WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2005 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

                                ____

The Council met at 10:00 in the KwaMhlanga Government Complex, Nkangala, Mpumalanga.

The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Hon members, I have been told that there will not be any motions today. We now come to the subject for discussion as printed on the Order Paper. Before we proceed, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Dr Jacob Zuma, for taking the time to come and address us. [Applause.]

ENGAGING OUR PEOPLE IN BUILDING A BETTER SOCIETY, FOUNDED ON RECOGNISED HUMAN RIGHTS AND COMMITTED TO SERVICE DELIVERY

                      (Subject for Discussion)

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Hon Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon Premiers, hon members of the National Council of Provinces, hon Chairperson of Salga, mayors and councillors, traditional leaders, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for inviting me to address this session of the National Council of Provinces taking place in this beautiful province of Mpumalanga. We must on this day, while recalling the things that have happened in our history and interaction, recognise the importance of our being here, part of the process of the NCOP taking Parliament to the people. I would like to commend the initiative of the NCOP in this regard in taking Parliament to the people by holding sessions in the provinces. In doing so, you are truly giving content to the provisions of the Constitution to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account.

I’ve said before in this very House that our system of government, with its national, provincial and local spheres, is the best. It might appear at times cumbersome and difficult to run but the reality is that if you concentrate power in one point, it can lead to a situation where people far from the centre feel left out and do not have their issues and concerns properly addressed.

Democracy is time-consuming, costly and difficult but it is the best way of governing. The mobility of the National Council of Provinces indicates that our Parliament and government are serious about the development of a democracy that is founded on the principles of the participation of the people. I’m sure, as you have been here, all of you have been able to offer that opportunity to the people of Mpumalanga, to participate and ask questions from the Ministers and to talk about their own situation.

As government we are serious about ensuring that government leadership becomes accessible to the people. As elected representatives of the NCOP, members also need to be accessible to the public. Our unique democracy is therefore being consolidated daily, ensuring a wonderful legacy for future generations. Our democracy is rooted in the traditions of our founding document, the Freedom Charter, which still remains relevant today almost 50 years after it was adopted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955. It is always important to recall that the Congress of the People was the first of its kind in the history of our country, both in size and representativity as well as in content, because it encapsulated the type of government and country the people wanted. It was at this congress that the people said, and I quote:

  We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and world
  to know:


       that South Africa belongs to all who live in it,
       black and white, and that no government can
       justly claim authority unless it is based on
       the will of all the people . . .]

This statement signifies the heart and soul and the very being of what we were striving to achieve in our country. When you interact with the people in this manner, you are indeed providing once more an indication that our country is a model of stable and prospering participatory democracy where the people do indeed govern.

We have had a week of fruitful, enlightening and, indeed, helpful deliberations which are going to assist us to improve the delivery of our programmes to the people. We have considered key topics that directly affect the lives of our people such as poverty, poverty alleviation, job creation, provision of water and trade and industrial zone development issues. I particularly want to commend you for the examination of the implementability of recently passed local government legislation. It is vital that Parliament monitors and examines whether the laws that are passed are implemented successfully. There is no better place to do this than on the ground in one of the provinces. Going to the provinces, giving people the opportunity to participate in the process of your monitoring is one of the best ways this government has introduced for doing so. This process will sharpen our thinking and deepen our understanding of the people’s concerns and problems as members of Parliament.

In your provincial sittings you would have discovered many issues that require the urgent attention of government in each of the three spheres. I know that you will highlight these issues in your report on these visits and the debate you will conduct when you adopt the report. What is, however, crucial is that you continue to monitor the progress being made in addressing the concerns raised so that the problems are solved and that you further intervene if it appears necessary.

When the President addressed the NCOP late November last year, he focused on local government and mentioned challenges that affect local government. Chief among those was the lack of capacity in local government to deliver basic services to the people even when resources are available. I would like hon members to take note of this point because it is one of our critical challenges facing us in the current period. The challenges that the President spoke about still remain with us today, as he also indicated in his state of the nation address. One of the major challenges in our country is that of capacity in government which impacts on the pace of government delivery, in other words beyond the local government level. It is a general problem in all spheres of government.

We await the report to Cabinet due in May by the Forum of SA Directors- General (Fosad) on the review of the functioning of government system as a whole and proposals, particularly on the capacity, skills and competence within the public sector. However, this does not mean that we can sit idle and wait for that report. Where we see gaps in terms of capacity, we have to address them now. The issue of capacity confirms the fact that no matter how correct our policies and vision may be, if we do not have the proper personnel with the necessary skills and commitment to implement our policies, all our efforts will be futile. It therefore becomes incumbent upon us to make sure that we deal with this matter as a key priority. We need to strengthen partnerships with other stakeholders in our society, like institutions of higher learning, to check what role they can play in partnership with our government to resolve this matter of capacity- building.

We have also realised the need to improve internal communication within the Public Service to ensure that the public servants understand the mission and vision and programme of action of our government. Unless public servants understand the objectives and direction of this government, it will be difficult to achieve a customer service ethos and people-oriented Public Service. Our presence here today is an indication of the importance and high regard in which we hold the citizens of our country. We expect public servants to treat citizens in the same way as the most important people in their day-to-day responsibilities. [Applause.]

This need to regard citizens as invaluable clients of the Public Service applies even more so at the local government level, to which people go daily for their assistance. There is a common story I always tell when it comes to this behaviour of the public servants who at times, because they are given these responsibilities, feel they are bigger than the people and also develop stiff necks. The neck doesn’t turn like this, but like this, because they think they are big. [Applause.] That is the challenge that faces all of us because at the end of the day whatever laws, policies and programmes, they have to be implemented with the people. It is critical.

I always recall a story when I was young boy and I went to get my reference book . . .

. . . kwandabazabantu. Ngifica umabhalane uhlezi laphaya, eziqhenya kuhleli intombi yakhe eduze kwakhe kanti futhi wayesezoshayisa ngehora lesine. Uyangibuza, ‘Mfana ungubani igama lakho’. Ngithi, ‘NginguGedleyihlekisa’. Awu, wahleka umuntu. [Uhleko.] Wabiza abanye omabhalane wathi, ‘Ake nizozwa igama lale nsizwa, ithi iwuGedleyihlekisa’. Uyazi, igama lami leli engaliqanjwa ubaba alifuni kuhlekisa muntu kodwa yena ulenza ihlaya. Kwalokhu kuhlekwa nje ngisahlezi ngilindele udompasi wami. Ngaze ngasizwa yiyo intombi yakhe lena eyathi, ‘Nidlala ngengane’. Yaqonda ebhokisini yaphenya yalithola igama lami yanginika. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[. . . at Home Affairs. I found the clerk sitting there, displaying his pride, and his girlfriend was sitting next to him. He was about to knock off at four o’clock. He asked me: “What is your name, boy?” I said: “I am Gedleyihlekisa.” The person laughed. [Laughter.] He called the other clerks and said: “Come and listen to this young man’s name. He says his name is Gedleyihlekisa.” You know, this is the name given to me by my father. It does not amuse anybody, but he turned it into a joke. They kept laughing while I was waiting for my identity document. I was then assisted by his girlfriend, who said: “You are playing with the kid.” She went straight to the box to check, found my name and gave it to me.]

We do not want such civil servants . . . [Applause.] . . . because people come from different areas and backgrounds. The reason why they all come to that particular office is to get service and it is an important point because, as I say, whatever good policies we have, if we can’t provide good service, then they are as good as useless.

I wish to emphasise that the NCOP has a unique role to play with regard to local government, particularly when the provincial executive needs to intervene in a particular municipality. In terms of the Constitution such an intervention must be reported to the NCOP, which also has the power to end the intervention by failing to approving it. The NCOP also has the responsibility of reviewing the intervention regularly, thus it is important that it is reported timeously. However, we need to ensure that such interventions do not become necessary as-far as the manner is concerned in which we run our administration. We can do this by assisting and strengthening local government before the problem reaches a crisis point. It is imperative that we focus on building capacity, especially in smaller municipalities, to ensure that basic services such as water and electricity do reach the poorest of the poor. We believe that the NCOP can play a critical role in monitoring service delivery in local government structures.

All the provinces have opened their legislatures and what is running through all the state of the province addresses by the Premiers is the commitment to boost provincial economies to ensure sustainable development, job creation and poverty eradication. The Premiers are also in agreement about the need to strengthen close co-operation between local government and the provincial governments as well as building capacity for local government to deliver. These objectives need to be commended. At the same time the provinces need to ensure that they develop their capacity to monitor the programmes that they have adopted. I must warn Premiers that members of the NCOP will keep track of progress on all the programmes announced in the provincial action plans unveiled by the Premiers in the past few weeks. Your monitoring will ensure that provincial government remains true to the wishes of citizens.

However, Chairperson, I must just say one thing. The only Premier here is the Premier of this province and I don’t know where the other Premiers are. [Applause.] If we do not come to this body that ensures corporate governance as leaders of provinces, where else do we go? In my view this is a serious omission by the Premiers of our provinces. I hope that all of us will take the NCOP seriously and be here when the NCOP is meeting. I am making this point because I have warned them that what they have announced in the state of the province addresses and action plans have to be monitored and they need to know that.

However, we are pleased with the progress made in the provinces, especially where backlogs were severe. One can mention the Eastern Cape, where ensuring adequate health services have been a serious challenge. In the current financial year, government has managed to build five new clinics and renovated 38 existing ones, while two clinics have been upgraded to health centres. Forty-four clinics have been given the necessary equipment to ensure they function more effectively. The province has indicated that the shortages of doctors and medicines in some clinics and hospitals need urgent attention. The province will also continue with these programmes to ensure socio-economic development and better service delivery.

Mpumalanga has reviewed its provincial growth and development strategy and wants to ensure an alignment of development plans by provincial departments and local government structures. Gauteng’s five-year plan commits the government to work tirelessly with the people of Gauteng to achieve the following objectives: to stimulate faster economic growth and drastically reduce unemployment; fight poverty and build sustainable and secure communities; develop healthy, appropriately skilled and productive people; deepen democracy and nation-building and realise the constitutional rights of all the people and build an effective and caring government.

North West has scored a number of achievements in the past year, including successful interventions in municipalities. This has entailed strengthening institutional matters such as staff placements, performance management and financial management systems. This is critical, especially if we shift our focus to improve local government. The province intervened in the Mafikeng and Mamusa municipalities and continues to administer provincial interventions in another three municipalities. The province reports that the financial distress of Lekwa - Teemane has been addressed and the municipality operates on a positive, equal balance. Equally, Mafikeng’s cash flow has improved and the municipality is no longer running on an overdraft. [Applause.]

Limpopo wants to use its strategic location as the heartland of SADC and gateway to the rest of Africa profitably, in addition to focusing on building infrastructure, sustainable economic development and boosting agriculture to capture even the SADC market. I have also noticed a determination by Limpopo to ensure that prominence is given to Moria City and the annual ZCC pilgrimage, as is the case in places such as Mecca in Saudi Arabia and the Vatican City in Rome. [Applause.]

The Western Cape has faced the challenge of healing past divisions and building a home for all. The province also seeks to build human capital, particularly amongst our youth, and to accelerate economic growth. There is also the need to build social capital, with emphasis on the youth and by intensifying the fight against crime and gang activity and arresting the proliferation of guns, domestic violence and sexual assault, high-risk driving as a result of alcohol and drug dependency.

KwaZulu-Natal is also focusing on the healing and normalisation of the political situation in the province across party-political lines and, to achieve closure, impact of past political violence, the focus is on sustainable development, including the use of agriculture, as starting leverage to fight poverty in rural areas, as well as build infrastructure to fast-track economic development. As part of redress the province is also looking at creating a gender representative administration, especially at senior management level.

All provinces are also expected to highlight the promotion of healthy styles among all our people and to improve public education around diseases such as HIV and Aids and diabetes and TB. Our provincial governments are therefore geared up for a year of intensified activity. Chairperson, I however want to emphasise that we need always to strive to ensure that the provincial programmes build on and enhance the programme of action announced by the President in his state of the nation address. We also cannot emphasise enough the need to focus energies on local government. We are convinced that this message has been heard and that we will see a difference in all provinces.

Chairperson, colleagues, on Monday, 21 March we will be celebrating International Human Rights Day. Let us on this day honour the memory of those who laid down their lives fighting for freedom. We will unveil a monument to the seven young men who were killed mercilessly in Gugulethu in Cape Town in 1986. [Applause.] We must, on this day, while recalling the gross human rights violations in Sharpeville, Langa, Soweto, Shobashobane and many other areas, also celebrate the road we have travelled in entrenching a human rights culture in our country to ensure that never again a state uses its resources to kill its own people. [Applause.]

Once again, Chairperson and hon members, I wish to congratulate you on bringing Parliament to the people of Mpumalanga. Together we can continue to lay the foundations for a prosperous, united, caring South Africa for all our diverse but united people. I believe that our action adds value to what we are doing in this country in nation-building by engaging with the people, by listening to the people and explaining to the people what their work and responsibilities and their responsibilities to our government are. Indeed, ours is to account to them. I thank you.

SIHLALO WE NCOP: Sekela likaMgcini Sihlalo we-NCOP, Sekela likaMongameli welizwe loke laseSewula Afrika uMnu Jacob Zuma, uPremier wethu ohloniphekile kakhulu eMpumalanga uThabang Makwetla abekho ke abanye aboPremier angekhe ngibabize, ngibiza lo oqakathekile okhona phakathi kwethu ophethe iMpumalanga. [Iwahlo.]

Useselisokana mutjha ngimbonile nanyana akhambako uyabonakala bonyana unamandla wokusebenza wokudosa adosele phambili. Wabona umuntu athi nakakhambako arhorhe iinyawo wazi bona uzafika kade lapho ayakhona akazufika msinya. Lo uyakhambisa ngimbonile ngibe naye nangoMvulo nangoLwesithathu. Amakhansela woke nabo Executive Mayor abakhona, amaMPLs, Ingwenyama uMakhosoke 11 kanye noMayisha 111 bayede! Amakhosi woke akhona ngiyanilotjhisa sitjha ninoke nihlezi ngaphakathi kwaleNdlu namhlanje nivakatjhelwe yiNCOP. [Iwahlo.]

Mina ke namhlanje Sekela likaMongameli ngithanda ukukhuluma ngezinto ezimbalwa engizizwile nangifika lapha eMpumalanga khulu khulu kile ndawo yaKwaMhlanga. Ngizokhuluma izinto ekade zikhulunywa babantu, ngizizwele ngezindlebe zami bonyana abantu balila ngani. Okhunye nangikukhulumako ningatjho bonyana ngiyathukana ngoba ngizabe ngikhuluma izinto ezikhulunye babantu angithi nani nibezwile bonyana bebathini. Manje ngoba uPremier kade angekho angasinathi isikhathi soke kunye noSekela Mongameli ngifuna bezwe bonyana besikhuluma ngani, nasisuka lapha ngoba soke siyosebenza sinilungiselele izinto enilila ngazo. [Iwahlo.] Uthe uSekela likaMongameli nakakhulumako wathi the people shall govern. Ngesikhethu abantu bazabusa, akuzuku busa thina, thina sithunywe ngini bonyana siyobusa, nanisithumileko kufanele sibuye sizothatha lezizinto esinibusa ngazo sizohlola bonyana sinibusa ngefanelo na. Namhlanje size phakathi kwenu, sizokhulumisana nani ukuze sizwe bonyana sinibusa ngefanelo na the people shall govern, niyabusa namhlanje akubusi thina, kubusa nina. Nangathana bekubusa thina sisodwa ngasizihlalele le eCape Town sitshwenywa yini? Nangathana bekubusa thina ngasizihlalele ePretoria ngoba ayikho into esitshwenyako. Kodwana ngoba kunento esitshwenyako ukuthi kubusa nina size lapha namhlanje ukuzokhuluma nani nokuzobonisana nani.

This is the Parliament of the people. Yi-Palamende yabantu lapho abantu kufuneka bakhulume khona. Embusweni otjhaphulukile, lo owalwelwa ngabantu badela imizimba yabo, bathulula iingazi zabo, bafa, bafela bonyana sitjhaphuluke, lo mbuso wenu otjhaphulukileko its your own Parliament. [Iwahlo.] Namhlanje silethe iPalamende ebantwini bekhethu, ngikutjho lokho futhi ngesibindi ngingakhathezeki nehliziweni.

USekela Mongameli usikhuthazile bonyana siragele phambili ngalomsebenzi ngoba kufanele sizokhuluma nani, ngini abasikhethileko, singanibalekela. Nibuzile imibuzo siniphendulile, nivezile iinkhalo zenu, sazilalela, nisitjelile bonyana nifunani, sizwile izinto ezintathu lezo ningizwile bonyana ngithini angithi? Embusweni wekululeko sifuna kube nje. Sifuna ukuthi abantu bakhulume batjhaphulukile, nginizwile benitjhaphulukile akakho omunye okade akhuluma athuthumele lapha ni. Ngathana bekusikhathi lesa sakade beningazowuvula umlomo, ngabe banijamele ngeensamboko ngaphandle lapha balalele bonyana nithini. [Iwahlo.] Abanye benu ngathana selebalele ejele bathi nidelela aboMahlanga, nidelela aboPrem ier hlalani phasi nikhuluma njani. Nikhulumile nasitjela, nasibetha nina ngokwenu sihlezi lapha etafuleni salalela sathi ya! Abantu bekhekhethu batjhaphulukile namhlanje. Bekwajabula nehliziyo yami ingathi yezeswe ngamafutha. [Iwahlo.] Ngoba naningakhulumiko asazi bonyana nifunani, umntwana ongaliliko ufela embelekweni, thina size lapha ukuzokuzwa bonyana nilila ngani. Nasisuka lapha sibopha amabrugu, ibhande siyaliqinisa sikhuphule amakowusi sikhambe siyothatha izinto enizifunako sizilethe ebantwini. [Iwahlo.]

Niyatjhagala namhlanje, nitjhagala kamnandi ephasini leSewula Afrika loke nawuthatha ikoloyi uye la ufuna khona ngeengazi zabanye abasilwelwako akusimnandi nakunjalo? Awukabotjhelelwa lapha kwaNdebele bonyana uhlale lapha, utjhaphulukile bonyana ukhambe inarha yoke. Nabo musi ubumnandi okhunye kanti sifunani? Usebenze njengobanyana kade basebenza ekade basiphethe, usukhambe uyofuna umsebenzi lapho ufuna khona. Nabakuqatjhako eWestern Cape bakuqatjhe usebenze, nabakuqatjhako le eNorthern Cape ukhambe uyosebenza, nabakuqatjhako eLimpopo ukhambe uyosebenza, nabakuqatjhako ngaphetjheya ukhambe uyosebenza akusimnandi nakunjalo? Solo sakokorana lapha sibekiwe bathi kheje nijame lapho, solo sajamako sikokorene njalo. Namhlanje umbuso wekhethu usitjhaphululile. [Iwahlo.]

Nanzi izinto ezikhulunywe babantu, ngithanda ukuzibeka bonyana nizizwe kuhle nalabo ekade bangeko abanye benilovile phakathi kweveke khange nize. Abantu balile ngokuthi bayatjhoda ngezinye izinto. Into engijabulisileko noma kade balila ngezinto engizozibala lezi, bajabule khulu abantu ukuthi umbuso uyasebenza, basiwa ukuthi sigijime godu ngamandla basipha namandla wokuthi sigijime silungise okuseleko. Nilile ngeendlwana zokuthi nisaphumela ngaphandle abanye nakutlhogeka bazithume basithela ngemithi bazisule ngamatje nangotjani. [Ihleko.] [Iwahlo.] Balile ngalokho. Abanye balile ngokuthi sirhorha iinyawo iindlu zabo azakhiwa kuhle ezinye ziyakhiwa azipheli. Yinto abantu abalile ngayo bengihlezi la ngithe du ngibalalele. Abanye balile ngamanzi khulu khulu amanzi nilile ngawo nginizwile. [Iwahlo.] Abantu balile ngeendlela bathi iindlela azikhambeki. [Iwahlo.] Zizinto engizizwileko lezi.

Lalelanike, izolo bengino Trevor Manuel ophethe iimali zeSewula Afrika zoke, kade ala KwaMhlanga izolo entambama angithi nginitjelile, uzile wazosipha imali. [Iwahlo.] Imali ekade siyiphasisa izolo besiyiphasisela amaphrovinsi woke hayi iMpumalanga. [Iwahlo.] Woke amaphrovinsi ukuthi azothola imali engaka, iinhlangano zepolitiki woke weNCOP ahlangane iwuphasisile umthetho loyo izolo. Nanzi izinto ezivele lapho lokha uTrevor Manuel nakakhulumako, udade uMEC Coleman ukhona la kade akhona sinaye. UTrevor Manuel uthe imadlana ezabakhona umnyaka lo yokuthi laba abasithela ngemithi bayo khupha ubulongwe lapha emangweni izakuphela. [Iwahlo.] U-MEC ukhulumile nokuthi nemali yokunikela uMEC weZindlu encanyana izabakhona ukuthi arhabe arhelebhe labo abanganazindlu ukuthi baqhubekele phambili. [Iwahlo.]

UTrevor Manuel usiphile imali yokuthi kutlhogonyelwe leziindawo ezisatlhoga amanzi usiphile nayo imali yamanzi. [Iwahlo.] UTrevor Manuel usiphile godu imali yokuthi amakhansela la ekade nilila ngawo izolo bakwazi ukukhamba balungise iindlela. Lalelani ke nikwazi ke lokhu ukuthi amaMEC wala eMpumalanga asayohlala phasi aqale bona baphiwe malini lokhu engikukhulumako ukuthi imadlana ikhona okulungisekako unyaka lo bazokulingisa msinya nginethemba elipheleleko kilokho. [Iwahlo.] Okutlhayelako godu sizokuqala emnyakeni ozako, bazakuthi nabahlanganeko baqale bona kutlhayela lokhu nalokha bakubambe msinya.

Abazikuzikghona zoke izinto lezi ngelanga linye ngifuna nizwisise kulikho, imadlana yona siyitholile ingesikhwameni sabo yaziwa ngibo bonyana iyosebenza kuphi, namapriority aphethe ngibo banizwile nanikhulumako.

Nangingena endabeni yamakhansela msinyana. Makhansela nizwile abantu balile ngani khulukhulu kodwana angikholwa bonyana noke ningcolile, lokho khona angikukholwa. Bathe nivilapha khulu anisebenzi abanye bebathi akunamakhensela lapha ni. Angikholwa bonyana kunjalo. Kodwana nginethemba bonyana babili bathathu mhlombe bakhona abavilaphako, abavilaphako ke siyanibawa bonyana umbuso ophetheko namhlanje uthi boke abarholi kufuneka nihlangane nabantu nikhulumisane nabo. Noma kubudisi noma kumnandi sikhambe sibatjele bonyana la akukalungi sizolungisa kuyeza ningababalekela. [Iwahlo.]

Kodwana nani Bantu ningathathi amatje amakhansela nakathi amanzi awakafiki nibarhandlhe ngamatje, asisebenzi njalo, sibaphe umsebenzi sibathume ukuthi bayosebenza. Abomenenjara bamakhansela sizwile bonyana kukhona abanye abazibhadela imali enengi edlula nekaMongameli, sikuzwile lokho. Manje siyanibawa bona imali ethuliweko izolo nethulwe ngumama uColeman eMpumalanga lezo mmali ezinikelwa abantu asizisebenziseni zikhambe ziye ebantwini singazifaki ngeenkhwameni zethu. [Iwahlo.] Abantu balile khulu ngendaba yobukhohlakali, kakhulukazi balila ngale uSekela Mongameli akade akhuluma ngayo iPublic Service.

Siyanibawa boke abakhona lapha abasebenzako ukuthi imali leyo nayifika lapha izele ukuthi izorhelebha umphakathi ayikezi ukuthi izongena eenkhwameni zenu, ayikezi ukuthi nenze ubukhohlakali kubantu ukuthi nawuzothola ikontraka mdele sikunikele ilitho utho le ikontraka ayikazeli lokho. Izele ukuzosegbenza. Elinye igama engifuna ukuliphakamisa mngibonile uMEC weZindlu lapha kuTelevision amaveke aphelileko, akhamba aqala izindlu ezimaratha ezingakapheli, abanye bathela esilebhe babaleke nemali leyo, abanye bathathe imali leyo bayifake eenkhwameni. Hayi mani masani ukwenza njalo ni. Imali leyo akusiyo yenu ngeyo kwakha izindlu yakhele abantu, ayikwenzela bona niyothenga amaMercedes Benz abantu batlhoge izindlu ayikenzelwa lokho ni. [Iwahlo.]

Ngiyajabula MEC ngoba uthe uzobalandelela, uzobabetha, futhi uzobafuna babuye bazoqedela izindlu lezo. Ngikareke khulu emoyeni wami ngakareka, balandelele. Namhlanjesi sikhona lapha sikupha amandla nawukgona ukubabopha ubabophe bakhambe baye ejele. [Iwahlo.] Ngoba badle imali yabantu, ayikalungi into leyo ayikalungi. Umbuso awakwazi bona nawukhuphe imali bonyana imali izorhelebha abantu nina niyisebenzise budlabha. Silapha nje sizoqala izinto ezinengi. Nanisuka la nithuka umbuso nithi umbuso awenzi litho kanti umbuso imali uyilethile iphelele endleleni. Leyo mali ngeya Bantu akusiyo yenu, boke abanza izinto ezingcolileko ezifana nalezo siyowuqinisa umthetho, sizasiqinisa isandla. Noma ungabaleka sizakuthola ngeMercedes yakho leyo. [Iwahlo.]

Abantu balile ngokobanyana kusenezikolo ezingathathi abantwana ngoba abantwana abanazo iimali zesikolo. Kanti matitjhere iindlebe zenu lezi ziyephi [Ihleko.] Kubayini nasikhulumako simubuso nithathe ivadi nivale iindlebe zenu lezi, nizivalelani? UNgqonqgotjhe weZefundo unitjelile bona every child has got a right to education. Akunamntwana ozohlala ekhaya batjho akanamali akanamali yokubhadala imali yesikolo nakanganamali mvulele umnyango azofunda. [Iwahlo.] Unina bano yise bazakwenza isibawo sokulibalelwa batjho bonyana abanamali, vulelani umntwana loyo akhambe aye esikolweni. [Kuphele isikhathi.] Batjho isikhathi sami siphelile, ngiyajabula abantu baKwaMhlanga sithe nasikhuluma nani nathi namanzi nizowabhadela, neensizakalo nizozibhadela, naso into esiyifunako nedi baninikele izinto enizifunako umbuso sizakwenza ngamandla. Ngiyathokoza salani kuhle. [Iwahlo.] (Translation of isiNdebele speech follows.)

[The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, and our hon Premier of Mpumalanga, Thabang Makwetla, other Premiers are not present, therefore I will not mention them. I am only mentioning the important one, who is in our midst, who is heading Mpumalanga. [Applause.]

He is still a young man. I noticed by the way he walks that he has the courage to work, the courage to pull ahead. If you see a person walking reluctantly, you must know that he will reach his destination very late. But this one walks very fast. I noticed this when I was with him on Monday and Wednesday. All councillors and executive mayors present, MPLs, your Majesty, Makhosoke II as well as Mayisha III, bayede! All kings present, I greet you all, and also the members of the community seated in this House whom the NCOP is visiting today. [Applause.]

Deputy President, I would like to speak about a few issues today that I heard about on my arrival here in Mpumalanga, more especially here in KwaMhlanga. I will talk about what is being said by people. I personally heard what people are complaining about. When I speak about some of the issues, you must not say I am insulting, because I will be saying what people are saying. You also heard what they said. Since the Premier and the Deputy President were not present throughout, I would like them to know what we were talking about, because when we leave here we are going to work and prepare things concerning the complaints. [Applause.]

When the Deputy President speaks, he says “the people shall govern”. The people shall govern and not us, we have been sent by you to go and govern. If you sent us, we must come back and take up the matters that we are governing for you and check whether we are governing correctly. Today we are amongst you; we came to talk to you and check whether we are governing for you correctly. You are governing today; not us, but you. If we were still the only people governing, we would have been in Cape Town by now, because what could be bothering us? If we were still governing alone, we would have been in Pretoria by now, because there would be nothing bothering us. Since something is bothering us, and the fact is that you are the ones who are governing, we came here today to speak to you and share ideas with you.

This is the Parliament of the people, where people are supposed to speak. A democratic government, for which people devoted their being and fought, shed their blood and died so that we could be free - this free government is your Parliament. [Applause.] Today we brought the Parliament to our people. I say that with from deep within, without any qualms.

The Deputy President encourages us to continue with this work, because we must come and talk to you, you are the ones who elected us; we must not run away from you. You have asked questions and we answered you, you have raised your concerns, and we listened, you told us what you wanted, and we heard the issues. You heard what I said. Is this not so? That is what we want in a democratic government. We want people to speak freely. I heard, when you spoke, that you were free and no one here was trembling. If it were still the previous era you would not have opened your mouths; they would have stood outside with shamboks and listened to what you were saying. [Applause.] Some of you would already have been incarcerated on allegations that you were despised Mahlangus. We would have heard: “You despised Premiers, sit down. What are you saying?” You have spoken, you told us; you criticised us while we were seated around the table here, we listened and said: Yes! Our people are free today! My heart felt warm. [Applause.] If you do not talk, we do not know what you need. If one does not seek assistance, he will not be assisted. We came here to hear what your complaints are. When we leave here, we will tighten our belts and pull up our socks and go and fetch the things that you want and bring them to you. [Applause.]

Today you go around throughout the Republic of South Africa when you take a car and drive wherever you want to through the blood of the people who fought for us. Is that not good? You are not obliged to stay here in KwaNdebele only, you are free to move throughout the Republic. That is having a good time. What else do we want? You must work, because those who are governing us are working. You may go and look for employment wherever you want to. If you are employed in the Western Cape, you must go and work there; if you are employed in the Northern Cape, you must go and work there; if you are employed in Limpopo, you must go and work there; if you are employed overseas, you must go and work there. Is that not wonderful? We waited as we were told to. Today our government is free. [Applause.]

Here are some concerns raised by people that I would like to mention so that you can hear them well, even those who were not present at the time. Some of you were absent during the week. You did not come. People complained that they experienced a shortage of certain services. What excited me, although they were complaining about services - which I am about to mention – was that people were so happy that the government was working. They requested us once again to move faster and finalise what is outstanding and they gave us the power to move. Concerns were raised about sanitation, telling us that when some of them have to relieve themselves they have to hide behind trees and wipe themselves with stones and grass. [Laughter.] [Applause.] That was their complaint. There were some complaints about our being reluctant to build houses and that some of the houses were not properly built. That is what people complained about while I was sitting here listening to them. I heard some serious complaints about water. [Applause.] People complained that roads were very bad. [Applause.] This is what I heard.

Then listen to this. Yesterday I was with Trevor Manuel, the Finance Minister in South Africa, who was here at KwaMhlanga yesterday evening - I told you, haven’t I – and he had come to give us money. [Applause.] Yesterday`s Budget Vote was for all the provinces, not only Mpumalanga. [Applause.] All the provinces will receive certain amounts. Political parties and the NCOP together passed that law yesterday. These are issues that came to light when Trevor Manuel delivered his speech, MEC Coleman is present now, and she was present then. Trevor Manuel said the money that would be made available in this financial year is for assisting those who hide behind trees when they want to relieve themselves, as this must come to an end. [Applause.] The MEC said funds would be allocated for housing to the MEC so that he could come to the aid of those who have no houses. [Applause.]

Trevor Manuel gave us money to take care of the places where there is still a shortage of water and money to supply water. [Applause.] Trevor Manuel also gave us money that - councillors, you were complaining about this yesterday - could go towards the repair of roads. Listen, then you would know that the MECs of Mpumalanga are still going to sit down and check how much they have received, but what I am saying is that with that little amount they will be able to do what is possible, I am quite sure about that. [Applause.] We will see what shortages there are in the next financial year. When they come together, they will see what has fallen short and soon cover it. They cannot afford to do all these things in one day, and I want you to understand that.

We at least received a little bit of money. It is in their pockets, and they know where they are going to use it. They also have priorities, as they heard you when you were speaking.

I shall talk about the issue of the councillors quickly. Councillors, you have heard the concerns of people, but I do not believe that all of you are corrupt; I just do not believe that. They said you were very lazy, that you did not want to work, while others said there were no councillors here. I do not believe it is so. But I believe that two or three may be lazy, and to those who are lazy, we say that the government of today wants leaders to meet people and speak to them. In difficult times and in good times, we must inform them. We must tell people when we run into difficulties, but reassure them we will rectify matters; you must not run away from them. [Applause.]

But you, the community, must not throw stones at councillors when they tell you that water has not yet arrived. We do not work like that; we must give them work and tell them to do it. We heard that town managers paid themselves more than the President’s salary; we heard that. Now we request you to use those moneys given to us yesterday and those given by Coleman from Mpumalanga - those monies which have been given to the community - appropriately and not put them into our pockets. [Applause.] People complained a great deal about corruption, they complained a great deal about the Public Service, which has been mentioned by the Deputy President.

We request all of you officials present here; when that money arrives it must help the community - it must not be put into your pockets. It has not been given to perpetuate corruption; if someone is supposed to get a contract and must pay something in order to get that contract, it is not for that. It has been given to be used appropriately. Another issue I want to raise the fact that I saw the housing MEC on television few weeks ago, walking around, checking unfinished houses, where people have just laid the foundation and run away with the money, and others have put that money into their pockets. No, you must not do that. That money is not yours, it is for building houses for people, it is not for you to buy a Mercedes Benz, while people are without houses. [Applause.]

I am happy, MEC, because you said you were going to follow up on them, punish them and that you would want them to finish those houses. I am happy in my soul; follow up on them. Today we here are giving you the authority, if that is possible, to arrest them; let them go to prison … [Applause.] . . . because they misappropriated people`s money, and that is not right. Government cannot pay out money to assist people and let you misappropriate it. We are here to inspect many things. You will be insulting government if you say that government is doing nothing when government had paid the money out, but it disappeared on the way. That money belongs to the people and not to you, all those who are committing dirty deeds. We are going to amend the law to be strict on such issues. Even though you may run away in your Mercedes, we will find you. [Applause.]

People are complaining about schools that still do not take in children because they do not have the school fees. Teachers, where are your ears? [Laughter.] Why do you close your ears when the government is speaking, why do you close them? The Minister of Education told you that every child has the right to education. No child will stay at home because he has no school fees. If he does not have money, open the door for him to come in and learn. [Applause.] His parents will apply for exemption, because they do not have the money. Open the door for that child to go to school.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P Hollander): Hon Chair, your time has expired.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: They say my time has expired. I am happy for you, people of KwaMhlanga. When we spoke to you, you said you would also pay for water and services, which is what we want if you are given what you need. The government will also work hard. I thank you. Goodbye. [Applause.]]

Mr T S P MAKWETLA (Premier of Mpumalanga): Chairperson, it is clear that the Chairperson - who is the Deputy Chairperson - was not informed that there was an arrangement between me and the last speaker that he would use some of my time. He shouldn’t have been stopped from continuing with his speech. [Laughter.]

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon M J Mahlangu, hon Deputy President, hon members and delegates of the NCOP, representatives of Salga, colleagues and comrades, today’s sitting is a culmination of a week- long programme of hard work by the NCOP in what is undoubtedly becoming a colourful component of the legacy we have established for ourselves as a country of taking government to the people.

Our province wants you to know that we indeed consider ourselves privileged to have been accorded the opportunity to play host to today’s outing of the NCOP, away from its regular seat. Your commitment to the spirit of our Constitution of the Republic to build a people-centred democracy will remain an inspiration to the public representatives and the people of Mpumalanga. As we round off the NCOP programme in Mpumalanga through this sitting, allow me to take this opportunity to put the spotlight briefly on some of the challenges of the day that we face as provinces.

I believe the visit of the NCOP to our province was made even more exiting for members of the NCOP, because on the eve of the visit and during the course of this week, the province witnessed the first violent mass protest in two of our municipalities. Barricades were mounted in the Emalahleni Municipality last week, and at Secunda in Govan Mbeki Municipality on Tuesday this week. Limited as these actions were, they are ironic because as we work increasingly to take government to the people through numerous initiatives such as this one, there are people out there who do things that suggest that they have not been heard.

This development begs a whole host of questions we must ask ourselves. And the question we must ask ourselves is: Is our democracy actually working? What is wrong with our municipalities? Are we breeding political opportunism and struggle copycats within our communities, and if it is so; why is it the case?

Indeed there can be no denying that a lot must still be done in many of our communities. As the President said in his state of the nation address, we must intensify our work to provide clean and running water to all our households by 2008. We must provide decent and safe sanitation for all. We must ensure that free basic electricity is provided to all with minimum delay. We must battle to ensure that all citizens have access to affordable medicines in refurbished hospitals with sufficient professionals, especially in the rural areas.

As we roll out these programmes, it is important that we should distinguish objective from subjective weaknesses in our work. Again, as the President said, and I quote:

  We must also make a determined effort to educate our people that our
  country does not have the resources immediately to meet simultaneously
  all the admittedly urgent needs of the people, especially the poor.

A lot must be done. We all agree together with our municipalities to realise the ideal situation regarding our machinery of government. Indeed we must expand the community development workers’ programme. We must roll out multi-purpose community centres. We must sustain the institution of imbizos and root the spirit of Batho Pele within our Public Service.

The biggest challenge we agree confronting our country in its second decade of freedom is the implementation of our policies and visions for our country. The capacities of our municipalities must be viewed in that context. Among the things we believe we must do in our province, and the same I would imagine applies in other provinces as well, is to take stock of the capacities of our municipalities, including how many of these municipalities actually do have full-time councillors.

As our communities are stressed and distraught about the lack of services and what is perceived to be failures on the part of municipalities. Many of us may not know that some of these municipalities don’t even have full-time councillors, not even their mayors. [Applause.]

It is important that, as we tackle the next decade, as we address the capacities of implementing our programmes, we must review some of the decisions we started with, rightfully so, but on the basis of the experience we have gained over the last 10 years. [Applause.]

It is clear that much more has to be done in order to bring government closer to people. However, as we are gathered in this sitting of the NCOP today, we would all agree that the snowballing, violent and mass protests within our communities as a result of a whole range of grievances, accompanied by demands that some councillors must resign presents a difficult phenomenon to understand because our country is actually on the eve of local government elections. We have fought so hard for our democracy. We have fought so hard for the right and space as South Africans to handle our business in a manner that respects one another, in the manner that respects the feelings and the needs of the people that it does not make sense, when that system is in place, and especially with the pressures that are on the local government municipalities on the eve of elections, we should have violent protests seeking the immediate resignation of councillors.

The natural thing to happen; what we should do in our communities where we are not satisfied with the performance of those who have been councillors is to make sure that they are not given a second chance through democratic procedures that we have established, through elections, for which many of our brothers, many of our sisters, or our parents have made the supreme sacrifice so that we could have a democratically run country. [Applause.]

Those councillors who have done things that disappointed us, those who have actually in some instances committed criminal offences; we must make sure that we use the democratic process to unseat them. [Applause.] It cannot be, as the President said in the state of the nation address:

It cannot be accepted that we should use methods that borders on
criminality to resolve our public problems.

Indeed, we are a country that is still in its early stages of democracy. Our democracy is still in the process of solidifying. We should not do things that erode our democratic dispensation, because indeed it is very easy for that to happen.

Once we, as communities, believe that the culture of using violence to impose our point of view on others works, we should realise that we are actually standing on a slippery slope, because in principle there is no difference from any other person who has acceptable channels available in order to redress their problems but seek to resort to violence to impose their views on others. That is what terrorism is all about.

The challenges that we confront as provinces are to make sure that our municipalities meet the demands of our community. We take them very seriously. As the Deputy President has said, programmes that provinces announced a few weeks ago are not documents to gather dust on our shelves. And we accept the responsibility the NCOP carries to make sure that pressure is mounted continuously on us so that we indeed deliver on our promises. With those limited remarks, thank you very much, Chairperson. [Applause.]

Mr C J VAN ROOYEN (Free State): Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, hon Premier and MECs, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, today I would like to confirm a number of truths, and at the same time dispel a few myths about our economic performance as a country. The ANC-led government has put in place an economic system that has benefited everyone in this country.

As stated by the President, and confirmed by the Minister of Finance:

  Our country has never in its entire history enjoyed such confluence of
  encouraging possibilities.

In plain language, for the very first time in our history, the possibility of sharing in the wealth of this country and in the fruits of our liberation is open and available to all our people to enjoy. To this end this government has put in place macroeconomic policies that have allowed our economy to grow at an average of 3,2% per annum over the past four years.

These policies have also contributed to the longest growth period in the post-Second World War period, and all indications are that this increase in growth should be sustainable and even improved well into the future. The improvement in South Africa’s overall economic performance has allowed for greater investor and consumer confidence, as well as an increase in real income per person. It further also allowed the state to spend more on fighting poverty and inequality, and it particularly allowed for more social spending on projects to bring about equality and ensure redistribution.

Over the past five years, government has increased spending on social security programmes by 9,5% to almost 14% of consolidated noninterest expenditure. Whilst we have managed to reach a significant portion of the poor, it is a well-known fact that there are many of our poor and vulnerable people, especially in the deep rural areas, who do not yet benefit from their constitutionally guaranteed rights to access social grants and other forms of social assistance.

However, this situation is bound to change, with increased allocation for the administration of social grants, and with the eradication of corruption in the Public Service. An undeniable truth is that many South Africans are still trapped in the second economy, a mainly informal, marginalised, unskilled economy, populated by unemployment and those unemployable in the formal sector. These people more often than not do not benefit from the consistent growth and prosperity present in the South African first economy.

Government is committed to empower all South Africans and to create an environment where all people can reap the benefits of the fruits of liberation. In this regard our ANC-led government has spent over R1,5 billion to create 76 000 job opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme. It was reported in December 2004 that the Expanded Public Works Programme created 3 309 jobs in Mpumalanga, and 1 374 jobs in the Free State.

Let me reiterate, since the Expanded Public Works Programme was launched in Mpumalanga in September 2004, it created nearly 3 300 jobs in just three months. [Applause.] We should bear in mind that the MEC promised in June 2004 that 10 000 jobs would be created through the Expanded Public Works Programme by the end of March 2005. We believe that we are on course to meet this target.

Allow me to now turn to the question of Black Economic Empowerment. We all agree with the President that this programme of opening up the economic opportunities to black people should not benefit only a few.

Aan die ander kant raak ’n mens ook nou moeg van die opposisie wat elke tweede dag dieselfde deuntjie sing: “Black Economic Empowerment only benefits the elite few.”

Dit is eenvoudig net nie waar nie. Honderde, selfs duisende, klein en medium ondernemings het alreeds baat gevind by regeringsprojekte en –kontrakte, veral in die boubedryf, met die verskaffing van dienste en verwante industrieë in al die provinsies. Dit is verstaanbaar dat die DA nie daarvan bewus sal wees nie, aangesien hulle nie in voeling is met die gemeenskap van die tweede ekonomie nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]

Die Vryheidsmanifes stel dit duidelik: “Almal sal deel in die rykdom van die land.” Die ANC is verbind hiertoe in die ekonomiese plan vir Suid- Afrika en binne die bepalings van die Grondwet. Vir té lank is die meerderheid Suid-Afrikaners ontneem van geleenthede om sinvol betrokke te wees by die ekonomie. Armoede kan slegs effektief aangespreek word indien geleenthede geskep word vir meer Suid-Afrikaners om ekonomies aktief te wees, en om werkskeppers te word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[On the other hand we are also now getting tired of the opposition party who sings the same old tune every second day: “Black economic empowerment only benefits the elite few.”

This is simply not true. Hundreds, even thousands, of small and medium enterprises have already benefited from government projects and contracts, especially in the building industry, with the provision of services and related industries in all the provinces.

It is understandable that the DA will not be aware of this; they are not in touch with the community of the second economy. [Interjections.]

The Freedom Charter clearly states: “Everyone shall share in the riches of the country.” The ANC is committed to this in the economic plan for South Africa and in terms of the provisions of the Constitution. For too long the majority of South Africans were denied opportunities to be meaningfully involved in the economy. Poverty can be effectively addressed only if the opportunities are created for more South Africans to be economically active, and to become job creators.]

The Aveng Black Economic Empowerment deal in September 2004, where Aveng sold 25% of Grinaker-LTA and Trident Steel to Qakazana Investment Holdings, is an example of how Black Economic Empowerment can be used to enrich people across the broad spectrum of South Africa. Seventy-one per cent of the consortium that owns Qakazana is broad-based. Broad-based in this instance refers to a community trust, a women’s empowerment trust and a trust for employees. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Order! Can I just make two announcements? Those people outside are making noise. I want the police to do their job. We are not in a rally here. We are in Parliament. Secondly, all speakers, you have the speakers’ list. There is a waiting seat right here on my right-hand side, please take your cue accordingly so that we can save time.

Mr M MABUYAKHULU (KwaZulu-Natal): Thank you Chairperson, Deputy President, hon delegates of the NCOP, all the distinguished guests, the Premier of Mpumalanga and our colleagues who are MECs, let me start by conveying my apologies on behalf of my Premier, S’bu Ndebele. The Premier is unable to be here today because of a bereavement in the family. Tomorrow, he will be laying to rest his sister and it is for this reason that he was unable to join this very august, important meeting today. I also want to stand before you to convey our condolences to the late Inkosi Wellington Hlengwa, who was our Deputy Speaker, who actually passed away under very tragic circumstances during the course of this week.

The topic that we are debating today is engaging our people in building a better society founded on recognised human rights and committed to service delivery. Yesterday, on behalf of my Premier, I had the privilege of participating in the Men’s Summit held in Durban from 15 March. This Men’s Summit is the first national Men’s Summit that has ever been held, and brought together government, civil society organisations, the religious sector and other indigenous committee formations, including especially the !Xu and Kweh from the San community. It is important that I convey to this very important august House, the NCOP, a declaration that was adopted at that Men’s Summit, which I was then requested to pass on to you, Chairperson, so that therefore, in return, you can pass it on to all the provinces in our country.

The Men’s Summit focused on issues of gender equality. It grappled with matters that are very critical in which men can make a difference. It is indeed a subject that is very critical in our country, particularly at this stage of transition. We in KwaZulu-Natal say that indeed all of us must take a leaf out of this declaration’s book. We must read it and actually begin to implement some of the most important principles that are embodied in this declaration. When we deal with issues of delivery, it is imperative we ensure that all our people are given an opportunity to turn their lives around.

Sithi-ke kubalulekile kule Ndlu yakho ehloniphekile Sihlalo ukuba uma sikhuluma sithi sifuna kubonakale umehluko kubantu bakithi kulesi sikhathi sikahulumeni wentando yeningi, asiqinisekise ukuthi umehluko uyenzeka. KwaZulu-Natali kulo nyaka esikuwona ngasohlangothini lokwakhiwa kwezindlu sesingasho ukuthi, noma unyaka ungakapheli, sesikwazile kumanje ukwakhela abantu baKwaZulu-Natali izindlu eziyi-32 000. [Ihlombe.] Sithi-ke, lokhu kunesidingo sokuthi kuqhubeke futhi kube kuningi esikwenzayo ukuqinisekisa ukuthi ngempela izimpilo zabantu bakithi ziba ngcono.

KwaZulu-Natali, siyazi ukuthi sinemikhandlu yomasipala enga-51. Kule mikhandlu enga-51, enye yezinto esesiyenzile ngohlelo lolu lukazwelonke sibambisene nohulumeni bezifunda esilubiza ngokuthi uhlelo lukazibambele ngokwethu “Hands on Approach Programme Project Consolidate” komasipala abanga-29 sibenza ngokubambisana nemikhandlu ukuyelekelela ukuthi ixazulule ezinye izinkinga ebhekene nazo. Sesibeke-ke isamba semali kuhulumeni wesifundazwe esingaphezulu kwekhulu lezigidi zamaRandi ukuba sibambisane nemikhandlu njengoba kuzobe kuqala nje unyaka wezimali. Lokhu-ke kuzokwenza ukuthi ukulethwa kwezidingo ezibalulekile emphakathini nakubantu zisheshe zifinyelele. KwaZulu-Natali sibona kunomehluko esiwenzayo ekuphuculeni izimpilo zabantu bakithi abahlala ezindaweni zasemakhaya. Manje sesinezinhlelo ezifana nezolimo, ikakhulukazi uhlelo esilubiza ngokuthi Siyavuna. Yilo lolu hlelo olwenza ukuthi abantu bakithi bakwazi ukuthi basebenzise umhlaba ngoba siyazi ukuthi umhlaba ukhona kodwa kwesinye isikhathi abantu abakwazi ukuwusebenzisa ngendlela efanelekileyo.

Lolu hlelo-ke selenze ukuthi sibone kwanda indlela abantu abakwazi ukuziphilisa ngayo engathi phecelezi “food security”. Sithola futhi ngalolu hlelo kwanda ukubuyisa ukuzethemba kwabantu bakithi ngokuthi bakwazi ukuzithuthukisa ngokwabo. Yilolu hlelo-ke esesilunikeze imali eningi KwaZulu-Natali oluphethe umnyango wethu wezolimo olwenza umehluko ezimpilweni zabantu.

KwaZulu-Natali sinohlelo esiluphuthumisayo okuwuhlelo lokuthi ezikoleni ezinga-331 ezisemakhaya silethe uhlelo lokuhanjiswa kokungcola, ukuletha amanzi kanye nogesi kuzo zonke lezi zikole. Njengoba sikhuluma nje sizibekele ukuthi akuthi kushaya uSepthemba kulo nyaka, zonke lezi zikole esikhuluma ngazo zibe sezinazo lezi zidingongqangi ngoba isikole akube yisikole ngoba sinazo zonke izidingo ezisifanele. [Ihlombe.] Sithi lapha KwaZulu-Natali sibona futhi siba nomehluko omkhulu ekubuyisweni kwesiko lobuholi bendabuko nokwenza ukuthi kube khona ukuzigqaja ngokuthi ubuholi bendabuko bungakwazi ukusimama futhi buphile ngokubambisana nohulumeni wentando yeningi. Esikwenzayo lapha ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izinhlaka zobuholi bendabuko zisebenza ngokubambisana nemikhandu yomasipala futhi kube khona ukwabelana nokuhloniphana phakathi kwalezi zinhlaka zonke ngoba ubuholi bendabuko phela ngokoMthethosisekelo bukhona budinga ukuba buvikelwe futhi bukhuthazwe.

Yilokho esikwenza mihla namalanga ukuba sibuyisele futhi siphinde sibeke ngokusemthethweni amakhosi oselwa esinawo nesiziqhenya ngawo kakhulu. KwaZulu-Natali futhi sibona kuba khona uguquko lokuthi abantu abahlala ezindaweni ezisemakhaya babonakale bekuthakasela lokhu bebe futhi yingxenye yentando yeningi.

Siphinda futhi siqinisekise ukuthi owethu umsebenzi awushiyi ngaphandle izinhlelo zikahulumeni ezizolethela abantu bakithi amathuba okusebenza, ikakhulukazi izinhlelo ezifana nokuthi abantu bakwazi ukuziqambela ezabo izinto zokusebenza njengezinhlangano zomsebenzi. KwaZulu-Natali-ke sibeke imali engaphezu kwekhulu neshumi lezigidi zamaRandi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[Chairperson of this august House, we think it is important to see definite changes in this democratic government, and we should do so by taking it upon ourselves to make those changes. In KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, with regard to housing projects, we can safely say that this year, although the year has not ended, we have managed to build 32 000 houses for the people of KwaZulu-Natal. [Applause.] We therefore view this as a matter of urgency, which should be continued, but we should also take a number of initiatives to ensure that the quality of life of our people is improved.

In KwaZulu-Natal we have 51 municipalities. Of the 51 municipalities, 29 municipalities have joined hands with the provincial sphere of government on the national project, called the “hands-on approach” programme, Project Consolidate, which enables municipalities to solve certain problems on their own.

We are expecting the provincial government to give us more than R100 million in the forthcoming financial year so that we can work together with the municipalities. This will speed up service delivery. We can see the changes we have made in improving the quality of life of the people who stay in the rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal. At present we have projects such as the agricultural one called Siyavuna. Through this project our people are enabled to use the land and as we all know the land is indeed available. However, people do not know how to work the land properly.

Through this project, we have seen people increasing their means of providing food security. We have also noted that our people have regained their strength for self-development. In KwaZulu-Natal we have allocated a lot of money to this project, as it is the central project in our department of agriculture and environmental affairs, through which we provide a better life for our people.

In KwaZulu-Natal we are finalising another project that seeks to provide sanitation services to approximately 331 rural schools and electricity and water to all schools. As we speak, we plan, at least by September this year, to have provided all these resources to all the schools we have targeted, because any school is worthy when it meets all the requirements. [Applause.] In KwaZulu-Natal we have made a paradigm shift in reviving traditional leadership by affording it its deserved morale, so that they can develop and keep on working with the national government. What we are doing is to make sure that the structures of traditional leadership work with the municipalities, in terms of sharing and having mutual respect, because the traditional leadership authority is constitutionally recognised and needs to be enshrined and encouraged.

What we are doing on a daily basis is to reinstate and officially inaugurate indigenous chiefs, whom we regard with pride. Another thing we have noted in KwaZulu-Natal is the change of attitude of the people from the rural areas who have shown appreciation for this move, and have become participants in the programmes of our democracy.

We also make sure that our operations do not leave out government projects that would create job opportunities, particularly the creation of programmes that would give people the capacity to establish close corporations. In KwaZulu-Natal we have set aside more than R110 million.]

With this money we are aiming to ensure that we are able to release the energies of rural people so they are able to form their own co-operatives. In so doing they can play a decisive role in ensuring that they are shaping their own destiny and their own lives. [Applause.]

KwaZulu-Natali sakha imigwaqo emakhaya. Ngalolu hlelo lokwakha imigwaqo emakhaya esesilubekele isamba esingasilinganisela emakhulwini ayisihlanu ezigidi zamaRandi, lwenza ukuthi zonke izindawo ezisemakhaya sifune ukuthi zifinyeleleke ukuze abantu bakithi bakwazi ukuthi, noma ngabe isimo sezulu simi kanjani, bahambe bafike lapho beya khona.

KwaZulu-Natali siphezu kokuthi izinhlelo lezi zezempilo ezibhekene nesifo segciwane lengculazi nesandulela ngculazi kube yisifo esisibeke phezulu kangangokuthi kuzo zonke izindawo nezibhedlela zikahulumeni zifuna ukuqinisekisa ukuthi abantu bakithi bayakwazi ukuthola ukusizakala. Okukhulu kakhulu ukuba sibuke umkhankaso wethu wokulwa nesifo sengculazi nesandulela ngculazi ngokubheka lonke uhlelo lokulwa lwayo okuthiwa yi “comprehensive programme” singathathi nje kuphela imishanguzo bese sishiya okunye. Ngibonge Sihlalo. [Ihlombe.][Kuphele isikhathi.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

We are establishing a road infrastructure in rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal. We have set aside R500 million for this project of facilitating the building roads in the rural areas, which is going to provide access to all rural areas and allow people to reach their destinations with ease, regardless of the weather conditions.

In KwaZulu-Natal we are prioritising HIV/Aids programmes so that public hospitals in all areas could make it a priority to enable the public to access these services. Our main task is to campaign against HIV/Aids by promoting the so-called comprehensive programme, and not concentrate on antiretrovirals only. Thank you. [Applause.] [Time expired.]]

Mr J W LE ROUX: Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Premier, dignitaries, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the hospitality we received from the wonderful, friendly people of Mpumalanga. [Applause.] I think it is fair to say that our visit to Mpumalanga has been interesting, but it is clear that service delivery is not up to standard. Governments all over the world have many responsibilities, but three functions of government are universal. Government must protect its citizens, boundaries and currency. Unfortunately, I only have three minutes so I will only stick to the first one, that government must service the people.

We all realise that many of the problems we face today are as a result of discriminatory and apartheid policies of the past. Yet, we have now had 10 years of democracy and the ANC must take responsibility for their actions. I would like to say to Premier Makwetla, it is clear that in the Free State, as well as now in Secunda, people are tired of excuses and will demand service delivery. [Applause.]

Government has failed to protect our citizens. I do not only refer to physical protection, but in this regard government definitely failed. Our crime statistics speak for themselves. It is a disgrace that the people of South Africa must live in fear.

In this regard, the DA proposes a municipal police force, or SAPS, in all municipalities. It is clear that with the state of events as they are at the moment the criminals have the upper hand. As far as protecting the population against poverty is concerned, it is sad that the few are getting richer and the many are getting poorer. “Voorsitter, die waarheid maak seer.” [Tussenwerpsels.] [Chairperson, the truth hurts.][Interjections.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P Hollander): Order hon members! Continue hon member. Continue.

Statistics prove that the poverty gap is widening and that unemployment queues are getting longer. The DA has stated over and over that labour laws must be more flexible and deregulation and privatisation are essential. Government alone cannot solve the unemployment crisis, and at best government intervention must kickstart the real economy. As far as our health services are concerned, we have lost the fight against the Aids disease. When we visited KwaMhlanga Hospital, we were told that between 60% and 70% of patients admitted to this hospital have Aids-related diseases. Thank you. [Time Expired.]

Ms Q D MAHLANGU (Gauteng): The Deputy President of our country, Mr Jacob Zuma, the Chairperson of Salga, Mayor Masondo, the Premier of Mpumalanga, Mr Thabang Makwetla, my colleagues, MECs present here, distinguished hon members, ladies and gentlemen, “ngiyanilotjhisa noke”. [I greet you all.]

It is good to see old friends and it is good to be back in the NCOP after a long time. Yes, it was my home for six years, so I have fond memories of the NCOP. I remember the first Taking Parliament to the People we held in Umtata. Looking back to then and being here now, I think there is a big difference and I would like to congratulate the NCOP on that. [Applause.] I am what I am today because of the work I have done in the NCOP and I will forever cherish those moments.

Today’s topic is very relevant to the agenda of our government and its people. Fifty years ago on 26 June men and women gathered in Kliptown in Soweto to adopt the Freedom Charter. I will quote several clauses on what I am going to say today will mainly be based.

The first clause is: The people shall govern.’’ My clauses are not in the order in which they appear in the Freedom Charter. The second one is:All national groups shall have equal rights’’; and the third one is: All doors of learning and culture shall be open.’’ The last clause I am going to talk about is:There shall be houses, security and comfort.’’ To give meaning to the clauses of the Freedom Charter, Gauteng has begun with its imbizos programme in building on the work we have done for the past 10 years. One of the things we do every second Wednesday of the month is have 11 imbizos, with 10 MECs plus the Premier going to different communities of our province where we have identified that serious difficulties in our communities.

First of all, we brief them on the five-year programme that the Deputy President talked to you about earlier on, which is based the ANC Manifesto, and that the people’s contract to create work and fight poverty is going to be at the centre of what we do in the province. Secondly, we talk to people to get feedback from them as communities of Gauteng on issues that affect them on a daily basis, whether positive or negative.

Thirdly, we focus on issues of the second generation of rights enshrined in the Constitution under the Bill of Rights, Chapter 2. We look at issues relating to housing, education, social development and health and to a very great extent the big chunk of our budget that goes to these functions. First of all, relating to education, the Freedom Charter goes: ``The doors of learning and culture shall be opened.’’

In the province we focus largely on increasing and focusing on the quality of education. But, because of the positive things that we have been able to register over the past 10 years, currently we are focusing on school infrastructure because we have many learners who are enrolling beyond primary school education. In order to cope with this challenge, we are therefore increasing the expenditure in this regard, in order to make sure that we do not have learners who want to continue with their studies beyond primary school who are stranded.

We continue to merge farm schools and rural schools. If you probably thought that Gauteng does not have rural and farm schools, we do. We are merging those because they have continued to have their curriculum, which was not aligned with the rest of the province. We have begun to align that and in addition, and relating to schools and in giving meaning to the Freedom Charter, we are making sure that there is scholar transport which is provided to learners who are supposed to travel more than 5km to go to school. That is what is happening in our province.

In terms of housing, we have identified 20 old townships that have been neglected during the previous regime. Some of these 20 townships are Katlehong, Vosloorus, Thokoza, Kagiso and others where most of the population of our province come from. We are going to focus on the following: building houses for people who have been renting in back yards, because the previous regime did not allow our people to live wherever they wanted to. We are giving housing subsidies to those people who have lived in the back yards for a very long time.

Secondly, we are tarring all the streets in these top 20 townships in the province to make sure that the road infrastructure is adequate. [Applause.] Thirdly, we are putting water and storm water drainage in the very same areas. We are using the municipal infrastructure grant to focus on these. Mind you, in the old apartheid system the quality of infrastructure that was put in townships was not as good as that which has been put in the suburbs where we live today.

We are going to continue to make sure that we put service stands in the areas of informal settlements that have been identified to be formalised. Even if we do not build houses immediately, those stands are going to be serviced and people are going to receive water and electricity in the shacks where the informal settlements have been formalised. We are continuing to put up shelters at the bus ranks because we understand that our people continue to be subjected to harsh conditions when they are waiting for transport to take them to work.

In this regard, our integrated transport system between municipalities in the province and the provincial government is being worked on and soon we should be in a position to provide an integrated transport system in our province.

In terms of health, we are strengthening our health care system in order to make sure that we deal with situations where there are still those people that the Deputy President referred to, those who have stiff necks and, when people come to a clinic on a particular day, tell them: “It is not your day today. Today we are treating only the people who have TB. Come back tomorrow!”

We are continuing to make sure that issues relating to improving the quality of health services that our people receive are receiving serious attention. This includes making sure that people understand the Patient’s Charter and know what their rights are within that charter. In addition to that, we are going to increase the number of community health workers who are supposed to be deployed and work with the communities in all the clinics and make sure that when people have difficulties around issues related to health services they can be assisted by the community health workers.

One of the things we are focusing on as a province is strengthening the ward committees beyond the establishment rate. It is pivotal in giving real meaning to the Freedom Charter’s statement that all people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of our country. If we have ward committees that are not functional and that do not give true meaning to the inputs of the IDPs and the budgets of municipalities, it is may be as well that we do not have ward committees. The main purpose and sole reason for the existence of ward committees is to make sure that our communities, through them, are enabled to make inputs into these processes. It is important and we are going to focus on providing resources and investing in capacitating communities, including improving the work of the ward councillors together with the committee. At the centre of it all, ward committees must be more important and relevant in all that we do as government and communities.

Gauteng has embraced Project Consolidate and we have identified the five municipalities which must be assisted with different challenges that they face and in doing so we are soon to finalise a business plan which is not only properly funded by the provincial government, but also by the different partners that we are working with. In continuing to support municipalities and communities in strengthening the partnership with communities, 200 community development workers, CDWs, will be deployed at the beginning of the financial year starting from 1 April. These CDWs will be focusing their work on ensuring that our people receive the services that they are supposed to be receiving and we will make sure that we work hard as department and as province to make sure that CDWs indeed are there on the ground on a daily basis helping our people to make sure that the bottlenecks that they face from time to time when going to offices become things of the past.

In preparation for local government elections we must strive to increase the number of registered voters and make sure that the voter turnout increases. We should not take it as a principle that because internationally people do not go out in their numbers to vote for local government, we do the same. In our country we must make sure that we strive to increase the number of voters. Because, one of the notions of having ward committee systems and ward councillors is to make sure that people have direct representation. If we were to increase the direct participation of people at this level, we should as a consequence have a number of people participating in the election of people who are supposed to be directly representing them.

Last week I think a DA person spoke about the crime statistics. On Tuesday I was at a function hosted by Westbank, at which they announced the car of the year. One of the top corporates in South Africa announced that it is good . . .

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon member, I am afraid your time has expired.

Ms Q D MAHLANGU: Thank you very much, Chair, and let the NCOP continue with its endeavour of making sure that the bond between government and the people is strengthened. Thank you, very much. [Applause.]

Nkk J N VILAKAZI: Mphathisihlalo ohloniphekileyo, mhlonishwa Sekela likaMongameli wezwe, nabo bonke abahlonishwa abakhona phakathi kwethu, amakhosi esizwe aphakathi kwethu, izihambeli ezibalulekile kanye nabo bonke abakhona, egameni leqembu lami i-IFP ngifisa nje ukubalula lokhu kule ngxoxompikiswano: Okokuqala, angisho nje ngingahlonizi ukuthi ingozi esayigqenywa umbuso owedlulayo wobandlululo yasishiya nezibazi okuyothatha isikhathi ukuthi zivaleke. Kubantu abahlala ezindaweni zasemakhaya impilo kakhulu. Ukungabibikho kwezidingo zomphakathi akukhululi muntu.

Amanzi aseyinkinga. Umphakathi usaphuza amanzi nemfuyo kwezinye izindawo, angiphathi-ke uma kunesomiso. Uhulumeni uyazama ukuletha izidingo kubantu ukuthi nje kuhamba kancane emakhaya. Uhulumeni sengathi angayibuka ngelinye iso le ndaba. Kusenezinkinga impela kulo mkhakha.

Kuhamba kancane ukwakhiwa kwemigwaqo kulezi zindawo zasemakhaya. Uma izulu lina amabhasi awahambi bese kuhlukumezeka umphakathi yilesi simo njengokuthi nje uma kugula umuntu edinga usizo. Kunenkinga kule ndawo. Umame othile uyabeletha kodwa akakwazi ukufinyelela emtholampilo oseduze kanye nokunye ukugula okuningi okudinga usizo oluphuthumayo kuseyinkinga.

Okwesibili, mkhulu kakhulu umehluko owenzeka ezikoleni. Abantwana bethu bafunda ngosizi kodwa umhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe womnyango uyisukumele le ndaba. Nokho inkinga isenkulu kakhulu ezikoleni. NoMongameli wezwe enkulumeni yakhe yesizwe waphawula ayethula ngomhlaka-11 Febhuwari wathi: (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[Mrs J N VILAKAZI: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, and all hon members amongst us, the amakhosi present here amongst us, important guests and all present, in the name of my party, the IFP, I just wish to state the following in this debate: Firstly, let me say without fear that the wounds inflicted by the former apartheid regime on us left us with scars which will take time to heal completely. To people living in the rural areas life is extremely difficult. The fact that people’s needs have not been met does not make any person free.

Water is still a problem. In some places communities still drink from the same ponds as the livestock, and I am not even talking about when there is drought. The government is trying to provide in the needs of people, but the process is a bit slow in the rural areas. If the government could have another look at this issue; there are indeed still problems in this area.

The building of roads in the rural areas is slow. If it rains the buses do not run and then the public is concerned when there is someone who is sick, for example. There is a problem in this area. You may find that a certain woman is due to give birth, but she can’t reach the nearest clinic, or someone has another illness that needs urgent attention.

Secondly, there is still a huge discrepancy in schools. Our children are still in distress at schools, but the hon minister of the department concerned has taken steps in this regard. And the President, in his national address on 11 February said:]

  The backlog of classrooms still runs into several
  thousand nationwide. We believe that addressing the
  crisis in education is perhaps the most urgent
  priority. The March deadline will not be meet.
  Government must work out a plan that will ensure the
  speedy delivery of classrooms to all.

Kusho uMongameli wezwe egcizelela ngalesi sidingo nangalesi simo engikhuluma ngaso. UMongameli wayihlaba esikhonkosini le ndaba. Iyaziwa futhi kuyazanywa kodwa abantu abasemakhaya kubonakala kusenzima kakhulu ukwenza ngcono isimo kubo.

Okwesithathu, yigciwane lesandulela ngculazi. Siwazi sonke umonakala osuwenziwe yilesi sifo. Abanye abantu bale emakhaya abazi lutho ngalesi sifo. Nemizamo kahulumeni iphelela obala ngoba abanamaphepha abawafundayo abanye abanamsakazo nomabonakude kanti abanye abasebenzi. Kuselukhuni bakithi. Abanye-ke abafundile nhlobo. Siyabadinga onompilo. Useke washo lapha uNgqongqoshe oqhamuka KwaZulu-Natali. Sidinga onompilo abaningi ukuze basize imiphakathi abahlezi kuyo.

Okwesine, kunenkohlakalo nobugebengu obenza abantu bangakhululeki neze kahle. Kusiphatha kabi ukuzwa ukuthi ogogo nomkhulu bayahlaselwa, kuthathwe imali yabo.

Kubuhlungu kakhulu ukuzwa ngokudlwengulwa kwabantwana abancane, nogogo imbala. Kusasibhedela ngempela kulo mkhakha. Iseningi inkohlakalo ekhona esilethela ukuba singakhululeki, kodwa sihlalele ovalweni. Asazi noma le nkohlakalo yenziwa ukusweleka kwemisebenzi, okudala ubuphofu nenkohlakalo. Sidinga asibheke ngenye indlela lesi simo uhulumeni wethu.

Siyalibonga igxathu elithathwe uhulumeni wethu ngokuletha iPhalamende kubantu. Kuliqhaza elibalulekileyo kakhulu, elidinga ukubongwa. Siyethemba ukuthi wonke umuntu obekwe esikhundleni esithile uzosebenza ngokuzinikela nokwethembeka kuhulumeni nakubantu abambeke kuleso sikhundla asiphethe. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[The President emphasised the need and the conditions that I am talking about. The President hit the nail precisely on the head in making this point. It is well known and we are trying, but it seems as if it is still difficult to improve the lives of the people in the rural areas.

Thirdly, I come to the HIV/Aids issue. We all know the damage caused by this disease. Some people from the rural areas know nothing about this disease. Even the efforts of the government are in vain, because they have no newspapers to read; some do not have even radios and TVs and some are not even working. It is indeed still difficult. Some are completely illiterate. We need caregivers. The KwaZulu-Natal MEC has spoken about this. We need many caregivers so that they can help the communities in which they live.

Fourthly, there is corruption and crime, which cause people to feel not free at all. It saddens us to hear that senior citizens are attacked, and their money taken from them.

It is awfully painful to hear about the rape of young children, and also even grandmothers. There is still a lot to be done in this area. There is still a great deal of crime, which makes us feel restrained, constantly living in fear. We do not know whether all this crime is because of unemployment, which creates poverty and criminality. Our government needs to look at this situation from another angle.

We are grateful for the step taken by our government, of bringing Parliament to the people. It is indeed an important step, which needs to be commended. We hope that each person entrusted with a certain position will work with conviction, and be trustworthy to the government and the people who put them in the positions they hold. I thank you. [Applause.]]

Mr S MOHAI (Free State): Chairperson, the hon Deputy President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma, the Premier of Mpumalanga, Mr Thabang Makwetla, distinguished special delegates, leaders of the organised local government, our traditional leaders, hon members, colleagues and comrades, joining hands with colleagues in this very important debate, some 50 years ago the freedom-loving South Africans met in the dusty open veld of Kliptown to formulate and adopt the Freedom Charter.

In its opening clause, the Freedom Charter declared: The People Shall Govern! It further went on to declare that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. This declaration was based on the philosophy that people are masters of their own destiny; that national liberation cannot be delivered to the people on a silver plate without their effective and meaningful participation but essentially a popular process of self-emancipation.

It is within this context that for more than nine decades of its existence, our movement - the African National Congress - has always regarded the masses of the people as the final arbiters in the resolution of their national grievances. The Reconstruction and Development Programme, adopted in 1994, took this philosophic tenet further by placing central to its principle a people-driven development and transformation process. Our people, with their aspirations and collective resolve, are the most important resource in our country.

The defeat of the monstrous apartheid colonial regime is a clear testimony of the centrality of the masses of our people in their own liberation. Accordingly, the development and transformation project in our country must meet the needs of the people and, at the same time, rely on their energies to drive it. The workers, the rural poor and the womenfolk of our country must therefore feel and see that South Africa belongs to them too, hence they must contribute to shaping our country’s future.

Development is not the mere delivery of goods and services to a passive citizenry; it is about active involvement and growing empowerment of those historically disempowered by centuries of colonial domination. Over the past 10 years we have developed a number of forums and platforms to give practical effect to the principle of popular participation. These include, but are not limited to, ward committees, local development forums, school governing bodies, project steering committees and community policing forums.

The programme of the NCOP of Taking Parliament to the People is a living expression of popular and mass participation as envisaged in the Freedom Charter. It is the people’s government in action, which is unprecedented in the whole world, where the elected representatives listen and draw a mandate from the ordinary masses. The government has implemented the practice of imbizos. The legislature has also implemented such outreach programmes as public hearings, and generally conducted its business in a manner that enhances public participation. Our challenge is therefore to strengthen and consolidate the principle and practice of popular participation in the ongoing process of transformation and development.

Our main goal for the second decade of freedom is that of eradicating poverty and unemployment. Our main targets are therefore about employment creation, poverty reduction, skills development, infrastructural development and fighting infectious diseases such as HIV/Aids. Popular participation is key to the success of this programme. As a government, we must address the plight of our people. Only, our people come first because without them we could not have been where we are at this point in time, debating issues of national importance in our diversity. This we do because we want to advance toward people sharing in the country’s wealth and thus creating work, social security and eradicating poverty.

In the recent state of the province address, we recommitted ourselves to our ongoing work with regard to accelerating service delivery, strengthening the capacity of both provincial and local government and growing the provincial economy. We are pleased to note the progress we are making in improving the lives of the people for the better.

The 95 committee development workers will go a long way in championing the Batho Pele principle of service delivery and improving our capacity as government to interact with the people; a further 225 committee development workers will be appointed and registered no later than the end of March of the current year. We continue to make progress with regards to protecting women and children against abuse, uprooting corrupt practices, particularly within the civil service, improving access to quality health care, transforming and improving the school education system.

We believe that infrastructural development can help to provide communities with access to facilities such as schools, hospitals, roads, water and housing. In this way it will help with the challenge of basic needs. It will also create employment, skills development and SMMEs development opportunities as the policy and practice of the Expanded Public Works Programme enjoins us. The development of infrastructure also helps to attract investors into our local economy since it will reduce the input cost of doing business in our country. The recent demonstration by certain sections of some communities in the Free State has once more highlighted the multiplicity of challenges facing our province which, inter alia, includes the lack of capacity by municipalities, the huge disparities between the developed and the underdeveloped sections of our communities and, lastly, the lack of sufficient resources to meet the developmental goals of our government. However, we must remember that despite these challenges, our local governments are still adjusting to the new statutory environment, and therefore these challenges indeed exist. Some of these demonstrations were marked by violence and damage to property.

The occurrence of these demonstrations, however, necessitates a serious discussion on the state of local government and community participation in the process of governance. We have a vigorous implementation of Project Consolidate, particularly at those 12 identified municipalities in our province, and together with other measures we are implementing aimed at building the requisite capacity within local government for the basic services to be rendered and developmental programme to be pursued. Our government has put in place the necessary measures to build the capacity of local government to accelerate delivery of services to our communities.

Central to these programmes is the intensification of consultation between the elected representatives and the masses of our people. We are at the same time strengthening the organs of popular participation such as ward committees, which are aimed at ensuring public involvement in governance. The success in this regard is manifested through successful formulation of integrated development plans. We have also started work in strengthening other multiple channels of communication with our people, both at provincial and local government level.

The ANC government believes firmly that when government is in touch with the people, all our people will appreciate objective limitation of resources as far as immediately meeting all their needs is concerned. This will limit the scope for reckless engagement and violent illegal demonstrations and instead they will help government creatively to find solutions to these problems. These, we believe, are tenets that shall ensure that our people govern and take charge of their own lives.

The coming enactment of the Intergovernmental Relation Framework Bill should be welcomed as a positive development in the relations in all spheres of government. It will help regulate relations and bring more clarity and certainty instead of leaving matters wide open to the chance of a political understanding.

This legislation will also help to strengthen capacity within government as a whole. I am saying as a whole because we always conceptualise the free South Africa as a unitary state - from the Freedom Charter, the Ready to Govern, the Reconstruction and Development Programme and other policy documents of the ANC. Our Constitution does not depart from this basic position either, in fact, it reaffirms it. This is despite the fact that we have provincial governments. Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr K SINCLAIR: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Dr Wilmot James, director of the Africa Genome Education Institute, yesterday published an article on the topic, “Let’s appreciate our successes” in The Star. James argues that very few South Africans know, other than Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk, the names of South African people who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Some would remember Chief Albert Luthuli, but very few know of the literary giant Nadine Gordimer, the writer J M Coetzee, the biologist Sydney Brenner and any of the other laureates. But maybe the subtle truth of James’ argument is very prevalent in South African society. As South Africans we do not appreciate our successes.

When we debate the issue of building a better society today we must agree that we are too complacent about what we have achieved in terms of rebuilding our country. Centuries of oppression have been replaced in 10 years with a society where in terms of article 7(1) of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of our democracy in South Africa. It entrenches the right of all people in our country and affirms that the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The Preamble of the Constitution further reiterates:

  South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

Chairperson, diverse we are indeed. Maybe the motto of this provincial legislature is very appropriate also for this debate: Unity in diversity. That diversity, however, must unite us as a nation so that we respect each other as human beings and where we come from. I am an Afrikaner from Scottish and Dutch ancestry. I will never be a Zulu or a Venda or a Xhosa or a Turk, but I will forever be a South African. [Applause.]

The language that we speak, our mother tongue, greatly determines what we are. Max du Preez recently said:

  The soul of the people of South Africa isn’t English-speaking.

We must therefore treasure our diversity and build patriotism, a South Africanism that would further propel South Africa forward as a winning nation. The South Africanism must be built on mutual respect and understanding of our diverse cultures. That doesn’t mean that we do not have challenges. We have too much poverty and unemployment; too much crime and too many diseases, but as South Africans we are preparing to tackle those issues with zest.

Therefore, hon Deputy President, I want to propose that government once again evaluates the necessity of implementing community service for the young men and women of our country. The ultimate purpose of this service is to build our country, South Africa, which would encapsulate our diversity and enhance our efforts as a nation. Through this service young people would be empowered through skills and sports training, education and other related activities, indeed a South African RDP of the soul. If we do, I believe that we will be building a better society founded on recognised human rights and maybe then we would appreciate and understand our successes. I thank you. [Applause.]

Rre T GWABENI (North West): Modulasetulo wa ntlo e, ya Lekgotla la Diporofense, Motlatsaporesitente, Premier, Mmusakgotla, Makgosi a rona, Modulasetulo wa SALGA, Batlotlegi botlhe ka go farologana ga lona. Ke tsaya nako e ke re, re ya lotšha. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

[Mr T GWABENI (North West): Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy President, Premier, Madam Speaker, our chiefs, chairperson of Salga, distinguished guests, I greet you all.]

Let me take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for our Premier. She is not well. The debate today is around engaging our people in building a better society founded on recognised human rights and committed to service delivery. Our forebears made it clear to all in our country and the world that for too many decades of knocking on barbed-wire doors when they said: “No government shall claim authority on the will of the people.”

I must also quote what one of the great leaders, Julius Nyerere, once said, that there is a time for planting and a time for harvesting. Ours is the time for harvesting. It is very important to quote what Nyerere said, because there are some people among us who want to harvest when there has never been time for planting. [Applause.]

Mokgatlo wa rona wa African National Congress o lole dintwa dingwaga di le dintsi thata. Gompieno re nale puso ya batho ka batho e e nang le dikgatlhego tsa batho. Re na le puso ya bosetšhaba, ya diporofense le dipusoselegae. Batho ba kgona ka tlhamalalo, go nna karolo ya dikopano go ikagela go ya ka Molaudi Ward Committee, diforamo di tshwana le CPF, di “school governing bodies”, di-NGO’s le CBO’s. Tse tsotlhe di dirwa gore batho ba nne le lefoko e bile ba kgone go susumetsa dikgatlhego tsa bone mo go se se diriwang ke mmuso e le boammaruri.

Seo ke maungo a seo se jetsweng ke bao ba neng ba kopane kwa Kliptown dingwaga tse di le masome amatlhano tse di fitileng. Go tsaya karolo mo di pitsong tsa di-Premier le maloko a khuduthamaga go kopana le batho mo ditulong tse di farologaneng, le go tsamaela pele ka go tiisa ntlha eno. Karolo e tsewang ke puso ya bosetšhaba, NCOP le dikomiti tsa ntlo peo molao- “Legislature” tse di farologaneng, go kopana le batho le go utlwa dikakanyo tsa batho le yona ke karolo ya ntlha ya go tiisa mmuso le go mo atametsa thata mo bathong.

Maikarabelo a makhantshelara, di mmeyara le batho botlhe le gone ke seabe se se dirang gore, go nne motlhong batho ba atamelane le baeteledipele ba bone, ba ba itse, ba kgone go kopana le bone ba kgone go ba eletsa.

Palamente ga mmogo le bakhuduthamaga le dikhanselera, ba tla tswelela go ithuta le go tsaya dikeletso mo bathong gangwe le gape fa ba kopana le batho, mme seo se ba thuse go fetola mananeo a bona le go tla ka maranyana a ba tla beng ba a bone mo bathong.

Rona kwa porofenseng ya Bokone Bophirima, nngwe ya dintlha tse re di itumelelang ke pegelo e e dirilweng ke MoPremiera ka pulo ya Palamente, fa a ne a bolelela setšhaba le batho gore dilo ga di kake tsa diriwa ka mokgwa o le mongwe fela. Mme e bile mafapha a a sa kgoneng go dirisa madi a reboletsweng, ga a kake a tswelelela go nna mo godimo ga madi ao, mme madi ao a tla fiwa mafapha a a kgonang.

Go dula ga NCOP gompieno kwano, ke nngwe ya maiteko a go bontsha le go tsweletsa maitlhomo le maikaelelo a Freedom Charter, a gore puso e nne puso ya batho ka batho. Gompieno re kopane kwano, mme re a tshwanela gore re dire boikuelo go batho ba rona gore fa e le gore puso e, ke ya batho ka batho, ga batshwanela go tsoga mo moŝong ba tswale ditsela, mme ba itshenyetse.

Re a tshwanela gape jaaka re le puso ya batho ka batho re seke ra itirela ka go ithatela mme molao le tolamo di se ke di diragadiwe. Re tshwanela ke gore re totobatse lebaka la botlhokatiro, tlala, botlhoki, le go tlhoka matlo. Dilo tse tsotlhe ke dilo tse di tsetsweng ke aparteiti le dikokomana tsa yona. Ga se dilo dingwe tse di tlhodilweng ke puso ya ANC.

Ra tshwanela gape re lebe ka leitlho le le ntšhotšho, bao ba ba itirang bomaitsegotlhe, ba bao tlisang dikarabo tse di motlhofo go dipotso tse di bokete, tse di batlang kakanyo tse di tseneletseng. Re tshwanetsi go eletse batho ba rona gore go na le bao ba ba batlang go itira baeteledipele ba batho mme ba sa tlhophiwa. Ka jalo ba dira dilo tse di tswileng mo tseleng ka gonne ba batla go tlhagelela modiromamoweng, ebile ba batla go tlhagelela mo makwalodikganyeng mme ba se ditso.

Ga go kgakgamatse le gompieno ga ke utlwile tokololo e nngwe fa e bua gore batho ba re tsogela kgatlhanong, batho ba lapile. Batho ba rona ba tla leta fela jaaka bakeresete ba dumela gore Jesu ka letsatsi le lengwe o tla tla. Batho ba tla tswelela go leta jalo ka kitso e tseneletseng gore puso ya African National Congress, e ikaeletse ebile e tswelelela go tlisa diphetogo mo dikarolong tse dintsi tsa naga. Mme gape batho ba tshwanetse ba itse, gore ga gone go diragala jaaka legadima, ka gore bone batho ba ba neng ba re gateletse, ba jele madi e bile ba re tsentse mo dikolotong tse dintsintsi. Gompieno bangwe ba bona ba rata go itlhatswa ba itira baeteledipele ba ba botoka, o ka re ba tla tlisa pharologanyo.

Re tswelela go ungwela kwa porofenseng ya rona ka lenaneo la ”Ëxtended Public Works” ka motho e tla re fa a bua a re, ga a re dikgomo di a sisa a ba bone ka tsa gabo, seo kwa ga Modimola batho ba ka re pakela gore setopo re supa sa nakedi magogwe o begiwa a sule.

Mo ketelong ya rona le maloko a Palamente ya kwa gae, go batho ba kwa Modimole, batho bao bane ba tswelela gore gopotsa gore, Modimole o ntse a le teng ga se lefelo le le ntšha. Modimole o ne a le teng ka nako ya tlhaolele, Modimole o ne a le teng ka nako ela ya bo itirela ka lefitshwana kwa Bophuthatsotsi, Modimole o ntse a le teng le gompieno, mme batho ba simolola go bona phaphang fa e sa le go goroga puso e e ya ANC, mme ba a leboga.

Kantoro ya Mo Premieya wa rona ga mmogo le “Office of the status of Women” le Komiti ya “Legislature”, e e tepatepanyang le merero ya bomme, go itekanela ga bona, baša le batho ba ba sa itekanelang sentle, e tsweletse ka metseletsele ya go bona gore ba ba neng ba itlhokomolositswe, ke mananeo afe a ka tsengwang mo tirisong go dira gore le bone botshelo jwa bone bo nne botoka. Tshwetso ya porofense ya go dira gore e ntshetse kwa ntle se re se bitsang “tender committee”, mme mafapha a kgone go ithendarela one. E bile mafapha a dira gore go nne le tsweletso. Ndiyabulela Enkosi. [Legofi] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)

[The African National Congress fought for many years. Today we have a government of the people by the people, which has the interests of the people at heart. We have the national government, provincial government, and local government. People participate directly in forums like the Molaudi Ward Committee, CPF, school governing bodies, NGOs and CBOs. All these are done to enable people to raise their views and also to influence government in what it regards as essential.

This are the results of fruits that was planted by those who met in Kliptown 50 years ago. The participation in meetings by Premiers, members of executive committees with people in various places emphasizes this point. The role played by the national government, the NCOP and various committees of the legislature in meeting and interacting with people and listening to their views is also the first stage to strengthen government and bring it closer to the people. The responsibility of the councilors, mayors and all the other people also bring people closer to their leaders, getting to know and advise them. Parliament, together with the councilors will continue to frequently accept submissions from people as they meet them. This will help them change their programmes because of proposals made by people.

We, in the North West province, are happy about one of the aspects in the report prepared by the Premier in his opening of the legislature address, in which he told the nation and the people that things could not be done in one manner only. Departments that do not use their budgetary allocations should not be given another allocation. Instead the money should be given to other departments that can use it.

The sitting of the NCOP today is one of the indications that we are carrying out the objectives of the Freedom Charter, having a government of the people by the people. As we are gathered here today, we should appeal to people that if this is a government by the people for the people, then there is no way people can go on a rampage destroying their things and think that nothing will be done to them. We must say to our people that there is no way, when we are part of a government of the people by the people, that we can allow people to do as they like without upholding the rule of law. We must acknowledge that there is unemployment, hunger, poverty and a lack of housing. All these resulted from apartheid and its founders, who were not from the ANC government.

We must also carefully look at those who regard themselves as experts by providing easy answers to difficult questions that need deeper thinking. We must advise our people to be careful of people who have no value systems, who want to make themselves their leaders when they have not been elected, but do things that are wrong so that they can appear on television and in the newspapers. It is not even surprising today to hear one member saying people are revolting against us because they are tired.

Our people will wait like Christians who believe that one day Jesus will come. People will continue to wait in that way, knowing that the ANC government intends to bring changes in many areas of the country. People must know that it will never happen quickly, because the same people who oppressed us misused money for their own benefit and left us with many debts. Today some of them would like to appear to be good, innocent leaders, as if they would make a difference.

We continue to benefit our province through our Expanded Public Works Programme. As the saying goes: “ People talk from experience”, the Modimole people will bear us witness. During our visit with members of the local legislature to the Modimole people, those people continued to remind us that Modimole has been in existence for a long time, even during the apartheid era, it is not a new place. Modimole was there even in the Bophuthatsotsi era, when things were not transparent and it is still here today. People are starting to notice a difference since the new government of the ANC has come to power, and they are grateful. The Office of the Premier, together with the Office on the Status of Women and the committee of the legislature which handles issues relating to women’s health, youth and the disabled people, are continuing to look into these groups that were initially ignored, and to check which programmes can be put in place to improve their lives. The province is to remove tender committees from departments to allow them to conduct their tender with the assurance that there is development. Thank you.] [Applause.]]

Nk F MAZIBUKO: Sihlalo, ngibingelela uSihlalo womKhandlu kaZwelonke weziFundazwe, uSekela Mongameli uMnu Zuma, uNdunankulu wesifundazwe saseMpumalanga uMnu Makwetla, abahlonishwa , amalungu oMkhandlu ngokushiyana kwezikhundla zawo, ngibingelele amalungu esiShayamthetho wonkana athamele le mbizo yanamuhla, ngibingelele amakhosi namakhansela aholwa nguNyambose, ngithokoze komama nobaba nasezivakashini zethu. Kubasha ngithi: Hhola Seveni!

ABASHA: Hhola!

Nk F MAZIBUKO: Ngibonga leli thuba engiliphiwe ukuthi nami ngiphonse esivivaneni kule nkulumompikiswano ngaphansi kwesihloko sokubandakanya abantu ekwakheni isizwe esingcono, kubhekwe ngisho namalungelo abo. Le nkulumompikiswano yenzeka ngenyanga lapho sigubha kh ona ukuhlonishwa kwamalungelo abantu futhi kungunyaka la sigubha khona ama-50 eminyaka kwaqoshwa uSomqulu weNkululeko yaBantu, iFreedom Charter.

Lo somqulu yiwona othi abantu bazobusa, uhulumeni kuzoba ngowabantu, kubuse abantu usebenzele abantu. Lo somqulu wethu wenza ukuthi sikwazi ukuphucula izimpilo zabantu zibe ngcono, kube nentuthuko emiphakathini yethu.

Lo Mkhandlu ubaluleke kakhulu kule nkulumompikiswano ngoba wenzeka ezinsukwini ezingengaki kuphele ingxenye yokuqala yonyaka uMongameli wezwe ubaba uMbeki esinike iziqondiso ethi masiphume njengamavolontiya siqonde kuzo zonke izinkalo sisize abantu ukuze iminyango yezemfundo ivuleke, abantu babe nendawo lapho bengafihla khona amakhanda futhi bavikeleke.

Ngesikhathi kusabusa uhulumeni wengcindezelo abantu besifazane bebephila impilo yasemakhamandeleni, bebecindezelekile, becindezelwe ngumphakathi jikelele. Emakhaya bebephila impilo ngaphansi kwengcindezelo kanti nasemsebenzini bebebizwa ngamageli, bethwala imigqomo beyokha amanzi emifuleni.

Masikhumbule kule nyanga yamalungelo ukuthi nabo abesifazane banawo amalungelo. Siye sithi ayikho inkwali ephandela enye, nabantu besifazane bazisukumele bazilwela, belwela amalungelo abo. Sebewatholile. Ngaphambilini abantu besifazane bebengavunyelwe ukufunda, kuthiwa ukufundisa ingane yentombazana ukuchitha imali ngoba izogana ihambe iyokwakha eminye imizi. Kepha namuhla uhulumeni uthi zonke izingane, ikakhulu ezamantombazane, maziye esikoleni zifunde zigogode zibe ngochwepheshe. Namuhla abesifazane sebengo ngqongqoshe, amalungu ePhalamende, amakhansela nabaholi kanti abanye banamabhiziinisi abo. Ngingabalani ngithini? Kungaze kushone ilanga nginibalisela ngemisebenzi emihle eyenziwe nguhulumeni kaKhongolose.

Kulabo-ke abangakaphucuki abasacabanga ukuthi umuntu wesifazane uyi- punching bag, ngithi kubo bazoyikhotha imbenge yomile. [Ihlombe.] Ingalo yomthetho inde. Uma ubeka umuntu wesifazane isandla uzobhadla ejele umuncwe yizimbungulu.

Kudala abantu besifazane bebephethwe sengathi yizingane ezincane bengenawo amalungelo. Uma ngenza nje isibonelo, umyeni wakho uma edlula emhlabeni, bekuthiwa ingane yakho yomfana ayibe yinhloko yomuzi noma wenziwe umfazi wamangeno. Uma uyovula incwadi yokubeka imali ebhange ububuzwa ukuthi umyeni wakho uyazi na, kuthiwe hamba uyombiza. Uma ungenaye umyeni njengami, kwakuthiwa hamba uye emzini wezinsizwa uyokhetha isigqoko khona. [Ihlombe.] [Uhleko.] Zinqunywa amakhanda ziyekwe! Namuhla akusenzeki konke lokho ngoba abantu besifazane banamalungelo njengawo wonke umuntu. Siyay e sithi amalungelo abesifazane angamalungelo esintu.

Izilimi esizikhulumayo nazo zibalulekile, masizikhulume ngokuziqhenya, sizigqaje ngazo. Yilungelo likawonkewonke ukuthi umuntu akhulume ulimi aluthandayo engenamahloni ukubukelwa phansi uma engakhulumanga ulimi lwendlovukazi yamaNgisi. Lapha eNingizimu Afrika sinezilimi ezingama-11, alikho izwe elinezilimi eziningi kangako, ngingasishiyi nesitsotsi ngasemuva. Sihlalo namalunga, iqhaza elibanjwa yile Ndlu yesiShayamthetho enguMkhandlu weziFundazwe libalulekile kakhulu ekuqinisekiseni ukuthi uhulumeni uyazifeza izidingo zabantu.

Uhulumeni uhlinzeka abantu ngamanzi nogesi nangezinye izidingo ukuze izimpilo zabo zibe ngcono ngakho-ke kubalulekile ukuthi sikuqondisise ukuthi kule minyake eyi-10 sesenze umsebenzi omningi. Akekho omunye uhulumeni owake wakwenza lokhu ngesikhathi esifu shane. Yebo izinselele zona ziningi. Iningi labantu lisadinga amanzi, ugesi, kanti nemitholampilo iseyibanga elide. Izikole nazo zidinga amalabhorethri nemitapo yezincwadi. Masiqiniseke-ke ukuthi sakha izakhiwo zombuso emiphakathini yethu, njengamakomidi ezigceme, lokhu okuthiwa ama-ward committees, ama-community policing forum kanye nawo ama-governing bodies.

Okubalulekile-ke ukuthi uhulumeni kufuneka abe seduze nabantu, abantu babambe iqhaza ekuphuculweni kwezimpilo zabo. Kuthiwa: Uzoyithola kanjani uhlezi ekhoneni? Ukuze kube nentuthuko emiphakathini yethu, masibambe iqhaza ezinhlelweni zokusebenzisana kuhlanganyelwe , lokhu okuthiwa ngama- IDP ukuze uma kwabiwa imali izidingo zethu singumphakathi kube yizona ezokuqala ezithola osheleni. Yintando yening i eyenze ukuthi sibe nala mathuba okubamba iqhaza. Masiwasebenziseni lawa mathuba, akekho omunye ozosipha wona ngaphandle kukahulumeni ka-ANC. Mayelana nabaholi, emiphakathini yethu masikhethe abaholi abaqotho hhayi laba abazosilutha bathi akuvukelwe umbuso.

Ngethemba ukuthi besibona kwezinye izindawo beshisa amathayi bevimba imigwaqo. Lokhu ngeke kusilethele lutho, okubalulekile ukuthi sibambe iqhaza sikwazi ukuphucula izimpilo zethu. Namaziko olwazi, ama-multipurpose centre, kumele siwasebenzise sikwazi ukuthola ukuthi izinhlelo zikahulumeni zihamba kanjani. Isifo sengculazi singasishiyi ngemuva, ngoba siyawubhubhisa umphakathi wethu. Masikhumbuleni ukuthi ngaphambi kokuthi siye ocansini sifake ijazi lomkhwenyana. One condom one round. No condom no sex! [Umzuliswano yikhondomu. Ngaphandle kwekhondomu, ucansi alukho.

Ukuphetha-ke, mangithi: Bantu bakithi, ixoxo nexoxo liyazigxumela, alikho eligxumela elinye. Uma ningatholi izihlinzeko zenu, iyani emahhovisi ePhalamende, nibambe iqhaza kumakomidi ezigceme, amakhansela asebenzisane nabantu abize imihlangano.

Thina njengamalunga sesithathe leli thuba. Kuzothi ngomhlaka ka-30 kuMashi sibe nomhlangano no-Rand Water Board esiwucele emuva kokuzwa izinkinga enibhekene nazo zamanzi. Sizonilethela-ke umbiko wokuthi sihambe kanjani. Ngicela kuwe Sekela Mongameli ukuthi ugcizelele ukuthi Batho Pele. Okunye- ke, masenze umehluko ezimpilweni zabantu. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)

[Mrs F MAZIBUKO: Chairperson, I greet the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the Deputy President Mr Zuma, the Premier of Mpumalanga Mr Makwetla, the honourables, members of the Council in their respective portfolios, members of the legislature attending this imbizo today. I greet the amakhosi, councillors led by Nyambose, mothers and fathers and our guests. To the youth I say: Hhola Seveni! [Holla Seven!]

HON MEMBERS: Holla!

Mrs F MAZIBUKO: I am grateful for this opportunity that I have been given to make meaningful input in this debate, which falls under the topic of involving people in building a better nation, and making sure that their rights are observed. This debate has come during the month in which we are celebrating human rights and this is the year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter.

This charter is the one that says that the people shall govern, there will be a people’s government, the people will govern and it will work for the people. This charter enables us to make the lives of people better, and brings about development in our communities.

This sitting of the Council is very important, as is this debate because it is taking place after the first quarter since the hon President of the country has given us the directive that we should go out as volunteers and help people so that the doors of education can be opened, and people have shelter and security.

During the time of the apartheid regime women were leading the lives of vagrants; they were oppressed, oppressed by the community in general. In rural areas they were also being oppressed and in the workplace they were called “girls”, while they had to carry containers when fetching water from the river.

Let us remember, during this Human Rights month, that women too have rights. In Zulu we say, “every man for himself”, and the women should also stand up and fight for themselves, and for their rights. They have now received them.

Previously women were not allowed to go to school, it was said that allowing a girl child to go to school was a waste of money because she would marry and build other people’s homes. But today the government is saying all children, especially girl children, should go to school and study and become experts. Today women are Ministers, members of Parliament, councillors and leaders and some have their own businesses. What else can I say? I can tell you about the good works of the ANC till sunset.

To those who are still uncivilised, who still think of a woman as a punch bag, I say, “woe unto you ”. [Applause.] The arm of the law is long. If you lay a hand on a woman you will languish in jail and be bitten by bedbugs.

A long time ago women were treated like children and they did not have rights. If I may cite an example, if your husband passes away, it would be said that your son is the head of the house or an “ngena” custom would be practised on you. If you go to the bank to open a savings account, you would be asked if your husband was aware of that, and you would be told to go and call him. If you did not have a husband, like me, you would be told to go to the hostel and fetch a male there. [Applause.][Laughter.] Those were the days! Today all this is no longer happening because women have rights, like everyone. We normally say women’s rights are human rights.

The languages that we speak are also important, let us speak them proudly, and be proud of them. It is everybody’s right to speak the language that they prefer without being ashamed of possibly being looked down on because they do not speak the queen’s language, English. Here in South Africa we have 11 official languages. There is no other country that has so many languages, and I am not leaving out the “tsotsitaal”. Chairperson and hon members, the role played by this legislative House, the National Council of Provinces, is very important in making sure that the government fulfils the needs of the people.

The government provides people with water and electricity and other necessities to make the lives of the people better, therefore it is important to understand that in the past 10 years we have done a lot of work. No other government has ever done this much in such a short time. Yes, there are still many challenges. Most people still need water and electricity, and the clinics are still far from people. The schools also need laboratories and libraries. Let us make sure that we build governmental structures in our communities, like ward committees, community policing forums and also governing bodies.

What is important, therefore, is that the government must be close to the people, people must take part in making their lives better. It is said: How are you going to get it if you are in the back seat? So as to bring about development in our communities, let us take part in the programmes of co- operative work, which are called IDPs, so that when the budget allocations are made, we as community are the ones who get the first share. It is democracy that has given us these opportunities of taking part. Let us use these opportunities, there is no one else who is going to give them to us but the ANC government. With respect to the leaders, let us in our communities elect bona fide leaders, not those ones who would mess us around and say, let us sabotage the state.

I hope we have seen this in some places, when they were burning tyres and blocking roads. This will not bring us anything; what is important is taking part and being able to make our lives better. We must also use the multipurpose centres for obtaining information regarding government programmes.

Let us not leave the Aids pandemic behind, because it is destroying our community. Let us remember that before we engage in sex, we must wear condoms. One condom, one round. No condom, no sex!

In conclusion, let me say: Dear people, every person for himself or herself, and no one for the other. If your needs are not met, go to Parliament’s offices, and take part in ward committees; councillors should work with people and call meetings.

We as members have taken this opportunity. On 30 March we will have a meeting with the Rand Water Board, which we requested after hearing about the problems it was facing. We will bring the report of the outcome to you. I am asking you, Deputy President, to emphasize Batho Pele. The other thing is, let us make a difference in the people’s lives. I thank you.]

Mr F ADAMS: Hon Deputy President, hon members, Premiers, MECs Special delegates and speakers. Chairperson, our country and our continent have been blessed as both original home of all mankind and now as the emerging home of mankind, full of hope for a future not defined by conflict, aggression and oppression, but instead by compassion, tolerance and peace.

On 8 January 1980, celebrating the 25th anniversary, the late Hon O R Tambo said:

  The Freedom Charter contains the fundamental perspective of the vast
  majority of the people of South Africa of the kind of liberation that
  all of us are fighting for because it came from the people; it remains
  still the people’s charter. It contains the one basic political
  statement of our goals which are all genuinely democratic and
  patriotic South Africa are here.

The architect of our democracy that we had just celebrated 10 years of remains true to the ideals and vision that was conceived in Kliptown 50 years ago and we are able to navigate the way through the despair of apartheid South Africa and emerge with the hope of a better life, which we are beginning to realise day by day, slowly but surely. All these can be attributed to the fact that 50 years ago there was a generation of people who refused to be shaped in the image of racism, division, exclusion and inequality of their oppressors. Instead they said: “South Africa belongs to all who lives in it black and white.”

It is this simple assertion that gives our Constitution its moral clarity and directs our efforts to build a single yet diverse nation in this country.

The last 10 years in South Africa have been marked by achievements and successes, who would have thought 50 years ago that we would one day set an example for others to follow? Who would have predicted 50 years ago that South Africa would help other nations find peace? It is my sincere belief that in the not too distant future all of Africa will be a symbol of hope and reconciliation, a place where children are valued, protected and nurtured, a place where all people have the opportunity to grow and to prosper.

It has been said that success breeds success but in South Africa I believe a decade of success has also created in many communities a pattern of acceptance. Too often we allow ourselves to forget the importance of what South Africa has achieved and the scope of the challenges that we must still meet together.

I believe that we must reconnect as a nation with the sources of strength that 10 years ago launched us on the path of success. It was faith and shared humanity that let former enemies work together. It was faith and belief in God that gave us the strength to act. We need to believe in the potential of our country and our people. We need men and women from every community to drive a new patriotism underpinned by faith because our people, mostly the poor, negotiate circumstances that history has dealt them with the merest minimum of dignity.

With the barest minimum of support and family networks, they have displayed a remarkably resilient and tenacious to strive for a better life, these are the people whom we seek to empower and around whom we seek to design our interventions, holding to quiet heroism and dignity.

In 10 years we have had great successes. Many more people have water and electricity, many more people have houses, there are more clinics and more schools, but is it is not enough. We must work together to make sure that the next decades are even better. We owe it to our children.

Too many people think that human rights are just words on paper. It is easy to pay lip service to moral issues and to find fault with others. South African politics has no lack of leaders who speak loudly about fighting back. We know whose party uses the words “fighting back”; we know about the race card, about economic responsibility and about character. These are the same leaders who most often see only the beauty of these failings. Our country and our people have no time for leaders whose permanent occupation is finding fault.

Our ANC government knows that human rights are really about freedom. It is about the freedom of a young child to play and learn without the pain of hunger in her belly; the freedom to go down the street and through the park without the fear of being raped or murdered.

Dit is die vryheid van ’n Christen, ’n Moslem en ’n Jood om openlik hul geloof te beoefen. Dit is ook die vryheid van ’n pa of ’n ma om werk te kry en ’n lewe te maak en vir hulle gesin kos op die tafel te sit. [It is the freedom of a Christian, or a Muslim or a Jew openly to practise their religion. It is also the freedom of a father or a mother to find work, make a living and put food on the table for their families.]

These are the freedoms and human rights our people thought about when they drew up the Freedom Charter in 1955, after they had collected the opinions from across the length and breadth of the country. They knew that you must take the long view and remain rooted in the conviction that what they were committing to the Charter can and will be fruitious beyond their lifetimes.

It is our responsibility to carry forward these challenges because challenges like these require all South Africans to roll up their sleeves and to work together in the same way that co-operation and partnership were the key to bringing democracy to South Africa. It remains the key to our future success. We South Africans must work to meet these challenges. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mev C SEOPOSENGWE (Noord-Kaap): Voorsitter, Adjunkvoorsitter, ons Premier, die konings wat hier is, die raadslede wat hier is, ek wil eerstens verskoning vra vir die afwesigheid van ons Premier. Hy is ‘n baie goeie Premier, maar hy kan nie hier wees nie. Ek praat vandag ‘n bietjie Afrikaans, want ek mag enige taal praat en ek het gekies om Afrikaans te praat. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Mrs C SEOPOSENGWE (Northern Cape): Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, kings present here, councillors present here, in the first place I want to tender our Premier’s apologies. He is a very good Premier, but he is unable to be present. I am speaking a bit of Afrikaans today, because I am allowed to speak any language, and I have chosen to speak Afrikaans.]

Fa re ne re le mo pusong ya maloba, Afrikaans e ne e le puo e o neng o patelediwa gore o e bue. Matsatsing a gompieno, re bone jaaka re kopane fa re le puso ya batho re tlile mo bathong gore, batho ba bua maleme a bona jaaka ba rata. Ke ka moo ke reng le Afrikaans re a kgona go e bua, mme fela ra re a re tlhompheng dipuo tsa batho ba bangwe. Batho ba tla busa. E le ruri, batho ba rona ba a busa.

Dingwaga tse 50 tse di fetileng, fa go kopanwe kwa Kliptown, bangwe ba rona re ne re ise re tsalwe. Bangwe ba ne ba tsetswe. Ba ba tsetsweng morago, ba ile ba utlwa molaetsawa gore batho ba tla busa. Baša ba Aforika Borwa ba ile ba ema ka maoto ba potlakanyetsa puso ya maloba. Ke gopola malatsi a maloba, e ne etle e re fa OR Tambo a bua le rona, re mo reetsa ka Radio Freedom. O ne o sa e utlwe sentle. O ne o potela mo morago ga kgoro kgotsa mo morago ga ntlo gore o kgone go utlwa baeteledipele ba rona ba Aforika Borwa ba bua le rona ba le kwa Lusaka. Ba ne ba seyo mo gare ga rona mme . . . (Translation for Setswana paragraphs follows.)

[During the previous dispensation, we were forced to speak Afrikaans. These days, look how united we are as government for the people; today we came to the people so that people could speak their own languages as they like. That is why I’m saying we can even speak Afrikaans, but let us respect other people’s languages. The people shall govern. Surely our people are governing.

Fifty years ago, during the gathering in Kliptown, some of us had not yet been born. Some had already been born. Those who were born after that received the message that the people shall govern. South African youth stood up against the former government. I remember those days, when O R Tambo spoke to us, and we would listen to him on Radio Freedom. It was not clear. One would go behind the door or the house in order to listen to our South African leaders talking to us from Lusaka. They were not with us, but . . .]

. . . hulle het altyd ‘n plan gemaak sodat hulle met die mense kan praat. [. . . they always made a plan so that they could talk to the people.]

Ke gopola ka nako tsa bo-80, bangwe ba rona re santse re le baša. Re ne re taboga, re tlala mo mebileng re re, batho ba tla busa. Re re, re tshwanetse gore batho ba rona ba buse le fa re ne re sa itse gore ba tla busa leng. Ka tsela eo, ANC e ne ya potlakanyetsa gore batho ba buse, mme ra thusiwa ke Cuito Cuanavale e e neng ya shashara batho. Fa e sena go shashara batho, ra bona mekoloko ya batho e ya go bua le baetapele ba rona, ba tswa ba ya Lusaka ba ya go buisana le bona, go ipaakanyetsa Aforika Borwa. Ke batho ba ba neng ba itse gore batho ba tla busa.

Ke nnete batho ba rona ba busa gompieno. Se se botlhokwa thata ke gore, re na le baeteledipele tota e seng dipekenene. Baeteledipele ba tshwana le bo OR Tambo, rre Luthuli, rre Sisulu le Motlatsa Presidente, JacobZuma. Ke baeteledipele ba ba nang le ponelopele e seng baeteledipele ba ba nnang ba leletse ruri, ba ba ipeileng.

Se se diragalang mo Mpumalanga gompieno, ke tiro e ntle thata. Re ntse re utlwa batho ba tla go bua fa. Ke itumela thata gore gompieno ke itse tota gore Comrade Kenny Sentle ke mang , o tswa kwae? Batho ba rona ba ile ba gololosega go bua gore ke bona bo mang. Ka mafoko ao , re a leboga.

Ke rata gore go Modulasetulo, rona re le Kapa Bokone, re amogetse programa e ya goya kwa bathong. Fa e sale re e setse morago go tloga kwa KwaZulu- Natal. Fa re bowa kwa KwaZulu-Natal . . . (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)

[I remember that during the eighties, some of us were still youth. We would chant, take to the streets and shout that the people shall govern. We were saying that our people must govern, even though we did not know when. By so doing, the ANC expedited government by the people, but Cuito Cuanavale that wooed people helped us. After the wooing of people, we saw multitudes flocking to talk to our leaders; they left for Lusaka to talk to them and they prepared themselves for South Africa. They knew that the people should govern.

Certainly, our people are governing today. What is of essence is that we are blessed with real leaders and not puppets. Leaders like O R Tambo, Mr Luthuli, Mr Sisulu and Deputy President Jacob Zuma are leaders with vision. They are not self-imposed leaders who are complaining all the time.

What is happening today in Mpumalanga is a very a good thing. We have been listening to people talking here. I’m pleased that today I know who Comrade Kenny Sentle is and where he is from. Our people are free to say who they are. With these words, we thank you.

To the Chairperson, I would like to say that we as Northern Cape welcome the programme involving visiting the masses. We have been following it since KwaZulu-Natal. On our return from KwaZulu-Natal . . .]

. . . what we did immediately, was to initiate the very same programme. We have been going from one region to another as a legislature. We have been talking to our people, talking to the community leaders and talking to our councillors about their problems or the challenges in their communities. Therefore, this programme is working. [Applause.] We also want to appreciate and thank the MEC for finance in our province, because he made it possible for us to continue with this programme as a legislature. At least he was able to allocate us a little more funding so that we could be able to do oversight work and to talk to our people as we are seated here today.

Deputy President, we have gathered here since Monday to engage with our people in our efforts towards building a better society founded on recognised human rights and commitment to service delivery. This commitment is not in vain because our Constitution demands that we ensure and protect the rights of all our people, in particular the workers and the poor. Our commitment to service delivery is a means to achieve equality for all.

Ladies and gentlemen, comrades, let me also say to you that, as the Northern Cape, we want to put a firm proposal to the NCOP on the table. We are ready to host you in the Northern Cape on 26 June. That is a firm proposal. Rest assured that you would be safe in the Northern Cape. The myth, which is that the Northern Cape is the capital city of rape, is not true. Women, you are safe. Women parliamentarians, please be free to come to the Northern Cape. We’ve got a beautiful province.

Much has been said already. I don’t want to waste time, but I want to say I know that soon, hon Chair, you would be able to respond to the proposal. From here we are going to roll up our sleeves as a province and prepare ourselves so that when you come, we are able to engage in the same type of programme. I want to say to you also, Chair, that throughout this week we have seen our women leaders coming here to give information to the people of Mpumalanga. I was so proud to be a woman myself, because I realised that, yes, this ANC-led government has not made a mistake to appoint women as Ministers. [Applause.] You can see that even those women who’ve been coming to stand here, are real leaders, not elastic leaders. We want to say to you . . .

. . . malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi, malibongwe! [. . . let the women’s name be praised, let it be praised!]

HON MEMBERS: Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!]

Mrs C SEOPOSENGWE (Northern Cape): Long live, the people’s government, long live!

HON MEMBERS: Long live!

Mrs C SEOPOSENGWE (Northern Cape): Long live, the people’s assembly, long live!

HON MEMBERS: Long live!

Mrs C SEOPOSENGWE (Northern Cape): Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr A WATSON: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Premier and the Speaker of my province, all other dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this delegation to my own province. It is just a pity that unlike you, so many others have tried to make this into a rally, but I understand this because it is an election year.

I really cannot tolerate and not say something about the apologetics like the hon Van Rooyen, who really tried to polish his own image by praising the ANC and trying to diminish the good that the DA does. I want to challenge him to come to Mpumalanga, or to any outpost where our people are, where the different languages of this country are spoken, and to find a place where I am not known for working among the people, which happens while he sits in the shades of Bloemfontein’s trees, and I am working with the people.

“Moshemane eo, Van Rooyen, a se ke a lebala hore Basotho ba re: ‘Ho tseba kotsi ke ho feta pela yona’.” [Mahofi.] [This boy, Van Rooyen, must never forget that the Basotho say: A person who knows pain is the one who experienced it first hand. [Applause.]]

The topic of building a better society encompasses a lot of ideas, but we need to look closely at the stipulation founded on recognised human rights. We don’t need to analyse Maslow’s Hierarchal Needs to know that the most basic human rights are education, health care, recreation, etc.

Mr T S RALANE: Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it parliamentary to refer to the hon Van Rooyen as a “boy”?

Mr A WATSON: I withdraw. Is he no longer a boy? [Laughter.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order, Mr Watson! Could you apologise properly.

Mr A WATSON: I withdraw, because it wasn’t meant to be derogatory. It was meant as a masculine term. But I withdraw unconditionally.

I was saying that we don’t need to analyse Maslow’s theory in order to know what the needs of the people are. Building a better society really means that these basic rights, the human rights, have to be in place before we can go any further. But what is the de facto situation? Instead of targeting the needs, the government seems hell-bent on transformation without any regard for negative consequences.

Transformation may be very necessary to right the wrongs of past, but if it means that the best brains and experiences are driven away from institutions, to be replaced by the inexperienced, corrupt and unskilled, then it is bad for the country and bad for the people. It is bad that this leads to bad administration, which means that ultimately it is the poor who are suffering, and our children who are neglected.

How can the basic need for education be promoted when school books are not distributed, but are stored or maybe hidden away in a warehouse in Witbank, where incidentally the DA discovered them and alerted the MEC and the department?

This week we again found many dedicated and willing health workers who are, however, hamstrung from performing properly because of the health system that has totally collapsed. The hon Premier says that our people are rioting as if they are not being heard. But if corrupt officials are being given more and more time and corrupt mayors are given more and more rope to corrupt the people, then those people are not being heard, Mr Premier. Something must be done. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr J O TLHAGALE: Hon Chair, his Excellency, the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, hon Premiers, hon members of this House, and our beloved countrymen of Mpumalanga, I want to lend support to the topic under discussion based on the building of a better society founded on recognised human rights, and committed to service delivery.

At the church service that I attended recently, the preacher took great pains, and in fact, was literally sweating, to engage his congregation to build a better society, founded on Christian principles and committed to the service of the Lord.

Today in the beautiful province of Mpumalanga we are confronted with an interesting debate led not by a religious leader, but by a political leader by the name of his Excellency, the Deputy President. With basically the same message of building a better society that is founded on recognised human rights. I understand him to be saying that we, as members of Parliament, have the great responsibility of taking our people by the hand, rolling up our sleeves, and to start building a better society that is founded, not on political rhetoric, but on recognised human rights.

This means that whatever we shall be doing should be aimed at achieving certain goals or bearing fruits. I understand a better society to mean a society that is free from abuse of our womenfolk and children, free from corruption, and free from all the other ills that are calculated to degrade us as a people.

In the last few days we have been seriously engaged in and interacting together with the people of Mpumalanga, to find ways and means of building a desired, better society. Together we have discussed vital issues related to provision of water and sanitation. We have discussed issues related to health, education, agriculture, social development, and others. In certain instances our engagement has unintentionally bordered on the brink of offending local government functionaries.

Another important issue that was emphasised in our programme was to take along the people with disabilities, so that they too could get all the benefits that other people were entitled to. It was agreed, once more, that schools and offices must be compliant to these needs, so that they too can have unhampered access to schools and offices.

In conclusion, and on behalf of my party, we wish to support this statement being debated today together with the efforts being made regarding moral regeneration. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr A MASONDO (Salga): Lotshang, dumelang, [Good afternoon] Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, Ministers and Deputy Ministers amongst us, members of the NCOP, the Premier of Mpumalanga, Thabang Makwetla, MECs, Inkosi uMakhosonke II, Inkosi uMaishe III, Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders in Mpumalanga, Khosi Mashile, members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, the Salga leadership collective amongst us, mayors and councillors, members of the community, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. The SA Local Government Association is honoured to participate in the NCOP activities that are taking place in this province.

We are inspired by our commitment to the concept “Putting our people first” by taking Parliament to the people. We are pleased to be part of this initiative and to participate on a platform that enables all stakeholders, the elected public representatives, organisations of civil society, communities, and the government to consider debate and seek solutions to the challenges that face our society.

We, at Salga, are guided by an understanding that local government is democracy in action. It is an agreement that works at the municipal level and provides its councillor with a rare opportunity to grapple with real issues on the ground. There is the need for understanding the centrality of ordinary people in shaping history and development and the need therefore to interact with people should at all times remain uppermost in our minds. Our understanding is that local government hinges not only on periodic and regular elections, but is also informed by the need for reactive participatory process that ensures consultation with communities and civil society organisations.

We understand local government as that sphere of government that is closest to the people, that sphere of government that deals with bread-and-butter issues, service delivery aimed at addressing the day-to-day needs of local residents. Perhaps that is why so much pressure has been brought to bear on councillors.

It is also our view that local government should seek to position itself in such a way that it becomes, and intervenes, as an economic role-player of significance, a government that is committed to creating wealth, economic opportunities, employment, as well as getting directly involved in issues of development. It is therefore important to emphasise that the public representatives, managers, and officials of local municipalities are all there to see to these needs so as to ensure that they are addressed.

This is not to say that there are municipalities that are unable to meet their obligations. The financial, administrative and other resources, capacity and other constraints, do indeed exist. This constitutes a reality that we have to contend with. We are meeting two days before 21 March, Human Rights Day. The past system of the apartheid era evokes horrible memories that come flooding to mind, as we remember the struggles against the passbook. This also known, to many, as the badge of slavery.

This is so primarily because the passbook represented the total control of the lives of the oppressed: where one should reside, where one should work, one’s movement, access to education and health care and seriously limited housing and related opportunities. It defined all those other than whites as less than human. Our Human Rights Day in South Africa has been born out of our unique struggle, the struggle that led to the birth of a new democratic dispensation. Ours is a struggle that continues to strengthen our efforts towards achieving a more humane and caring South Africa.

The building of such a caring and people-centred society requires a collective contribution by all South Africans irrespective of colour, creed, gender or race. Human rights and human dignity can only become a reality if all of us put the shoulder to the wheel. The SA Local Government Association is a body constituted of a number of municipalities. It is organised local government. Our role can be summed up as acting as the voice of local government, engaging in lobbying and advocacy work that enables the voice of municipalities to be amplified and heard.

Being the voice of local government should help to ensure that there is an improvement of the quality of life for all at the local level. We are there to ensure that such issues are listened to, that the various spheres of government and institutions relate and become responsive to the representation that we make. We also seek to help many municipalities in an ongoing manner, to build capacity and enable them to deliver services and serve local communities.

We continue to see ourselves as the centre of knowledge on matters of local government. In this regard we encourage interaction between ourselves and institutions of higher learning, as well as local government practitioners. More importantly, the idea that the public representatives, managers and officials of local government are answerable to local communities should be the cornerstone of what we do. Without these communities there is no municipality or local legislature to speak of. Without communities, there can indeed be no local government to speak of.

What we need is the understanding that there is an implied contract between the public representatives that are elected by the people, the managers and officials that are employed at the local municipal level on the one hand, and the public on the other. This idea makes it possible for service to occur and to be delivered at an acceptable level. This contract is two- fold: Firstly, it should be understood that it is a privilege to serve in any local government institution, and indeed it therefore follows that the public representatives, managers and officials who work at local municipalities have an obligation to attend to the day-to-day needs of our communities effectively and efficiently.

We must strive to do so honestly, and be open to public scrutiny. The concept Batho Pele or “putting the people first” should act as a guide in the work that we do. The following Batho Pele principles are indeed creative: Consultation, citizens should be consulted about the level and quality of the public service they receive, and wherever possible should be given a choice about the services that they are offered. Regarding service standards, citizens should be told what level and quality of public service they would receive so that they are aware of what to expect.

All citizens should have equal access to the services to which they are entitled. Citizens should be treated with courtesy and consideration at all times. Citizens should get full, accurate information about the Public Service that they are entitled to receive. Openness and transparency, citizens should be told how local, national and provincial departments are run, the service they deliver, how much they cost, and who is in charge. If the promised standards of service are not met, citizens should be offered an apology, a full explanation, a speedy and effective remedy, and when complaints are made, citizens should receive sympathetic, positive responses.

Concerning value for money, the Public Service should be provided for economically and efficiently in order to give citizens the best possible value for their money. We do not just say these things, we are committed to them.

In conclusion, allow me, Chairperson, to say that the customer is never ever wrong. This is the message that should go out there to all our people, especially those who are public representatives, and those who are employed by municipalities. Every citizen, resident and rent-payer deserves better and should be listened to and heard. The people should be treated with respect and dignity. The voice of local government is meaningless if it does not put the needs of the people first. We are there to serve. Let me assure you, we are there to serve. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr T MUFAMADI (Limpopo): Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Chairperson, Deputy President of the Republic of SA, Premier Makwetla, MECs present here, Chairpersons of Select Committees, Chairperson of Salga – Ntate Masondo, magosi a rena ao a lego mo [Mr Masondo, all Chiefs present], and all protocol representatives observed . . . “ri ri ndi lihulwane nahone lo pfala. Ri do li swikisa Musanda.” [. . . we are saying that the message is clear and will be referred to the Chief].

Almost a year ago the people of South Africa gave the ANC-led government an overwhelming mandate to implement its policies, programmes and strategies for at least the next five years. The Freedom Charter says: ‘‘The people shall govern’’. This, to us as elected representatives, means that there is no government that will claim that the people are governing if that government is not a democratic one.

Democracy is not just about the franchise, but in South Africa it means that there must be broad participation by the people in formulating and shaping the policies of our government. Therefore, Chapter 9 institutions say that supporting democracy is an important foundation that guarantees the advancement and protection of the rights of our people in a democratic place.

The process of the imbizos is central to the realisation of a transparent and consultative society. Our province continues to be very consistent with this practice, by taking its Cabinet sessions to the people periodically.

In addition to this, it is how we formulate our budget. In Limpopo we consult with the communities and various stakeholders to ensure that our budget is indeed a reflection of the interests of our people, hence we are proud that as we enter the second decade of our democracy, we do so based on what the people themselves have identified together with us. Key aspects of socio-economic development, with the key focus being on job creation and eradication of poverty, are to be at the top of our national agenda.

What is important about the April 2004 election results is not only the fact that the ANC extended its national majority, but we have achieved this in all nine provinces independently. The results are here for all of us; all of our nine provincial legislatures are represented in this important debate today.

The ten-year review highlights the tremendous progress we have made in the past decade to deliver services and bring about a more equitable society. It also underscores the fact that local government is indeed the sphere of government closest to the communities and thus reflects the service delivery point. Therefore, it is in this sphere of government that the character and form of our government will be determined. The developmental agenda of our government will be tested.

Therefore, the people have a right to demand of our elected representatives in town and district councils to deliver quality services, and in time. There can be no excuses for any of the public representatives in all spheres of government to claim that they are not conversant with the needs of our people. In our province, in the coming budget, we have prioritised the improvements of our social infrastructure, particularly the elimination of classroom backlogs, roads and the supply of water.

As representatives of our province, we are also keenly aware of many challenges that still exist within local government, especially in rural provinces such as Limpopo. One of these challenges is a major skills handicap - an issue that is experienced within the broader economy, but felt especially within the local government sphere. These lower skill levels have an impact on our ability to meet the major developmental challenges and effectively deliver the basic services.

One of the primary duties of this House is to reflect the views of the nine provinces and to integrate this into the broader national strategies and programmes. We also believe that this House has an opportunity to consider the broader issues of service delivery and to study and debate options on how to allocate resources, including human resources, to ensure sustainable development, both at national and provincial levels. This is an issue that is being discussed in detail in the representative forums and working groups, including Salga and Nedlac.

We believe that the time has come to put in place effective and responsive senior management in local government structures throughout our country, and in particular in our province, to stop relying on crisis management and stopgap measures. As the national government and provincial departments continue to transfer huge and increased budget allocations directly to the local authorities, it is therefore incumbent upon our municipalities to ensure that money is spent in effective and productive ways.

There are a number of government programmes designed for maximum impact on poverty relief and job creation. The Expanded Public Works Programme is but one of these programmes designed to use infrastructure development as a means to push back the frontiers of poverty. To achieve these goals, we will require major national consensus and a commitment by all relevant role- players to address underdevelopment in the second economy. Training of our people to enable them to move from being under-skilled to being employable must be high on the list of priorities.

In this regard, the role of our institutions of learning should not be found wanting. We have engaged in this regard all institutions of higher learning in our province to be alive to the challenges of our province.

We are proud of the significant progress Limpopo has made over the 11 months of the second decade of freedom. In building on the achievements and successes of the first decade of our democracy, we have convened various summits to interrogate in more detail the value chain of economic activities in the province and put Limpopo on a trajectory of sustainable growth and development. These summits culminated in the Provincial Growth and Development Summit that adopted a strategy that will certainly enable us to expand our economic base and horizons and create more opportunities for job creation and the development of our local skills base.

Over and above enhancing our tourism industry and all sectors of our economy through initiatives such as those highlighted earlier on by the Deputy President, and fortifying the Moria City, we have also set aside an amount of about R30 million to partner the private sector in making sure that we begin to construct an international convention center. At the same time, we recognise our role as Limpopo, that we are indeed the gateway to Africa. We also believe that we can continue to play a pivotal role in the integration of SADC economists by probably being considered to be the host of the permanent seat of the Pan-African Parliament.

In conclusion, we as Limpopo conclude today’s discussion and debate with a renewed sense of hope and optimism about the future of Limpopo and it is with a similar sense of hope that we are participating in this debate and listened to the message brought by the Deputy President. We trust that this honourable House will continue to do its work and monitor the programmes that we have committed ourselves to as provincial government. Thank you very much. [Time Expired.] [Applause.]

Mr B J TOLO: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President and Ministers, one or two Ministers in this hall, hon Premier and MECs present, Your Majesties King Makhosonke II and King Maishe III and all traditional leaders present here, mayors and councillors and, most importantly, our people, some of whom have traveled long distances to be with us here today, good day everybody.

Now, Chair, before I actually read my prepared speech here, I just want to make one or two comments in relation to what DA actually said here. I just want to tell hon Watson that it is not necessary for him to tell us that he is working throughout the length and breadth of this province. The elections are coming very soon and they will tell us what he was doing, because we know the people will speak on that day. And we also understand why he is so agitated. It is because hon Watson has never in his political life addressed the magnitude of people that he sees here today. So, he is actually trying to throw his net wide, with the aim of, or maybe thinking he will catch one or two. How mistaken you are, hon Watson.

Now one thing he also tells us here is that government is actually expelling experienced civil servants that and we are hiring people who are not experienced. I want Watson to show me one experienced civil servant who is experienced in administering democracy. Let him, if he can, show me one person who was expelled who has ever administered democracy, because all those that he was talking about are those who are experienced in administering apartheid. So, we don’t need that type of experience here. Those people are square pegs in round holes and we don’t need them.

Chair, Watson also states there is corruption in government and all those sorts of things. We want to tell the hon Watson that government itself exposed almost 80% of the corruption that we found in government. Government itself exposes it and every time government comes across it, it actually deals with it decisively. There are many of examples in this regard, and therefore we don’t understand what is he talking about.

Let me go back to my speech. The year 1994 was an important event in the history of this country. It is the year in which our people, led by the ANC, once and for all broke free from the shackles of apartheid and set them an agenda of building a society based on universal human rights. We set ourselves goals of building a democratic, free, nonracial and nonsexist society. Since then, we have never looked back as we are focused on transforming the country from an apartheid nation so that we can take our rightful place as equal partners among the community of nations.

Our Constitution with its Bill of Rights is second to none in the world and is exposing real equality among people and guaranteeing the rights of all the citizens of our country. I usually say that 10 years is a very short time in historical terms, but within that short space of time our achievements have been unparalleled. We have surpassed many countries that achieved their liberation decades before us. The Freedom Charter and the RDP policy documents joined our democratic government to move our country decisively towards social transformation and the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment.

As we meet here today, both foe and friend recognise that we have made decisive progress in bettering the lives of our people. One of the social tragedies of apartheid was an introduced racially and ethnically based education system, which rendered millions of our people illiterate and ignorant.

However, we have managed to abolish the fragmented, inferior system of education and on its ruins we have established one education system in our country. The old curriculum that encouraged rote learning is safely in the museum of history, alongside the spinning wheel. In its place a new, progressive curriculum is being phased in, a curriculum that would produce learners who will be in a position to compete with the best in the world. Indeed, the doors of learning and culture are open, as the Freedom Charter states. Schooling in our country today is compulsory for all children up to grade 9, or 15 years of age. There isn’t a child that can be denied access to school because the parents cannot pay school fees. We have also heard from the Minister that from next year the schools in the lower quintiles will be exempted from paying school fees. We think we should commend the government and the Minister of Education for such a bold step to lift the burden of school fees from our poor communities.

In addition to this, there is the need to create a conducive environment for all children. As we speak now, our children are supplied with learner support material free of charge and in primary schools there is what we call the national school nutrition programme. Education at institutions of higher learning is no longer the preserve of children from relatively rich families. It is now accessible to the poorest child out there. It is possible because government is now providing financial support to every child who deserves to go to university. There is therefore no excuse for any child who passes matric and who has matric exemption to roam the streets, using poverty as an excuse. Today the Department of Education has put aside more than R800 million for this very purpose.

Chair, we must also hasten to state that any student who fails his or her exams is disqualified from this financial help. During our interaction with the stakeholders, from the MEC for education in Mpumalanga this week we learned that our children are not doing very well at school in this area. This enclave performs below the provincial average in matric. Our view is that the problem is not only in matric, but is to be found at all levels of schooling. [Time expired.][Applause.]

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Chairperson, hon members, invited guests who are with us here today, I must thank the hon members for this very encouraging debate. I think members of the NCOP have addressed all the issues that needed to be addressed this morning. I think it has been a very enlightening debate.

Let me in passing say something about the remark I made earlier, because I noticed that the speakers from provinces made a point of apologising on behalf of their Premiers. I think that if we are running an institution of this nature, we should be able to submit apologies in time. [Applause.] What actually occasioned my remark was that I did not see some of the Premiers here and the Chair did not say to me that there were apologies from Premiers for very serious reasons. But, of course, I have been informed that yesterday two Premiers did apologise. The Premier of KwaZulu- Natal, as you heard, has had a death in his family, and the Premier of the Eastern Cape has also apologised. The Premier of Gauteng apologised this morning. Other than those, there were no apologies, except when speakers came here to say that their Premier was very busy.

The point I am making is that we do need to take our institutions seriously at leadership level so that everyone would take our institutions seriously. I just thought that I should make that point because it is important. Our Premiers are our leaders who necessarily have to be here to represent their provinces. But, nevertheless, I think the representatives of provinces did their job by giving us information as to what their Premiers were doing. I think to hear what provinces are doing has enriched the debate. Many speakers spoke about the achievements that we have made and also indicated where there have been difficulties.

One of the issues that have been raised is the demonstrations that have taken place. Two provinces have reports against the councillors or the local government. There has been also a report of a very high degree of complaints raised by the people in this province. The Chairperson repeated that when he was making his contribution to the debate. I think this is important because it shows that people are vigilant and that they are able to raise their voices where they believe there is something wrong in the manner in which we are governing, at whatever level of the three spheres of government.

However, the Chair correctly made the point that it is impossible that every councillor here does not do his or her work. If you paint everyone with one brush, you undermine your case. It is not possible to say that all councillors out there don’t do what they are supposed to do. It is therefore important that the people make the point properly. I have said this on many occasions, and I want to repeat it here: It does not help if you say that councillors don’t do their work. If you know of a councillor who is not working, come forward and say to us that councillor so-and-so is not working so that we can address the issue. If you make the statement in general, how can we address the issue? The next councillor may say he or she is actually working, and there may be evidence to that effect. So, I think if we are to make that case, let us make it properly so that the issue could be addressed.

Those who demonstrate should also identify the problems, because if it is not done properly, it then gives the impression that it can be interpreted in many ways. Unfortunately, the problem with these protests is that they come on the eve of elections, and people tend to demand the resignation of all. Now, the danger of it is that somebody might say: People say I should resign from my post so that they can come in and take that position. If you want to alert government to a problem, why don’t you do it at all times and not only when we are on the verge of elections? That’s the problem that I thought I must underline so that our concerns are not misinterpreted or used by the very same councillors politically to say that people are campaigning against them because they want them out, and not because they are not working.

I think it is important for us to monitor local government and continuously report about those matters. I would, in fact, be happier when, at the point when we go out into the streets, we could say that we have reported our problems and nobody listened to them. And if we have been reporting to the councillors or to the mayors themselves, and they did not listen, let that be heard when people begin to say that they are dissatisfied.

I am making this point because I believe that the NCOP ought to make an analysis of this because local government is the most difficult level of governance. I have said in my opening address that the President has identified the problem of capacity at that level. It is the most difficult and it is therefore an area that needs our concentration and constructive interaction to help councillors. The Premier of this province made rather an important point when he said that many of the councillors are not employed full-time and as a result part of the time they are doing other work. Maybe that is the issue we need to look at. In some areas, we cannot do without councillors who also do something else and therefore we will have more problems. There are some deep rural areas where the teacher does everything. He is a leader of the community and he does everything. And if you say the community must participate, they wouldn’t know what to do in such a situation. So, it’s an area that needs our serious attention to resolve the issue so that the issue is not abused.

It is my view as well that a lot of effort ought to be put into local government. Well, as I said, many members of this House said many good things. I am happy that the people here saw how Parliament operates. There was a little bit of the usual parliamentary heckling, calling for some order and everything else associated with Parliament. I always say that this House, the NCOP, operates in a better fashion than its sister House, the National Assembly. There is more noise and heckling in the National Assembly. If it was the National Assembly that came here, you would end up not knowing what was happening. [Laughter.] Maybe it is because of the size of the House. There are some people who are always on their feet, calling for points of order.

Here it really happened just once. I saw one member calling another member to order, asking whether it was parliamentary for the member to say this or that and the hon member did not even wait to be called upon by the Chair to apologise. He apologised immediately. I think you saw a bit of how this House operates. But it is always a very good House. I think members were more behaved here because they were with the people, where they could be seen. [Laughter.] I am very happy because it means they take the people seriously.

I’m sure the last speaker attempted to deal with the issue, which caused him to spend more time on it, instead of using his time for what it was given. It is an issue that was raised by the hon member of the DA, who said that transformation and affirmative action tend to undermine skills and knowledge, and also probably a number of other things.

I just thought it was important to attend to this issue because there is the false complaint that is generally entertained by many people, that if you apply transformation or affirmative action you are undermining others. People even go to the extent of saying you are practicing racism in reverse. I think it is important for us to know that the decades of the colour bar and racism in this country did not just act in a superficial way. These things were institutionalised and embedded in every law, decree, practice and ordinance for many, many years. If we were to sit and do nothing about that, and just think that it will happen on its own, it would take the same time it would have taken from the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck up to now to correct it. And when it was done, it was very violent, very despicable, and very arrogant. I think what is being done, without changing anything, is to say: Let us take those who were disadvantaged and lift them up to the same level. You can’t fight that. It’s actually picking a fight where there is no fight at all. You can’t pick that fight because all you are saying is, let’s take those who were disadvantaged and let them remain there.

With regard to the issue of the brain drain, where people were leaving the country; it is not people of a particular nationality who leave the country. Almost everybody in South Africa - people with skills – who left the country are now all coming back, irrespective of colour, for they have realised that there is no danger here.

I’m merely underlining this point because I think we should not raise points that are controversial. Instead, we should be saying: how do we find ways and means of addressing this issue?

With regard to the issue of language, I answered a question in the national Parliament a few days ago and said that there is, in fact, no crisis with language. There are two languages in this country that have been promoted to the national level, English and Afrikaans. The rest of the 11 are not necessarily national, and we are promoting them to reach that level. Why do we need to pick a fight? I thought it is important to make the point in this House because critically we need to understand that we don’t just speak for the sake of speaking, but we must raise issues that help us to move forward.

I would like to underline what was said about the Men’s Summit here. The Men’s Summit was held in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. I think it is an absolutely important development because society, over centuries, has been structured in the manner that men had the last word and therefore the relations have been, in a sense, tilted in their direction. I think that it would be an achievement in this country if we men began to meet and debate this issue. [Applause.] We therefore need to encourage MEC Mabuyakhulu to circulate whatever was said there as a declaration and to plead with all of us – men – to take it seriously.

Chairperson, many issues were raised, including the fact that we are celebrating Human Rights Day on 21 March. I think hon members have correctly characterised its history and its importance. I can only thank hon members for such a valuable discussion. Provinces have given very detailed programmes. Thank you very much, for you are so active when it comes to the task of governing the provinces. We do need to take this Parliament to the people more. Therefore, one appreciates the new culture that is emerging - of members beginning to invite the NCOP to have its next sittings in their own provinces. I hope we could have more of these because, as you have seen, it does help you to understand the problems of the people; it does help the people to meet with their leaders – national Ministers, provincial MECs, as well as members of Parliament, to raise issues. There is no other way you could best practice the participatory democracy that we have, except when people come together like this and talk. I think the people of Mpumalanga have learned something and when you come back next round they will be better prepared to interact with you. I’m sure that in whatever area that we have gone, they remained behind and said that next time they will be better prepared.

I would like to thank you very much for your very illuminating participation in the debate that we had today and hope that the NCOP will continue to deepen democracy in this country, as we have done. I would like to thank the people of Mpumalanga, who had an opportunity to really sit within the same premise as Parliament and experience this. And you really behaved like members of Parliament . . . [Applause.] . . . as if they knew the Rules.

They were well disciplined, but there was also a little bit of heckling, which is necessary. Thank you very much for using the opportunity. The Chair said yesterday that since they came here, you have been raising issues. And one of the issues that you raised is that of people with disabilities, which led to the Chairperson going to see the place for himself, and he is working out a way of addressing that issue immediately. These are the benefits of the campaign Taking Parliament to the People. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! You can all take your seats and be quiet, please.

Hon members, allow me, as we wrap up this session today in KwaMhlanga, to thank a few stakeholders who participated in making this Taking Parliament to People very successful. If I omit one, please note that it is not intentional, for I might have forgotten you. But we will also take the trouble of writing to you to thank you for the work you have actually put in to make this exercise such a very great success. I want to thank the Premier of this province, hon T P S Makwetla. [Applause.] I want to thank the Speaker of the Mpumalanga Legislature. [Applause.] I would like to thank the two kings who were here with us since Monday and all other amakhosi.

I would like to thank the Thembesile Municipality, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Health, the Department of Education, the Rand Water Board, the Ekangala District Municipality, and all other people who made this a success. [Applause.] And most sincerely I would like to thank the people of this province who, when we said we were coming here, participated very actively with us throughout the week. [Applause.] I am happy that no MEC, no Minister from national government, no member of Parliament or special delegate lost their temper when serious questions were raised with us. [Applause.] I would like to thank all staff members who prepared this and the entertainers outside who have been entertaining us on Monday and today. [Applause.]

The request from the Speaker of the Northern Cape Legislature will be addressed when we get it formally, in writing and it will be discussed by all stakeholders when we go back to our traditional seat. [Applause.] This encourages us as the NCOP. It tells us that people appreciate what this institution does. And it encourages us to do more. It also tells us that we have a lot of challenges as an institution.

Debate concluded.

The House adjourned at 13:46.