Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, House Chairpersons, Acting Chief Whip, permanent and special delegates of the NCOP, hon Minister in absentia and Deputy Ministers, representatives of Salga, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you most sincerely for the opportunity you have given us to come here to this important House. Over and above its lawmaking function, this House is charged with the important role of exercising oversight over government's implementation of laws and policies, as well as ensuring that provincial interests are taken into account in Parliament. I bring heartfelt greetings from the premier of our province, the hon Thandi Modise, who also happens to be the deputy secretary-general of the majority party.
We confirm that we had a successful and memorable Provincial Week from 6 to 10 September, in the year of our Lord, 2010. It was marked by fruitful, robust and honest interactions amongst all stakeholders. The theme was "Working together to ensure faster improvement in the delivery of services and the living conditions of our people". We further confirm that we have seen the report in this regard tabled in your august House and it is, indeed, a true reflection of what transpired on that occasion. We would like to focus our contribution to the debate this afternoon on the various challenges noted and recommendations made during that visit, as well as the strides that we have made as a province in addressing more than just the issues raised.
Various departments have gone through strategic makgotla, culminating in the recent provincial executive council lekgotla. Its main aim was to receive feedback on service delivery as espoused in the 10 priority objectives and the 12 priority outcomes of government. These reports further enhance our ability to provide a solution to the challenges of service delivery and to properly plan for the ensuing financial year. Allow me to briefly highlight some of the achievements registered during the year under review, as further enunciated in the state of the province address. These are, amongst others, registering an 8,2% improvement in the Grade 12 results. This is not an accident of history, but the result of a thorough, ongoing process of interventions spanning a period of four years in the form of the learner attainment improvement plan. Commentators, doomsayers and nostalgic armchair critics deliberately and selectively misinterpret the recent report of Umalusi on moderation. They only concentrate on the upward, and not the downward, moderation, and tend to suffer from memory lapses sometimes.
From 2002 to 2009, compared to other provinces, we recorded a modest provincial economic growth of 3,7%.
We have integrated the environmental and biodiversity sensitivity layers of the province into the spatial development plan and six municipalities are currently in the process of doing this.
We have distributed 1 947 bicycles to 45 schools, and also implemented scholar transport operations in the four districts to provide mobility to rural learners. The Gwede Village referred to in your report has also recently benefited from learner transport, as well as from vouchers distributed by the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa.
We have trained 620 farmers in the three district municipalities as part of the Western Frontier Beef Beneficiation programme.
We have upgraded the roads between Brits and Thabazimbi and between Kraalhoek and Mantserre.
We have ensured that 239 health facilities implement the basic antenatal care strategy. We have tested 95% of pregnant women for HIV, as against the target of 90%. We have also decreased the TB defaulter rate by 8,3% as against the target of 8%.
All 24 municipalities have established their integrated development plan, IDP, structures.
We have provided access to water to 60 548 households, and 12 631 households were provided with access to sanitation in the period under review. So much for the good news.
Though we have had these achievements, much still needs to be done. We acknowledge that our rural development initiatives have not reached the expected levels.
Similarly, we have not sufficiently engaged in partnerships with relevant stakeholders in this regard, but we insist on creating sustainable, effective and efficient local government systems. We must recognise the fact that our local government sphere has certain inherent weaknesses that continue to overshadow the painstaking work done by hardworking, honest and loyal men and women. In this regard, the provincial departments of finance and of local government and traditional affairs have been requested to work closely with municipalities to help build capacity in order to meet the social and developmental needs of the local communities.
Our road infrastructure leaves much to be desired, especially the roads leading to and in the seat of government, Mahikeng. To this end, in a joint programme with the district and local municipalities, we are engaging in a revitalisation project. The province is contributing R33 million, Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality R16 million, and the City of Mafikeng R5 million. Given the state of our infrastructure, this is not enough, but it is a good start, and we are engaging other stakeholders in regard to coming on board.
The key aspects of the New Growth Path are the following. The first is to ensure that there is robust stimulation of the economic sector, enabling us to absorb lots of people into the labour market. With its advent, and given the fact that we are still recovering from the effects of the global financial meltdown, we believe that our provincial growth and development strategy has to be relevant to the challenges of the times. It is against this background that we have therefore resolved to review it in such a manner that we can pay particular attention to meaningful approaches to socioeconomic strategies. This we will do from 15 and 16 March this year. In this regard, we are also reviewing all state-owned enterprises to gear them to relevant development and to avoid unnecessary wastage through duplication.
In response to the problem of water shortages in the most rural parts of the province, we intend going into partnership with the ministry of agriculture in the Northern Cape province. Discussions are, in fact, already under way. All the water boards and water services authorities operating in the province are also coming to the party to ensure that we provide potable water to all our people. Having had due regard to the high level of water shortages in some areas while there is water in abundance in others, we are deploying our best strategies, including water cultivation, to address these.
We are going to do our utmost to create a good learning and teaching environment in all our schools. We are going to eradicate all mud schools in the province and provide decent shelter to all our learners; rid our schools of gangsterism and drugs; provide learner transport to all the schools which are not currently covered; ensure that we get the school nutrition programme back on track; and, in partnership with the mining houses and business in the province, we will be building and renovating several schools in the province.
We are improving and upgrading our health facilities through the hospital revitalisation programme and the revitalisation of the physical health infrastructure in general. We are, of course, guided by the 10-point plan in the fight against diseases and in the improvement of our health profile. Again, in this sector we have established good working relations with the private sector, particularly the mining sector, which has offered to build clinics in some of our communities.
In conclusion, we have taken note of all issues, specific challenges and recommendations made in the report on Provincial Week. Whilst we have actively dealt with most of these, we commit ourselves to continuing to endeavour to address all issues raised, and to provide proper feedback, issue by issue. I shall also ensure that in my other capacity as Leader of Government Business this report is properly processed through the legislature and its committees, and that feedback is given to this House.
In the past week we have been graced with the presence of a very large contingent of leadership, led by the Presidency. The result of this is delivery, delivery, and delivery. I thank you.