Ntwane Village, Dennilton
30 AUGUST 2004
Programme Director
Honourable Minister of Public Works, Ms Stella Sigcau,
Honourable MEC’s
Your majesties Amakhosi and representatives of traditional authorities
Honourable mayors and councillors
Distinguished guests, friends and comrades
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dumelang. Lotshani.
Siyathokoza ukuba nani namhlanje.
People of Ntwane, residents of Dennilton and surrounding areas, today we have come to Moutse to celebrate the launch of the national Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in our province, Mpumalanga.
We are here to mark another groundbreaking milestone in government’s fight against poverty and unemployment.
Today we have come to you in another demonstration of our determination, as the Mpumalanga provincial government, to contribute meaningfully to the fight against poverty and unemployment. A commitment to create work.
It is a fight that is part and parcel of the effort to turn into a reality the goal of a people’s contract for a better South Africa. It is a fight that seeks to respond positively to the overwhelming confidence that the people of the province have shown in the ANC government leadership at the polls in April 2004.
As a provincial government we have set out to serve, with a greater commitment, all our people across the length and breadth of our province. We have committed ourselves to understanding and responding to your challenges, your hopes, your fears and your pain.
We understand the depth of the scourge of poverty and unemployment that afflicts our communities. That is why we are here today, taking a step towards improving the opportunities before our people who so desperately seek to earn a decent livelihood.
We hear the cries of the youth and the unemployed who would like to be a part of those in employment but see their only hope as being to leave for the big cities.
But even there they know that their chances of a ‘decent’ job are slim because they are not skilled or even when they have the skills they do not have the experience.
That is why we are here today because the EPWP offers an opportunity for both getting skills and some working experience.
Mesebetsi. Umberego. Umsebenzi. We have heard your voices.
The Mpumalanga provincial government is proud to announce today that the EPWP in our province will be a bold programme to create jobs and eradicate poverty.
We have set ourselves the goal of creating some 100 000 jobs over the next five years.
In this financial year alone, 2004/5, we aim to create at least 10 000 jobs through the EPWP.
As a provincial government we have set out to identify and augment the critical human and other capacity that is needed for this programme. An EPWP Steering Committee is also in place to direct and manage delivery on our stated goals.
The Moutse Landcare project is one of many projects in the EPWP that will touch the lives of our people directly on the ground and in the communities in which they live.
The Mpumalanga province, as part of the EPWP, is embarking also on various infrastructure projects that will create jobs and learnership opportunities for our people.
The Department of Roads and Transport will do regravelling, upgrading and rehabilitation of various provincial roads. The Department of Education will build classrooms and schools. The Department of Public Works will build community halls and other viable community assets. The Department of Health will contribute to the EPWP through, for example, the renovation of community health centers and clinics.
Apart from the direct provision of employment opportunities, the EPWP will contribute to the building of assets in our communities, particularly in the rural areas where they are most needed.
These assets, such as roads, schools, clinics and community centres are important if we are to have a dynamic and functional democratic society where all have an equal opportunity to realize their talents.
This is the only way that we can reverse the legacy of apartheid where the
majority of our people were expected to reside in rural backwaters and
homelands, with no access to opportunities for adequate education or an
infrastructure suitable for sustainable human development.
Honourable Minister,
People of Ntwane, residents of Dennilton and surrounding areas
The roots of unemployment and poverty in our country run deep. They are the result of successive apartheid governments that were not interested in a people-centered, prosperous and inclusive society. As a result unemployment or poverty cannot be removed overnight or through a single policy or action of government.
As the Mpumalanga provincial government we will build on the foundation laid during the past ten years in order to improve the lives of our people.
The EPWP is an example of what can be achieved through a successful partnership between the different spheres of government in our province.
We will build more and stronger partnerships with stakeholders and communities so that we can also grow the provincial economy. Through other programmes to support SMME’s, black economic empowerment, previously disadvantaged farmers, and targeted support to sectors such as tourism, where our province has an enormous potential, we believe we can make a difference.
It is an honour to launch the provincial EPWP programme today, at an occasion graced by our hounourable Minister for Public Works, Ms Stella Sigcau.
Let us all collectively embrace the challenge of making the EPWP a success in our province.
Let us all collectively embrace this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our people.
Masibambaneni sonke bantu bakithi sibe yimbumba sakhe lelizwe lakithi.
Siyathokoza. Re a leboga. I thank you.
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