Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Minister present, the SA Local Government Association, Salga, representative, permanent and special delegates, and distinguished guests, good afternoon.
It is a great honour for Limpopo to be given an opportunity to report on the Provincial Week activities which took place from 6 to 10 September 2010. The Constitution enjoins us all as stakeholders to transform our country for a better life for all. In this regard, the Preamble to the Constitution provides, amongst others, that:
We, the people of South Africa,
... through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to -
Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law.
As a legislative sector we do our bit to transform our society through mechanisms such as oversight. Oversight takes various forms. One such mechanism is Provincial Week, the report on which we are discussing today.
As provincial legislatures we are pleased that the NCOP has established this mechanism to solicit provincial interest and ensure that provincial delegates keep abreast with the developments, as well as the challenges, that face their provinces. It is very important that the link and the interaction between delegates and their provinces are maintained.
That is why, during the meeting with the Speaker, the Chief Whip and the chair of committees of the Limpopo provincial legislature during the Provincial Week of September 2010, the following issues were raised: the nonattendance at plenaries of special delegates of the NCOP - permanent delegates to the NCOP are also part of the provincial legislature; the need to review and report back on programmes such as Taking Parliament to the People; the need for better co-ordination and sharing of information regarding the processing of Bills; the addressing of the support structure and capacity; and the need for joint planning regarding the programmes of Taking Parliament to the People.
I am sure that members will agree with me that these issues are not unique to Limpopo, but cut across all provinces. However, the leadership in Limpopo raised them because they are concerned about the way that we are handling them. As the Limpopo legislature, we believe that we can do better than we are doing now.
All these issues have a common denominator, which is co-operation. There is a saying: if you want to be incrementally better, compete; if you want to be exponentially better, co-operate. As the Limpopo legislature we fully subscribe to this saying because we believe that with co-operation between the NCOP and provincial legislatures we will and we should achieve a better life for our people, as mandated by the Constitution.
Yes, shortcomings were identified during this visit, such as a shortage of nurses and doctors, and policemen and policewomen, and the fact that police stations are far from the people. It is important to report that the Limpopo legislature is hands-on on these issues. Ka Sepedi re re "sedikwa ga se na lebelo." Re boe re re "tau t?a hloka seboka di ?itwa ke nare e hlot?a." [In Sepedi we say "united we stand". We also say "divided we fall".]
With these phrases we emphasise co-operation, as it is so crucial in the lives of the legislative sector of South Africa. I am pleased that during the very same meeting between the NCOP delegates and the leadership of the provincial legislature the following recommendations were made: that monthly meetings be held between the permanent delegates of the NCOP and members of the legislature to resolve any issues and share experiences and matters of common interest, and that co-ordination and planning be improved.
We know that in some instances this might not be possible because of our busy schedules. However, we would like to make a request that we should try to make time for these engagements, because they are so crucial to our working together. As you know, working together we can do more.
I am glad to report that some progress has already been made with regard to some of these issues. For example, there are constant follow-up meetings and engagements with regard to report-backs on the issues raised during the Taking Parliament to the People programme that was held in Greater Tubatse in March 2010. This is the point that the leadership of the legislature was referring to when it said that there had to be a review of the report-back on Taking Parliament to the People. We would like to congratulate the NCOP for taking this initiative.
There are other challenges that are raised in the report that are peculiar to predominantly rural provinces such as ours. Whilst other provinces like Gauteng mostly deal with industry-related issues, our province has to deal with issues such as farm problems and rural development, and a lack of basics such as sanitation, water and electricity. However, all these challenges are rooted in one thing - the poverty of our people.
This poverty is as a result of joblessness, the rate of which is unacceptably high in South Africa. We are therefore supportive of the call by the ANC-led government, which has declared 2011 to be the year of job creation. We are willing and ready to help the government to meet this commitment because that is what our people expect of us as their representatives.
As the Limpopo province we are rising to these challenges. During his state of the province address, the Premier of Limpopo, Comrade Cassel Mathale, stated that during the 2010-2011 financial year we had managed to provide water and electricity to more than 1 million people. Other achieved milestones are captured in the provincial reports, such as the Medupi Power Station, which has created jobs for our people. This power station is still in its infancy but, hon members, watch this space. We are not going to rest on our laurels because there is still more than that to be done. The mining houses are also coming to the party. They realise that their companies continue to flourish because of the efforts of ordinary workers and they need to fulfil their social responsibility.
"Motho ke motho ka batho." [No man is an island.]
Hon Chairperson, on local government and housing I can speak the whole day, but it is important to note that in the delivery of houses Limpopo is the best. We all know that Minister Sexwale has redirected some funds to Limpopo for this aspect. It is in this spirit of working together that we as a provincial legislature have committed ourselves to helping this ANC- led government to succeed through proactive oversight. After all, our people expect all of us, whether in the executive or legislature, to help them in fighting and defeating the scourge of poverty.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to conclude my speech with this quote from former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela:
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.
Like Nelson Mandela, we must not rest until we have succeeded in defeating this poverty that has engulfed our people. Yes, we have defeated oppression and achieved freedom. Yes, we have achieved a just and equitable society, but there is still much more to be done.
So, we can only rest a little in order to reflect. That is why we are debating this report. It is to reflect. After this, we have to continue with this journey of fighting poverty. This journey is long but eventually we will succeed, like Nelson Mandela did. I thank you. [Applause.]