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Madame Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP,
Honourable Members of our National Parliament,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Chief Justice of South Africa as well as other members of our judiciary,
Heads of the Security Services,
Governor of the Reserve Bank,
Honourable Premiers and MECs,
Traditional leaders,
Representatives of Local Government,
President Mandela and Mrs. Machel,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow South Africans:
Decision makers across the globe have
accepted the reality that the global struggle to eradicate poverty and
underdevelopment is fundamental to the well-being of human society.
We know this as a matter of fact that the
struggle to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment in our own country is
fundamental to the achievement of our own national goal to build a
caring and people-centred society.
Of decisive importance to the millions of
our people and the future of our country, as we meet here today, the
central question we will have to answer at the end of the day is whether
what we are doing as the legislature, the executive and the judiciary,
as well as the fourth estate, is helping to lift from the shoulders of
our people, the intolerable burden of poverty and underdevelopment.
This fourth opening session of our second
democratic parliament, including the debate that will take place next
week, must answer this question in a frank, honest and forthright
manner.
What I know and can say without any
equivocation is that during the past year, our country has, in real
terms, and within its means, moved further forward towards a society
free of poverty and underdevelopment. This I will also say that we are
nowhere near liberating millions of our people from these scourges.
But I will also say this, that gradually,
step by step, we are progressing towards the achievement of the historic
goal of the eradication of a centuries-old legacy of colonialism, racism
and apartheid. This I will also say that the overwhelming majority of
our people consider themselves as actors in the unfolding and measured
drama of the eradication of this legacy.
Our Deputy President, the Hon Jacob Zuma
is not with us today because he had to attend a summit on NEPAD in
France, at the invitation of President Jacques Chirac. At the end of the
summit, he will proceed directly to Dakar, Senegal, for another summit
with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Accordingly, I am honoured to convey an
apology for his unavoidable absence today.
We wish to acknowledge the presence of
Mrs Rebecca Kotane on this occasion of her 90th birthday and also Mrs
Nontsikelelo Biko, in this year when we commemorate the 25th anniversary
of the assassination of Steve Biko.
Madame Speaker:
Scientists say that anatomically modern
humans, people who look like us, evolved in Africa about 150,000 years
ago and then slowly spread out to occupy most of the globe. A key
question has been when and where did these people first become modern in
their behaviour. Until now, archaeological evidence has pointed to
Europe as the centre for this development about 35,000 years ago. The
markers for modern behaviour include the production of art, bone tools
and a capacity for symbolism. Lack of evidence of these behaviours
suggested that people in Africa lagged behind those in Europe.
Remarkable new finds by South African
archaeologists at Blombos Cave in the Southern Cape indicate that the
prehistory of Africa and its people now needs rewriting. Blombos Cave
has produced evidence that African people were producing exquisite bone
tools and delicately made stone spear points more than 70,000 years ago.
But the most spectacular find is a slab of ochre engraved with abstract
designs 77,000 years ago.
Described by the South African Museum as
"the world's oldest art object", this invaluable slab of ochre
is on display in this case next to the podium, an example of the
extraordinary heritage of the evolution of humanity that resides within
our country and which we must preserve. The designs on the slab were
made deliberately and with symbolic intent. The scientists say that it
is now to Africa that we look for the origins of the human imagination
and human ingenuity and for the genesis of art.
We thank the South African Museum for
lending us this exhibit for a few hours as well as the presiding
officers for agreeing that it should be brought into the chamber.
I am especially pleased to welcome to our
parliament Dr Chris Henshilwood, who led a team of scientists that found
the Blombos engraving. All of us are committed to do everything we can
to support our scientists who are working selflessly to unravel the
mysteries of the evolution of humanity.
We also look forward to parliament's own
Millennium Project which aims to collect, collate and interpret our
diverse heritage so that we may build a common identity and nationhood.
We meet here at the beginning of a year
during which our country will host two summit meetings of great
significance to Africa and the world. These are the founding Summit
Meeting of the African Union in July and the World Summit for
Sustainable Development in August-September.
In addition to launching the AU, the
first of these Summits will, among other things, take important
decisions about the critical issues of peace and stability, good
political governance and good economic governance. It will also have the
possibility to consider specific and implementable NEPAD development
programmes, whose central objective is the elimination of poverty and
underdevelopment on our continent.
The Johannesburg World Summit for
Sustainable Development, the largest high-level international gathering
this year, will also focus on the critical matter of development and the
eradication of poverty. This is of fundamental interest to our country,
our continent and the rest of the developing world.
It will build on what was agreed at the
historic UN Millennium Summit of the year 2000 and the Monterey, Mexico
conference next month, which will discuss Financing for Development.
The nations of the world elected to come
to our country because they understand and appreciate what we have done
in the last seven-and-half-years to address within our own borders
precisely the same questions that constitute the global agenda. They
chose to convene in South Africa because they are convinced that we have
something of value to contribute to the building of a new and more
equitable world order that must surely emerge.
The recognition by the peoples of the
world of the fact that we have established ourselves as a winning
nation, as a people determined to succeed, places an obligation on us in
fact to succeed.
Today, millions of our people ask
themselves the question - how can I lend a hand in the national effort
to build a better life for all!
During our recent visit to New York to
participate in the proceedings of the World Economic Forum, we had the
privilege to meet South Africans who live in or have become citizens of
the United States. These are Marco Piovesan, who lives in Atlanta,
Georgia and Cathy Gorille, who lives in Seattle, Washington.
They and their friends, all born in South
Africa, have also been asking themselves the question - how can we, who
reside in the United States, lend a hand in the national effort to build
a better life for all South Africans!
From across the Atlantic, they have
decided to make their own contribution to the common national effort by
concentrating their resources and expertise in a programme for the
reconstruction and development of our country. Correctly and
interestingly, they have entitled their programme - Vuk' uzenzele! -
which idiomatically might be expressed as Arise and Act!
The call they have made applies to each
one of us as we review a year in which we called for unity in action
among South Africans for change. It is an abiding challenge as we set
out the programme of government for the coming period.
On the occasion of our address to the
joint sitting of our two Houses of Parliament last year, we set out a
programme of action focused on taking us further forward on the road
towards a better life for all our people.
The programme, as further elaborated by
Ministers in their addresses to Parliament and their public briefings,
was concrete. Where possible, we indicated the time frames within which
particular actions would be undertaken.
And so the time has come to account.
A few weeks ago, we received an
unsolicited report from a team of academics at the University of
Stellenbosch, led by Professor Willie Esterhuyse which comments on our
government's performance during the course of the year 2001. Having
studied the programme government set itself at the beginning of the
year, the team undertook a systematic analysis of what had been done to
implement this programme.
This is what the Team has to say:
" The President made 43 'promises'
in his speech. By 8 January 2002 - eleven months after the speech was
made - 65% of these have either been achieved or are credibly in
progress. 16% have not been achieved. That gives a ratio of 4 items of
progress versus 1 item not yet completed.
"On a further 19% we do not have
sufficient information to make a call…
"65% vs. 16% is in our opinion a
very good performance. Governance is not about pushing buttons and
things happening instantaneously. Various obstacles like inertia, vested
interests, competing agendas, lack of capacity and the like must be
overcome.
"From various speeches and press
releases it is clear that Ministers are working towards the goals set by
the President. Looked at closely, there is coherence and a sense of
purpose and integration.
"Some of the 16% of items not yet
achieved are those with a very large impact on the economy and society
like the Telkom IPO, clarity on telecommunication issues and an
effective campaign against AIDS. We have taken a hard line and suggested
that these have not been achieved, although government can certainly
argue that they are in progress."
The Team then explains why in its opinion
things do not "look and feel better", despite the progress
that has been achieved.
In its view, firstly this is because
"communication by government is not always optimum. Secondly, it is
because despite "a lot of good progress" on "macro issues
that are vitally important", these are "very far removed from
the [person] in the street". "We should also submit that,
looking back at 2001, the very solid progress recorded has been
overshadowed by developments in Zimbabwe and around HIV/AIDS".
As Government, and even as Members of
Parliament, we may not agree with some or other part of these comments.
But there is no gainsaying the fact that the analysis provides a fair
assessment of government's work in the past year.
And as the Team says, the national
successes are cause for celebration. Overall, we should all be proud
that steadily, our country is moving away from the past of racism,
poverty, conflict and economic stagnation.
The weaknesses pointed out by the
Stellenbosch researchers reflect a variety of limitations in the
structures and systems of government that should be put right. We can
proffer a host of cogent reasons for these and other shortcomings. But,
to the extent that we have the capacity to do something about the
problems, we should and do take responsibility as government.
I would like to take this opportunity to
express our gratitude to and salute Professor Esterhyuse's Team for an
informative, honest, frank and dispassionate assessment of the work of
government. Besides putting the resources of the University at the
disposal of the nation's current endeavours, there is an important moral
to this initiative. Without being asked by anybody in government, in a
very practical manner, the Stellenbosch Team answered the question - how
can I lend a hand in the national effort to build a better life for all!
Madame Speaker,
The past year has brought to the fore
many patriotic South Africans who have found a practical answer to this
question.
These include the school principal at
Sandi Secondary School near Umtata, Bongi Peyana, who put in an extra
effort to raise a derelict institution towards the highest summits of
success in teaching and learning.
They include Ivan Booth, a young South
African who, after numerous debates with his peers about the
opportunities that democratic South Africa offers to all its people,
decided to draft a manuscript for a publication entitled, "South
Africa: Reasons to Stay". Ivan says the book is dedicated:
"…to the nation that won its place
in history
…the nation with the brightest future
…the nation that fights and wins
…the nation that doesn't know how great it is".
In a postscript to his foreword, this
young and proud South African retorts:
"Several people have mentioned that
anyone publishing such a book is effectively pushing themselves into a
corner, should they ever wish to leave South Africa. Hell, yes. But what
a corner…!" [We implore Madame Speaker to excuse the language she
may deem unparliamentary: in this case it's all for a good cause!]
These heroes who are lending a hand to
make South Africa succeed include the children of the Inkonjane Senior
Phase School in Soweto who, in partnership with the Sunday Times,
volunteered their time and meagre resources to help fellow children in
rural Ingwavuma, KwaZulu-Natal affected by AIDS and ill-health.
They include the people of Rockville,
Soweto, who during the course of last year strengthened their
co-operation with the Police Service, and have, as a result reduced
crime in their area by half in 2001.
These and many other South Africans are
the true leaders and heroes of the nation - the volunteers whose
selfless dedication will ensure that we make progress to make ours truly
a nation of hope.
We have it within us as a nation to join
them and many others to forge a massive movement of volunteers -
dedicated workers in all fields of life - and bring to life those
enduring attributes of all our people, of perseverance and persistence
in the struggle for our own good and the good of humanity.
Madame Speaker, Honourable Members,
Guests and fellow South Africans:
The assessment of the Stellenbosch Team
that we referred to earlier is that we are making progress as a nation
in addressing the social backlogs that we inherited from the apartheid
past. Let us examine, from data available in government, what the trends
are in this regard.
In the five calendar years leading to the
end of 1998, 3-million South Africans had been provided with access to
clean running water through the community water supply project. In only
three years since 1999, 4-million more have been connected, bringing the
total to 7-million.
In the five calendar years to the end of
1998, 2,3-million electricity grid-connections had been made. In the
three years since 1999, 1,2-million new connections had been made,
bringing the total to 3,48-million.
444-thousand hectares had been
redistributed in the land reform programme in the five years to the end
of 1998; in the three years since then, the number has increased to
600-thousand hectares, bringing the total to over 1-million hectares.
The pace has dramatically increased in the case of land restitution,
with 48 claims settled at the end of 1998; while by the end of 2001 the
total number of settlements has increased to 29-thousand.
While the number of houses built or under
construction was 514-thousand at the end of 1998, the number currently
stands at 1,2-million.
These figures speak to the progress we
are making in providing basic services to the majority of South
Africans.
They add to the qualitative improvements
in learning and teaching in our schools and the dramatic improvements in
Matric results, which show that the transformation process is starting
to bear fruit.
The masses of our people, both black and
white, both resident at home and abroad, are, like the peoples of the
world, driven by hope and confidence in our future as a country.
They are determined to see our country
progress, refusing to demobilise themselves by succumbing to carefully
cultivated pessimism and despair. As a government elected by the
overwhelming majority of our people, we have an obligation to respond to
and sustain this hope and confidence in a rational, realistic and
practical manner.
As it must do, the government has
conducted its own thorough assessment of its performance as well as the
state of the nation. We have also studied carefully the findings and
comments made by the academics at the University of Stellenbosch.
We have recalled our obligations.
We have also taken into account what the
Stellenbosch academics said, that 'governance is not about pushing
buttons and things happening instantaneously'.
The programme we will pursue this year
builds on the foundations that have already been laid. It is informed by
the broad objectives our country agreed upon in the context of the goal
of reconstruction and development, at the centre of which is the
eradication of the legacy of poverty and underdevelopment.
This year, the government will work
further to reduce the level of poverty in our society. This will be
expressed in concrete, time-specific programmes.
This year, the government will work
further to develop our greatest resource, our people, including the
working people, the women, the youth and the disabled. Particular
attention will be paid to such matters as health, including AIDS,
education and training and the National Youth Service.
This year, the government will initiate
additional programmes to improve the quality of life of all our people,
encompassing such issues as safety and security and moral renewal.
This year, the government will further
intensify its attention on questions of social equity. This will include
matters of black economic empowerment, women's emancipation, and justice
for the disabled.
This year, the government will further
increase its focus on the issue of achieving higher rates of economic
growth and development. This will include promotion of domestic and
foreign investment, trade promotion, a social accord and the convening
of a growth summit.
This year, building on the agreement we
have reached with the public sector trade unions, the government will
work further to improve the efficiency of government. We will pay
particular attention to such questions as improving professional
competence at all levels of government radically to change the quality
of service delivery.
This year, the government will take
additional steps further to strengthen and entrench our system of
democratic governance. This will include the appropriate celebration of
the 5th anniversary of our Constitution and the resolution of the
various questions relating to cultural, language, and religious rights,
as well as the issue of the place and role of our traditional system of
government.
This year, the government will work to
discharge its current international responsibilities. This will include
the hosting of the Summit Conferences we have mentioned and other tasks
that relate to specific instances, including the situation in the Middle
East, as well as the fight against terrorism.
Finally, this year, the government will
work further to strengthen its links with the masses of our people.
Accordingly, we will participate in, encourage and promote the
involvement of as many of our people as possible in the people's
campaign - vuk' uzenzele! In this context, we will strive to give real
meaning to the strategic challenge facing the public service - batho
pele!
In pushing back the frontiers of poverty,
we shall do this in partnership with many in our society who are ready
to lend a hand in the national effort to build a better life.
Let us cite some of the tasks in this
regard.
We need massive mobilisation around
registration for social grants.
Government paid out 3,3-million grants in
November 2000, and the number increased to 3,8 by November 2001, the
greatest increase being in child grants. In its programme for the
medium-term, government had targeted the registration of 3 million
children eligible for a grant by 2005. As a result of better awareness
and improved efforts by the public service, we are on course to meet
this target by 2003.
Government will in the next few weeks
approach religious bodies, trade unions, traditional leaders, youth
structures, civic associations, women's organisations and others, for
all of us to lend a hand so that in the next three years, we register
all who are eligible for the child grant and other social allowances.
With each one of us lending a hand, we
can attain this, and further ensure that we not only improve the
integrity of the system against corruption, but also that new
registrations are conducted in reasonable time.
Let us also add that, as the Minister of
Finance will elaborate in the Budget Speech, we shall this year increase
allocations to both old age pensions and child grants by far more than
the rate of inflation.
This call for a national partnership in
support of beneficiaries of social grants, and the increases that we
have referred to, underline the commitment of this government to
improving the conditions of the most vulnerable sectors of our
population. The plight of the poor is at the top of our agenda.
Again, as part of our work to push back
the frontiers of poverty and expand access to a better life,
possibilities have been created for further tax cuts particularly for
the lower end of the salary scale, a critical contribution by government
to higher real wages for workers.
Preserving and developing our human
resources is a matter that all of us should pay particular attention to,
both individually and collectively.
Government has implemented the Human
Resource Development Programme conscious of the fact that it is the
surest guarantee to sustainable employment and economic growth. Tens of
thousands of trainees have benefited from this, ranging from science and
mathematics teachers, agricultural inspectors, information and
communications technology learnerships to retrenched mine-workers and so
on. This work will be intensified during the course of this year.
Studies that we have conducted and
interaction with the Presidential ICT Councils, whose establishment we
announced last year, have shown that a critical and pervasive element in
economic development in the current age is the optimum utilisation of
information and communications technology. In addition to the many
programmes we have introduced in this area, including tele-centres, we
shall as a matter of urgency complete the work towards the establishment
of an ICT University.
The implementation of the National Plan
for Higher Education will gain momentum in the coming months; and
government is under no illusion that the process will be easy. We are
confident though that, working in partnership with higher education
institutions, we shall fashion a system that will ensure that we meet
the challenges of the modern world.
Again, in the spirit of Vuk' uzenzele, we
must arise and act in partnership across the nation and ensure proper
teaching and learning in our schools.
Government will in the current
medium-term expenditure period allocate the necessary resources to
ensure that no child studies under a tree. Consultations will be held
with provincial administrations to ensure that this programme
is put in place as a matter of urgency. Further, through Community-based
Public Works Programmes, it should be possible to allocate resources for
massive renovation projects in our schools, clinics, hospitals and other
amenities across the country. The Gauteng Province informs us that R500m
over three years has been allocated for this purpose.
As we push back the frontiers of poverty,
Integrated Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programmes assume
critical importance. Work has started in all the 13 rural nodes
identified last year, with integrated programmes ranging from community
production centres, Multi-purpose Community Centres, social
infrastructure projects and others being laid out. In the urban nodes,
business plans have been finalised and a number of projects are already
being implemented.
Particularly in the rural areas, emphasis
will be laid on ensuring food security and community-based job-creation
projects, so as directly to address the state of poverty in which
communities live.
Consolidating this integrated work in the
nodes already identified will be the focus of government's work this
year. This will then lay the basis for the extension of the nodes to
other parts of the country in the near future.
We intend, within the next three years,
to complete the land restitution process, which is a critical part of
our land reform programme.
In each Province of the country, intense
water and sanitation programmes are being implemented to improve
hygiene, with emphasis on schools and cholera-affected localities in
KwaZulu/Natal and the Eastern Cape. Though we have contained the worst
impact of this disease in these areas, we operate from the premise that
the long-term solution is quality services to all.
Government, working in partnership with
all sectors, particularly the SA National Aids Council (SANAC), will
intensify its comprehensive programme against AIDS, sexually-transmitted
diseases, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases.
In implementing the agreement we reached
with the pharmaceutical companies, we have initiated discussions with
some of them to examine new ways of making drugs more affordable and to
strengthen our health infrastructure.
The work that is being done by various
institutions within or related to government on the health profile of
the nation - the burden of disease, regional and local trends, mortality
statistics and so on - is critical in fashioning a comprehensive
response both in the public and private sectors. In addition to the many
campaigns to change our lifestyles for healthier living, the focus of
our programmes in the coming period will be the improvement in quality
of services in public health.
With regard to AIDS in particular, our
focus remains: a massive prevention campaign directed at ensuring that
the high rates of awareness translate into a change in lifestyles; care
for the affected and infected; treatment of all diseases including those
associated with AIDS; and research into a vaccine - a programme
described by the head of UNAIDS, Dr Peter Piot, as the largest and most
comprehensive in Africa and one of the largest in the world; a programme,
he says, with very high levels of government investment, which is
starting to show results.
Proceeding from the accepted premise that
there is no cure to AIDS, we are convinced that, besides the individual
and collective responsibility for us to take care of our own lives,
protection and enhancement of the immune system is a critical
intervention in both the prevention and management of AIDS. By
implication, therefore, poverty reduction and appropriate nutrition
constitute an important front in this campaign.
At the same time, continuing work will be
done to monitor the efficacy of anti-retroviral interventions against
mother-to-child transmission in the sites already operational and any
new ones that may be decided upon.
Our partnership across society should
advance these multiple interventions required for us to deal with this
epidemic. Any focus on one issue, at the expense of the others, may have
the effect of undermining what we all seek to achieve.
Honourable members,
Last December, the South African Police
Service released comprehensive statistics on the incidence of crime in
our society and the trends that attach to the rates of various forms of
crime.
It is our fervent hope that Honourable
Members and the whole of our society, including the media will continue
to apply their minds to the issues raised in that briefing, the better
to appreciate the role that society as a whole needs to play in dealing
with this scourge. Indeed, when impassioned calls were made for the
release of statistics, we believe the aim was not to "check"
whether government is "delivering", but to ensure that all of
us lend a hand in the effort to combat and prevent crime.
The simple fact that most of the crimes
of assault and murder happen between Friday and Sunday, among people who
know one another, and with many of them under the influence of alcohol
or drugs speaks to the critical importance of community organisation and
systems of censure.
Clearly, many of these crimes, as well as
those related to rape, domestic violence and child abuse cannot be
policed with any measure of success by the security agencies acting
alone.
Credit is due to the thousands of South
Africans who have joined Community Police Forums and our Police Service
as reservists. Together, if each one of us lends a hand we can do much
better. During the month of February, communities and their
organisations have mobilised to enlist more volunteers. Sustained
throughout the year, and with each one making a contribution, we can
surpass the 30-thousand target set by the Police Service.
The Police and the Department of Justice
will continue their interaction with communities and their organisations
to ensure that particular attention is paid to assisting in such areas
as clerical work in Police Stations, as well as in the courts, so we are
able massively to reduce the backlog of cases pending trial. Legal and
other professionals, students and other sections in our communities can
play an important role in this programme.
Having set itself the target of
stabilising 145 police station areas where over 50% of crimes are
committed within 3 years, our security agencies have managed to attain
this in one year.
More attention in the coming period will
also be paid to improving the intelligence capacity of our security
agencies, particularly to build on the successes that have been made in
dealing with organised crime.
As we said earlier, these trends in crime
incidents as well as other problems within society, including
white-collar crime, call for partnership across society to improve our
moral fibre to strengthen community bonds, to pull together in the
direction of hope and success.
Consultations have started with various
organised formations to convene a Moral Regeneration Summit as a matter
of urgency. Such a Summit should address the issue of the responsibility
that each and all of us should take for our lives, moving from the
understanding that, as we were our own liberators in resistance against
apartheid, so too should we today act as our own liberators in dealing
with its legacy.
Moral Regeneration also means inculcating
in us and our youth that service to the people, selfless commitment to
the common good, is more valuable than selfish pursuit of material
rewards. Productive investment is more valuable than aimless gambling in
markets for derivatives. Payment for honest work is more fulfilling and
sustainable than theft. Children and women are there to be respected,
not to become targets of abuse.
As part of the people's campaign - vuk'
uzenzele, we must intensify our work on the questions of social equity.
We do this as a continuation of our struggle and in order to fulfil the
commitments we made with the rest of humanity at the World Conference
against Racism that we had an honour to host last year.
In this regard, we must ensure that we
accelerate and entrench the forward march of women's emancipation in all
spheres of our lives. As in the past, government must take a lead in
promoting and protecting the rights of women.
We also need to reflect, as a nation,
whether we are making the necessary progress in advancing the
constitutional rights of the disabled people.
Further, part of our programme to bring
about social equity is the successful implementation of the programme
for Black Economic Empowerment.
Clearly, we need rigorous and visible
progress in this area, so as to ensure not only the distribution of
wealth and economic power in line with the demographics of our country;
but also to ensure that our economy and society as a whole can benefit
from the wisdom and potential of all South Africans, and that the
benefits of such empowerment are shared across society, and not just by
a few.
Government has accepted the most critical
recommendations of the BEE Commission. On the two specific areas of
legislation and institutional frameworks, it has been decided as
follows:
v All sectoral legislation will be examined to ensure that the
obligation of Black Economic Empowerment is incorporated, on the basis
of common principles agreed upon.
v Once a comprehensive policy statement on this issue has been finalised,
within the next 4 months, BEE Council will be established, bringing
together government and other experts and practitioners in this critical
area.
v Government will, as an actor in the economic arena, particularly in
the massive procurement of goods and services, examine its structures
and systems to ensure that they fully meet the objective of Black
Economic Empowerment.
It should be emphasised that the task of
Black Economic Empowerment faces all sectors of society, including the
established business community. As is intensely happening in the tourism
industry, progress will depend on active government leadership and
co-operation from various sectors of the business community itself.
A further challenge in ensuring inclusive
economy, pertains to access to micro-finance. Many enterprising South
Africans set out to establish small businesses but are unable to do so
through the formal banking system, nor to acquire the training that they
need. Khula and Ntsika were established to spearhead this, and they have
been improving their work in the past few years.
In order to ensure that the wisdom of the
nation is tapped effectively, and that ideas are processed into
practical programmes as urgently as possible, government will continue
with intense consultations on micro-lending for the poor for purposes of
income generation, working with experts who, by definition should
include communities who have over the years run many successful
self-help financial schemes.
Combined with this initiative will be a
comprehensive review of all institutions mandated to assist Small,
Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME's).
Madam Speaker,
Last year, government announced a series
of interventions by the state to help speed up the rate of investment
and job-creation. This we did having come to the conclusion that the
country had achieved macroeconomic stability.
We should at the very outset make bold to
say that that conclusion stands. Growth of our economy in 2001 is
expected to register more than 2% of Gross Domestic Product, a
significant achievement given the global slowdown. Interest rates,
though still high, are lower than they have been for many years; and the
same can be said about inflation.
The budget deficit is much lower; and
combined with revenue collection which is above the set targets, this
will afford us the possibility to expand expenditure in real terms,
especially on such important areas as social services and economic
infrastructure.
In other words, barring the exchange
rate, all critical economic indicators have improved.
The changing structure of our economy for
the better is reflected, among other indicators, in the increase in
manufactured exports, and the fact that high rates of growth can be
attained without undue pressure on the balance of payments.
We are as a country within our right to
be concerned about the volatility in the exchange rate, and the kind of
inexplicable movements that we experienced towards the end of last year.
A variety of reasons have been given in this respect; and we all await
the outcome of the inquiry headed by Justice Myburgh, whom we wish to
thank, along with other Commissioners and their staff for accepting the
request to assist the nation in getting to the root of this problem.
As government, we are in no doubt that
the sudden depreciation of the currency a few months ago is not a
reflection of systemic or structural weaknesses in the economy as a
whole.
We will need to continue working with
international financial institutions and developing countries to fashion
a global financial architecture that cushions so-called "emerging
markets" from occasional market irrationality.
On the whole, we should emphasise that
the path of an open economy that we have charted for ourselves is not up
for review. As we find our way into the future, we shall not seek solace
in the past.
The programme that we announced last
year, to pay particular attention to a number of sectors of the economy
will, during the course of this year, continue to unfold in the areas
identified such as mining, agriculture, telecommunications, tourism and
manufacturing. Many concrete steps have been taken to speed up work in
these sectors, and the relevant Ministers will detail these in their
briefings to the media and the public. We shall here select a few areas
for emphasis.
To start off with, a number of recent
projects that have been brought to our attention, convince us that the
future holds much promise in terms of direct investment.
Mvelaphanda Energy, working with a consortium of two American (USA)
companies has invested more than half a billion Rand in the exploration
of gas on the west coast of our country. The consortium is exploring an
area covering approximately 8 million acres within the Orange River
Basin and has encountered excellent gas reserves, that will supply
energy to our country.
Furthermore, a joint venture between a
black empowerment company, Evertrade and a Nasdaq-listed company will
establish waste bin manufacturing facilities around the country for
export, with earnings estimated at about R1,4-billion in the next seven
years.
Harmony Gold has raised over R1billion of
foreign investments for the purchase of gold mines in the Free State.
To these we can add motor manufacturing
companies, which this year invested in excess of R2 billion, an Irish
clothing and textile enterprise and many others.
Interaction with our business community
has reinforced our confidence regarding their commitment to the growth
of our economy and the prosperity of our society. In this regard, we
wish again to pay tribute to a South African patriot and leader, the
late Marinus Daling who departed from our midst a week ago.
From the interactions we have had with
government and business leaders in the European Union, Japan, China, the
US and other regions, including at the recent World Economic Forum in
New York, it is quite clear that these trends will continue.
Critical in ensuring greater investment
is the intensification of the work to build economic infrastructure and
lower the cost of inputs. In this regard, progress has been made in
finalising ports policy and starting the process that will see to
improvements in efficiency.
The Nqurha (Coega) Industrial Development
Zone has been designated and work on the port has started.
Despite the difficulties experienced during the course of the year,
progress has been made in the restructuring of the telecommunications
sector, transport, energy and other areas of economic and social
infrastructure, with the primary aim of ensuring efficient and
cost-effective service. In this context, the restructuring of state
assets remains one of the primary areas of focus in government's
programme.
One of the urgent tasks we have set
ourselves is to finalise the setting up of a safety agency for our
railways. In this context, we wish to express our sympathies with the
families of the bereaved and the injured in the recent train accident in
Kwa-Dukuza, Kwa Zulu/Natal.
We are highly appreciative of the
agreement that has been reached in the transport sector, and Spoornet in
particular, to determine the kind of restructuring that enjoys the
confidence of all the major stakeholders, including the union movement.
Steadily, as these programmes reach their
critical mass, their impact on the lives of all South Africans,
including in the area of sustainable job-creation, will start to be
felt.
The partnerships that we referred to
earlier contain within them possibilities for massive expansion of
Community-based Public Works Programmes.
We also face the challenge of ensuring
that the funds allocated to the National Skills Fund, Umsobomvu,
infrastructure and the employment subsidy are spent with the efficiency
demanded by actual needs in society.
Experience over the past few months has
raised the question of the impact of the rapid depreciation of our
currency on the lives of ordinary South Africans. It is tribute to the
changing structure of the economy that imported inflation has in recent
years been kept to a minimum.
We should also congratulate the
agricultural sector for the work that they have done to finalise the
Strategy Plan for South African Agriculture, which addresses all the
complex issues of research, equitable land distribution, assistance to
small-scale farmers and so on. Government and the agricultural sector
are working together urgently to move towards implementation of the
Plan.
In a meeting of the Joint Working Groups
of government with "big business, black business, agriculture and
labour" last December, it was agreed to convene as early as
possible a Growth and Development Summit to address the urgent
challenges facing us in the economy and build an enduring partnership in
which all of us can lend a hand in building a prosperous South Africa.
A critical element of this engagement -
at least a basic outline of which will have to be elaborated before such
a Summit - is a Social Accord or Compact among all role-players. We need
to ensure that each sector lends a hand for higher growth, whose
benefits can be shared equitably among all South Africans. This will
mean, among other things, achieving congruence in expectations and
certainty in such matters as inflation, wage and salary demands, rates
of investments, positioning of the country in the global arena, our role
in NEPAD, job-creation and poverty alleviation.
The approach to this critical initiative
will be based among other things on the experiences already garnered in
the Millennium Labour Council and NEDLAC. Achieving this Compact is
desirable if our economy has to rise to its full potential. Nay more, it
is necessary if our society has to advance at the rate required by the
social challenges we face.
Honourable Members,
This spirit of service to society, Batho
Pele, is what guides us as we pursue the restructuring of the public
service. Though slow and intermittent, progress is being made in
negotiations with public sector unions as we try to forge a common
understanding of the challenges of change, which should benefit employer
and employee, the public servant and the public we are meant serve.
Steadily, through practical experience -
in urban renewal and rural development, in improving capacity in the
Presidency, in the clusters of Ministers and Directors-General, and in
the President's Co-ordinating Council and other institutions -
integrated governance is becoming a reality.
During the course of this year, our
country will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the
basic law of the land.
This is an occasion in which we pay
tribute to those who led the negotiations process and the mass of our
people who, ultimately, are the true midwives of our democracy.
The interactions that we have had with various communities especially
during imbizo activities demonstrate that the people's wisdom in both
policy development and implementation can only serve to enrich the
quality of the services we render and make people-centred and
people-driven development a living reality.
One of the injunctions of the
Constitution is that we must set up a commission on Cultural, Religious
and Linguistic Rights and we have already tabled legislation in
parliament in this regard.
In accordance with the government's
comprehensive Public Service anti-Corruption Strategy, we have
introduced measures to ensure that the code of conduct is upheld and
that all public service managers are subject to conflict of interest
disclosures. To complement this, legislation to fight corruption will be
brought before parliament during this session.
Among the matters that we will bring to
successful conclusion this year is the definition of the role of
traditional leaders in our system of government. The consultations that
have taken place across the board have laid the basis for framework
legislation.
Madam Speaker,
We will this year finalise the
restructuring of our National Orders to reflect the art, symbolism and
idiom of South Africa as a whole.
Work to build the Freedom Park Monument
will start this year so that South Africans and the rest of humanity can
celebrate this important shrine symbolising the rich heritage of our
country in the evolution of the Earth, life and humanity and the
struggle of part of that humanity for liberty.
It is therefore appropriate that this
monument is launched as we approach the end of the First Decade of
Freedom in two years time. I would like to thank the Freedom Park Board
for having appointed the Honourable Wally Serote to work as a full-time
chairperson on the Freedom Park Monument so as to speed-up the process.
Madame Speaker,
What inspires us as we work with other
leaders and peoples across the continent and further afield is to shape
a new world, defined by the needs of all humanity.
We enter 2002 with Africa, through its
representative structures having formally embraced the commitment that
this should, in actual practice, be the African Century.
Various projects envisaged in NEPAD will
start to unfold in parts of the continent, as we turn the ideals in this
document into practical action.
During the course of last year, our
commitment to Africa's progress also found expression in the deployment
of our sons and daughters in uniform in Ethiopia, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and Burundi. We did so because we remain confident
that our sister-people in these countries will find solutions to their
problems.
We are humbled to play host to the
Inter-Congolese Dialogue, which commences this month in our country.
In order to ensure that we stay true to
our commitment to peace on the continent and other defence functions, we
shall continue with the programme to equip our National Defence Force in
line with policies of the country adopted by its elected
representatives.
In pursuit of stability in our region, we
will work tirelessly to support the people of Zimbabwe in their quest to
hold free and fair elections in their country.
It is in the interest of the people of
Zimbabwe and, indeed, the whole region that the government that emerges
from the March elections is legitimate and enjoys the support of the
majority.
In order to play our part in ensuring
that this happens, and in response to the wishes of Zimbabweans
themselves, we will, within a week, send a multi-sectoral South African
Observer Mission (SAOM) to Zimbabwe, headed by Dr Sam Motsuenyane. I am
informed that Parliament is also ready to send a Parliamentary Observer
Team on the same mission.
Clearly, the mission and the conditions
that our teams seek to create are one and one only: let the people of
Zimbabwe speak through the ballot box!
Further, we wish to express our
solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Lesotho who are due to hold
their national elections in May this year after a long process of
negotiations.
This year, we will continue with efforts
to attain peace and development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Angola and the Comoros.
We shall also persist with whatever we
can contribute to ensure that the wanton destruction of the Palestinian
Authority is brought to an end, and that peace and security for the
Palestinian and Israeli child becomes a reality.
Again, we shall during the course of this
year, continue to strengthen economic and other forms of co-operation
with countries of the European Union, Japan and the rest of Asia, the
USA and the Americas, in pursuit of Africa's development, our own
national interests and the interests of humanity as a whole. In this
regard, we shall continue to challenge a pessimism that expects Africa
to fail in any of its endeavours, and the undeclared doctrine of
collective punishment against all Africans that seems to come into
effect when one or some among our leaders stumble.
We wish once more to reiterate our
solidarity with the people of the United States of America for the
terrible events of September 2001. If anything, our fervent hope is that
this tragedy will continue to re-awaken in all of us, our bonds as a
global human family. Along with other countries, under the aegis of the
UN, South Africa will make whatever modest contribution it can in the
reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Madame Speaker,
The ingredients for faster progress on
all fronts of our work are there. The primary one among these is our
collective appreciation that no one, and no one, can do for us what we
should do for ourselves.
In this programme, we lay out the main
challenges that face us in the coming year and beyond. What guides our
approach is that each one of us should lend a hand in doing the simple
things that will make a difference to the lives of especially the poor.
Together as a people, we have made great
strides. The successes we have achieved make the clear statement that
acting together, we can and shall continue to push back the frontiers of
poverty and expand access to a better life.
Thank You.
Last Revised:
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
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