PREMIER DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM FARMER

(25/03/2005)

The Office of Premier Thabang Makwetla has learnt with shock and outrage at the utterances expressed in the media by Mr. Tony Masson, an Ermelo based farmer, who this week alleged that the Premier, during his previous tenure as M E C for safety and security, called him “a bloody white farmer” and he therefore demands an apology.

Mr. Masson says the Premier must first apologise in order for Members of the Mpumalanga Legislature or any government official to be allowed entry onto his property. This occurred during the legislature community outreach program when members of the provincial legislature were visiting various farms in the Msukaligwa area. As a result, MPL’s who visited Mr.Masson’s farm in order to inspect working conditions of farm employees were prevented from doing so.

We therefore view his arrogant actions and utterances with the level of seriousness and contempt they deserve. This represents nothing else but a naked fabrication that is clearly designed to suit a suffocating racist anti transformation propaganda. Racists in denial do not contribute much towards reconciliation and the national consensus of building a united and non-racial society based on respect for basic human rights.

The Office of the Premier therefore demands an immediate and unconditional public apology from Mr. Masson. Failure to comply with this request will result in the office pursuing a legal route based on the defamatory remarks attributed to Mr. Masson.

Mr. Masson must, as a matter of course, embrace the reality of a democratic government and its progressive policies that are aimed at making Mpumalanga a better place to live and work in for all. Like all other farmers, he carries an obligation to ensure that his employees earn a decent salary, complies with the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) laws, respects basic constitutional principles of his employees to freedom of movement and association, allows children of his employees to attend school without any hindrance.

In doing so, he shall be joining the majority of Mpumalanga farmers who contribute positively to the provincial economy through their agricultural activities and respect for the rule of law.

ENQUIRIES:
Ntime Skhosana
0846730415 or 013 766 2055

ISSUED BY :
Office Of The Premier
Mpumalanga Provincial Government

MEDIA STATEMENT BY MPUMALANGA PREMIER, MR THABANG MAKWETLA

31/03/2005

“I received with total astonishment the report that Mr Masson alleged that he was called “a bloody white farmer” by myself during my tenure as MEC for Safety and Security. Furthermore, that Members of the Provincial Legislature were refused access to Mr Masson’s labourers during a visit by the Legislature, ostensibly because of my conduct.

I find it totally unacceptable for Mr Masson to make such a bad joke by fabricating such a story once again, in order to deny government access to the community of labourers on his farm.

In my previous duties as MEC for Safety and Security I have diligently paid special attention to the acrimonious human relations problem on Mr Masson’s farm, between Mr Masson and his employees and between Mr Masson and councillors and union organisers.

In order to assist in reducing these high levels of hostility which threatened security on Mr Masson’s farm, I even facilitated an inclusive meeting where all parties were present, including the Mayor, Mr Masson, SAPS and legal advisors, in Ermelo. This meeting, difficult as it was, laid a valuable foundation towards an amicable solution and stability on Mr Masson’s farm. It is simple logic that if I had insulted Mr Masson before, he would not have cooperated with my office by attending the above meeting which I facilitated with his consent. Needless to say that I initiated this intervention, in spite of extreme provocation by the gentleman in question, understanding the significance of what this particular problem presented to the province.

It is in this context that Mr Masson must retract this fabrication and apologise publicly, and I hope he will heed this advice. The misplaced opportunistic call by the DA Leader, Mr Clive Hatch, for a commission of enquiry, must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves.

If Mr Hatch was exercising diligence in his duties, and had cared to conduct a limited enquiry before making any public utterances, he would have appreciated the need to exercise caution before coming to the defence of someone who has been dismissed from the SAPS as a reservist, for conduct unbefitting a law-abiding citizen. I wish to enjoin all public representatives in the province, regardless of their political persuasion, to intervene constructively in these matters and to contribute positively to the resolution of these challenges. None of us must lack the courage to confront practices which promote racial tension”.

Issued by Mpumalanga Premier, Thabang Makwetla

Enquiries:
Ntime Skhosana
0846730415 or 0137662055

MPUMALANGA ON A VOYAGE TO REDISCOVER ITS HIDDEN HERITAGE

“The communities that fall within the boundaries of the province of Mpumalanga have a history with a depth, vividness and significance, which cannot easily be matched by other regions of South Africa.”

Professor Peter Delius, Head of History Department at Wits University and who is an internationally recognised academic was speaking at the Launch of Mpumalanga Heritage Research at Sudwala Lodge on Thursday, 07 May 2005.

“The 330km drive from Joburg into the heart of Mpumalanga goes by in a whirl of green-brown and cosmos, but if motorists and tourists stop long enough to smell the cosmos, they will discover a treasure trove of history and culture in the Province,” said the Professor.

Professor Delius will act as a manager and editor for the project. He is expected to identify key themes, chapters, and contributors and write key sections of the project.

This project, with the theme, “ Reclaiming the past and redefining the future, A voyage of rediscovery of Mpumalanga's Heritage” , is aimed at showing the significance and excitement of the region's past and its potential to help define the future.

Professor Delius elaborated that Mpumalanga represent a history of South Africa in microcosm with elements of conflicts, compromises, tragedies and triumphs that shaped the emergence of the new South Africa, but little of this apparent to the readers of conventional popular histories and tourist literature, or those that log on to the incalculable websites or visit recognised sites.

This venture is part of the drive by Premier Thabang Makwetla to rebrand the Mpumalanga Province.

In his address, Premier Thabang Makwetla said that t he decision in 1994 to establish nine provinces in the new dispensation of South Africa, left many people anxious and apprehensive because the previous Bantustan administrations were created for the sole purpose of undermining the consolidation of unity among all South Africans.

“The first ten years of Freedom and Democracy were important with respect to the consolidation of our nationhood. As we move further into the future as a more mature nation with higher degrees of unity, it should be increasingly apparent that our growth and dynamism as a country would be immensely served by the vibrancy of our regions. This must boost the country's profile as a country of many developed regions with varied destinations,” said the Premier.

The Project, which is to roll for the next nine months, is an initiative aimed at producing a different historical account of the Province and will be reassessed every month.

FNB's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Modise Moatlodi presented a cheque of an amount of R640 000 on behalf of First National Bank (FNB) as a sponsor of the project to the Premier. He said the bank is working with the Tshwane University of Technology (Nelspruit) to ensure that students get better knowledge to contribute to this project.

The support by FNB echoed the Premier's call to the private sector to work with the public sector to create better lives, as this project will create a number of job opportunities in the Province.

Mr. Sonwabile Mancotywa of the National Heritage Council said Mpumalanga is the first Province to embark on such an initiative and that it has set an example for other Provinces to embark on similar undertakings.

Enquiries: Vusi Shabangu : (013) 766 2266

Issued by Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Office of the Premier