PREMIER'S ADDRESS
Mr chairman
Kgosi Mogane,
Other Makgosi,
Headmen and Councillors present here,
It is a singular honour for me to be present and to address you for the first time as Premier of this province.
Allow me Mr Chairman to express my gratitude to you, your colleagues and residents of this area for having voted us to power. You really show how much trust you have on us.
We are aware that our people are faced with many problems such as poverty, unemployment, lack of basic infrastructure etc however within the limited resources available we will strive to do what we promised our people. We dare not fail them.
Since I took office I have attended and addressed many meetings including Traditional Leaders of other regions. I listened with sympathy to issues raised in those meetings of which some I admit need thorough analysis and interrogation.
May I hasten to say as a person who grew under the Traditional Leadership and an inner royal family member myself that I have an advantage of having an insight when it comes to matters of Traditional Leadership.
Our viewpoint in government is that Traditional Leaders are custodians of our indigenous culture and traditions. Western civilization practices should not overshadow what we believe to be our culture and tradition.
While having that in mind we must realise that we are leading people in a fast changing world; therefore adaptation will be crucial.
To this end there are many challenges facing our traditional institutions.
Out of many I have decided to mention only two.
- The judicial function of Traditional Leadership in line with the modern democratic values.
- Implementation of the co-operative governance model in rural areas.
I have selected the two mentioned above precisely to indicate that Traditional Leaders have still a meaningful role to play in our society. The so-called misunderstanding between the elected structures and traditional leaders at local level should never be allowed to be there if we are serious in bringing the development in rural areas to have better life for all.
May I conclude by saying that if we want to be successful in our endeavours, of bringing better life, fighting poverty in our rural areas; let each one of us realise that we have a role to play, be it a chief, councilor, Member of the Executive. But we must not work in isolation, let us join hands as partners in government and move forward.
I thank you.