POLICY AND BUDGET SPEECH FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PREMIER 2007/08
12 June 2007
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Distinguished Members of the Executive Council,
Our Traditional Leaders present and Chairperson of the House, Inkosi Mthethwa, in absentia, who we must all wish a speedy recovery,
Heads of Department and senior government officials,
Our Social Partners,
Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The House at large
Margaret Barber said, “To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it more fit for its prime function of looking forward.”
Madam Speaker, when we tabled the priorities and programmes for the 2006/2007 financial year to this esteemed house, we committed ourselves to improved performance in providing strategic leadership and support to the implementation of the provincial Programme of Action. It is encouraging to highlight that our internal capabilities have been strengthened to enable us to discharge our responsibilities for overall macro-coordination and monitoring and evaluation of government programmes. We are confident that the Office of the Premier is now better positioned to contribute towards improved performance of the Provincial Administration as a whole.
Part of the strategic leadership role we need to play is ensuring that provincial priorities and programmes address the national challenges of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment and advance socio-economic development to create a better life for all. It is essential that our leadership support to the provincial development agenda gives effect to the realisation of ASGISA targets, the achievement of the objectives for the Five-Year Local Government Agenda, and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Over the intervening period since our last budget speech, we have all been encouraged and inspired by the numerous improvements observed in a number of areas of our administration's work, thanks to the talent and commitment displayed by many actors in the life of our provincial government. There are many HOD's and managers in both departments and parastatals who have given us renewed zeal and reason to believe that, after all, these obstacles are not insurmountable. There are also many unsung heroes of labour among the ordinary workers in this provincial government who go about their simple menial jobs with their heart in it. In this context, we should all wish the negotiations in the current public sector wage impasse speedy progress and a satisfactory resolution of the disputes which is fair to all sides.
In the meantime, no one among us must be allowed to handle this matter, or do anything which may end up detracting us from our common commitment to continue building on our achievements of bringing material relief in conditions of the lives of our people. The differences will be resolved, the strike will come to pass and the struggle must continue.
Flagships
Madame Speaker, we believe that the ‘Big Five' flagship projects presented during the State of the Province Address in February this year will contribute significantly to the achievement of development and service delivery. The flagship projects are provincial priorities which anchor the implementation of provincial growth and development strategies and programmes across a wide range of sectors to ensure that the Province improves the delivery of basic services and stimulates growth that contributes to job creation and the reduction of poverty.
The Office of the Premier is providing leadership to the flagship programmes by harnessing the talents and energies of the sector departments to collectively deliver a range of visible, high impact developmental projects in the medium term.
It is important to highlight that none of the flagships can be successfully implemented by the Provincial Government on its own. These are provincial flagships, and therefore, require close collaboration of all the spheres of government, in particular local government, and all parastatals that do work in the Province.
In grappling with the challenges of poverty and unemployment as the main strategic goal of the 2004-2009 medium term period, the Maputo and Moloto development corridors provide a platform for stimulating economic growth and job creation. Private and public sector partnerships will be mobilized to leverage development and investment opportunities along these two development corridors. In the spirit of ASGISA, public investment in infrastructure will unlock the latent economic potential of these corridors.
Our role in the Water for All flagship is to ensure that we complement project management capacities required for the effective delivery of water infrastructure and services. This flagship focuses on accelerating the delivery of water infrastructure and services to ensure that all the citizens of Mpumalanga have access to safe and clean water by 2010.
Madame Speaker, the Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism flagship programme presents opportunities for the restoration, recording and preservation of Mpumalanga 's heritage. It integrates the opportunities presented by the cultural heritage of this province with the strong renowned recreational tourism of our province which is based on biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and effective environmental practices to create ‘a Green Province '. It focuses on the need to conserve sensitive ecosystems, and to prevent general environmental degradation. It also promotes Mpumalanga 's proud heritage by establishing fascinating heritage sites and expanding our pristine pollution-free environs to contribute to the growth of the tourism sector and foster job creation.
Honourable Members, I am happy to report that following the finalisation of the Heritage Research Project , the published book will finally be launched on the 15 th of June 2007, with a second launch taking place at the Cape Town Book Fair on 19 June 2007. We are confident that the book will broaden access for many South Africans and people abroad to the fascinating heritage of the Province. This will begin to generate further interest in the Province as both a tourist and investment destination.
Broader engagement with the heritage findings will hopefully find space in our schools, communities and the media in our Province, so that they ultimately serve to deepen knowledge and conversation among all of us, as to ‘who we are'. This will enhance our appreciation of the dynamic history that we all share.
In the end, we must celebrate the heritage tapestry interwoven by our common history that we all share as South Africans and people of Mpumalanga , irrespective of race, colour or creed. We have a responsibility to develop an integrated approach to our provincial heritage in order to promote a shared sense of nationhood. In turn, this will contribute to the promotion of social cohesion and integration of our society.
In 2007/2008 we have prioritised the branding and marketing of the Province. Work on this project commenced last month. We are confident that Mpumalanga 's captivating heritage will contribute immensely to the positioning of the provincial brand that engenders confidence and positive perceptions about the possibilities and opportunities that the Province represents. The marketing and branding of the Province should be able to impact positively on tourism growth and increased investment, as well as enhancing government's communication with the citizens on development and service delivery initiatives.
Madam Speaker, given that state capacity is a necessary condition to advance economic and social development, the Accelerated Capacity Building flagship project lies at the heart of the province's developmental agenda. Its objective is to develop a world class senior and middle manager cadre in Mpumalanga , who can be benchmarked against the best public managers in South Africa and the world. The focus is on enhancing the management and leadership skills and competencies of our senior and middle managers to improve their performance. Alongside these training initiatives, we have implemented systems to strengthen recruitment and selection processes to ensure that appropriately skilled individuals are appointed and retained in key positions throughout the Administration as we have previously reported .
The Executive Development Programme (EDP) is a pivotal element of the Accelerated Capacity Building flagship project. It is a targeted intervention to respond to the skills deficiencies identified in the Skills Audit. This training programme comprises four modules: core skills development, growth and development, service delivery improvement and an international module to expose senior managers to international best practice. To date 177 executive and senior managers have completed module 1 of the programme. This month, we are also commencing the programme for executive coaching and mentoring for senior management, starting with the executive management layer of Heads of Department and Deputy Directors-General.
In the current financial year, the EDP is targeting 140 senior managers from provincial and local government as well as parastatals. In addition, 240 middle and junior managers, drawn from both provincial and local government, will undergo training focusing on key competencies such as planning, programme and project management, applied strategic thinking, as well problem solving and decision making.
Madam Speaker, high performance organisations are characterised by continuous learning and innovation. For this reason, in the 2007/2008 financial year, we will finalise the establishment of the Mpumalanga Management Centre that will facilitate and coordinate management and leadership development interventions. This will create an institutional base for continuous learning and innovation in provincial and local government.
Working closely with all line Departments, we are also enhancing the effective implementation of the performance management system to create an organisational culture that makes individuals accountable for performance at all levels.
Support for the Implementation of Flagships
The success of the ‘Big Five' flagship projects depends on collaboration and cooperation across provincial departments, municipalities, national government and our social partners. In order to establish the necessary institutional capacity to support flagships, a Programme Facilitation Unit (PFU) has been established to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the implementation of all flagship programmes. This support entails the mobilisation and deployment of targeted programme and project management support to the project steering committees tasked with implementing of the flagships.
The Programme Facilitation unit will provide technical support to the governance structures tasked with implementation and oversight of the flagship projects, including the chairs of the three clusters, the steering committees and project teams.
Madam Speaker, our own assessment of progress made in the implementation of the provincial Growth and Development Summit resolutions is that success has been very limited, and in some instances, there is no progress at all on a range of agreed areas of collaboration between government and its social partners (the private sector, organised labour and civil society). Part of the weakness in the implementation of the GDS agreement was that, in many instances, the focal themes and areas of cooperation were broad and diffuse, rather than specific, with measurable targets and outcomes.
To address this apparent shortcoming, the intention is to harness the commitment and resources of our social partners for the province's developmental agenda through support for the implementation of flagship programmes. This will establish a specific and tangible set of priorities to which the private sector, labour and civil society can commit their resources as partners in developing Mpumalanga .
We will also focus our international twinning partnerships with other provinces on supporting the implementation of flagship projects. We will also ensure that municipal international relations are strategically targeted to support the implementation of flagship projects within the local government environment.
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Clusters
Madam Speaker, t he cluster system has played an important role in streamlining and improving the Executive decision-making process by fostering collaboration between departments that need to coordinate their strategic and operational plans in order to deliver services effectively.
The cluster programmes of action, together with the programmes highlighted in the State of the Province Address and the resolutions taken by the Executive Council makgotla, have been consolidated in a Provincial Programme of Action.
It is a strategic priority of the Office to establish a monitoring system that is able to effectively track the implementation of the Provincial programme of action. In 2007/2008, we will roll out a monitoring system to effectively monitor the implementation of programmes, including flagship programmes. This system will enable us to discharge our responsibility to ensure that departments effectively implement the programmes they have committed to, in their strategic plans.
2010 World Cup Coordination
Madame Speaker, coordination and strategic leadership support to the 2010 FIFA World Cup TM preparations remains one of the key priorities for the 2007/2008 financial year. We have no reason to doubt that we will succeed in working with Mbombela, the host city, to make the Province proud by staging a successful event.
The implementation of the 2010 Master Plan is currently underway, and there is political commitment and leadership resolve to fast track the implementation of key projects identified as critical in hosting the 2010 World Cup.
To streamline all the preparatory work for the 2010 World Cup and ensure that there is coordination among the implementing institutions, an Integrated 2010 Office is in the course of being established to ensure that the work done by Mbombela Municipality, the Office of the Premier and the Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation is integrated and synergized.
We should highlight that the onset of the 2010 integrated office will have a fundamental impact on how we conduct ourselves in this terrain. The stadium is crucial to our hosting arrangements but we should not forget that the hosting agreement signed with FIFA has 24 projects, all of which are essential to a successful event. It is also important to note that the first major event of the 2010 programme is being held this year in September, in Durban , with the hosting of the FIFA draw.
All spheres of government will be required to play their roles to ensure a successful hosting. In this financial year, we will ensure that we accelerate the implementation of sector plans for which various sector departments and agencies are responsible. We will continue to monitor progress on the implementation of sector plans and identified projects.
Madame Speaker, It is also important that neighbouring municipalities and our neighbouring countries, Swaziland and Mozambique , play their part and derive the benefit from this event. As a country, a region and continent we must ensure a lasting legacy for sport, for culture, for social and economic development. This is an event that we shall only experience once, and we must therefore give it the focus it needs.
Target Groups
Madame Speaker, the designation of June as a Youth Month is an inspiring reminder to all of us that we need to constantly place youth empowerment on the government's development agenda. The plight of the youth (defined as those in the 15 – 35 age group) is starkly illustrated by the most recent official statistics which indicate that, in 2006, youth comprised 38 percent of Mpumalanga 's population and accounted for 76 percent of the unemployed in this province.
It is therefore critical that through Further Education and Training institutions, we offer opportunities for unemployed youth to undergo training that provides entry into a particular vocation, occupation or trade. This intervention will facilitate absorption into the labour market, and afford opportunities for self-employment, and job placement. In partnership with the Department of Labour, we will be facilitating the implementation of the Scarce and Critical Skills Initiative to the tune of R99 million to address shortage of skills in critical areas of the economy and service delivery. This initiative will benefit the youth by providing skills required by the labour market.
Honourable Members, I should point out that despite administrative delays, the process of listing the Youth Commission as a public entity is expected to be finalised by the third quarter of the current financial year. This has been confirmed by National Treasury. We will continue to support the work of the Youth Commission to ensure that there is a comprehensive programme of action aimed at advancing youth development in the Province.
The Youth Commission is working collaboratively with Departments towards the enrolment of 1000 young people across the Province in the National Youth Service (NYS). We welcome initiatives such as the ones by the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) in partnership with Emalahleni Youth Housing project and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) on Ecotourism and Conservation to enrol young people for the National Youth Service programme. The Department of Public Works has recruited 437 youth into the National Youth Service as part of our contribution to the national target of 5000.
Madame Speaker, the triple oppression of race, class and gender that served to subjugate women in the apartheid era, is a legacy that persists in rendering particular segments of our women vulnerable and poor. This is evidenced by the fact that, according to official data, in 2006 women accounted for a mere 44 percent of the economically active population and 40 percent of those employed in the province. Of Mpumalanga 's unemployed, 54 percent are women.
It is therefore imperative that the entire Provincial Administration uses all the policy levers at its disposal – from health services to support for farmers – to empower the poorest and most vulnerable women. We need to vigilantly monitor the impact of all our programmes on this group if we are to make inroads in creating a better life for all.
As a first step in this direction, I am pleased to announce that all departments have appointed Gender Focal Points. Of Mpumalanga 's 21 municipalities, 18 have Transversal units. We must strengthen the monitoring capability of these units to ensure that they are not established as a matter of compliance, but ensure that all our programmes give effect to the overriding policy imperative of empowering women.
Madam Speaker, we need to urgently address legitimate issues raised by, among others, the Disabled People of South Africa. It is critical to fast track and complete the establishment of disability desks in municipalities and enhance our efforts to open up more opportunities for the inclusion of disabled people in learnerships and internships. Like many other citizens, people with disabilities should be able to access housing and other poverty alleviation programmes.
The necessary adaptations that make the services we provide to the people with various kinds of disabilities must be systematically planned, implemented and monitored by all the Provincial departments and municipalities. Clear targets in this regard should be published.
Madame Speaker, despite our efforts in addressing the service delivery needs for target groups, we are concerned that our performance in this area has not been satisfactory. We are currently addressing weaknesses in this area of our delivery mandate.
We welcome progress made through the Expanded Public Works Programme in targeting women, people with disabilities, and youth as beneficiaries of job opportunities. As at September last year of the 2006/2007 financial year, 43 206 job opportunities had been created through the Expanded Public Works Programme since the inception of the programme in 2004. Of the 43 206 job opportunities created, 20 307 (47%) went to the youth, 19 875 (46%) to women, and 509 (1.18%) to people with disabilities.
House of Traditional Leaders
Madame Speaker, when we opened The House of Traditional Leaders (HTL) in March this year, we acknowledged the pivotal role that traditional leaders play in strengthening development efforts in communities under their jurisdiction. We committed ourselves to providing the necessary space and support to traditional leadership institutions to enable them to contribute to enhancing the system of local government through improved participation in development and service delivery initiatives. In the 2007/2008 financial year, we will continue to provide support to the House of Traditional Leaders so that it is able to discharge its responsibilities.
At local government level, progress has been made to enhance the participation of traditional leaders in local governance and service delivery initiatives. Local Houses of Traditional Leaders have been established in the three Districts. In February this year, the three Local Houses of Traditional Leaders in the three district municipalities were elected. Districts municipalities have committed resources for the provision of accommodation and support infrastructure required to enable the effective functioning of Local Houses of Traditional Leaders in Districts.
Cabinet Outreach
Madam Speaker, civic engagement and public participation are necessary conditions to sustain a culture of transparent and democratic governance. We will continue to use the Executive Council Outreach Programme as a platform to reach out and communicate with communities to whom we are accountable for service delivery and development. This programme enables the Executive Council to constructively engage with communities on issues of service delivery and development in the Province, especially in localities where they live.
Our system for capturing and tracking issues raised by the communities in all community meetings has improved. However, it still remains a challenge to ensure that we improve processes for integrating issues raised by communities into government delivery priorities and programmes. The Cabinet outreach programme has successfully enabled the Executive Council and local government leadership to respond to service delivery obstacles and concerns raised by citizens during community meetings.
Positioning the Office of the Premier as a Centre of Excellence
Last year when I presented the Budget Vote to this august house, I quoted the political economist Alan Ehrenhalt, who said, “When government has the right people, and the right systems, and the right intentions, many good things are possible.”
In order to strengthen institutional capacity for service delivery, a strategic priority of the office is to become a centre of excellence in terms of people, systems and values.
Over the last year, we were vigilant to create the foundation for a high performance culture that will position the Office of the Premier as a Centre of Excellence. For us to achieve the bold targets that we have set, it is of utmost importance that we improve internal efficiencies and raise the level of performance and the quality of outputs by all employees.
We have finalised the alignment of the performance agreements of all Senior Management Service members with the Office of the Premier's Implementation Plan so that we tie senior managers' performance to specific deliverables, thereby holding them accountable for results. We are also implementing the performance management development system between levels 1-12 to ensure that employees account for performance on agreed performance targets and standards.
Now that we have appointed senior managers and operationalised the new organogram, we are focusing on building and sustaining the right organisational culture and systems, characterised by improved work ethic, professionalism, integrity and high quality of outputs and outcomes.
We will continue to strengthen our financial management systems to ensure we enhance internal controls and risk management. Our Supply Chain Management component will be reorganised so that it becomes responsive to quick turnaround times in project financing and mobilisation.
Madame Speaker, we are committed to enhancing our capabilities in forensic audit services so that we are better positioned to detect and prevent fraud and corruption in the Administration. During the 2006/07 financial year a total of 107 cases were investigated by my Office. These included cases related to procurement, misuse of government vehicles and human resource related matters. In all these cases, we have taken decisive corrective action to send a strong message that we will take no prisoners in dealing with fraud and corruption.
We are also creating an Integrity Management unit because we believe that corruption is not fought only by detecting and punishing it, but by building values of integrity and professionalism in the organization. We need public servants who act with everyone with integrity, not out of fear of being caught, but because they are honest and believe in public good.
Madame Speaker, Honourable Members, we are confident that your support for the budget of the Office of the Premier will enable us to play our role and make a meaningful contribution to the vision of a better life for the people of Mpumalanga . This budget will enable us to discharge our mandate during the 2007/2008 financial year.
Madam Speaker, I proceed to table the following documents for perusal and approval by this august House:
• The Implementation Plan of the Office of the Premier for the year 2007/2008;
• The Budget of the Office of the Premier for the year 2007/2008;
I thank you.