PREMIER'S PRESENTATION
Mister Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker
Honourable members of the Legislature
Their Majesties the Kings
Honourable Amakhosi
Mayors and Councillors
Director-General Advocate Stanley Soko
Heads of Departments
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Once again we meet in this very important session to evaluate our progress over the past year and to consider our budget proposal for the coming financial year proposals we believe will take our province forward to meet the challenges of our time.
Mpumalanga is at a critical juncture in history.
In the past year we have seen encouraging signs of growth, development and progress. In almost each and every field of public activity we are making decisive and measurable progress.No longer do we languish somewhere at the bottom of the national statistics pile.
We are no longer the third poorest province, nor are we the province where the matric results are amongst the worst. Almost every official statistic and indicator show that Mpumalanga is on an upward trend.
The upward trend may not be steep or dramatic, but it is there and our people are aware of it. I believe we have achieved this through sound policy formulation, careful planning and a consistent adherence to our provincial vision.
Progress does not occur overnight but it is rather the culmination of many months of dedication and hard work. But, the year ahead will test our resolve like never before.
Our challenge is to consolidate our gains and to maintain the momentum across all areas of government activity. This includes the Premier's Office.
The process of policy formulation and development has been completed. The year 2001 must be the year of accelerated implementation.
It is already obvious that our progress is being noted - not only within South Africa where there is a renewed interest in investment opportunities in our province - but also from abroad. We have acquired a reputation as a solid and reliable destination for foreign direct investment.
Economic growth and job creation are at the top of our list of priorities and we should expect considerable and exciting progress on this front. We have also set ourselves as priorities efficient and effective administration, including financial administration.
Since I spelled out these priorities during my opening speech in the Legislature last February, I am glad to announce that we have met all the mayors in the province and agreed that there was a need for economic rejuvenation in the province.
And in the true time-honoured tradition and style of consensus and collective ownership of decisions, I am proud to inform this house that we will soon be launching a provincial economic forum or think tank. This forum will comprise of all local and regional economic think tanks. A true bottom up approach.
Allow me also to announce that the Premier's Office will soon appoint a Special Adviser on economic affairs.
The Economic Special Adviser will, among other things, advise my office and the executive on strategies of economic development in the province, district, region and every municipality and locality in the province.
We believe such an appointment will enhance, among others, the Maputo Corridor and related projects.
As the leadership of our province we have a duty to our people to build an administrative system where each and every individual can feel at home. Particularly in as far as this will accelerate change and service delivery.
We have appointed a team of experts headed by the Deputy Director-General in my office to ensure that government institutions and departments in the province comply with administrative policies and rules.
We believe that this team will minimise corrupt practises and weed out those who do not optimally utilise government resources including time. In this way we believe we will be able to better control issues like leave, daily attendance and the vexing issue of ghost workers.
Mr Speaker, as government and as a people we can no longer afford an anti-people, wasteful and bureaucratic administrative system and a corrupt financial management system.
Our people need a people-centred, friendly and efficient administrative system that will place their needs above those of government officials; bureaucrats and technocrats.
Indeed they need a financial system that will ensure that their finances are protected from those with long fingers who view government as some kind of a get-rich-quick lottery.
The Deputy Director-General and a team of financial experts will regularly visit government departments and institutions.
We will particularly concentrate on places where revenue is collected to ensure that all financial rules and regulations and treasury instructions are complied with, especially the PMFA.
Although this exercise will be driven from the Premier's Office it will be done in collaboration with our Finance department. We will together strengthen Treasury so we can monitor our finances more closely. We have also decentralised financial control.
As I mentioned last time we will be migrating to the Basic Accounting System on the first of April.
Mr Speaker, we believe this will put Mpumalanga on a clean and sound footing as far as financial control and management is concerned.
Allow me to repeat our call to all political parties,
traditional leaders;
organised labour and business;
non-governmental and,
community-based organisations;
the media; religious organisations and,
civil society as a whole to join hands with us in this crusade for the
promotion of good governance in Mpumalanga.
We make call this because we are conscious of the fact that these things can only be achieved when we are all as South Africans united in action in order to accelerate change. Let us all engage in patriotic acts of nation building instead of being sensationalist.
I trust that our commitment to our province and our country will help to take Mpumalanga forward on the road of peace, prosperity and unity. In order to fulfil our role of macro management and co-ordination I now want to present to this House activities undertaken by the Office of the Premier.
I have taken heed of comments by the Legislature that our organogram was top-heavy. That is why we submitted it to the Department of Public Service and Administration for re-evaluation.
I am glad to announce that not only did the DPSA found that our organogram complied with government stipulations but they also advised that we could upgrade one of the chief directors into a deputy director general.
This we did not do.
Allow me to inform this House that one of the two Deputy Director-Generals in my office is presently being transferred to the Department of Public Works where there is a vacancy for such a ranking.
On the vexing question of government buildings standing empty I am proud to announce that we will use some of these offices as departmental regional offices. We hope to have at least one departmental office in each of the three districts.
1. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
The Office of the Director General comprises of the Inner Office of the Premier; the Director General's Secretariat; Research; Legal Advisory Services; Cabinet Secretariat; Communications Directorate; Inter-Governmental Relations and Protocol and Internal Audit.
Mr. Speaker, we all remember the audit we ordered into the qualifications of all senior government officials. The qualifications of five officials could not be adequately and timeously verified.
Either because the institutions did not respond on time or their overseas qualifications had not yet been converted into South African standards.
One of these officials resigned before the exercise could be completed; one had indicated that he had completed a diploma while he was in the process of study.
We have since verified the qualifications of two of the remaining officials and they were found to be authentic. We had the Director-General resigning and we subsequently appointed Advocate Stanley Soko into that position on October 1, 2000.
I am satisfied with his performance so far.
INNER OFFICE OF THE PREMIER
This Office plays a crucial role in directly supporting the Premier and has in the past year successfully ensured efficient and effective administration.
The support of this office has resulted in the Premier fulfilling his constitutional and political obligations and has also promoted a sound and healthy interaction with all stakeholders.
This office will in the next financial year place an emphasis in supporting the Premier to achieve the three provincial priorities.
The inner office has made it possible for me to meet with business leaders, traditional leaders; leaders of political parties and trade union federations; community members and a large spectrum of people.
DIRECTOR GENERAL'S SECRETARIAT
This office has supported the Director General in performing his coordination and monitoring role. This includes the management and operations of clusters and the Provincial Management Committee (Tinyosi).
The office also coordinates policy processes that emanate from the national level. It further monitors activities of all line function departments and supports the Executive Council in ensuring that resolutions taken are implemented.
This office, in conjunction with the Provincial Treasury, will closely monitor the implementation of the Basic Accounting System (BAS) scheduled for implementation from the 1st of April 2001. It will also put mechanisms in place to support the three top priorities.
Mr Speaker, the reporting system by departments has been jerked up and continues to be improved. Our anti-corruption line continues to serve as a source of information on corrupt officials and those who steal from the poor.
Together with the department of local government we are constantly monitoring calls on these lines in order to stamp out corruption.
Information received is forwarded to the relevant departments and law enforcement agencies for further action. The reporting of corrupt acts has not been confined only to provincial government departments; we have handled a number of tip-offs on corruption in local governments and municipalities.
I have also referred to the Auditor-General allegations that R120m deposited in a bank for use in the construction of the Riverside project was withdrawn prematurely.
As a result of information received from a reliable source I have also requested the Gobodo Forensic team to look into allegations of impropriety and irregularities by the tender board in 1998.
CABINET SECRETARIAT
The Cabinet Secretariat has continued to provide administrative support so that all Cabinet meetings, Cabinet Caucus meetings and Cabinet Outreach programmes are successfully co-ordinated.
It has implemented security systems for cabinet documentation and further streamlined the activities of the secretariat.
It has enabled the element of participatory governance to be refined to ensure that government reaches communities in all the areas of the Province; it has also continued to strive for effective co-ordination of the Cabinet Outreach Programme.
This pioneering initiative has resulted in Cabinet talking directly - face-to-face - to more than 110 000 people; in more than 220 communities; in 22 areas within the three regions of the Province.
Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that this direct contact with the people will continue. It is through this initiative that the Executive Council identified economic growth and job creation as a priority. Through this programme we can safely say we are indeed in daily contact with our people.
The secretariat will at all times endeavor to improve on the above objectives, but will also ensure that Cabinet clusters function as smoothly as possible.
To this end Mr. Speaker, I have in the last week consulted with Mayors in the province so that the Cabinet cluster mechanism begins to promote integrated service delivery at all levels of government.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Communications Directorate continues to facilitate and develop coordinated government communications and information services. To this end, the directorate has embarked upon implementing coordination frameworks that would ensure coherent communications with all stakeholders.
The directorate is currently conducting a job evaluation analysis in conjunction with the workstudy unit in order to ensure that there is uniformity in the establishment of Communications Offices in all line function departments.
This exercise will enable Communications Units in line Departments to carry out their mandates as recommended in the COMTASK report.
The office has also, in collaboration with Cabinet Secretariat, enhanced access to Government information by the publics through the dispersal of this information at Cabinet Outreach meetings.
The directorate has together with the Government Communications and Information Services nationally launched a Multi-Purpose Communication Centre in Matsamo.
This project aims at taking government information to the doorstep of our rural communities. The office has interacted with various media stakeholders for purposes of improving relations and enhancing the transparency of government.
We believe the move to the new government complex will greatly assist in the elimination of duplicity and the pooling of government resources.
This will also speed up the creation of e-Governance and the accelerated utilisation of information technology within the operations of government.
INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND PROTOCOL
The directorate has further nurtured our ongoing relations with various countries such as Canada, Germany, Britain, Norway, China and Korea.
The positive spin offs of this programme have included capacity-building programmes on macro and financial management, provincial and local government administration.
The Norwegian government is currently training councillors and officials in various municipalities throughout the province and this programme will continue in the next year. The protocol unit continues its facilitative role in arranging visits for dignitaries to the province.
RESEARCH
This unit has played a crucial role in supporting the Executive Council by way of gathering information pertaining to issues raised by communities before and after Cabinet Outreach Programme visits.
The unit also evaluates and advises the Executive Council on the relevance of foreign visits undertaken by Government officials.
The office also continuously monitors the implementation of capital projects and advises the Director General and Cabinet appropriately.
The office will extend its monitoring function to include monthly and quarterly reports so that the Executive Council is timeously alerted on possible intervention within line departments.
LEGAL ADVISORY SERVICES
This office continues to provide legal advise and support to the Premier, Members of the Executive Council, the Director General and Heads of Department.
This unit also researches, formulates and drafts provincial legislation.
INTERNAL AUDIT
Mr. Speaker in line with the Cabinet resolution and in conformity to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act the bigger departments have been instructed to put structures in place for this function.
The smaller departments have been clustered together and the Internal Audit Unit in my office will render auditing services and advice on risk management and internal controls.
This unit will fulfil a critical role in ensuring that the priority on enhanced financial management and control is realised.
Mr Speaker, it is clear that it is from the Director-General's office that efforts to co-ordinate economic growth, job creation; sound administration and good financial control should be directed.
That is why I plead with you to grant us an allocation of R29 409 826 (twenty nine million four hundred and nine thousand eight hundred and twenty six rand) for the Office of the Director-General.
Mr. Speaker, I now want to focus on the macro policy and strategy cluster in my office.
2. MACRO POLICY AND STRATEGY CLUSTER
Mr. Speaker, this cluster's role is to manage information services, coordinate macro planning processes and continuously monitor and evaluate identified growth and development strategies.
The Provincial Rural and Urban Development Strategy that is coordinated by this unit is fundamental to the implementation of the Integrated Rural and Urban Development Plan.
In his State of the Nation address in February the President identified the Sekhukhune cross-boundary Municipality as a nodal point for the implementation of this plan.
Through the geographic information system it is envisaged that accurate data and statistics are provided to the Executive Council to take informed decisions relating to development and service delivery in the Province.
The Integrated Spatial Framework will assist the Executive Council in directing urgently needed resources that would facilitate economic growth and job creation in identified areas in the Province.
Mr Speaker, that is why I plead with you to grant us an allocation of R7,293 505 (seven million two hundred and ninety three thousand five hundred and five rand ) for Macro Policy and Strategy.
3. CORPORATE SERVICES
This cluster focuses on administration, labour relations, human resource development, and workstudy and job evaluation.
This chief directorate is the custodian of financial resources for the department. It also renders logistical support and human resource management for the Office of the Premier.
This unit is implementing the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act and also oversees the Introduction of the Basic Accounting System (BAS).
The Chief Directorate also provides advisory services to management on matters pertaining to labour.
And it also promotes sound labour relations and will in the next financial year facilitate the training of management on issues related to the various bargaining sectors in the Public Service. This cluster will also continue to facilitate, coordinate and monitor human resource development in the province.
It will also monitor the implementation of Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) in all departments and further enhance and develop the performance management system.
This Chief Directorate will continue supporting and providing advice to various Departments on matters pertaining to job evaluation and organisational establishments.
Mr Speaker, last year there was a complaint that our labour relations matters drag on forever and that we have lost many of these cases.
We have restructured the unit and allow me to inform this house that someone who used to deal with misconduct cases has been dismissed after being found guilty of accepting a bribe.
The person has appealed against his dismissal but lost. But there are other avenues the person may choose to pursue.
Mr Speaker, that is why I plead with you to grant us an
allocation of R22 253 055 (twenty two million two hundred and fifty three
thousand and fifty five rand) for Corporate Services.
4. TRANSFORMATION CLUSTER
This Chief Directorate comprises of, Office on the Status of Disabled Persons, Office on the Status of Women, Traditional Affairs and Public Sector transformation.
Office on the Status of Disabled Persons
The Chief directorate has managed to put processes that would facilitate the integration of a disability programme in various government activities.
This includes the development of a provincial programme of action on disability, which is expected to be finalised in the next financial year.
The office held a conference on disability which led to the presentation of a five-year Provincial Programme of Action on Disability to the Heads of departments.
The Office also facilitated the creation of a structure for early childhood development in an attempt to implement best practice models for inclusion.
It also facilitated public awareness on disability issues, including the Mpumalanga Achiever awards. This programme will be implemented in the next financial year.
Office on the Status of Women .
There exist healthy relations between the Office and the South African Breweries.
Together we have donated three vehicles, each to the Simunye Sweet manufacturing project in Kabokweni; the Moutse Poultry farming project and the Kameelrivier beadwork project.
The OSW also held workshops on HIV/Aids at Moutse, Siyabuswa, Matsulu, Vezubuhle, Beeskop, Kabokweni and Kwamaqhekeza.
We held workshops on the Domestic Violence Act and the Maintenance Act in Bethal, Delmas, Ekangala, Komatipoort, KwaMhlanga and KwaMaqhekeza.
In the next financial year, the office will continue facilitating and strengthening the role of gender focal points in various departments as well as well as the empowerment of women in rural areas.
Traditional Affairs
Our relations with traditional leaders are very sound.
A number of them are serving on local government structures while discussions are going on at national level regarding their role, function and status.
The office has researched and maintained a database of Traditional Leaders.
It also facilitated the appointment of Traditional Leaders and organised investiture of traditional leadership. The chief directorate also facilitated capacity-building for departmental transformation units, with an attempt to ensure that they become effective in their operations.
It is envisaged, Mr Speaker, that the chief directorate will assist Municipalities and District Councils in developing service standards.
Mr Speaker, that is why I plead with you to grant us an allocation of R11 914 850 (eleven million nine hundred and fourteen thousand eight hundred and fifty rand) for the Transformation Cluster.
Mr Speaker regarding the PROVINCIAL YOUTH COMMISSION
New Youth Commissioners have been appointed. The commission has facilitated training programmes and international exchange programmes for youth in the province. The Commission will soon launch an information management system and database which is supported by the CSIR.
On June 16, 2000 we launched the Young Positive Living Ambassadors project employing six young people who are HIV positive. They have conducted workshops at a number of schools, clinics and churches. The Commission is presently organising events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Soweto Uprisings.
On Youth Day we hope to launch, among others, youth awards to recognise young men and women who distinguished themselves and contributed immensely to youth development and empowerment.
Mr Speaker, that is why I plead with you to grant us an allocation of R6 065 764 (six million sixty five thousand and seven hundred and sixty four rand) for the Youth Commission.
Mr Speaker, that is the budget proposal of the Office of the Premier for the financial year 2001/2002.
When the honourable MEC JI Mabena presented the provincial budget last week, he presented to you a people's budget a budget that is unashamedly and unapologetically skewed in favour of improving the lives of our people.
These clearly meant that some of the departments had to take the hard option of biting the bullet. As leader of the executive council it was incumbent on my department to take the lead in taking a cut.
In presenting budgets the norm is to, like Oliver Twist of Charles Dickens fame, ask for more. Let me set a precedence, Mr Speaker. I plead for a decreased budget.
Last year I stood before you, Mr Speaker to plead for a budget of R79 222 668 (seventy nine million two hundred and twenty two thousand six hundred and sixty eight rand)
This financial year we have agreed to realign our objectives to accommodate a decrease in our allocation. As the Office of the Premier we believe it is proper; indeed just and honourable to ensure that the spending on social services is increased.
Social Services spending impact directly on the lives of our people. This is a view held not only by my office but also by the men and women I lead in the executive council and by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and indeed by the President.
Mr Speaker, you will agree with me that the task the Office of the Premier has to carry out, as the Strategic centre is indeed crucial.
But unlike Oliver Twist we ask this house to approve a reduced total budget of R76 937 000 (seventy six million nine hundred and thirty seven thousand rand)
Mr Speaker, I had earlier mentioned that we have gone a long way in meeting the basic needs of our people. But we are not there yet.
The past seven years have been frightening ones for us. It is true that we lay prostrate and powerless and at the receiving end of unrelenting and merciless beasts of prey. But it is also true that it has been our firm commitment to nation building that has led to a perception in some sections of our society that we were ready for the taking.
We ourselves must have fed this false notion by always seeking approval for our actions from those opposed to our transformation agenda.
Suddenly those to whom the very words consultation, transparency and democracy were treasonous, shouted the loudest that we were not democratic.
They had conveniently forgotten that many a young men and women were tortured, jailed or killed for espousing the ideals enshrined in the Freedom Charter. That is why it is utterly shocking to read that some sections have put as their agenda to run this province into the ground. Claiming that they would not allow this country and the province to sink to the levels of countries in Africa.
This province is in Africa. This country is in Africa. We refuse to turn the other cheek. The days of baaskaap are gone forever and those who still believe that black people are not capable of leadership have no place here.
Mr Speaker, as in the past, we shall work for the good of all South Africans regardless of race, colour, creed or gender. But then in doing so we shall always seek the co-operation and unity in action of all patriots and patriotic forces in our country. Believe me when I say: Asinamona, Asinanzondo, into njesithanda iMpumalanga.
We hate nobody. We bear no grudge against anyone. Everything we do is for the love for the people of Mpumalanga. As a province we shall never be driven by vengeance or hatred. It is true that our motives are genuine and patriotic.
Our new assertiveness might worry some who know us to be always ready to turn the other cheek. This time we refuse to turn the other cheek. And we shall continue to do so.
Those who wish to join us in building a new South Africa and Mpumalanga; you are welcome to put your shoulder to the wheel. There is a great task ahead of us. We have a province to build.
Allow me to thank the staff in the Office of the Premier, under the able and capable guidance of Advocate Soko, for the sterling job they produced in the past financial year.
Let me also thank their families for putting up with their
spouses and children coming home late and at times working over weekends.
Your sacrifice is appreciated.
I thank you.