FRIDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2006 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
                                ____

The Council met at the Conference Hall: Arwa Factory, Ngwathe Local Municipality in Parys at 10:09.

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

                      SITTING OF NCOP IN PARYS

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! The House is now in session. Everybody has to keep quiet and listen, please. We are not in a public hearing, but in a formal sitting of the National Council of Provinces.

Hon members, it gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to this sitting of the National Council of Provinces in Parys, Free State.

Hon members, I have been informed by the Whippery that there will be no notices of motion or motions without notice today. We will therefore proceed to the business of the day as indicated on the Order Paper. I will now call on the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr T M Mbeki, to address the House. Hon President. [Applause.]

CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNMENT FOR ACCELERATING THE PROCESS OF ACHIEVING A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL

                        (President’s Address)

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Premiers, hon members of the NCOP, the Chairperson of Salga, mayors, councillors, people of Parys and the Free State, fellow South Africans, I would like to thank you very much for affording me this opportunity once again to address the NCOP.

All of us would agree that our democracy derives its strength, in part, from the partnerships and sustained and ongoing engagements between elected representatives, the citizens of our country in all their formations, the public servants and those in the public institutions, together forming a collective committed to work and act together for the reconstruction and development of our country.

Taking your sittings to the provinces, on this occasion the Free State, in order to deepen democratic participation in the work of the NCOP and government as a whole, continues a good practice that has now become an established convention of our democracy.

I would like to take this opportunity again to commend the NCOP, this important institution of our democratic order, for the way it continues to define its place and role in our ongoing national effort to meet the most urgent and pressing needs of our people.

The NCOP has a specific and unique constitutional role in our democracy and I am happy that through your work you do not see yourselves merely as a smaller reflection of another important organ in our system of government, the National Assembly. I therefore urge that together we should ensure that this unique role is recognised and its operation further developed.

Today, in this House, we have yet another opportunity to continue our previous discussions on the workings of our institutions of co-operative governance, progress in providing basic services to our people and the effectiveness especially of our municipalities, which occupy the front desk in our struggle against poverty and underdevelopment.

We engage in this discussion, aware that although we have made major strides against poverty in the past twelve years through, among others, job creation, provision of clean drinking water, proper sanitation, housing, electricity, better access to education and other basic services that have benefited millions of our people, the backlog was so huge that we still have much more to do.

We will continue to work hard, including ensuring higher levels of economic growth, which in turn open the way to shared prosperity; increasing investment in economic infrastructure that promotes higher levels of investment; and allocating additional resources for public expenditure on houses, schools, clinics and other community infrastructure, and on social assistance to the elderly, children and people with disabilities.

As we know, since my address to this House last year, the country has elected municipal councillors who will lead this crucial sphere of government in the consolidation of local democracy and improving the quality of life of all our people, where they live. It is on this issue of consolidating co-operative governance, particularly as it applies to capacity and performance of local government, that I will focus my attention today.

First of all, I would like again to congratulate our newly elected local government representatives and the appointed officials in our municipalities. To these compatriots, what I would like to say is that as we have seen in our meetings in municipalities during the Presidential izimbizo, and as ordinary citizens would attest from their daily experience, yours is a very direct and critically important role in our national task to change the unacceptable conditions of life under which many of our people still live.

The Presidential Municipal Imbizo Programme identified the following four areas for strategic intervention: Firstly, integrated support from national and provincial spheres of government; secondly, local economic development; thirdly, building skills in key service delivery areas such as general management, finance, engineering, project management and others; and, lastly, building local capacity of councillors and ward committees to interact with local communities on service delivery.

In this context, it is important that, as public representatives we all remain conscious of the seriousness of the responsibility that the people of this country have given us, as well as the pressing need for all spheres of government, but especially the municipalities, to lead the struggle to accelerate and extend the provision of water, sanitation, electricity, health services, housing, support for the indigent, and other basic services to meet the targets that are central to our goal of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.

Indeed, working in partnership, all our spheres of government should ensure that our communities live in prosperous, productive, vibrant and sustainable settlements, which we must reconstruct as nonracial habitats.

Ahead of the local government elections at the beginning of March, the national Cabinet, at its January 2006 lekgotla, received a comprehensive appraisal of the previous five years of local government from the Minister for Provincial and Local Government as part of the report of the governance and administration cluster.

The appraisal addressed all aspects of municipal governance, service provision and capacity, and considered both the strengths and weaknesses of the current system of local government. At this meeting, national Cabinet adopted, with the participation of the Premiers and Salga, The Implementation Plan for the Five-Year Local Government Strategic Agenda for consolidating local government in its current five-year term.

The main premise of this implementation plan is the need to support those municipalities with capacity constraints to improve their performance and accountability through a concerted, targeted and institutionalised programme of support by government as a whole. Part of the objective in this regard is to develop the organisational capacity of the weakest municipalities so that they discharge their constitutional mandate effectively and efficiently.

Giving practical effect to this implementation plan for local government requires that national and provincial departments are in turn correctly organised and operationally focused both to engage the realities of municipal governance directly and to provide the kind of support that is needed if municipalities are to implement the programmes and policies these departments have introduced.

In this regard, all spheres of government as well as our public institutions are required to support local government, among others, to do the following: Design programmes that are alive to and informed by the real conditions at each local level; assist municipal planning and budgeting processes by making available accurate and relevant information necessary for the development and efficient delivery of services; ensure that joint planning with the municipalities takes place on a timely basis, placing technical skills and resources at the disposal of municipalities; guide and help municipal practitioners with capacity, and ensure that decisions are taken without delay and implementation happens immediately. We are indeed very happy that, already, a lot of work has been and continues to be done in this regard.

The implementation plan also requires that attention is given to the capacity and organisation of provinces, so that they are able to perform their own developmental, monitoring and support roles with respect to the municipalities. Again, it is encouraging that the programme of focused, hands-on and sustained intergovernmental collaboration to support municipalities is gathering momentum and is already starting to show some positive results.

In his budget speech in the National Assembly in May this year, the Minister for Provincial and Local Government cited several examples of how the deployment of service delivery facilitators into Project Consolidate municipalities has begun to show positive results, representing what Minister Mufamadi referred to as “a material sign of what could be achieved through a co-operative system of governance”.

Hon members would be aware that, so far, a total of 218 experts have been deployed in 80 Project Consolidate local municipalities and five metro municipalities. Numerous departments, public entities, donors and private organisations are already involved or have committed themselves to supporting the deployment programme.

Because of the focussed attention that we are giving to the sphere of local government we have seen better municipal compliance with statutory timelines for the adoption of Municipal Integrated Development Plans, as well as improvements in the elaboration and management of municipal budgets.

In the recently published Local Government Budget and Expenditure Review: 2001-2008, the National Treasury confirms the fact that there is a general improvement in the integration of Municipal Integrated Development Plans, budgets and performance management systems. According to the review, in 22 surveyed municipalities, 20 have fully integrated the multi-year capital budget with their IDPs, while 17 have integrated the operating budget.

While, according to the assessments undertaken, the quality of these plans is steadily improving, the IDPs of many of the municipalities designated as focal points under Project Consolidate are still unsatisfactory in quality. These municipalities will continue to receive dedicated attention.

As we all know, elected local governments lead municipalities with particular responsibility for specific areas, but they are not islands separated from the other two spheres of government. Ultimately all public services, whichever sphere is responsible for delivering them, converge in these municipal spaces in which the people of our country reside and/or work.

During our engagements with the public and local stakeholder groupings in the izimbizo process, the issues that people raise are not confined to matters that are the sole responsibility of the municipalities. These are issues that concern many departments, public enterprises as well as all spheres of government. Yet, from the perspective of local residents, it is probably irrelevant which sphere of government provides a service as long as an appropriate quality of service is delivered efficiently and in the most accessible way.

Accordingly, it is critically important that our system of co-operative governance must continually operate in ways that result in better co- ordinated and integrated planning, budgeting and service delivery within and across spheres of government, if we are to promote sustainable community development and help bring a better life to all citizens of our country.

The House will also recall that the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act was promulgated in August 2005. This Act directs that we establish the institutional machinery through which all spheres of government must co- ordinate and integrate plans, budgets and service provisions.

Indeed, if we work as we should, jointly and in an integrated way, we will avoid the risk of schools being built without water provision and sanitation, without access roads or without electricity. We will avoid clinics being built without medicines and health workers. We will ensure that communities that regain their ancestral lands through the restitution process receive the necessary support to engage in productive agricultural activities.

To emphasise what we have already said, we must repeat that responsive government must, among other things, mean that all public institutions, public representatives and officials should, on an ongoing basis, ensure that their work is informed by the concrete conditions of locals and that they themselves respond appropriately and practically to change those conditions for the better.

Some of the joint efforts to change the lives of the majority of our people for the better include budget transfers from national to local government. These have increased year after year through the equitable share and the Municipal Infrastructure Grant programmes releasing more funds targeted at the poor to ensure such critical interventions as the eradication of the bucket system and the delivery of proper sanitation, clean water and electricity.

Further, Project Consolidate, Siyenza Manje and the MIG programmes are actively assisting municipalities with the implementation of infrastructure programmes, especially in outlying areas that find it difficult to recruit engineers, financial and project management expertise. Several sectors have also completed master infrastructure plans enabling these sectors to integrate realistic capital expenditure plans within the municipal IDPs.

Besides the issue of allocating requisite resources, and at the centre of these efforts, should be clear plans at the local level in which the strategies and programmes of all the spheres of government and public entities find co-ordinated expression. In this regard, the initiative to align the National Spatial Development Perspective and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative on the one hand, with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies and the district and metro IDPs on the other, occupies a central place.

We are greatly heartened by the fact that all the provincial governments have set deadlines to complete the redrafting of their growth and development strategies to ensure that they are consistent with the principles of the National Spatial Development Perspective.

Further, the work that is being done in the 13 pilot areas, both urban and rural, to contextualise the National Spatial Development Plan and align the IDPs with the provincial and national planning instruments is of critical importance if we are to achieve developmental integration in actual practice. Thus we shall all together be able to fully appreciate and exploit the comparative economic advantages in each district and metro and more systematically address the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment in each of these areas.

In this regard, hon members, we need to assist to ensure that the perennial challenge of the relationship between the two tiers of local government, the district and local municipalities, where these exist, is addressed decisively, so as to reduce duplication and ensure complementarities across the board.

Many in this House would know that we are halfway through the life of the 10 year Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programmes, which were designed to adopt an area or nodal focus to target government co-ordination and public and private sector investments in the most deprived areas of our country.

The NCOP is well placed to ask probing questions about these important programmes and to work with government and other role-players to find answers to the many and varied challenges that face these programmes so that together we are able to accelerate the process of change in the poorest parts of our country.

On previous occasions in this House and in the National Assembly, we have spoken about the importance of the capacity and organisation of our developmental state. In this regard, we are all acutely aware that there is a shortage of critical skills in the country.

Government has, therefore, taken steps to ensure that we address the skills requirements of our growing economy and our public sector, especially at the municipal level. It was, among others, in this context that on 27 March 2006, government launched the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition, Jipsa, which focuses on the scarce and critical skills required to make the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative a success.

It is indeed true, as the hon Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has pointed out, that the absence of skills is not simply a constraint facing Asgisa, but a potentially fatal constraint. As we know, the problem of skills is most acutely felt at the municipal level. Technical and professional skills and expertise are in short supply or unevenly distributed across the municipalities.

In many izimbizo that we have conducted, the lack of skills in engineering, planning, municipal health, financial management, accounting, ICT and project management has been manifestly evident. In some areas, especially municipalities in our rural hinterland, high-funded vacancy rates in managerial, professional and technical occupational areas are in part attributable to skills migration to other areas of the country - a manifestation of broader trends in our national space economy.

Clearly, a municipality with little or no capacity to function as an organisation of state cannot spend effectively or account for expenditure, and therefore cannot provide an adequate level of service delivery to the people or promote meaningful local economic development.

We have seen how the absence of skills, expertise and capacity in many of our municipalities make it impossible to achieve the objectives we have set in the municipal IDPs, in our local economic development programmes, or in the extended public works programmes. This incapacity means that such municipalities will continue to struggle to earn the trust, respect and confidence of the people they serve.

If this problem of lack of capacity in municipal governance is not given the necessary attention, it can undermine our efforts to deepen democracy at the local level and may bring about the unintended consequence of the development of a gulf between our municipal governments and the people, even when we have systematically sought to address this challenge through ward committees, community development workers and popularly mandated and realistic IDPs.

It is for this reason that Jipsa has identified municipal planning and engineering skills as priority scarce skills. Accordingly, everything possible will and must be done to scale up the effort to recruit and deploy scarce skills in our municipalities.

Over the next two months, the National Cabinet and the President’s Co- ordinating Council will meet with the National House of Traditional Leaders to give focused attention to the institution of traditional leadership. Several important meetings have already taken place this year between the Presidency, the Ministry and Department of Provincial and Local Government and the Houses of Traditional Leadership. With most of the legislative and policy framework governing of this institution in place, the critical task is to ensure that it is given all the support required for it to take its place as a partner in development.

These engagements will lay the basis for a comprehensive national programme of support for the institutions of traditional leadership, as a joint initiative of government and the traditional institutions, which should be substantially completed before the end of this year. Undoubtedly, we will have occasion to address this important initiative in more detail in one of our future discussions in this House.

We have focused in some detail on the challenges facing the local sphere of government and the measures we need to address these challenges. We have done this precisely because this sphere of government stands at the coalface of our endeavours to accelerate the process of changing the lives of our people for the better.

The Comprehensive Implementation Plan for Local Government, in particular, provides this House with an important benchmark through which the NCOP can exercise its mandate to oversee and help further to strengthen our system of co-operative governance.

Clearly, your responsibility is equally to ensure that our system of government is focused on the task at hand and is responsive to the needs of our people. This annual sitting of the NCOP outside its chambers in Cape Town affords us the opportunity, collectively, to take stock of the impact we are making in improving the quality of life of our people.

I am confident that with the support of the NCOP and the National Assembly, the provincial and municipal legislatures, our democratic government across the three spheres will be able to meet its objectives. Thus shall we in practice ensure that the confidence of our people that they have entered an age of hope, finds concrete expression in day-to-day lives that register continuous improvement.

Let me conclude by drawing attention to an important event that took place at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens in Cape Town yesterday, which was reported by the electronic media. I am, of course, referring to the global launch of the 2006 United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report, which was held in Africa for the very first time. This important report focuses specifically on the critical challenge to provide all human beings everywhere in the world with adequate access to clean water and sanitation.

The UNDP paid outstanding tribute to our country by deciding that the global launch of the report would take place in South Africa. The Administrator of the UNDP, Kemal Derviş, explained that the UNDP took this decision because of the role that democratic South Africa is playing, to lead the world in terms of providing water to the poor, having determined that access to water is a fundamental human right. [Applause.]

All of us as South Africans who participated in the proceedings at Kirstenbosch were truly inspired that the United Nations put our country on such a high pedestal among the world community of nations. At the same time we recognised the reality that the accolade bestowed on our country and its institutions of governance, including the NCOP, imposed an obligation on us to continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we never take our eye away from the goal of the sustained improvement of the lives of the poor.

Let what happened at Kirstenbosch yesterday serve as an inspiration to this important national House of Parliament to persist in its determined work to serve the people of South Africa, especially the poor.

Chairperson, hon members, fellow South Africans, I thank you for your attention and congratulate you on the success of the important work that the NCOP has done since it started its proceedings here in Parys. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: The hon President, hon Premiers and their representatives, the hon Speaker of the Free State legislature, leadership of the provincial legislatures, leadership of organised local government, our traditional leaders present here, members of the National Council Of Provinces and provincial legislatures, ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity, in particular, to thank the Premier of this province, the hon Marshoff, and the Speaker of the legislature, and both executive mayors, who have been such a great help to us in organising this programme to take place in Parys. They have done a wonderful job. I think we need to congratulate them. [Applause.]

Once again, I wish to thank the President for creating time to be with us to lead this important debate this morning. We are always humbled by your presence in this House, Mr President.

Earlier this week, we reflected on the positive observations made by some of the leaders in the provinces we have visited, about this programme. One of them was the Premier of the Northern Cape, hon Premier Dipuo Peters.

After our visit to the province in March this year, the Premier said that the engagement, between the people of Kgalagadi and the leadership of the three spheres of our government, facilitated a seamless transfer of services from North West to the Northern Cape in the process of the disestablishment of the cross boundaries.

It is our hope that this week’s activities will bring such rewards to the people of this community in particular and the province in general. We hope that they will take us a step further towards addressing the daunting challenges that face our people.

These challenges that we must address require a leadership prepared to stay the course and work with the people to find and advance solutions designed to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person.

Last year when we debated the President’s annual address at Nkowankowa in Limpopo, we highlighted a few things. These included our public participation and oversight activities, and our interaction with organised local government.

Our public participation activities, such as the outreach programme of Taking Parliament to the People, are beginning to assist us to improve the work we are doing. For instance, there is evidence that our committees have improved their monitoring function. We are confident that this will assist us in addressing the issues that are central to service delivery. One of these is the ability by government agencies to spend allocated resources in order to speed up the delivery of services to the people.

Now, our committees closely monitor the spending of these agencies or government departments. They do not wait for the Auditor-General’s report. The Minister of Finance, Mr Trevor Manuel, is apparently an admirer of the stance the NCOP is now taking. In his own words he said earlier this year:

Parliament should consider a functional approach to spending. We were pleasantly surprised at the depth of investigation by the NCOP into conditional grants. Parliament must not take a restricted view, confined by the norms of a national department.

We agree. There is also no gainsaying the fact that the time we spend listening to the people, as we did here this week, enables us to make these interventions.

When launching the Provincial Budgets and Expenditure Review and Local Government Budgets and Expenditure Review in the NCOP last month, Mr Manuel said:

When the NCOP invites the national and provincial departments to come and explain the range of programmes funded through conditional grants, they are doing their job. When they ask difficult questions they may come across some resistance, but this is what the work of this House is about.

Again we agree with the Minister, and we shall pursue this course of action in our attempts to address the challenges facing our people. [Applause.] However, we’ll pursue it in a co-operative manner, because we believe in intergovernmental relations and in co-operation with other spheres of government or legislatures.

Our interactions with the South African Local Government Association have revealed some challenges. As we know, Salga’s role in the NCOP is to represent the interests of local government at national level and in the national legislative process.

On the vexing question of whether Salga is fulfilling its role in intergovernmental relations in an effective manner, the organisation has raised some challenges, which include: Overstretched leadership whose full- time positions in metros and district municipalities demand their primary attention; limited resources and capacity; a lack of continuity in representation; and a slow and unresponsive mandating system.

Specifically, Salga has said that the NCOP legislative cycle does not give them enough time to consult with members when committees propose new amendments to legislation under consideration. They say it is difficult, if not impossible, for Salga representatives to obtain the necessary mandates in order to influence legislation in favour of local government.

However, despite these challenges, Salga has put in place some processes to ensure that the role of organised local government in intergovernmental relations is fulfilled. These include the establishment of a system for tracking the work of key intergovernmental forums. We also hope that we will be able to find creative ways of resolving the challenges they have raised with us.

Mr President, we regard the task of promoting intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance very seriously. As we are poised to celebrate an important milestone in the life of the NCOP – its 10-year maturity early next year - we intend to use this opportunity to reflect on how the country has moved, and continues to move, in satisfying the constitutional and statutory provisions for the promotion of intergovernmental relations, because we believe it is very important that this should be done.

To this extent, we intend convening a national summit to interrogate closely the role of the legislative sector across the three spheres of government in the promotion of intergovernmental relations and the spirit of co-operative governance.

Our shared view is that the notion of co-operative governance is based on the principle that the three spheres working together or acting in concert are more likely to address challenges facing the country than if they were to act separately or in competition. This doesn’t assist us.

The NCOP, by its nature, is able to entertain opinions and deliberations of provincial legislatures at national level. And the programme of Taking Parliament to the People is one of the mechanisms that assist us to give meaning to the notion of co-operative governance.

Through this programme, the three spheres of government are able to go together to talk to the people. We listen together and discuss together the issues that affect our people. This programme, therefore, serves as an important platform for the promotion of a national dialogue firmly rooted at grassroots level. This is where the majority of our people still face enormous challenges.

I normally say that there is nothing like a national community. There’s only one constituency for all of us, and that constituency is found in a province or in a municipality and consists of these people who are sitting here with us. [Applause.] It is, therefore, relevant for us – all three of us - to co-operate and have that relationship to serve them in a co- operative spirit.

I have observed that, for instance, the post-visit debates in the NCOP further provide us with unique opportunities to put our heads together and reflect on the issues that our people have raised.

In conclusion, access to water in some areas is still a problem; as is slow delivery of services; credit control or indigent policy implementation; sanitation, which the MEC has promised will meet their targets next year; bad roads and storm-water drainage; lack of documentation from Home Affairs, which still denies the people the right to obtain their social grants; the backlog in housing; lack of discipline and early pregnancy is still prevalent in some schools; the collapse of agricultural projects; challenges arising from the classification of schools into what they call “quintiles”; I will discuss this with the national Minister.

I have said that in order to address these challenges we need a leadership that is prepared to stay the course and work with the people to find or advance solutions designed to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of everyone. I thank you very much. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE: Hon Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon President, hon Premiers, members of the NCOP, our provincial Speaker and members of the provincial legislature, hon chairperson of Salga, our mayors and councillors, the chairperson of the provincial House of Traditional Leaders, ladies and gentlemen, today marks the last day of the dedicated person-to-person contact between the hon members of the NCOP and the people of the Free State. We have been humbled by the graceful manner in which these conversations have been taking place.

During this week, we have heard people from our communities sharing their life experiences. The people of the province have actively contributed in the intensification of a process that seeks to give meaning to participatory governance. I am confident that all of us, who have been here, have learnt a lot about where we are right now and what we need to do in the future. Indeed, our government has again demonstrated its commitment to the values and the principles of our Constitution.

We in the Free State provincial government realise that co-operative governance means improved livelihoods. We know that we have no option but to work together with all the sectors of our society. We have thus progressed from intending to act, and hoping to do so, to a phase in which we are doing so. Our NGO partners, faith-based organisations and community- based organisations, have been at the forefront of service delivery. Our MPCC continues to provide a range of services through various government departments.

Later today, together with ABSA, I will sign an agreement that establishes the joint fund between the Free State provincial government and ABSA. These resources will ensure access to finances by our SMME sector and will be administered by our Free State Development Corporation. [Applause.] ABSA has taken this bold step to partner with government in order to broaden the base for SMME job creation and local economic development.

Earlier this year, we launched a provincial chapter of the Small Enterprise Development Agency commonly known as Seda. Again we are proud to declare that in Machabeng in Welkom, we have a winning corporation and integrated model. This project is part of the Premier’s special projects, for you know that SMME development is a significant aspect in the eradication of poverty, but also in the creation of opportunities for our people.

This integration has the following active participants: The Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Machabeng Local Municipality, Seda, Harmony Gold Mining Company and the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The essence of this partnership is to provide nonfinancial business support services to SMMEs under one roof.

Some of the funds for this project have been received as part of the South African Flemish Government Co-operation Agreement, a partnership that was launched in August. We are encouraged by the commitment and dedication of the business sector of this province towards programmes of this nature. The institutional mechanisms to strengthen the system of integrated and co- operative governance in the Free State, are in place.

As Premier, I regularly attend the Presidential Co-ordinating Council meetings and, in turn, we also host the provincial Premier’s Co-ordinating Forum meetings on a regular basis. This forum is a platform that ensures deliberation and interaction between the Premier, members of the executive council, mayors and Salga, as well as the House of Traditional Leaders. Similarly, the provincial DG participates in the forum, and within the province the DG meets the provincial heads of departments on a regular basis through the forum for heads of departments.

Our DG also heads a technical PCF. The executive and the administrative cluster mirror those of the national government, and we are also in the process of extending this cluster system to our district municipalities. We have also completed the process of aligning our municipal IDPs to our Free State growth and developmental strategies, which, in turn, is aligned to the national growth and development strategy. At present, 16 out of 25 municipalities have adopted credible IDPs, whilst three have approved fairly credible IDPs.

We are in the process of providing technical support to the six municipalities that have not yet been able to produce credible IDPs in order to bring them on a par with the others. We concede that there are serious capacity challenges at municipal level. However, our Provincial and Local Government and Housing departments have already instituted a dedicated hands-on support mechanism for enhancing the capacity of municipalities to execute their duties in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, the provincial departments of the Treasury and Local Government and Housing have entered into a memorandum of agreement to ensure that municipalities receive support on the implementation of the Municipal Finance Management Act. One of the major challenges that the Free State has had to contend with, in terms of delivery of basic services at municipal level, has been the eradication of the bucket system. The Department of Local Government and Housing together with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the DBSA, are ready to roll out an implementation plan for the eradication of the bucket system, which will be launched during the first week of December, and we are confident as a province that by the end of 2007 no household will be using the bucket system in this province. [Applause.]

The community of the Free State will continue to hold the government accountable during the monthly Exco Meets the People campaigns and through the departmental community meetings. The feedback that we are receiving from these interactions ensures that our services are consistently aligned to the needs of our people. At present, there are 89 CDWs that have completed their learnership programmes. They are now working within the municipalities across 89 wards. It is through their dedication that 82% of the Free State ward committees are now functional.

These cadres have devoted themselves to working for their communities. They have been actively involved in identifying the indigent, those in need of identity documents, social grants, organising youth for development and also in the initiation of HIV/Aids support groups, as well as other community projects, amongst others. On behalf of the people of Fezile Dabi, I wish to express our heartfelt gratitude for affording them the opportunity to interact and share their experiences and hopes with you. We acknowledge that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us as South Africans to consolidate our democracy while the government continues to fulfil its role of providing a framework for empowerment and economic growth at local level.

As the Premier of this province, I will ensure that co-operative governance will continue to function effectively and efficiently. We owe it to our people. Through our Asgisa initiatives, we promise that our local economies will experience rapid and sustainable development.

Our challenge is to ensure that small and marginal productive enterprises benefit from this project. We will ensure effective monitoring and co- ordination so that this becomes a reality. We have chosen this path out of the understanding that ours is to serve our people and, therefore, whatever action we take should be in the best interest of those we serve.

I would like to thank you for granting me the opportunity to participate in this debate this morning. Thank you. [Applause.]

Ms J F TERBLANCHE: Hon Deputy Chairperson, your Excellency, Mr President, our Constitution devotes the entire Chapter 3 to co-operative governance. Co-operative governance not only accepts the integrity of each sphere of government, but also recognises the complex nature of government in modern society. South Africa cannot achieve a better life for all unless the three tiers of government, national, provincial and local, function as a cohesive whole.

Some of the principles of co-operative governance include the following: A framework of mutual intervention; a cohesive multisectoral perspective on the interests of the country as a whole; co-ordinating activities to avoid harmful competition and costly duplication; utilising human resources effectively; settling disputes constructively without resorting to costly and time-consuming investigative processes; and rationally and clearly dividing the roles and responsibilities of government between various government bodies so as to minimise confusion and maximise effectiveness.

Chapter 3 also highlights that all three spheres of government have a crucial role to play in service delivery. Moreover, the Constitution provides for certain basic rights that underpin the notion of service delivery. Many of these ultimately become matters of life and death, particularly with regard to issues of water and sanitation, housing and health.

The drafters of the Constitution clearly understood that the challenge to achieve the delivery of these rights relies on a healthy working relationship between the three interdependent spheres of government. In this regard, an abortive power grab in Cape Town should serve as a constant reminder of what ought not to be done if elected representatives are truly committed to the letter and spirit of the Constitution in general and co- operative governance in particular.

The entire episode amounted to tension and instability that threatened to put service delivery issues on the back burner. It is worth citing certain instances where the rules governing co-operative governance have been disregarded. Whilst specific reference is made to the North West province, there’s no proof that this is the modus operandi in most legislatures in South Africa.

In terms of section 47 of the Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, the MECs concerned must annually compile and submit to the provincial legislatures and the Minister a consolidated report on the performance of the municipalities in the province. The report must identify municipalities that underperform during the year, must propose remedial action to be taken and must be published in the provincial Gazette.

The MEC for Local Government must submit a copy of the report to the NCOP. This has never happened. Moreover, section 71(7) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act No 56 of 2003, states that the provincial Treasury must, within 30 days after each quarter, make public, as may be prescribed, a consolidated statement in the prescribed format on the state of every municipality’s budget per municipality and per municipal entity. This has never happened.

Furthermore, section 131(2) of the MFMA requires the MEC for Local Government to assess all annual final statements of municipalities in the province, the audit report on such statements and any responses of municipalities to such audit reports and determine whether municipalities have adequately addressed any issues by the Auditor-General in audit reports, and then report to the provincial legislature any omission by a municipality to adequately address those issues within 60 days. Again, this has never happened.

There are still a number of crucial functions to be fulfilled by the Treasuries, MECs for Local Government and MECs for Finance in order to build and strengthen not only the capacity of municipalities, but also relationships between spheres of government to enhance delivery. This void, unfortunately, has given rise to an increasing lack of accountability and transparency in local authorities; Executive Mayors refusing to provide the Auditor-General’s report to other councillors; nonfavourable Auditor- General reports not being included and published in annual reports; and exorbitant salaries being earned by local government officials.

Some deputy directors-general in the North West province have already applied for municipal manager positions, where they would be handling a fraction of their current budget, staff and responsibilities and receive an increased remuneration. Even the DG of North West, the most senior government official in the province, has successfully applied to become the municipal manager in the Emfuleni Municipality at an increased package.

An executive mayor in the North West province expended approximately R1 million of taxpayers’ money on legal costs in a defamation case in which he defended his municipal manager. An amount of approximately R1,5 million of taxpayers’ money was expended on a single football match in a botched attempt to ensure a 2010 soccer match for a municipality.

Unless we do the basic things right, service delivery will continue to happen haphazardly and the glorified Batho Pele will, in the eyes of many South Africans, remain a pipe dream. Thank you. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF THE EASTERN CAPE: Voorsitter, hulle sê mos ná 40 is dit net brille en pille! [Chairperson, the saying goes that after 40 all that is left is spectacles and pills!]

So I stand here today, hon President, to say good morning to you and to the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon Premiers present here today, hon members of the NCOP, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends. I remain humbled by the opportunity to share with the esteemed members of this House the steps that the Eastern Cape is taking fundamentally to redirect the destiny of the poor, using our provincial growth and development plan, which remains our blueprint for economic growth and a fundamental turnaround for the Eastern Cape.

I therefore would like to start with job creation, which is part of our provincial growth and development. Ladies and gentlemen, it is confirmed that unemployment in the Eastern Cape has dropped from 32% to 22%. [Applause.] Thank you. Between the period 2004 and 2006, 150 000 jobs were created, mostly in the agricultural sector. This indicates the correctness of the main thrust of our PGDP, which is agrarian transformation.

Whilst we know that 500 000 jobs have been created nationally, we are also aware that the Eastern Cape accounts for more than a quarter of all the jobs created. Statistics SA has also published that the Eastern Cape has the second lowest unemployment rate in South Africa.

This, to us, is something to write home about. But we know that we need to interrogate the details as to whether the historically disadvantaged individuals, HDI, the gender and youth areas, have been covered.

SA Airways has increased its volume of passengers travelling to East London by 30%, and that also shows us how many jobs still need to be created. The new SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, has recently - about a month ago - created a further 952 new jobs for our young unemployed graduates. These graduates will be volunteering for social development. Actually they have been doing this for two years, and now they are permanent.

They are being trained and assisted in the following areas: data capturing, customer care, communication, investigations, etc. We are very happy, Mr President, that these are low-hanging fruits for our people, particularly the poor.

Asgisa initiatives have also been embraced by our province through the establishment of a special-purpose vehicle. Today we know that this initiative has already led us to set up panels that will be appointing the new CEO and board members. We are also encouraged by the Matatiele commercial and communal farmers. We spent three days with them in the past week and they have shown interest in biofuels and hydroelectricity.

We are starting consultation with municipalities, such as Alfred Nzo and Ntabankulu. This, to us, will be a way of addressing the rural strategy, which is very important.

The organisation, Women in Agriculture, has been launched nationally. We have had 700 women gathering in the Eastern Cape in the past month, and they were supported by women from the whole continent, from countries such as Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, etc. We appreciate the fact that women are playing a very important role in agriculture.

The Eastern Cape job summit held earlier this year has resulted in a multi- stakeholder commitment to job creation and job monitoring. And, most importantly, we have also expanded the social cohesion commitment.

Mr President, we would like you to know that the executive committee of the Eastern Cape, together with their top management, will spend the next two days in the province of Gauteng. The reason for this is that we would like to share the experiences of Gauteng and see how they have developed their job barometer to track the model of creating more jobs. To that end, we hope that we will be getting more experience.

We are also interested in their shared services. We know that we may not be able to take in all that they have already done, but I am sure that their shared services will help us to strengthen our systems.

The big question is: Are the poor benefiting? Yes, Mr President, there is the garment factory in Dimbaza, which created 800 jobs for seamstresses; a goat project in O R Tambo; a cheese factory in Dordrecht, which benefits many of our people; the mariculture project, which is a shrimp farming investment in the region of $3 billion and which has provided 5 000 direct jobs for our people in a period of three years; and the Alcan aluminium investment, which has also made available R20 billion of fixed capital formation in bricks, mortar and equipment. These are all efforts to try and help our people.

We are aware that our basic services must be speeded up. The Public Service week has exposed both our weaknesses and our strengths. We have realised that customer care is the basic service that our poor people need from us. It needs to be strengthened. We have a rule that says that whenever someone gets into an office, that person must first be offered a cup of tea and, of course, a “roosterkoek” [griddle cake]. We hope this will continue like that, because it is a basic service. Some of these people have travelled a long way and they need to be reassured as soon as they get there.

We are aware that we need to speed up our housing provision, hence we have now separated the function from local government. Our systems need to be strengthened, particularly the chain supply and, of course, procurement and other systems.

Our roads still need a lot of improving. We are blessed with rains, but they sometimes make things a little bit difficult for us.

Mr President, these 10 days of adherence to cutting down on bureaucracy are very important to us. We‘ve said to our communities: You do not have to wait for a long time. We are saying this because we know that in the past we have been embarrassed a lot. And so 10 days is enough for you to have registered your complaint with the local municipality. After that you need to move to the MEC. Wait for the 10 days and say to your local mayor, ward committee or whoever: I am sorry, I have to take the matter up now.

Again, you must wait 10 days for a response from the MEC, and if you do not get any joy, you should take the matter up with the Premier. Again, if you are still not satisfied after that, you are free to go to the President. [Laughter.] And we know that the President will respond. [Applause.] We are saying this from experience.

Therefore we are trying to innovate our integrated service delivery. We are trying to say …

… Bantu bakowethu, kubalulekile ukuba abantu bethu bahoyeke. Sicela ukuba abantu bethu bafumane uxolo xa befika eziofisini zethu. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Sifuna ukuba iphele into yokuba bathi abantu bethu bediniwe, besuka kude, impendulo ibe nye abayifumanayo, ibe yethi: “Uz’ uze kule veki izayo.”

Masizame ukuba iphele loo nto ukuze zikhawuleze iinkonzo zikarhulumente. Noomama abasincedisayo, ngakumbi aba basenzela iti, bathi masiwayeke ngoku la magama simana sibabiza ngawo sisithi ngooAnti. Bathi banamagama abo emasibabize ngawo, ooMaRhadebe, ooMaDlamini, njalo njalo, ukwenzela ukuba sibanike isidima sabo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[… Members of Parliament, it is important that we give attention to our people. We request that our people get peace when they come into our offices. [Applause.] We want to bring to an end the tendency of sending our people away and giving them an answer that says: “Come back next week.”

Let us try to bring that to an end in order to speed up the process of service delivery. Even the domestic workers, especially those who make tea for us, are complaining that we should refrain from calling them “Aunties”. They say they have names that we should call them by, like oomaRhadebe,oomaDlamini, etc, to give them the necessary respect and dignity that they deserve.]

These are basic things, but they are very important for our service delivery. We are acutely aware that the success of our economic growth is intertwined with the skills revolution. On this front, we are energetically crafting …

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Premier, your time has expired, thank you.

The PREMIER OF THE EASTERN CAPE: … a comprehensive human resource development strategy. I want to say, in conclusion, President: Keep up the good work that you are doing in Africa. The Lord has given us you as our rare gift. It is for us to appreciate the kind of work you are doing in order to improve South Africa. Ungayeki ke nangomso, Zizi. [Keep it up, Zizi.] Thank you. [Applause.]

INKULUMBUSO YEPHONDO LASERHAWUTINI: Sihlalo, ndicinga ukuba kuza kuba nzima ukuthetha emva kwesi sithethi besime apha, ngoba sele ndibona ukuba sesicele, saze sathembisa neti kwakunye nemengo. Ngoko ke kuthi, thina bantu bangwakaziyo ukuthembisa imengo, kungenzeka ukuba singakwazi ukumanyelwa kakuhle. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

[The PREMIER OF GAUTENG: Chairperson, I think it will be difficult for me to speak after the last speaker, because I realise that she has already made a request and promised some tea and mangoes. Therefore, those of us who cannot make promises of mangoes, are unlikely to be listened to.]

The President of the Republic, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Premiers here present, hon members of the NCOP, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, I thought, Mr President, bearing in mind the four areas you indicated, that really are what the presidential municipal imbizo looks at, which are integrated support, IDPs, skills and local capacity, that I would devote the time I have to four areas, which we are trying to do some work on, together with the municipalities in the main, as part of giving content to some of the issues that you have raised.

Bearing in mind that many of our old townships were built in the sixties in the immediate aftermath of mass removals and that there has really been very little work to upgrade those areas, we adopted a programme known as the Twenty Priority Townships Programme in which the idea is to do the following in these townships: firstly, working with the municipalities to provide social and economic infrastructure, internal and external township services that will build sustainable communities and contribute to relieving poverty.

There has been a lot of concern in many of our townships that there is too much focus on informal settlements and those that bore the brunt of oppression in many of those townships. Therefore, we felt that it was important that a lot of energy should be put into those townships. So we identified twenty of them.

The second issue we have focused on in these very same townships is the rehabilitation of the existing social and economic infrastructure. Most of them do not have tarred roads. They do not have proper working clinics and health facilities and some of the schools, both primary and high schools, were built a long time ago. Therefore, what do we need to do with the municipalities to help rehabilitate that infrastructure? The third issue is to protect and improve the quality of the environment and ensure a healthy and safe environment for communities. I think, hon President, you would know that if you were to travel in a number of our own local townships, there is a lot of paper, cardboard and bottles in many of the streams. They are never clean.

Yet, we speak about the issue of sustainable environmental protection. Therefore, because we do very little to beautify the areas in which we live, people begin to see our focus on the environment as simply the protection of rare species rather than about how we ensure the protection of the environment in a manner that ensures sustainable development.

Fourthly, we want to focus on ensuring sustainable socioeconomic and infrastructure development. How do we ensure that these townships, which were really dormitories, become centres of economic excellence? How do we bring business to these very townships? How do we use that to nurture small, medium and micro enterprises? How do we involve women, young people and people with disabilities in economic activity? Therefore this will require that the infrastructure that we have there must of itself be sustainable.

Next, we need to look at issues of creating jobs for local people. Here the issue of the Expanded Public Works Programme becomes an important area. But we also really need to be able to make some of these townships more beautiful. Some of you who grew up in Soweto would know that there was a time when you could go to Mofolo Park and really be able to spend more time in a better-looking environment. At the Vaal Dam, not too far from here, time and neglect have created those kinds of problems.

Doing this, Mr President, requires a little bit more time for co- ordination. So we have had to set up a team under the MEC for Housing that brings health, education, local government, among other things, and the respective MMCs from all those municipalities have said, “Let’s start with the IDP for Daveyton.”

What is the IDP for Daveyton? If we are going to tar the roads there, how do we ensure that we are not just tarring the roads, which are not part of a broader plan for the Ekurhuleni Municipality? If we are going to put up houses, how do we ensure that we don’t put up houses away from the new areas of economic development?

There are problems, Mr President. One of the problems is that with this work, how do we ensure that the work that relates to national government is also brought into the equation? There is no point in our looking at how to rehabilitate a township, such as Mamelodi or Soshanguve, yet the key issue may be the need for a police station. How do we ensure that the police station is planned for by national government at that particular time, rather than coming later? The same with the parastatals: how do we ensure that their work is linked to those issues?

The second issue regarding what we are looking at is the whole issue of IDPs. Without going into the major details, the one major decision we have taken with the municipalities for the next financial year going forward is that rather than have the hearings in which you have a department coming in and speaking about the little “pondokkie” programme and going away and another coming in, that we need to get the MEC for Local Government to become the co-ordinator of all provincial government plans.

It must be her duty to ask each department what its plans are in different municipalities and to consolidate all of them, so that when we have a hearing - say in Tshwane - all departments must be there because it is not just about presentation; it’s about hearing what the others have to say. She needs to be able to say: “The provincial government in the whole of Tshwane is planning to put resources in the following areas …”We think that will help with development.

Linked to that, which is the third area, Mr President, is the need to ensure that any transfers that the provincial government intends to do in every municipality must be clarified. It doesn’t help for us to say that we have money for roads in a municipality in Ekurhuleni, yet Ekurhuleni doesn’t know that we’ve got so much money for roads. We think that that doesn’t make for good planning.

To conclude, Mr President, the other two issues you raised were the issues of skills and local capacity. Here we think that it’s important we work in particular with municipalities to look at issues of skills in order to deal with issues of finances. I hope that if we succeed in some of what we are trying to do here, we may be in a better position to show that co-operative governance can improve people’s lives where they live. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): We thank the hon Premier of Gauteng for his input on the debate. I would like to make an announcement to the hon members, and it is that you please request speakers to stick to their allocated times, otherwise we will have problems with members being able to catch their flights. Thank you very much.

Mr C J VAN ROOYEN: Hon President, hon Chairperson, Premiers, colleagues, during the state of the nation debate this year the President said: “Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today.”

This certainly holds true for the majority of people in our country, even for those who haven’t yet directly benefited from the many programmes in place to improve the lives of all. They live in a season of hope, for they see on a daily basis how ANC government programmes touch and change the lives of those around them.

But, in order to turn this hope into reality, to turn promises into delivery and to ensure the better tomorrow that we promised, we have to work today. Poverty knows no borders, it does not discriminate along racial lines, it knows no colour and has no gender preferences. It is a challenge that touches us all and that needs to be addressed by all of us.

Government has the will, the plans and the resources to make a significant difference to poverty, yet we seem not to be making the desired and planned impact as quickly and as effectively as we would want to. The time has come for us to honestly evaluate why we are not making the progress that we would all be satisfied with.

One of the reasons, I believe, that contribute to this is the apparent breakdown between the different spheres of government. The national government makes the necessary funding available to provinces to implement poverty alleviation programmes. Yet, often we find that some provinces fail to spend on these critical poverty alleviation programmes. Some local governments perform even worse, and this is an even more critical factor since they are the first point of contact between the government and the poorest of the poor.

We can also not deny that political differences, especially on this level, often play a role. In the City of Cape Town, for example, the DA-controlled city council spent 80% of the budget up until now in the previously advantaged areas. They closed service points in the poor areas and moved them into the established parts of town, in so doing making it even more difficult for those most in need to access these programmes and services.

How do we rectify this situation? The ANC believes that one of the most important ways of addressing this is to build the necessary capacity at all levels of government for officials to implement these policies.

Poverty knows no borders, it does not discriminate along racial lines, it knows no colour and it has no gender preferences. In order to turn hope into reality, to turn promises into delivery, to ensure the better tomorrow that we promised, we have to work today.

Another factor that needs to be addressed by us is the Batho Pele principles. This cannot be a document that everybody in the Public Service knows about but that few live by. It must become the ethos every individual in the Public Service lives by. Too many times we still find an agency conflict between politicians and officials. The only result of this is that we are not reaching expectations and we are failing to address the real needs of our people.

Public officials at all levels should take pride in what they do. Theirs is not simply another job; theirs is a vocation that can influence the lives of millions of their fellow citizens for the better. The ANC calls on public servants to expose those amongst them who are dragging the rest of them down. The Public Service should become a proud career choice, not just an employment opportunity, and we should reward those who demonstrate their commitment accordingly.

This brings me to what I believe is one of the most important links in ensuring the successful implementation of poverty alleviation programmes. It is the responsibility of every individual to make use of the many opportunities that are created by the ANC government. It is true that those who need and can benefit most from these programmes are often the last to find out about them. It is the responsibility of all of us as public representatives, no matter which political party we represent, to inform every citizen about these programmes.

We can, however, not do this on our own. We need the assistance of organised civil society, churches, cultural organisations, the House of Traditional Leaders and all others to play their part. As organisations, they share this responsibility with us.

Let it never be said of the South African citizen that we have lost our skills as citizens. As citizens, we should not contract out our skills to public employees. Mr President, indeed, poverty knows no borders, it does not discriminate along racial lines, it knows no colour and it has no gender preferences.

In order to turn hope into reality, to turn promises into delivery, to ensure the better tomorrow that we promised, we have to work today, for only then will tomorrow be better than yesterday. Thank you. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF KWAZULU-NATAL: Thank you very much, Madam Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the President of the Republic of South Africa, the Premier of the Free State, sister Premiers and brother Premiers. [Laughter.]

In an article with the title, “What I will do if I were a Prime Minister” published in 1962, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former ANC President Inkosi Albert Luthuli wrote and I quote:

The main thing is that the government and the people should be democratic to the core. It is relatively unimportant who is in the government. I am not opposed to the present government because it is white; I am only opposed to it because it is undemocratic and repressive. I don’t cherish such expressions as an all-black government or the African majority, I would like to speak about a democratic majority which will be a nonracial majority, whether it was multiracial or not.

South Africa has now achieved this idea. We now have a united, democratic and nonsexist government. Today we meet as the NCOP in the middle of our term. It took until 1994 for South Africa to accept the constitutional fact that to be white or to be black is not an achievement. It is a natural attribute. It took South Africa up to 1994 to accept the simple fact that no job in the world requires one to have either a beard or breasts.

We meet today as the NCOP to deliberate on how the three tiers of government can accelerate the achievement of a better quality of life for all. To achieve is to bring about or accomplish by effort, by skill and by courage. The first step towards solving any problem is to recognise its existence and understand its nature.

I come from a province of some 9,6 million people. There is a natural tendency to concentrate on the number of voters. We have 4 million of these and they can express themselves, their wishes and desires on a regular basis. However, the startling fact is that 3,4 million people in KwaZulu- Natal are under the age of 14. We have 1,2 million who are between the ages of 15 and 19. This makes a total of 4,6 million people.

We are in the process of establishing a developmental and caring state. All the injured belong to us. The developmental state does not yet exist. If we use the judicial criterion of a minor as a person under the age of 21 who cannot enter into a legally binding contract, then the figure goes up to 5,7 million.

We are just emerging from Public Service week, which enabled us to rediscovery the reality that we seek to change. It allows us to look at old facts in a new way. As part of Public Service week, I visited the welfare offices in Durban.

The Durban office services a population of 3,2 million people. Every month this office pays R273 916 towards old-age pensions and disability grants. Extremely worrying though, is that it pays just over 300 000 individuals child support grants. A profile of the recipient of those grants shows that it is usually a young woman below the age of 13. Some 38 676 are from Umlazi, 24 000 from Chatsworth – and so I can go on. In almost all cases the man involved is young and able-bodied and is nowhere to be found.

We have defined ourselves as a developmental state, based on the Freedom Charter. It is a caring state. It seeks to be different from a capitalist state or a welfare state. Fernando Cardoso of Brazil is one of the pioneers who has defined such a developmental state. The other is Thandeka Mkandawire, who defines it as such that “the ideological underpinning of a developmental state is development as it focuses on economic development, usually associated with higher rates of accumulation and industrialisation”. She also indicates that the national productive system is subjected to restructuring, affecting both its domestic character, as well as its relationship with the global economy.

Structurally, a developmental state should have an unencumbered capacity to formulate and implement economic policies without being constrained by narrow individualistic and private interests. Requirements for such a state are policy management efficiency and embedded autonomy. The managerial, business and political leaders must be able to articulate and uphold the ideological hegemony on development such that other actors voluntarily accept it as theirs.

KwaZulu-Natal has a budget of R50 billion per year, which is inclusive of social welfare. The Department of Social Welfare and Population Development is one of the key exponents of co-operative governance. It is national, provincial and also local. We must, however, admit that our approach to this department has been mostly welfare-related rather than developmental. Its proper name covers both social welfare and population development. Indeed, in the apartheid government this department was merely referred to as the Department of Pensions.

Social welfare might very well appear to be the opposite arm of population development. A developed population would be less dependent on state grants in the form of child support grants, foster care or care grants. Basic free water and basic electricity are part of social welfare and generally dispersed by local government. Socioeconomic development constitutes the best form of population development.

A developed population would be characterised by a strong family unit, individuals that are not a walking apology, individuals who are confident enough to take charge of their lives, to eliminate desperate, criminal and risky behaviour, and are driven by hope and confidence about the future. [Interjections.]

As a province we have recently completed a study on the rate of school girl pregnancies. The results were alarming, but they are not peculiar to KwaZulu-Natal. We all know that it is easier for a woman to be infected by HIV and Aids than to get pregnant. What the study told us was that, for instance, the usage of condoms has not reached the desired level.

We have declared a state of emergency on another ailment, in that 2,1 million people in KwaZulu-Natal cannot read or write their names. If we are seeking to achieve a better quality of life for all our people, what better life can there be if you cannot read or write or even read your pay-slip. It is this that we as a province are determined to deal with. It is a programme that is going to take all our energies for the next year and it is achievable. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mnu M A MZIZI: Sihlalo, angibonge futhi ngedlulise inhlonipho yami kuMongameli wezwe, koNgqongqoshe nakoNdunankulu bezifundazwe. Mongameli, ngenxa yesikhathi esifushane, angikutuse ngesihloko ovule ngaso lo mkhosi. Siqukethe umyalezo omkhulu kubantu abakhele lesi sifundazwe saseFree State. Sengathi ngabe sizwile sonke, sivule izindlebe. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[Mr M A MZIZI: Chairperson, the President of the country, Ministers and Premiers of different provinces, I greet you all. Hon President, because of time, I will start by commending you on the theme of your address at the opening of this event. Your address contained an important message to the people of the Free State. How I wish that this could have been heard by all those who wanted to hear it.]

Monghadi, ho fihla mona sebakeng sena, re kopane le batho ba sebaka sena sa Parys le metse e meng e dibakeng tse ding. Mookamedi, leano la ho etsa le ho fetola bophelo ba batho bohle hore ebe bophelo bo hlwekileng ke leano le letle. Ho batho ba dulang dipolasing, hoo ke toro feela. Ditlhoko tsa bona ha di elwe hloko kamehla. Baetapele le bakgethwa mafapheng ohle a puso ba tswallwa mahaeng, dipolasing, le makweisheneng. Mosotho ore, “Mmetlakgola o e lebisa ho wa habo.” [Mahofi.]

Dibakeng tsena tseo ke buileng ka tsona diphetoho maphelong a batho di sa haella. Metse-ditoropong bophelo bo a kgahlisa. Ke bua tjena hobane ha ke fihla mona ke ile ka etela mane dipolasing. Ho ne ho ena le polasi eo ke neng ke ile ho yona. Nka qolla ntho e le nngwe mono e ileng ya nkotla pelo. Ha ba ne ba ile ho masepala ba ilo batla motlakase, ba ile ba bolellwa hore tulo eo ba dulang ho yona e hole le toropo, kahoo ba keke ba fumana motlakase. Ka iphumana ke le bothateng.

Ha nke ke re tjena; ha ke bua ka hore baetapele ba tswallwa kae le hore mmetlakgola o e lebisa ho wa habo, ha o fihla mona, kae le kae moo re yang teng, ho buuwa ka makeishene a sokang a fumana diphetoho. Ho buuwa ka batho ba dipolasing, hohang moo teng phetoho ha eyo. Ke ne ke kopa ho Monghadi hore a ke a ele hloko hore eka batho bana ba ka fumana tleliniki e tsamayang. Hobane ke ntho e leng hole le bona, le ho ya metseditoropong ha ba kgone ho finyella kapele. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)

[Hon Chairperson, when we came here, we met with the people of Parys and surrounding areas. The idea of improving people’s lives is a very good one. But for the people who live in the rural areas, this is just a dream. Their needs are always neglected. The leaders and elected officials in all the government departments were born in rural areas, farms and townships. In Sesotho we say, “Charity begins at home.” [Applause.]

In all the areas I have mentioned there has been very little improvement in people’s lives. But in the cities life is attractive. I mention this because when I arrived here I went to visit the rural areas. I went to one particular farm. I can quote one particular issue that really touched my heart. When the locals went to the municipality to enquire about electricity installation, they were told that their area is too far from the city and therefore they could not be supplied with electricity. This was really surprising to me.

I would like to say that when I mentioned the areas where some of the leaders were born, and the fact that charity begins at home, it was because wherever you go, people talk about townships that have not experienced any changes. This is more serious in the rural areas where nothing has ever been done to bring about changes. I would also like to implore you, sir, to ensure that these people are provided with mobile clinics, because their clinic happens to be very far from where they live, and they sometimes cannot get to town on time.]

Ngoba sigcina sesishunqisela nezingane ngezinto mhlawumbe engabe baye bazithole emitholampilo. Ngakho-ke kuyadingeka ukuthi umtholampilo ongumahambanendlwana ube khona ukuze amakhehla, izalukazi nezingane zikwazi ukuthola imishanguzo ngesikhathi esifanele. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We end up using all sorts of concoctions for the children, instead of simply going to the clinics. Therefore, there is a need for mobile clinics so that the elderly and the young can get medication on time.]

Ha re ka etsa hoo he Basotho, taba ya rona e ka loka. Ha re se keng ra lebala, ra dula ditoropong mme ra lebala batho ba ileng ba re kgetha hore re be baetapele. Hare beng baetapele, empa re mamele batho. Puso e hlahe ho batho. [Mahofi.] Ka lebaka la nako e lekaneng motinyane, ke a leboha, mohlomphehi. [Mahofi.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)

[Therefore if we can do that, then our problems will be solved. Let us not just relax because we live in the suburbs, and forget about the people who elected us to be their leaders. Let us be the leaders, and listen to the people’s needs. The people shall govern. [Applause.] As a result of time constraints I would like to thank you. [Applause.]]

The PREMIER OF LIMPOPO: Thank you very much, Programme Director, the President of the Republic, hon Mbeki, the Chairperson of the NCOP, my fellow Premiers, members of the NCOP, various legislatures, and the leadership of the people of the Free State. This programme which we are engaged in today of taking Parliament to the people is very much in line with our 2004 electoral mandate of building the people’s contract in order to fight poverty and create work. As a further elaboration of this mandate, the President, in his state of the nation address in February this year, captured the essence of the urgent tasks that we are suppose to be involved in around the theme of the “Age of Hope”.

In his elaboration on this theme, the President correctly articulated that our people’s high levels of optimism and expectations on the pace and level of service delivery in our country must not be taken for granted.

We were equally warned that the realisation of these dreams and hopes cannot be achieved by government alone. It will obviously require a dynamic partnership between all organs of state and society in general.

Each and every stakeholder should continue to strive to locate their rightful place and role and we are pleased that the NCOP has succeeded in locating its place and role in the realisation of the objectives of the people’s contract. That is collective oversight that we are seeing here today.

We think that there is national consensus that all-important policies, which we need in order to realise the objectives of bettering the lives of our people, are in place. What is required is implementation.

We can only hope that the rest of the stakeholders, which include the churches, labour, business and various organs of civil society, will in time draw important lessons from these efforts of the NCOP and Parliament in general in order to begin to meaningfully contribute to the call for the realisation of all aspects which underpin this Age of Hope.

Those of us who have had the opportunity to participate meaningfully and have benefited from the result of these interactions, can bear testimony to their importance. We as Limpopo have had the opportunity to host this programme last year in Tzaneen, Nkowankowa, and we have witnessed the enthusiasm and fulfilment which our people have shown in their participation in this programme.

The fulfilment was in part derived from the fact that a unique platform was created for them to interact with their elected representatives in order for them to express their needs, desires and aspirations.

For the whole week our people had the opportunity to interact with these representatives. In this interaction, regarding all the important issues which were raised, government had the opportunity to intervene on the sort, particularly on those issues that were related to administrative management, which could be addressed quickly. In those areas, which needed long-term planning, government was given an opportunity to go back and develop intervention mechanisms.

Whilst the national imbizo programme brings together the three spheres of government - the national, provincial and local government - the importance of this programme of Taking Parliament to the People is the fact that another arm of the state is brought into the equation, that is, Parliament, and in this case the NCOP. Therefore, this provides a better opportunity for all the elected representatives to appreciate the achievements and the challenges which we still have to overcome.

In this type of interaction the elected leadership of the nation begin to develop a better sense, in the various areas of operation, as to what the achievements, weaknesses and challenges are, and how we should overcome these challenges and weaknesses together as we strive to realise the objectives of a better life for all.

Chairperson, without being instructive or being seen to be wanting to determine the programme for the leadership of the NCOP, it would always make better sense to strive to take this type of meeting to places where there may seem to be points of difference or dispute.

If one has to give an example in this regard, the lesson that we learnt from interacting with the people of Moutse, after a heated debate around the boundary disputes stemming from the Constitution Twelfth Amendment Act, is that many disputes and differences stem from a lack of understanding or a distortion of the facts. It is, therefore, important for the leadership to have this dynamic contact with the people in order to clarify the position and direction that government is taking at any given time.

We can confidently say that at this juncture, whilst there may be different and dissenting viewpoints in Moutse, those voices are definitely in the minority and, in our view, their assertions are inaccurate and baseless. Our honest assessment is that the issues they are pursuing are no longer related to their real concerns about boundary changes or service delivery, but are purely political, and, therefore, further engagement with them would be on that basis.

Chairperson, despite the persistent outcry about crime in the whole country, particularly in our province, we are of the view that the SAPS in the province are doing a good job. We have, on many occasions, seen swift action in rounding up criminals and their being swiftly arrested, particularly in high profile cases like cash heists or murders.

We are also proud to say that even in cases where the actual crime has been committed outside the province and the criminals involved choose to hide out in our province, they are always rounded up and arrested. The only weakness, which we can point out at this stage that we still think needs improvement is in relation to personnel and logistics.

We are of the view that these issues need to be given special attention in light of the fact that the country is preparing to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Given the security challenges in those preparations, we need to be focusing on those issues of the shortage of personnel and logistics.

The one security area we are not succeeding as a province in bringing under control is ritual killings and witchcraft. In the recent past we have seen an escalation in this challenge to uncontrollable proportions. The provincial government had to appoint police task team, which was tasked with reviewing all cases related to ritual killings. The report of this task team has since been released and we are continuing to implement the recommendations of the task team in order to deal with this challenge.

The most important recommendation from the task team is the need to establish a specialised investigating unit which focuses on occult-related activities and the scaling up of public awareness programmes. We have since organised a three-day summit, which is going to be focusing on all these aspects. [Time expired.] Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF MPUMALANGA: Chairperson of the NCOP, hon President of the Republic of South Africa, the rotating Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, colleagues, hon members, I have observed that the hon member, Ms Terblanche, is badly stressed. It is a pity that I did not hear what she was complaining about, but I hope that someone will see her in order to understand her concerns.

Today, once again, the business of this council accords us the opportunity to discuss the many challenges and successes in our ongoing endeavour to accelerate the attainment of a better quality of life for all our citizens. From the province of Mpumalanga I bring you patriotic compliments from the hardworking ordinary masses of our villages and towns, who also believe that there is, today in our country, reason for us to hope.

Two seasons ago I heard of the local government elections when this august Chamber convened during its visit to our province. In some of our municipalities residents were restless. I am happy to report that calmness and peace have returned to those municipalities, and rivers are again flowing quietly by. [Applause.]

Our hard-won democracy has delivered the therapy we needed, and our municipalities everywhere are attuned to enhancing the delivery that communities are hankering for. Our sitting today coincides with the culmination of the Public Service week, which is a campaign to improve service delivery in order to better the lives of our communities. We cannot give up until Batho Pele becomes the hallmark of South Africa’s civil service.

We can only say that we have succeeded when the poor in our country, who are accustomed to the less than equal treatment designed for them in the private business world, find comfort in the knowledge that when they go to government offices, they get treatment that restores their dignity and respect, and makes them feel like equals in the only country they can call their homeland.

The discussions and debates on the capacity and organisation of the state provide an opportunity to reflect on how the current design of the state machinery enables an effective system of co-operative governance, that is geared towards improving service delivery and the quality of life of all South Africans.

It is an opportunity to evaluate which elements of the government delivery system create unintended constraints to effective service delivery within a provincial context. This reflection and assessment should happen against the context of a critical need to support a growing economy, sustainable livelihood, access to services, comprehensive social security, dealing with crime and corruption, and strengthening governance and international partnerships.

I wish to highlight some of the areas in the system of co-operative governance that may require further improvements so that the vision of creating a better life for all is realised. The existing fragmentation in planning and delivery of government programmes in the three spheres of government remains a challenge, despite attempts to ensure that intergovernmental systems are in place to achieve this.

In instances where programmes do not fall within the mandate of provinces, national departments plan on their own, and deliver these programmes without any effort to integrate their plans with those of lower spheres of government.

There are also weak systems of aligning the plans of provincial and national state-owned enterprises with provincial plans, as these entities do not articulate their capital expenditure plans in the context of the province’s growth and development strategies. This situation is untenable because it artificially fragments government delivery efforts aimed at achieving the same vision and goals, as speakers before me have commented.

There is an ongoing need to review the effectiveness of the government planning cycle and find ways to align national, provincial and local government planning processes so that there is improved alignment in planning and implementation as we all agree.

Substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the system of government clusters to ensure that government programmes are implemented in an integrated manner. At both national and provincial level the system of cluster committees has been institutionalised to foster integrated planning and implementation of the government programme of action that is informed by the medium-term strategic framework.

The notion of the government programme of action is useful. However, it is important to evaluate whether it is designed in terms of process, content, and implementation, and it is achieving the intended objectives.

The programme of action comes across as a programme for national departments in some respects. It is formulated with no discernible injunctions to provinces to shape its content and implementation design. Participation by provinces in national cluster committees can also enhance synergy. The programme activities in the programme of action belong to specific national departments in some instances.

Surprisingly, even line-function activities with no cross-functional dimensions are brought into the programme of action for discussion. What would be more desirable is for the government programme of action to define specific outcomes and performance indicators, and define roles and responsibilities of national and provincial departments and municipalities towards achieving the outcomes of the medium-term strategic framework.

The integration of the programme of action implementation into the provincial context is critical in order to make its implementation more meaningful. Currently the system for enabling the flow of decisions between national and provincial cluster committees is unsystematic, weak, and does not allow for an effective integration of national decisions with provincial relevance into the agenda of provincial cluster committees.

There has to be a systematically defined way in which intergovernmental co- ordinating structures such as MinMec, the President’s Co-ordinating Council, etc, inform the agenda of the provincial cluster committees, where appropriate, to enable the implementation and monitoring of decisions taken by these national structures.

Policy development and implementation, in the context where national and provincial departments have concurrent functions, is an area that must be constantly monitored, as it has the potential to impact negatively on service delivery. The artificial divide that assigns policy formulation to national departments and implementation to provinces, tends to see policy design and implementation as separate processes.

In a seamless machinery of government it is important to recognise that policy design and implementation are inseparable, as the one impacts on the other. In conclusion, it is true … [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr N D HENDRICKSE: Hon Chairperson, hon President, hon Premiers, all protocol observed, the government is pursuing policies to support the strategic national priorities of creating a better life for all South Africans.

The South African Constitution establishes the framework of government relations. It sets out the principles for co-operative governance and the application of these in relations between national, provincial and local government.

This framework highlights that all three spheres of government - national, provincial and local - as well as the private sector and communities, have a role to play in service delivery. Clearly, present-day South Africa has many years of service delivery backlogs inherited from apartheid discrimination and the politics of degradation.

However, the Constitution provides for certain basic rights that underpin the notion of service delivery. The Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act of 1997 came into effect in January 1998 and the Act gives effect to section 214 of the Constitution by determining the process of revenue sharing between the spheres of government and by promoting co-operative governance. The National Council of Provinces forms the backbone of co-operative governance as the only structure that brings together the national, provincial and local spheres of government in one chamber. It is my view that co-operative governance facilitates, creates and cross-cuts thinking on policy issues. It also makes government more effective and efficient as it allows for integrated policy development, the prioritising, planning, execution and evaluation of government programmes.

What further can the NCOP do to promote the project of the provision of a better life for all? Firstly, it could strengthen intergovernmental relations and give effect to the central constitutional principle of co- operative governance. The three spheres of government could reinforce their co-oporation and the implementation of the national programme of action for reconstruction and development.

Further, it could build the capacity for improved all-round service delivery, as well as proper control and accountability for public finances in keeping with the Public Finance Management Act. It can contribute significantly to the achievement of the national objective of accelerating the improvement of the quality of life of the people by properly discharging their oversight function over the executive authorities of all spheres of government and improving the capacity of provincial government to implement government policies and programmes. South Africa is facing many of the same challenges as the rest of the world, especially the widening gap between rich and poor, exacerbated by the forces of globalisation. It needs to have a current global trend and create a truly nonracial, multicultural and multiparty democracy.

In conclusion, how national, and in particular our provincial government, relate to and work with local government impact immensely on the ability to improve the quality or life of citizens.

Local government, unfortunately, has been the Achilles heel in delivery due to corruption, mismanagement and poor service delivery, which in turn denies people a better life. While intervention in its major projects, such as Project Consolidate, is in place, local government must now recruit appropriately skilled people - and I agree with Mr Van Rooyen of the ANC that these should be nonpolitical appointments and should be persons with hard-core technical skills to improve the current state of affairs.

As we have entered the age of hope, let us give hope to the millions who are being denied a better life by poor service delivery. It could mean that the Minister for Provincial and Local Government takes a more interventionist role where problems occur at local government level. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr J RAMOKHOASE (Salga): Thank you, Chairperson, His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki, the hon Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr M J Mahlangu, the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Ministers presents, hon Premier of the Free State and all Premiers of the Republic of South Africa, members of the NCOP, members of the provincial legislatures, the Speaker, the leadership of Salga, hon executive mayors and mayors, councillors, municipal leaders present here today, representatives of various government departments and municipalities, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, let me thank you, Mr Chairperson of the NCOP, for having afforded the people of Fezile Dabi and the people of the Free State the opportunity to meet with their government leaders at a higher level - but especially to meet with our hon President. On behalf of the collective leadership of Salga, I am indeed honoured to address this plenary sitting of the National Council of Provinces.

As a country, and in particular in the sphere of local government, we have really come a long way. We recall that the apartheid system of local government, informed by the Group Areas Act, visibly manifested itself through the physical separation of the South African people, with a meagre infrastructure development in African areas, basic infrastructure in the Coloured and Indian areas and, obviously, the best in roads, street lighting, drainage and other infrastructure and services in the white areas. With this history of unequal development, it was inevitable that a democratic government would be confronted with major backlogs with financial implications which were far greater, as we later discovered, than even the worst of the scenarios we had envisaged.

On 5 December 2000, we heralded in a new local government system, based on the new physical aspect of our communities and ushered in a new era in the transformation of our municipalities.

On 1 March this year, we entered the second term of our developmental local government system with a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework in place, supported by legislation, primarily in the form of the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act, better known as the MFMA, and the Property Rates Act.

It has become clear that the provision of affordable and efficient, sustainable services, including free basic services, is paramount in the constitutional mandate given to local government in our democratic state. It is a key factor in the development of our local communities and in recognising, upholding and respecting the human rights of our constituents.

I say this because, as local government practitioners, we believe that water provides life, electricity provides light, housing provides protection, and sanitation provides dignity, and these are key developmental elements in our communities.

A key task for all of us is, therefore, to expand and deepen the concept of co-operative governance to ensure that we really accelerate the process of achieving a better quality of life for all. It is particularly important for local government to visibly become the sphere of government which brings a better quality of life to all our people.

The reality of local government today is that people only seem to notice it when it fails to deliver. Salga is changing this reality. We must work together. Our people are talking about how effectively local government is working for them.

Chapter 3 of the Constitution seeks to promote co-operative governance and sound intergovernmental relations between the three spheres of government by providing that all organs of state must co-operate with one another and co-ordinate their activities in partnership with one another.

In the context of this constitutional imperative, it is important that all spheres of government must co-operate and work together to ensure reciprocity, mutual trust and harmonisation of relations within the various spheres of government.

This will indeed pave the way for conditions that are conducive to unhindered socioeconomic development, thereby effecting fundamental changes in the lives of all our people. In addition to the constitutional imperatives, the intergovernmental framework further provides the possibility for the state to function as an integrated, coherent and cohesive unit.

Strong and effective co-operative governance is essential for the further advancement of the country’s vision during the second decade of our democracy.

Whilst considering the place of co-operative governance, we should not lose sight of the fact that in accelerating and improving service delivery for all our people, it is of key importance that our structures of governance must be aligned and ready to meet this challenge and that we work with our communities to find sustainable ways of meeting their needs, thereby improving the quality of their lives.

The sphere of local government is best placed to give practical meaning and substance to the basic political commitment that we made more than 50 years ago in the form of the Freedom Charter, with “The people shall govern”.

It is through the same commitment that we agreed that all people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country. It, therefore, logically follows that we as elected public representatives are compelled, through the very offices we hold, to foster and maintain good governance, underpinned by public participation in every constituency across the country.

We are, therefore, obliged to bring democracy to all corners of our country in our local government system. Public participation is, amongst others, designed to promote values of good governance and human rights.

We also acknowledge the fundamental rights of all people to participate in the governance system and to narrow the social distance between the electorate and the elected leaders. It is also important that all three spheres of government continue working to ensure that each and every district and metro municipality is properly positioned to discharge their responsibility to our people.

Our vision for the future is one in which all municipalities not only successfully deliver basic services in a sustainable manner but also one in which they succeed in improving the quality of life of every community they serve.

Service delivery at local government level is coming under increasing public scrutiny. Not only is our local government faced with fewer resources to meet increasing demands, but communities, civil society and nongovernmental organisations are calling for greater levels of accountability and responsiveness. A failure to meet these crucial challenges will, in fact, strip local government of any credibility as the primary agent of delivery.

I would like to give you the assurance that Salga is determined and remains committed to ensuring that our role in intergovernmental relations is fulfilled and that local governance actively and meaningfully participates in the co-operative governance structures at all levels of government. I thank you.

The PREMIER OF NORTH WEST: Hon House Chairperson, hon President of the Republic of South Africa, colleagues, Premiers, members of the NCOP, distinguished guests, bagaetsho dumelang [greetings everyone]. I am indeed deeply honoured to have this opportunity to speak on this occasion of the hon President’s annual address to this august House, being the NCOP.

Before I speak on the points that I wanted to speak on, I would just like to touch on some of the issues that were raised by the hon member Terblanche. Perhaps I should share with this august House that hon member Terblanche is from the North West province. Her dear father serves in the legislature and does not see developments that are happening in the North West province. Her dear mother serves in the district council of Gauteng province and does not see the developments that are happening in the North West province.

The daughter does not see the developments that are happening in South Africa. When the NCOP began its visits of taking Parliament to the people, the hon member said that we are doing political tourism. They have lessons to learn and indeed we are not impatient. We do understand that they are here to be taught and they will learn as we continue. [Applause.]

I‘m more than pleased that the theme of this plenary sitting and that of the Presidential annual address is co-operative governance for accelerating the process of achieving a better life for all. This is, particularly, because in the North West province, a new reality has indeed dawned since the passing of the legislation by Parliament on the disestablishment of cross-boundary municipalities. That was done in the interest of accelerating service delivery for all the people of the North West province and all the people of South Africa. Amongst other things, this reconfiguration resulted in the abolition of the cross-boundary municipalities, thus eliminating uncertainties and confusion amongst affected communities regarding accountability for service delivery.

In the case of the North West province I am, therefore, very pleased to restate, as we did in the legislature, that we welcome the people of Khutsong to the North West province and we are indeed committed – as the provincial government – to addressing comprehensively all the concerns that they have raised, together with our neighbouring provinces. Acting together with the governments of Gauteng and the Northern Cape, to which some of our former municipalities belong now, we are determined to continue finding appropriate responses to common key challenges of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment.

At this stage, more than at any other time in the history of our democracy and freedom countrywide, we must and will be steadfast in delivering on the pledge to build a better life for all. As the President has said, and indeed as I also indicated earlier on, as a critical part of sustaining the momentum, we have to build and ensure that we build co-operative governance amongst various spheres of government.

Everything we know from our experience, suggests that it is only when there is effective co-operation and co-ordination amongst the various spheres of government that our policy will deliver maximum results in the shortest possible time. In this regard, we will continue to strengthen our system of intergovernmental relations and the intergovernmental structures as mandated by our Intergovernmental Relations Act of 2005.

Our North West province has begun implementing the provisions of this Act, Mr President. At the provincial level as well as the district level, we have the necessary fora as envisaged by that Act. The extension of participation of municipalities during our executive council, makgotla, symbolises our endeavour to achieve cohesive co-operative governance for accelerating the process of a better life for all.

As far as our legislature is concerned as well, we are actually in the process of making great progress in involving the stakeholders in participating through various committees, by taking Parliament to the people – the legislature to the people. In ensuring that, we have sectoral legislative sittings, we have oversight on the executive itself and also on the portfolio committees themselves. The impressive progress that we continue to register in the Kgalagadi Development Node, which is now designated as a Presidential development project, is a direct result of the kind of effective corporate governance mandated by the Act and the kind that delivers a better service to all our people in the shortest possible time.

The North West province is full of countless examples that all point to the unmistakeable progress that we have made in accelerating the process of achieving a better life for all. As we take stock of this progress, with full regard to all the challenges that confront us, we will, nevertheless, continue on our chosen historical path of joining our people in all spheres of government into a durable partnership for reconstruction and development as we that we will build a contract with the people.

As a province, we will continue to reach out to our fellow South Africans in the neighbouring areas where we still have to finalise the disestablishment of the cross-boundary municipalities. We are also continuing to ensure that we bring on board all traditional leaders.

As I speak at this podium, Mr President, in the North West province, we have a two-day conference of bahumagadi [the wives to the chiefs] who are having a dialogue on finding their role in development. Unfortunately, all the Acts that deal with traditional leadership are silent on the role of the wives of the chiefs. So, they are having that dialogue. Hopefully, the outcome of that conference will be brought to this august House for discussion at a later stage.

I take this opportunity, therefore, once again to thank the hon House Chairperson, members of the NCOP as well as the President for allowing us to address this august House. Let us continue, as various parts of co- operative governance, to deploy our collective abilities to address the key challenges of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment. I thank you. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF THE NORTHERN CAPE: His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Africa, hon Thabo Mbeki, Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, fellow Premiers, hon members of the NCOP as well as representatives of the South African Local Government Association, Salga, traditional leaders, the people of the Free State, and Parys in particular, ladies and gentlemen, in reflecting on the last visit of the NCOP to the Kgalagadi District, eight months ago, the Northern Cape province can bear testimony to the major progress that has been achieved in dealing with some of the issues that were raised by the communities.

One of the major issues raised at the time was the need to move faster in implementing the disestablishment of the cross-boundary municipalities. To give effect to this process, the implementation protocol between the North West and Northern Cape provinces was signed and 11 services level agreements have been signed between various departments, and work is continuing to ensure a smooth and seamless transfer of services by 1 April 2007.

Another important aspect is the transfer of the responsibility for traditional leaders to the Northern Cape. In response to this, we are in the process of finalising the necessary legislation, amongst others, to constitute the institutions of traditional leaders as well as creating the necessary administrative support. In this regard, we are in constant contact with traditional leaders to secure their participation in the process.

Chairperson, as the Northern Cape province, we strive to be consistently conscious of the need and relevance of the co-operative system of government. A well-known challenge in the Northern Cape is ensuring co- ordinated service delivery across vast distances at abnormal unit costs. In response to those unique challenges we also want to raise the issue of the current equitable share formula, which, we believe, does not adequately cater for the cost disabilities associated with the delivery of services in our province, in particular.

In response to the need for Inter-governmental Relations, IGR, the Premier’s intergovernmental forum has consistently met since its inception and all relevant role-players are committed to making it work. These active role-players include local and provincial governments as well as regional offices of national departments represented in the Northern Cape.

Some of the benefits already derived from this process include the settling of municipal debts by other spheres of government, coherent efforts during the disestablishment of the cross-boundary municipalities, and agreements on programmes for special target groups.

Another critical issue that we assist with is a concerted effort to align municipal Integrated Development Planning, IDPs, to the National Spatial Development Perspective, NSDP, and the Northern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy in ensuring a basis for credible IDPs. Furthermore, all district municipalities have established functioning district intergovernmental forums.

Major discussions in this forum include the process of the finalisation of the district growth and development strategies by the target date of March

1. Mr President, I am pleased to announce that the first such summit will be held on 23-24 November in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, which is one of the poorest of our districts.

Hon members, we are increasing our efforts in ensuring support for and oversight of local government. Our implementation plan for the five-year local government strategic agenda has been completed. Within this plan the Office of the Premier has been charged with the responsibility to ensure deliverables across all strategic priority areas through 35 planned interventions.

Some interventions already bearing fruit include the establishment of District Communication Forums, Financial Management Support to Municipalities through the Institute of Municipal Finance Offices and Treasury, technical expertise, deployment through the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, as well as support provided to municipalities with the appointment of 57 municipalities.

A major issue that we believe is relevant to the Northern Cape is diamond beneficiation. We would like to assert the historical, economic and geographic advantage of Kimberly as a “City of Diamonds”. In this regard, it is our contention that Kimberly must be the first natural choice for the development of the downstream value addition in the diamond industry.

We further contend that service centres for the industry, such as the State Diamond Regulator and the State Diamond Trader, should logically be located in Kimberly. After many years of motivating for this objective and its finally being identified through the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa, processes, we proactively put in place a diamond beneficiation strategy and a business plan, and we are therefore ready to implement the diamond beneficiation objectives for the country.

Improving livestock productivity was recently identified as an area for intervention with Asgisa. To this end, the Northern Cape has made considerable progress towards the commercialisation of goats. In partnership with the IDC and the Agricultural Research Council, we have been able to establish goat farming, provided accredited training to 420 goat farmers and managed to register 86 goat co-operatives.

Work is being done regarding support to emerging farmers, the purchasing of a production farm and the necessary stock as well as further development of co-operatives through the comprehensive agricultural support programme, thus furthering our effort towards job creation in terms of the EPW principles as well as infrastructure improvement. Our province has in this financial year managed to complete 13 infrastructure projects. During the 2005-06 financial year, 10 307 jobs were created in the infrastructure sector. Some of these projects involve community access roads located within the boundaries of municipalities.

A tourism master plan for the province has been adopted, as this area has been identified as one of the key potential areas for provincial growth. In terms of this plan, the tourism factor is being restructured, new legislation has been drafted and a new brand has been developed for the province.

Our Office on the Rights of the Child conducted an anti-child labour campaign to sensitise children and communities. A number of other activities have been engaged in, amongst others, interfacing with the farming communities and the children living in these communities, health screening of children in the Namaqualand region and the establishment of children’s rights committees in communities across the province.

The Northern Cape Youth Commission and other youth structures embarked on a series of activities to pay tribute to the heroic struggle and contribution of young men and women to the building of a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

The provincial legislature has passed the Northern Cape Youth Bill, that would allow for the youth commission to function as a public entity. The province is implementing the National Youth Service Project, which enables the participants to gain valuable skills in roads and building construction.

We have also launched the Bacha Enterprise Fund as a partnership between the provincial government, Absa Bank and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. This will ensure that young entrepreneurs are provided with a comprehensive service that would assist in sustaining their businesses.

The Office of the Status of Persons with Disabilities launched a service delivery document titled ``Accessible Municipality’’ to guide and assist our municipality towards better service delivery to persons with disabilities. I am happy to indicate that several of these programmes have been included to train, educate and inform stakeholders, which were run throughout the province. Most of the managers at local government level have been taken through this process.

It has also become critical for the province to look at the retention of our skilled people and the attraction of appropriate skills to serve our rural areas. To this end, the Northern Cape has adopted a Human Resource Development Strategy, which will be launched this month. This will assist us to do appropriate human resource planning for the Northern Cape province.

In conclusion, the benefits of a functional system of co-operative governance surpassed by far the weaknesses already identified in the system. It is our belief that we need to work harder. [Time expired].

Dr F J VAN HEERDEN: Madam Chairperson, hon President, the success of the South African dream of a democratic society depends on the ability of the various levels of government to serve the public, each in its particular manner, and to harmonise its activities. In this regard, the hon Mr Mahlangu also referred to the three tiers of government working together. That’s very important.

A culture of partnership must develop with the courtesy of bearing the interests of the other in mind when decisions are taken. Such a culture could in time form the basis for the judiciary to interpret laws, develop the Constitution and protect all levels against misuse of power.

Municipalities are to provide a democratic and accountable government for local communities. They must provide services to communities in a sustainable manner, social and economic development, a safe and healthy environment and get the communities and community organisations involved. Municipalities must structure their administration, budget and plan to give priority to the basic needs of communities. National and provincial governments are required to support and strengthen the capacity of municipal councils to manage their own affairs, exercise their powers and perform their functions.

But, there is another character in the play. And, this character is communities themselves. Some speakers on Monday sent out the message that those who can afford to pay for services must pay. Communities must co- operate to improve the quality of life.

The hon Premier Shilowa also referred to the environmental aspect that communities must also contribute to make a better life for themselves by attending to the environment around them. They must stop and report littering – reprimand those who litter. Those who can afford to pay must pay. They must use their influence to get these people to pay.

Another issue that was raised was that municipalities and communities must list and prioritise their needs. Communities can watch over and report corruption and unauthorised spending of money as well as abuse of government’s property. Legislation is in place to protect such whistle- blowers. In short, co-operative governance can only be as efficient as the communities allow it to be.

In conclusion, the hon President knows who said it where and when, if we are future orientated and bury the past then … [Time expired.]

Mr G R STRACHAN (Western Cape): Chairperson, hon President of the Republic, hon Premiers, NCOP members, delegates, guests and participants, I thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Western Cape. Allow me to extend an apology on behalf of the hon Premier of the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool, who is abroad. I think I’m going to get into big trouble from him because I’m going to depart from my speech. I want to address the issues raised by the hon Terblanche. If I do get into trouble, I’m going to refer the hon Premier to the hon Premier of Mpumalanga and he will hopefully save me.

In the matter of the Cape Town City Council, the ANC-led government has acted to strengthen co-operative governance. Minister Mufamadi’s decision, taken in consultation with provincial government and the City Council, ensures this. Even though the DA campaigned for a collective executive system; even though some parties which occupy executive positions on the executive got less than 1% of the votes; and even though there may be other arguments which have been advanced, including by the DA in favour of the collective mayoral system, the spirit of co-operative governance has been upheld. The media portrayed the engagement as a battle to unseat Mayor Helen Zille. This is interesting, because there was never a suggestion of unseating the Mayor but a process initiated by the MEC to change the system.

But, as you have heard today, this perhaps has more to do with the way the DA wished to spin the engagement. The spin has also masked what Mayor Zille has done since she took office. Many of her actions have less to do with strengthening democracy and co-operative governance and more to do with muscular liberalism and free market fundamentalism, which are the hallmarks of the DA.

Two examples are useful. Firstly, sub-council boundaries have been drawn up in a manner that takes the city back to the days of apartheid. African townships are placed in sub-councils, not because they share a geographic space or logical economic basis for inclusion, but because they are African. How else can you explain the fact that Langa is in the same council as Guguletu, even though they are separated by the N2 and two other suburbs?

Worse still, planning and land use functions have been delegated to sub- councils and provide a role for councillors. This flies in the face of co- operative governance if it’s to remove elected representatives from these processes. It opens the door to corruption. More importantly, sub-councils in poor communities most often have the least resources and the biggest land use problems to deal with for obvious historical reasons.

But, the DA’s message is clear: sub-councils will lower apartheid demographics where resources are needed most, where equity and proper zoning and land use are needed most, and where economic development and sustainable communities need to be built. This is where the least resources will be committed.

Thus, we trust that the agreement reached by Minister Mufamadi includes the redrawing of the boundaries and not just the addition of two more sub- councils and that Mayor Helen Zille implements the ward committees which she has hitherto refused to do. But the question must be asked: If ward committees deepen democracy, bring government closer to the people, strengthen popular participation and decision-making and give a voice to the poor, why is the DA opposing them?

Perhaps the answer has an ideological foundation. [Applause.] Perhaps the answer lies in the hon Tony Leon’s views on the poor expressed recently in the Oxford Debating Union, where he claimed that the rich have fewer children. They can afford cleaner and efficient technology. They use resources more efficiently. They don’t chop down trees for firewood. They don’t kill wild animals for food and they have time and money to enjoy and protect nature.

It is not necessary to be an environmentalist to recognise that this statement is anti-developmental. Can it be that the rich consumers of the advanced industrialised countries are the principal drivers of the wholesale environmental degradation I described in this way? Or perhaps, for the DA, the environment, like popular democracy, ward committees and participation, is something the poor will only respect and have better access to when they all become rich?

For co-operative governance to be functional, we must avoid being reckless. The muscular liberalism of the DA was manifested in shrill and repeated claims of corruption under the previous Cape Town City Council. Thus far, not a shred of evidence … [Interjections.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Chairperson, I am rising on Rule 35 that when a member is on the podium he may not be interrupted, because we are finding it difficult to hear what the speaker is saying. Thank you. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M N Oliphant): Continue, hon member.

Mr G R STRACHAN: Thus far, not a shred of evidence or a credible charge has been advanced to support the claims. But the DA went further; they threw out the BEE policy and affirmative procurement criteria for council contracts and procurement. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Rre O J TLHAGALE: Motlotlegi Modulasetilo, Motlotlegi mogolo Moporesitente wa lefatshe la rona, le batlotlegi botlhe ba ba fano. La ntlha ke rata go akgola Khansele ya Bosetšhaba ya Diporofense ka thulaganyo ya yona ya go isa palamente kwa bathong, ka maikaelelo a go utlwa dilelo tsa bona le go di arabela. Ga go ise go ke go diragale jalo mo pusong ya maloba ya tlhaolele. [Legofi.]

Setswana sa re, ngwana yo o sa leleng o tla swela tharing. Ka jalo go siame gore batho ba rona ba bolele ditlhokego tse ba di labalabelang, le tse di jaaka metsi, matlo, motlakase le kelelo ya leswe. Go siame fa go dirwa jalo. Go ya ka setlhogo se re se sekasekang fano, ditirelo di ka potlakisiwa fa di tshwaraganetswe ke mafapha otlhe a bosetšhaba, a porofense, le a puso selegae kgotsa a bommasepala. Ka na bagaetsho ba re: Setshwarwa ke ntšwa pedi ga se thata.

Ke tla bo ke se na nnete fa nka itlhokomolosa go akgola le go leboga batlhankedi bagolo ba puso ya porofense ya bommasepala gammogo le batlotlegi ditona le motlotlegi Moperimiya, malebana le botswerere le manontlhotlho a ba arabileng dipotso le dilelo tsa baagi ka teng. Le gale ntlha e e tlhobaetsang ke ya magatwegatwe a a reng go thapiwa ka losika mo mabakeng mangwe mo mmasepaleng. Re solofela gore ditatofatso tsa go nna jalo di tla batlisisiwa, di bo di rarabololwa ka tshwanelo.

Ntlha e nngwe e e tlhobaetsang e re e fitlhetseng kwa sekolong se segolo sa Phuhelang, go lemosega gore dipalo tsa baithuti di a fokotsega ka ntlha ya gore batsadi ba fudusetsa bana kwa dikolong tsa Quintale ya ntlha le ya bobedi, tse di duelelwang madi a sekolo ke lefapha. Motlotlegi Modulasetilo wa NCOP o tshotse kgang e, mme o tla e begela Motlotlegi Tona ya Thuto, go ya ka thulaganyo e e lebaneng. Kwa bokhutlong, re lebogela thologelo e e kanakana e, le kamogelo e e bothito e re e boneng mo bathong ba Foreisitata. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana speech follows.)

[Mr O J TLHAGALE: Hon Chairperson, hon President of our country and all distinguished personalities present, firstly, I would like to congratulate the National Council of Provinces on its programme of Taking Parliament to the People, with the aim of listening and responding to people’s concerns. This never happened during the previous apartheid regime. [Applause.]

There is a Setswana saying that people should not keep quiet but they should express their feelings. So it is right for our people to say what their needs are, such as water, housing, electricity and sanitation. It is the right thing to do. In this discussion we believe that services can be accelerated when all national, provincial and local government departments or municipalities work jointly. There is a saying that many hands make the work lighter.

I would not be honest if I failed to congratulate the chief officers of the local provincial municipalities, together with the hon Ministers and the hon Premier, on the effective and rational way in which they responded to questions and concerns of the community. Another thing that is worrying the community is allegations of nepotism in appointing people to some of the municipal posts. We hope that such allegations will be investigated and resolved accordingly.

The other concern of the community is a decrease in the number of learners at Phuhelang High School, because parents are removing their children and enrolling them at schools in Quintile 1 and 2, which are subsidised by the department. The matter is receiving the attention of the hon Chairperson of the NCOP and he will report to the Minister of Education as per protocol. Lastly, let me convey my gratitude to the community for a good attendance and the warm welcome we received from the people of the Free State.[Applause.]]

Mr S SHICEKA: Chairperson of the NCOP, the President of the Republic of South Africa, the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Premiers, the Speaker of the Free State, MECs, colleagues, delegates from various provincial legislatures, the leadership of Salga, our traditional leaders, mayors, leaders of local government from various cities and towns of our country, distinguished guests, comrades, friends, and the people of Free State, I think you have seen the way the opposition behaves when issues are raised.

When the opposition was attacking the ANC, the ANC didn’t respond. They kept the decorum of the House, and showed that they are trained and they are disciplined. [Applause.] They invited a heated debate but they didn’t want to stick by it. If it is hot in the kitchen, get out of the kitchen.

Madame Terblanche spoke about a lot of things regarding local government. She doesn’t serve in the committee on local government. Therefore, what she was reading here is either hearsay or she was misinformed. The true facts are as follows. It is true that sections of the Municipal Systems Act require municipalities to report to the province, and the province reports to the national Minister, and the national Minister, in turn, reports to the NCOP.

What is happening is that there are reports that we receive as the NCOP, and we discuss those reports where we have called different MECs. So far, we have met with about five MECs from various provinces to discuss the state of provinces in relation to local government. Therefore, what she is saying is not true.

The other issue is that the NCOP is developing a database that is going to include all municipalities across the country, to ensure that when these reports arrive, we are able to fit them in and we are able to update the information. Therefore, Madame Terblanche is not telling the truth and is misleading this House.

She also talked about the Auditor-General. It is not true that the reports are not presented in the committee. Together with the committee of Finance, we are discussing the reports of the Auditor-General, and we do engage with the municipalities. Therefore, even on this score she was misleading the House.

Baba Mzizi says, “mmetlakgola o e lebisa ho wa habo.” What this means is that every elected person should take something home. It means ho tshwanetse hore re sebeletse hae. [we must work for our communities.] In essence what this means is that if you are elected, you represent a particular community for the province or the country. You must work for all the people in that area you come from. That is what it means.

A leader should serve everyone and not merely the area he or she comes from and the people he or she knows. A leader must ensure that everybody benefits. Mmetlakgotla o tswanetse hore a sebeletse setjhaba kaofela. [A leader must serve the whole community.] [Applause.]

We have been here discussing the issue of co-operative governance. We have experienced a situation where people are raising the implementation of credit control measures. They raised the issue that in one school in Sasolburg, the electricity was cut whilst learners were there, because the provincial government could not pay for services. One would believe that other spheres of government must assist municipalities by paying for services. But, equally, municipalities must negotiate with other spheres of government before they cut services, because those learners were exposed to a terrible situation in that area.

In the same vein, the people of the area were raising the issue of the harsh implementation of credit control measures in their own areas. We have agreed with municipalities that the credit control policy should be in place and the indigent policy is in place. But we must work together to ensure that those who can afford to pay must pay for services. At the same time those that don’t have the resources must be in the net, in terms of the indigent policy. Therefore, it means that we must work together in promoting the spirit of co-operative governance in that respect.

The other issue that has been raised here is the issue of the farmers who are not being supported by government in all respects. What we are saying to the people of Fezile Dabi district, and the people of the Free State, is that we have heard the issue, we will pursue the matter, to ensure that their concerns, which are legitimate, are taken up, and their concerns are addressed by the various structures that are supposed to be dealing with the issue.

The hon Hendrickse raised an issue around corruption in local government. The ANC takes a dim view of corruption, and over 80% of corrupt activities have been exposed by the ANC-led government. [Applause.]

The ANC-led government has put systems and structures in place to ensure that corruption is dealt with, and corruption is eliminated from our system. Therefore, there is no one who can claim to be able to combat corruption other than the ANC, the people’s movement. [Applause.]

The ANC-led government lives with the people, and works with the people. Therefore, it might not be enough that it is ensuring that the people’s issues are being taken on board. That is why we have established the ward committees. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Chairperson, I want to agree with Premier Moloto that, indeed, the SA Police Service is doing a lot of good work. I’ve absolutely no doubt about that, and I thought it was important that we should mention this, because it’s always very easy to criticise.

You don’t hear people who sit at a distance say anything when our police officers are killed by criminals. They keep quiet. They don’t say anything when problems, even in the personal lives of the police officers, emerge because of the load of work that they’ve got to do under stress. They don’t say anything. When, as Premier Moloto was saying, they indeed catch the criminals and secure convictions, you don’t hear them saying: well done.

I’m talking about those people who find it very easy to criticise the police. These are the same people who go around the world saying that South Africa is drowning under the weight of crime – the same people. These are the same people who go around the world to say, “No, no, take away the 2010 Soccer World Cup because there’s too much crime in South Africa.” They are the same people.

So it’s not an accident that they find it so easy to criticise the police. I want to say here we are, all of us, people from various communities, elected representatives. One of our critical tasks is not to stand to one side and watch the police, but to work with the police to defeat crime. [Applause.]

It doesn’t make any sense that I live here in this street and I know that the fellow two doors away has never worked in his life, but he drives around in a BMW. Where did he get the money from? He doesn’t work, but he’s dressed as smartly as Mbhazima Shilowa. [Laughter.] Nokho-ke siyazi ukuthi yena uyasebenza. [At least we know that he is employed.] We know that this person is involved in crime. We do nothing, we say nothing, except to ask, “Where are the police?” we even ask, “Where are the police?” when we ourselves are buying stolen goods.

I’m saying that this is one of our challenges, to make sure that we do indeed work with the police, because there is no denying the fact that there are serious levels of crime in the country. But I’m also saying there’s no denying the fact that the police are working very hard at addressing this issue and that we too need to join hands with them to address what is a common problem.

I also want to agree with Premier Balindlela. I think I told her a story one day about her province, the Eastern Cape. There was, some years back, a Presidential lead project, and the people who were managing the project came to see me in Cape Town – I was still Deputy President then – and they said: “Deputy President, you know we are managing this Presidential lead project.” It was very urgent and that’s why it was called a Presidential lead project.

They said, “The provincial government is not giving us the money that they have. We know the national government has sent the money to the province, but the province is not giving us this money, so we are stuck; we can’t move. We have written, we have made telephone calls, all sorts of things, but nothing is moving. Please do something.”

I said all right, and then spoke with the provincial government, and what I discovered was that, indeed, the authorisation by the provincial government to give the money to the Presidential lead project had been done, but the papers required that two senior officials should sign the document so that the money was released and given to the Presidential lead project.

Now the papers had been prepared. One of the officials had signed the papers and they were sitting on the desk in his office, and the reason for this was that the office messenger was off sick. The second official was three, or four doors away in the same passage. This official, who had signed this document, would not take the document, get up out of his chair, walk down the passage, give it to the other official and let him sign it so that this project could proceed, because the office messenger was off sick.

That’s a true story, I’m not inventing it. So I’m saying I agree with Premier Balindlela; there’s actually no reason why a President or a Premier or a Minister or a mayor or a councillor and so on could not respond to a public enquiry within 10 days. S’bu, is there any reason why you can’t respond to people within 10 days? [Interjections.] There’s no reason. S’bu Ndebele always responds within 10 days! [Laughter.]

I think part of the task of leadership is, indeed, as other people have said, to focus on this matter of Batho Pele. We’ve got very good policies and very good programmes, but there are complaints about the matter that the Chairperson raised, namely moneys that end up not being spent by the end of the financial year.

We can move forward faster. And to move forward faster means we can have more of our people enjoying a better life. That’s what it means. But you have people who, indeed, may very well come to work on time, but will be very interested to do as little work as possible and leave as early as possible.

Let me tell the NCOP the last story. Again, some years back I was writing something and I wanted to quote from a document in Afrikaans. My Afrikaans is a bit shaky, so I sent it to the government information people and I said, “Please, can you assist me and just translate this document. I need it today.” Fine.

So, in the afternoon I got this translation and when I looked at it, I could see that the last sentence was not complete, so I phoned the government communication people and said, “No, but there’s a mistake here. Maybe there’s another page that you haven’t sent, because this sentence ends in mid-air.”

So they said, “No, no, it’s not a mistake, Deputy President. The person who was translating that for you has knocked off. When the clock struck four- thirty, he was in the middle of the sentence.” So, when it said, “ding- dong! four-thirty,” he stopped and was gone. [Laughter.] So I said, “Can you tell him that I have to finish this thing I’m writing today. I need to get the rest of this document translated, and if it doesn’t happen, we will see where he will be tomorrow.”

He came back to work and part of what was said about that story was that, in fact, all that remained to translate was something like 10 or 12 lines, but he stopped in the middle of the sentence because – and he said so – it was now four-thirty, it’s knocking-off time.

So, this is one of the critical challenges we face - to make sure that the system of government is responsive to the people. And that is the general problem.

I see the Chairperson of the ANC in the Free State, Ace Magashule, is here. I spoke to him a few weeks back because residents of part of Thabong had written to me to say there is a shebeen or a tavern in the area where they live and that they can’t sleep. It’s a residential area, but every day there are people there making a lot of noise and being a very big nuisance. The reason they wrote to me, they said, was because they had been raising this matter with all sorts of people for ten years and nothing was happening, and they were pleading with me to do something about the matter.

I looked for the Premier, but I couldn’t find her. So, I got hold of Ace. I explained this thing to Ace and said: “Ace, here is the problem, can you please do something about it?” And, indeed, he did. So, ten days later the people of Thabong contacted me to say: Thank you very much, President, the shebeen is closed. [Applause.]

No, that’s not the end of the story. The following day they phoned to say: President, we are very upset. Why? The shebeen has reopened. So, in the end we got the documentation, because we were very interested to find out how this tavern reopened. And, it reopened because some liquor licensing authority here in the Free State signed a document to say to the owner: You are licensed to trade where you are. So it reopened.

I am absolutely certain somebody will get arrested for that, because it was a crooked deal. It has the official stamps with dates and it is signed properly, but it is crooked. I don’t know the people who did this. Maybe they drink at this place. Or maybe they are shareholders. [Laughter.] So they issued this fraudulent licence. I’m absolutely certain that these are officials employed by government.

I’m saying, part of our challenge in the entire system of government is, indeed, that we address this matter of Batho Pele so that we should all of us pose this question: Why can’t we respond within ten days to what the people are saying? It is that particular area of focus, I think, to which we must attend.

The speech I was reading was taken by the ladies and gentlemen who are sitting here. They say they need it for Hansard. So, I gave it away. The reason I’m saying this is because I am hoping that Premier S’bu Ndebele didn’t give away his speech because I want to get it. If I heard him correctly, he was talking about social welfare in Durban and the kind of the person who goes there. That is a worrying story. You know, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told me that one day she was walking in Johannesburg and she saw a couple of her relatives also walking. And she asked them: Where are you off to? They told her that they were going to social welfare. What are you going to do there? We are going to collect our child support grant. And she told me: Do you know what those people did? They had parked their 5-series BMW around the corner and walked to social welfare.

So she said: What are you saying? Professional people, both fully employed, but they go and collect a child support grant. At least they have the intelligence not to park the BMW in front of social welfare. [Laughter.] This is something I think all the spheres of government have to look at, because you pick up this thing that there may very well be some unintended consequences in terms of the system of the social grant that we give.

Earlier this year, somebody who works for one of the paper companies that owns plantations in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal and those areas said that when the year began after the Christmas/New Year holidays when people went back to work, a thousand workers in the plantations in the forests didn’t return. They had to take a decision as to whether these people did not arrive because they were sick or whatever the reason. They had to find out what the problem was.

The problem was that these one thousand people had deliberately and consciously decided to stay away from work because they would get more money from social grants than they get as employed people. There is something wrong about that. I’m saying the figure that S’bu was talking about - who goes to collect social grants in Durban - is a worrying story.

There is another matter that we should look at. I think all of these things that we are saying about the need to ensure that our people themselves get engaged in development, so that they become part of this process of change, are valid, and that we shouldn’t at the same time demobilise them by saying they should sit at home because the grandfather government is going to come and give them some money.

It would seem to me that we are all of us agreed that essentially we know what we need to do in order to move forward with regard to this matter of a better life for all our people. I think we know what to do in all spheres of government. I think we know, too, that the best way for all of us to succeed is, indeed, to co-operate. What remains is, indeed, to focus on this critical matter of implementation and not hesitate to interact with one another to say: But when are you are going to do this? Perhaps we might want to load the NCOP with more work focused on this matter, so that it can advise all the spheres of government as to what they need to do in order to improve implementation. This is our weakness.

The last thing I would like to do is to introduce myself. I am a South African and beyond that I am an African. [Applause.] I am saying this because it puzzles me why some of our people would want to define themselves into smaller spaces than this. No, I am not a South African, I come from Parys. What is that? [Laughter.] No, Kgalagadi must belong to North West. Why can’t it belong to this side of the boundary? It’s South African! It doesn’t matter what you do with those boundaries - toss them up and chop and change them - the place will remain in South Africa. What’s the problem? [Applause.] I am saying I am puzzled as to why people have suddenly become very passionate about little localities. S’bu Ndebele is saying “Mina nging o waKwaMashu [I am from KwaMashu]”. If you say “hhayi bo S’bu ungowaseThekwini [Come on, S’bu you are from Durban],” he says, “çha, ngingowaKwaMashu [No ways, I am from KwaMashu]”. [Laughter.]

As Premier Molewa was saying, the reason why we decided to do away with the cross-boundary municipalities was precisely to create the best possible conditions for the development of our people. We could have left them where they were. But if we left them where they were, we would be saying we are not going to do these things that we need to do to create the best possible conditions for our people to develop. So we created these conditions and what happened? I object to the expression “ngoba mina ngingowakwaMashu [because I am from KwaMashu]”. Well, I was saying the advantage I have is that I am a South African and beyond that an African. In 2009 we will have elections and there will be a new President. Before that I will write to all the Premiers to say that I am quite ready to come and retire in any one of our provinces because all these provinces are in South Africa. But the Premiers will have to compete with regard to an incentive to get me to come and stay in their provinces. [Laughter.]

In the work that we do, we should try and inculcate and cultivate these positive things. When we say, “proudly South African”, then we must mean that we are proudly South African. When we say this government serves the people of South Africa, it must serve the people of South Africa.

Thank you very much. If I don’t see you before Christmas and New Year: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Thank you, hon President, for your response to the debate.

Debate concluded.

The Council adjourned at 13:33. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

                     WEDNESDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2006

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

1. Bills passed by Houses – to be submitted to President for assent

(1)     Bill passed by National Council of Provinces on 7 November
    2006:


      a) Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain
         Activities in Country of Armed Conflict Bill [B 42B – 2005]
         (National Assembly sec - 75).

National Council of Provinces

The Chairperson

1. Message from National Assembly to National Council of Provinces in respect of Bills passed by Assembly and transmitted to Council for concurrence

(1)     Bills passed by National Assembly on 8 November 2006 and
    transmitted for concurrence:


      a) Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B 32 – 2006] (National Assembly
         – sec 77)
      b) Revenue Laws Amendment Bill [B 33 – 2006] (National Assembly –
         sec 77)


      c) Revenue Laws Second Amendment Bill [B 34 – 2006] (National
         Assembly – sec 75).


    The Bills have been referred to the Select Committee on Finance of
    the National Council of Provinces.

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson

 a) Report of the Auditor-General on the findings identified during a
    performance audit of official departmental accommodation at the
    Department of Correctional Services – September 2006 [RP 254-2006].

1. The Minister of Labour

 a) Instrument for the Amendment of the Constitution of the
    International Labour Organisation (ILO), tabled in terms of section
    231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.


 b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Instrument for the Amendment of the
    Constitution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

1. The Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry

This tabling replaces item 2 under “Tablings” on page 2439 of the
Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of 2 November 2006:


(a)     Agreement between the Republic of Botswana, the Republic of
    Mozambique, the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of
    Zimbabwe on the Establishment of the Limpopo Watercourse
    Commission, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution,
    1996.


(b)     Explanatory Memorandum on the Agreement between the Republic of
    Botswana, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of South Africa
    and the Republic of Zimbabwe on the Establishment of the Limpopo
    Watercourse Commission.


                      THURSDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2006

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Council of Provinces

The Chairperson

1. Message from National Assembly to National Council of Provinces in respect of Bills passed by Assembly and transmitted to Council for concurrence

(1)     Bills passed by National Assembly on 9 November 2006 and
    transmitted for concurrence:
      a) Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill [B 20B – 2006] (National
         Assembly – sec 76)


    The Bill has been referred to the Select Committee on Economic and
    Foreign Affairs of the National Council of Provinces.

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

(a)     Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South
    Africa and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding
    Mutual Assistance between their Customs Administrations, tabled in
    terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.

 b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement between the Government of
    the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Islamic
    Republic of Iran regarding Mutual Assistance between their Customs
    Administrations.


 c) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa
    and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding
    Mutual Assistance between their Customs Administrations, tabled in
    terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.


 d) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement between the Government of
    the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Democratic
    Republic of Congo regarding Mutual Assistance between their Customs
    Administrations.

1. The Minister of Trade and Industry

 a) Report and Financial Statements of the Technology and Human
    Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) for 2005-2006, including
    the Report of the Auditor-General for 2005-2006.


 b) Government Notice No R.873 published in Government Gazette No 29186
    dated 1 September 2006: International Trade Administration
    Commission of South Africa: Import restrictions on textiles and
    clothing originating from the People’s Republic of China, in terms
    of the International Trade Administration Act, 2002 (Act No 71 of
    2002)


 c) Government Notice No R.949 published in Government Gazette No 29245
    dated 21 September 2006: Prescribed Time Frame for Free Credit
    Records, and Determination of Application and Registration Fees, in
    terms of the national Credit Act, 2005 (Act No 34 of 2005).


 d) Government Notice No 928 published in Government Gazette No 29233
    dated 22 September 2006: Incorporation of an external company as a
    company in the Republic of South Africa: Star Gaze Limited, in
    terms of the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No 61 of 1973).


 e) Government Notice No 960 published in Government Gazette No 29256
    dated 29 September 2006: Incorporation of an external company as a
    company in the Republic of South Africa: Portfolio Deal Services
    Limited, in terms of the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No 61 of 1973).


 f) Government Notice No 995 published in Government Gazette No 29277
    dated 13 October 2006: Standards Matters, in terms of the Standards
    Act, 1993 (Act No 29 of 1993).

1. The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

 a) Request for approval by the National Assembly of the exclusion of
    Portion 1 of the farm Mozib 279, the farm Droogte Veldt 292 and
    Portion 1 of the farm Than 280 from the Vaalbos National Park in
    terms of section 21(1)(a) of the National Environmental Management:
    Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No 57 of 2003).

 b) Explanatory memorandum on the proposed exclusion of Portion 1 of
    the farm Mozib 279, the farm Drooge Veldt 292 and Portion 1 of the
    farm Than 280 from the Vaalbos National Park in terms of section
    21(1)(a) of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas
    Act, 2003 (Act No 57 of 2003).

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Council of Provinces

CREDA INSERT REPORT - Insert T061109E-insert4 – PAGES 2593-2595 FRIDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2006

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Labour

 (a)    Report and Financial Statements of the Transport Education and
     Training Authority (Teta) for 2005-2006, including the Report of
     the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006.