Office of the Premier 2010/11 Policy and Budget Speech
delivered by Premier DD Mabuza, Mpumalanga Provincial
Legislature
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
House of Traditional Leaders
Distinguished guests from the different sectors of our
communities
Ladies and gentlemen
Honourable Speaker, in the State of the Province
Address that one delivered on 19 June 2009, I said that:
“When our people renewed the mandate of the ANC-led
government on 22 April …., it was an unequivocal call for action
to deliver tangible results on government priorities for the
next five years as articulated in the ANC election manifesto.
These priorities are:
- Creation of decent work and sustainable
livelihoods
- Education
- Health
- Rural development, food security and land reform,
and
- The fight against crime and corruption
In essence, our people expect the democratic government
to continue in its quests to reduce poverty, unemployment and
inequality in the context of a growing economy.”
Honourable Speaker and Members, when one appeared
before this august House on 18 August 2009, I asserted that:
“For this to be possible, the Office of the Premier
plays a central and a leading role. It will be expected to
provide the necessary leadership, that is, leadership that will
continuously bring, inter alia, a perspective to the development
path that this government and the people of this province have
agreed to pursue”
One also highlighted certain actions that the Office of
the Premier would be undertaking as part of crystallising the
issues raised in the 2009 State of the Province Address and
further refined in the 2010 State of the Province Address.
Therefore, for the Office of the Premier to remain
focused on ensuring that all organs of the state act in unison
towards delivering on the mandate of the people, it has to
reposition itself differently. It has to lead with the clarity
of purpose and direction to realise the goals that the Province
has set itself.
After an in-depth analysis, and also informed by
national developments, we came to the conclusion that the office
of the Premier will focus on five key areas.
Policy and Planning
The first key area of focus involves policy and
planning.
As members will know, the ANC-led government has taken
a view that, for our policies to have maximum impact on the
lives of our people, there will be a need for the creation of an
institutional centre for government-wide planning with the
necessary resources and authority to prepare and implement
medium and long-term development plans.
It is in this context that we have seen:
- The emergence of the National Planning Commission,
- The appointment of a Minister for National
Planning and
- The re-configuration of the President’s Office as
part of ensuring that this key policy imperative takes off
the ground.
As a province, we have also deemed it important to
align accordingly. In the main, this area of work will pay more
attention to, inter alia,
- The development and co-ordination of provincial
policies and strategies
- The provision of advisory services to government
on policy implementation strategies, and more importantly
- Co-ordination of macro-planning, including
- Conducting targeted research to inform
decision-making processes of cabinet
- In addition, ensuring that we co-ordinate and
facilitate international co-operation across all spheres of
government.
- The realignment of the Provincial Growth and
Development Strategy, and the Integrated Development Plans
of the eighteen municipalities which I alluded to in my
previous policy and Budget speech, will rest within this
area of work.
Target Groups
Honourable Members, part of our policy co-ordination
work will focus on strengthening government’s capacity to
mainstream programmes that address the plight of target groups,
namely the youth, women, children and persons with disabilities.
Admittedly, this is an area of our policy implementation work
that requires special attention.
The establishment of the Department of Women,
Children and People with Disabilities and the National Youth
Agency bears testimony to this effect.
From a policy perspective, the Office of the Premier
needs to have the requisite capacity to co-ordinate, advise and
lead the institutionalisation of programmes that are aimed
empowering women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.
Honourable Members, this brings me to the second key
focus area of the Premier’s office, namely, performance
monitoring and evaluation.
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
Marko Saravanja once said:
“The challenges facing business and government are not about a lack of ideas or policies but about implementation…Life happens at the level of action and not words and thoughts.”
Honourable Speaker and Members, as government, we
cannot agree more with Saravanja’s assertion.
In the past fifteen years, the ANC-led government has
developed an array of best policies aimed at creating a better
life for all our people, particularly the poor. However, the
area of challenge has always been the implementation of these
wonderful policies.
The administration of President Zuma has decided to
confront this challenge head-on. Already there are positive
developments in this regard. The Minister responsible for
performance monitoring and evaluation in the Presidency has
already produced policy guidelines to this end.
Fundamentally, the new approach not only serves as a
mechanism to guide the direction of policy implementation but
also introduces a new paradigm shift in terms of measuring the
performance of government. This approach assumes an
outcome-based approach as opposed to our traditional expenditure
performance approach.
Taking cue from national, as the Office of the Premier,
we have also prioritised this area of work. We also intend to
strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Premier to monitor
and report on government performance. In essence, more attention
will be paid on:
- Monitoring the implementation of policy and
agreed-upon programmes, and
- Evaluating the quality of achievements on set
targets and outcomes as captured in the Provincial Five-Year
Plan.
- Enhancing performance monitoring and evaluation
systems and tools that enable timely access to departmental
and municipal performance information.
Government communications
Honourable Speaker, part of our organisational
transformation programme relates to the critical need of co-ordinating
government communications. We need to ensure that the provincial
government creates a ‘single window’ of communication on matters
affecting the Province. Alignment and consistency of government
messages across various government institutions in the Province
remain essential.
We are quite aware that this issue is not new at all
within the corridors of government but, the truth is, as a
province, we always find ourselves wanting when it comes to
providing a single window of communicating the activities of
government.
Our provincial communication strategy is not integrated
and this presents serious problems not only for government but
also for the people who consume our information.
Therefore, as the Office of the Premier, we intend
paying special attention to this area of work.
- We intend ensuring that an integrated provincial
communication framework is developed and implemented as
expected.
- Public participation will also feature high within
this area of work. Activities of the call centre that one
mentioned in the Policy and Budget speech last will serve to
create a necessary platform for communities to raise issues
and interact with government. Cabinet outreach and
provincial events will be part of functions co-ordinated
within this area of work.
Integrated Security Management
Honourable Speaker and Members, in the previous policy
and budget speech, we highlighted the issue of security
management within government.
As things stand currently:
- The whole aspect of security management service
within government is disjointed. Part of the security
services are co-ordinated by the Department of Safety,
Security and Community Liaison and other security activities
are left to individual departments to discharge.
- Adherence to security standards and protocols is
also a thorn in the flesh of government.
- The safety of government assets, protection of
sensitive government information and classified
documentation leave much to be desired.
- Fraud and corruption within government is
alarmingly high, and if not curbed, will undermine the
integrity of government.
To address these challenges, the Office of the Premier
has already begun work to develop a framework that will guide
government on all these matters that we have alluded to.
However, let me quickly point out that these security
services that we are referring to are those falling outside the
core mandate of the Department of Safety, Security and Community
Liaison.
Corporate Services
Honourable Speaker and Members, the last major focus
area of leadership by my Office places particular emphasis on
institutional capacity, efficiency and effectiveness through out
the provincial administration. This area of work will involve,
among other things:
- The provision of institutional development
services to the provincial administration, largely dealing
with organisational design and systems
- The standardisation of policy implementation
across the entire administration, as well as
- The provision of administrative services to the
Office of the Premier.
Priorities for 2010/11 financial year and the Budget
Honourable Speaker and Members, these five key areas of
focus that I have just outlined define the new Office of the
Premier. Therefore, the big chunk of the Budget that we have
come to motivate for today will be used to reengineer the Office
of the Premier. We have to ensure that we put together not only
a fit organisation but an organisation that will exhibit fitness
over time.
The centre must hold. The centre must lead.
We are inspired by the wise words of Bobby Knight when
he argues that:
“The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win”
It is our belief and conviction that creating an
institution that is effective and efficient is key to our
progress as a Province. Such an organisation will go a long way
towards ensuring that the set priorities are realised.
Conclusion
Honourable Speaker, as I conclude, I would like to call
upon the people of the Province to come out in numbers to enjoy
the upcoming ‘once-in-a-life-time’ experience of being part of
the World Cup soccer spectacular. It will always remain a firm
reminder of where we come from as a country as well as the
continent.
South Africa could not have not have pulled it together
alone without the support of the continent. Therefore, this
World Cup will remain a proud legacy to all of us but most
importantly our National Pride.
It must be emphasised that hosting this event did not
come as a miracle but through hard work of the country and the
contribution of the continent as a whole. We therefore deserve
it.
Let us all go out there to send positive messages about
this prestigious event. As Mpumalanga, let us prepare to welcome
our visitors to our beautiful province with warmth and
hospitality. With 14 days to go, the World Cup is here.
Let us feel it, and see it. Now, it is here.
I thank you