Speech by Hon. Premier TSP Makwetla at the ABSA Premiers' Golf Invitational,
Greenway Woods,
White River , Mpumalanga ,
10 May 2007
Chief Operating Officer of ABSA, Mr Peter Mageza
Members of the Executive Council
Senior Managers of ABSA
Director General and senior Managers from government
ABSA guests and Clients
Ladies and Gentlemen
To all of you, a warm welcome to the Province of Mpumalanga . I hope that you have enjoyed the golfing experience, the hospitality and the scenic beauty of the Province. To all the players who participated today, thank you for gracing the ABSA Premiers' Invitational with your presence.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Executive Management of ABSA, in particular the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Loubser, for this great initiative of organizing Provincial Premier Golf Challenges. The concept behind the ABSA Premiers' Invitational exemplifies the nature of partnerships that government and the private sector should seek to build and sustain in making contributions to nation-building, social cohesion and creating a better life for all. It is a partnership that recognizes that corporate South Africa has an important role in supporting initiatives aimed at advancing socio-economic development.
It is inspiring that one of the defining features of the ABSA Premiers' Invitational, is ABSA's commitment to making contributions to charities in order to support the promotion of Maths and Science. As government we see ABSA's contribution as a targeted investment in human capital development that, in the long run, will benefit the economic growth and development potential of the South African nation, and Mpumalanga in particular.
One of the major factors that constrain the South African economy's growth potential is the availability of engineering and technical skills in the implementation of major infrastructure projects aimed at promoting accelerated socio-economic development. It has been acknowledged that in order to address the scarce skills problem in the country, there should be a concerted effort to promote Maths and Science so that the education system is able to develop and provide graduates with necessary engineering and technical competencies to drive growth and development.
As a Province, we are cognisant of the need to ensure that corporate social investment initiatives are targeted in ways that support and add value to the priorities and programmes of government. We believe that ABSA's support for the promotion of Maths and Science will go a long way in making a significant contribution to the government's agenda of improving learner attainment in mathematics and science.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the preferred recipient of the Premiers' Golf Invitational charity will be the Mpumalanga Educational Development Trust. This is a trust that was established as a partnership between the Mpumalanga Department of Education and the corporate sector.
The donation will be earmarked as an incentive programme for secondary schools that excel and improve their mathematics and science results. This initiative is important to us as it makes a direct contribution to our provincial efforts targeted at enhancing learner attainment in mathematics and science.
The Matric Class of 2006 did us proud in improving pass rates by more than 6%. However, we noted a huge challenge beckoning in the quality of our Math and Science passes. In 2006 we entered 39 000 candidates for the end of the year examination and noted a troubling trajectory in our Math and Science candidature:
First it was the imbalance in the ratio of enrolments in Higher Grade and Standard Grade candidature
- In Mathematics only 2 357 entered for Higher Grade against 19 753 that took Standard Grade.
- In Physical Science only 4 504 entered for Higher against a whopping 11 322 registered for Standard Grade.
Secondly, we noted an unsettling pattern in the difference between Standard and Higher Grade pass rates. Higher Grade enrolments, although lowest, produce the best results compared to Standard Grade. To illustrate the point:
- Our Higher Grade pass for Math in 2006 stood at 79.7% while Standard Grade pass remained at 47.5%
- Physics gave a better picture at 74.6% and 69.4% in the respective grades
However, the main thesis of this trajectory is that almost 60% of Mpumalanga learners take Mathematics and Physical Science and therefore an improvement in Math and Science performance could place us within reach of ASGISA targets.
The Provincial Government has therefore agreed on a 6 pillar turn-around plan for Math and Science focusing on:
- Improving curriculum delivery strategies
- Teacher development and professional support
- Improving learner performance
- Increasing the resource base of math and Science
- Strengthening English Second Language proficiency and acquisition
- Introducing ICT as a medium of curriculum delivery
Our projected expenditure to turn around the current trends stands at R9 million for the current Financial Year, and therefore no less that R 35 million over the MTEF.
We trust that our partnership with ABSA on development initiatives will continue to bear fruits and extend to other interesting joint programmes. ABSA's footprint in the Province makes it one of the key players in the economy of the Province. We appreciate the confidence that this corporate citizen has shown in the province through its investments that contribute to job creation and poverty reduction.
Programme Director, the ABSA Premiers' Invitational is not only about playing golf, but it is also about human interaction and social networks that we need in order to build social cohesion as a developing nation.
A golf day of this nature provides a platform for government to interact and network with the private sector. This promotes learning and sharing of lessons and experiences on a range of developmental issues facing both the private and public sectors. We hope that the informal networks will grow and provide further opportunities for cooperation and partnerships.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by congratulating the winners of the golf day and wish them well as they move on to proudly represent Mpumalanga Province in the Grand Finale in October. I know that they will do us proud.
Thank you very much to ABSA, all our guests and the media for sharing a beautiful day together.
Enjoy the evening.