Comrades,
We meet again at the end of what I am told was a fruitful provincial conference that served to advance the building and consolidation of unity and solidarity of the public service.
Comrades, as the Mpumalanga Provincial Government and the provincial ANC, our central mission remains the creation of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexists and prosperous province and country.
Substantive progress has been made towards the achievement of this goal. We have put in place a legislative, policy and institutional framework for the deracialisation of all aspects of our society,
the eradication of gender discrimination and the empowerment of women, for the building of a better life and for true equality and human dignity for all.
We are indeed making progress with our program to eradicate the inequalities of apartheid through the provision of access to basic services, the development of infrastructure, redirecting the budget, distributive policies and policies aimed at a growing economy.
However, given the massive social and economic backlog arising from this legacy, we need to intensify our struggle, in areas such as the eradication of poverty.
We have to intensify the struggle for job creation and the reduction of unemployment. Comrades, in recent weeks we have seen a number of obituaries been written about the Alliance. I will not comment on that safe to say that it is our task as comrades is to strengthen the Alliance.
Our alliance is a relationship cemented in the trenches of our struggle against Apartheid colonialism. As the late comrade OR Tambo said:
“The relationship between the ANC and the SACP is not an accident of history, nor is it a natural or inevitable development.”
Comrades, ours is a dynamic a dynamic alliance with a long history, and is here to stay. We must admit that there are difficulties facing the Revolutionary Alliance.
Comrades, as we continue the struggle to give birth to a new South Africa, it is vitally important that we also focus on how far we have travelled along the road of transformation.
Now, you know as well as I do that when we say that our country must truly belong to all who live in it, we must be conscious of the fact that any sense of belonging must come, in part, from a sense of safety and security enjoyed by all our people. Your role therefore is to prevent crime and to ensure the enforcement of traffic and municipal law.
In other words, you must ensure proper and effective policing at grassroots, provincial and national level. You must do this in order to create the necessary conditions for the upliftment and sustained development of all communities. Of course we expect high standards of policing resulting in the rendering of a consistent and committed service to those who need it most.
You are men and women of integrity. You are respectful of and devoted to the people. You have demonstrated to us hat you are selfless men and women who act in a professional manner, convinced that your life's work is to serve the people. Let us therefore work together as agents of change to eradicate crime and poverty.
Comrades, you are by now aware that the Mpumalanga Provincial Traffic Control Directorate emanated from the defunct administrative structures of TPA, KaNgwane and KwaNdebele.
The majority of personnel comprised of predominantly white males who were also in a majority at middle management and senior management positions.
The highest-ranking officers were in the level of a Chief Provincial Inspector from the former KwaNdebele and KaNgwane.
The first contingent of female provincial inspectors was taken on board in 1996 whilst black males attained promotions during the amalgamation process of the three structures in all three levels of management, i.e. junior, middle and senior level echelon.
The transformation process saw to it that interracial leadership were evenly spread through out the former disadvantaged and urban areas, i.e. offices of Siyabuswa and Elukwatini are headed by whites whilst the developed areas of Middelburg, Nelspruit and Piet Retief are headed by blacks respectively.
Although the transformation process is moving at a snail pace due to lack of financial resources but the process is forging ahead and it is hoped that it will soon reach the required level as stipulated in the Employment Equity Act.
With regard to human resource development the retraining of all personnel became necessary with the demilitarisation of the Department in 1996 and a shift in emphasis to rehabilitation.
On the Correctional Services front government has identified "Unit Management" as the missing ingredient in the transformation of our prison system.
Unit Management provides for the custody, care and control of prisoners in smaller manageable units that enable the direct supervision of individual inmates by a dedicated correctional staff assigned to a specific unit.
International experience has demonstrated that the effective implementation of Unit Management must be supported by appropriate facility designs.
Yesterday MEC Makwetla stated that POPCRU as a Trade Union is indeed ‘one of a kind'.
I agree with him. I also agree with him when he says that POPCRU among all the affiliates of COSATU, is the only trade union organisation whose origin was inspired not so much by the selfish interests of its members, but by a desire to render a better service to the client and the protection of the rights of others in a civil rights union as it is called.
The MEC did not only heaped deserved praises on Popcru, but he also outlined the transformation process in the South African Police Service in the province.
But more importantly he challenged you to help us in the transformation process. I am sure you will, like always, gladly accept the challenge.
In conclusion, let me congratulate you on a successful conference. Like your members I am glad to realise that in al your deliberations you have indeed protected and guarded the legacy of your union. You defended its unity and integrity as committed disciples of change.
But above all you pursued, and will continue to pursue, its popular objectives like true revolutionaries who seek only to serve the nation.
These demands are placed on you because you accepted the burden of responsibility when you decided to enter the ranks of this leading union of fundamental change.
You are part of that leadership corps that responded to the call of destiny to bring into reality the day when the people can indeed govern.
I thank you.