Hon Deputy Chair of the NCOP and Chairperson of the session; Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr Mahlangu; Your Excellency President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma; Premier Ace Magashule, our host premier; all other premiers present, as well as the MECs representing their premiers; Members of the NCOP; Members of the National Assembly, as well as members of the provincial legislatures; Cllr Ramokhoase, representative of the SA Local Government Association, Salga; traditional leaders present, executive mayor and my good friend, Mayor Queen Mopedi; all mayors, executive mayors, speakers and councillors; people of South Africa, the Free State and Thabo Mafutsanyana in particular; and ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a singular honour for the Northern Cape province to acknowledge and support the address of our President, Mr Jacob Zuma, to this august House.
We are gathered here with the express view of ensuring that we continue to serve our people with dedication, dignity and integrity, serving them selflessly. We are indeed delighted to speak on the pertinent matter, that of "All spheres of government working together to speed up the delivery of services".
The spheres of government are intended to promote and facilitate co- operative decision-making, and make sure that policies and programmes of government, across all spheres, encourage service delivery that meets the needs of citizens in an effective way. When delivering his 2010 state of the nation address, our hon President, who is here with us today, called 2010 the year of action, with an emphasis on a government that knows where people live, understands their needs and works faster and smarter. Further priorities as identified by the President were, inter alia, education and health, crime fighting, land reform, rural development, and job creation.
Furthermore, our President reaffirmed that the South African government's commitment is to advance the vision of an inclusive society: a South Africa that belongs to all; a nation united in its diversity; a people working together for the greater good of all. The developmental state is, thus, a concerted effort by government to build our nation, eradicate poverty, promote literacy, provide health and decent education, and grow the economy in a manner that must ensure that people are not left out, but are fully participating and become part of the solution to their problems, hardships and challenges.
It is for this reason that we say that the three spheres of government must live up to the expectation which, in essence, is aimed at accelerating the prospect of growth and development, as well as enhancing service delivery to all our people.
As the ANC-led government in the Northern Cape province, we have committed ourselves, as the leadership collective, to - for the duration of our term of office - striving to ensure that no person sleeps without food and that all people have decent shelter, access to electricity and provision of potable water, as well as proper infrastructure.
As a result of the rural characteristics of our province, we have also started to implement a comprehensive rural development strategy to respond to the myriad of problems faced by rural communities in a holistic and integrated manner. We will see to it that the programme succeeds and makes a meaningful and tangible impact on the lives of all rural communities in the province.
I need to make an example here of Riemvasmaak, in the Siyanda District, which is an area that is a notable example of an integrated and comprehensive rural development programme that is beginning to yield positive results and bring much needed services to this far-flung rural community. There is a need to strengthen the capacity of all our government structures, especially the local sphere of government, to discharge their responsibilities efficiently and effectively.
Yesterday, we launched an Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, project in Mier in the Kalahari where, in a joint venture between national, provincial and local governments, we were able to create job opportunities for 315 previously unemployed people, using labour-intensive EPWP methods. This venture is in anticipation of the Bloodhound Project which will take place in Hakskeen Pan in 2012, when Andy Green, a fighter pilot from Britain, will attempt to break the world land speed record. A number of infrastructural and tourism promotion projects will be embarked upon to ensure that we are ready to receive and host approximately 10 000 international visitors during the event.
The local sphere of government must, as a matter of principle, attract people with the requisite skills to ensure that they render services in a transparent, accountable and responsive manner. Municipalities need to grow local economies, so that they can respond to the twin challenges of poverty and unemployment, as well as contribute to the improvement of socioeconomic conditions of our communities.
As the Northern Cape provincial government, we will be launching Operation Nala, with the express aim of integrating and co-ordinating our efforts across all spheres of government, and to change the pace and effectiveness of service delivery.
I would also like to take this opportunity to inform this House that the Square Kilometre Array, SKA, as well as the Karoo Array Telescope programme and infrastructural preparations, are progressing well. This is also an example of where the three spheres of government are working very well together.
Considering that we only attained freedom in 1994 and being mindful of the fact that, within the context of state affordability, we have progressed remarkably well as a nation, we are, however, obliged to acknowledge that much work lies ahead in our collective attempt to serve as a sparkling example to the rest of the world that indeed South Africa is a winning nation. Thank you. [Applause.]