REMARKS BY PREMIER
Hon Speaker and Deputy Speakers of Mpumalanga and Northern Provinces
Hon Premier Adv Ngoako Ramatlhodi
Hon Members of Provincial Legislatures in Mpumalanga and Northern Provinces
Hon MEC's Present here
Hon Traditional Leaders Present
Hon Executive Mayor of Sekhukhune District and its Council Members
Hon Mayor of Local Municipalities in the District and its Respective Council Members
Representatives of Local Government Associations in Mpumalanga and Northern Province
Community Organisations, Political Parties, NGO's and Civic Organisations present here
Directors-General and Departments present here
Business Chambers Present here
Distinguished guests
Fellow communities of Sekhukhune District .
On behalf of the Mpumalanga government and the people of Mpumalanga, on whose behalf I speak here today, allow me to extend good wishes to you all. Slowly but surely, our country is moving away from the painful experiences of the past.
And with each step we leave behind a facet of a past that saw millions of our people wallow in poverty beyond description.
In 1994, when we started on this journey, we realised that our hard-earned democracy cannot survive and flourish if the mass of our people remain in poverty, without land, without tangible prospects for a better life.
That is why we set ourselves as an immediate task to attack poverty and deprivation. And this has been our primary mission since.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are convinced that we are on the right path to build a new society with new values and a new ethos.
A new society that would give impetus to the growth and expansion of the economy, the creation of more job opportunities and further strengthening the material base for the provision of a better life for all. What we need to realize though is that the government working alone cannot achieve these objectives.
The opening of Parliament by the Hon President Thabo Mbeki in Cape Town on 09 February 2001 marked the dawn of a new chapter in the improvement of human fibre and the transformation that informs all aspects of our National life.
Both black and white communities in Sekhukhune District have over the years been imprisoned by the cruel diversities which were the blue print of apartheid legacy and the painful past that our fellow South Africans had to endure.
It is a past that ensured that blacks were treated as animals, harassed, denied of basic human rights and dignity, deprived of equal distribution of wealth, income and job opportunities deprived of decent shelter, clean and safe running water, barred from the luxuries and glories of the cities and yet had to offer their utmost for the embetterment of other racial groupings.
The democratization of this country did not only mark the abolishment of this inhuman legacy but also to reward the long earned destination of both blacks and whites whom for years made a contribution, no matter small it may have been measured, to entrench equality for all and to enforce unity irrespective of our diversities.
As this country moved away from the atrocities of the past, nation building is the lodestar guiding both Provinces.
It is for this reason that the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) earlier announced as the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS) is availing projects that seek to realize this objective.
It is a promise which every rural women and men, the youth, the disabled, the illiterate, the communities of Sekhukhune which the majority party promised as it went to the polls.
As Premier of Mpumalanga and my colleagues in Northern Province, we are here to deliver on this promise.
The President identified Sekhukhune Cross Boundary District as one of the 13 nodes for the implementation of this Programme that pilots a sustainable campaign against rural and urban poverty and underdevelopment by bringing in the resources of all three spheres of government in a coordinated manner.
All villages in Sekhukhune District must and are entitled to the benefits, the fruits of liberty and democracy that the IRDP has for them.
Myself and Comrade Ngoako Ramatlhodi and our Administrations shall ensure that we fold our sleeves to work harder, to move with speed of light, to at last, release our people from colonial crafted prisons of poverty and underprivilegeness.
This will entirely rest of the 5 pillars on which the IRDP Strategy is based:
- Integration
- Coordination
- Partnership
- Decentralisation
- Demand driven deliveries and diversity
Today we stand here to declare that we have made progress in eradicating the poverty pockets created by the imbalances of the past.
But we acknowledge that the road ahead is still a long one. But we are happy in the knowledge that resources are reaching the poorest sections of our society, through our programmes of poverty alleviation, social security and welfare and the provision of basic services.
We accept that we need to accelerate the pace of land delivery for housing and the settlement of land claims and land tenure, particularly for rural communities. Also we need to improve access to household food security
Today we are here to launch the IRDP, which marks one of the cornerstones of breaking away from the past.
The central aim of this programme is to ensure a sustainable campaign against rural and urban poverty and underdevelopment, utilising the resources of all three tiers of government in a co-ordinated manner.
As government we are determined and committed to the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment. Our efforts to ensure that we achieve this goal will depend on all of us, including the people of this area.
We want Mme Mampuru living here in Mathulastand to be able to enjoy the same benefits just like Mr. Van Wettens in Groblersdal. Only then will we say we have created a better life for all our people.
That is why I am appealing to you to join hands as we work towards a brighter future.
“ A re shomeng mmogo gore sechaba sa rena ka moka setle se holege.”
I thank you.