gauteng Executive Council will be visiting various communities to report back on work done since the beginning of the year. We will share with the community successes, shortcomings and challenges. Together we will develop an approach to ensure change at a faster pace.
During such interaction, we will together with communities remind ourselves of our priorities:- a growing economy that creates sustainable jobs; improved quality service delivery on areas of health, education, social welfare and housing; greater focus to create a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and united country, and greater focus on a sustained youth developmental strategy.
Above all, we will recommit ourselves on how the people can take the lead in social transformation, thereby avoiding being bystanders in their own struggle.
In further giving effect to the right to government information and services, working with both local and national government, we continue to service Multi-Purpose Community Centres to serve the people of Gauteng. So far, two MPCCs have been established, in Sebokeng and in Bronkhorstpruit.
Our approach to Multi-Purpose Community Centres is underpinned by our commitment to ensure effective provision of information and services to the citizens of Gauteng, particularly to the majority of our people who have historically been denied this access.
Access to information is key in enabling all our citizens, particularly the poor and marginalised, to use their rights and to entrench a people-centred, participatory democracy.
While the government has a duty to inform, the media also has an important role in facilitating exchange of information within and among communities and between the democratic government and society as a two-way process. Many of our people rely on the mass media as a key source of information. For this reason we have continued to engage with the media on how to improve their role in this regard.
We regard the media as an important stakeholder in Gauteng and believe that the media has an interest in securing a better future for our people and our province. We also believe the media has a social responsibility to provide citizens with information that will help improve their quality of life. We will continue to explore areas of common interest in this regard.
Thank you.
For Enquiries Contact:
Thabo Masebe at 082 410 8087