Mudzulatshidulo; Mudzulatshidulo wa NCOP, Vho M J Mahlangu; Phuresidennde wa Riphabu?iki ya Afurika Tshipembe, Vho Jacob Zuma; Mulangavundu wa Free State, Vho Ace Magashule na vha?we vhalangavundu vho konaho u swika, ndi khou vha resha. (Translation of Tshivenda paragraph follows.)
[Mr M G PADAGI (Limpopo): Deputy Chairperson; Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr M J Mahlangu; President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma; Premier of the Free State, Mr Ace Magashule, and other premiers who are present, I greet you.]
I bring you warm and fraternal greetings from the government and the people of Limpopo.
Chairperson, in Limpopo we have vibrant policies in place which seek to guide our energy in a direction that benefits the people, especially our people in the rural areas, as Limpopo is largely rural and the basic services do not easily reach them. We have devoted much of our attention to the cause of ensuring proper implementation of such policies in an environment that is planned, monitored and perpetually evaluated.
This approach enables us to regularly inspect and evaluate our impact as government in delivering and making interventions where it is necessary. Our programme of action for service delivery is underpinned by the Medium- Term Strategic Framework, which is the bedrock of our administrations policy direction.
What forms part of our key priority areas are the provision and the improvement of health care facilities; the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, which is linked to land and agrarian reform and food security; the enhancement of skills and human resources through, among others, the opening of the doors of learning; the fighting of crime and corruption; and the building of a strong economy that is able to create decent and quality job opportunities for our people.
We are still faced with the elementary obligation of providing basic services to our people, which include houses. We are at work realising our resolve in ensuring that the people of Limpopo are, in the main, beneficiaries of economic activities that are taking place in the province, given the large mineral deposits in our region. We have drawn up the Limpopo Employment, Growth and Development Plan, which is an economic document that is aimed at growing the path of our economy.
We have identified job creation as a sustainable new method of fighting poverty and underdevelopment among our communities. We are hard at work building an economy that is able to grow while it is creating vibrant job opportunities for our people. Through the Limpopo Employment, Growth and Development Plan we are working towards ensuring that the mining activities in the province that bring in millions also benefit the local communities. We have managed to deliver a crime-free and incident-free World Cup tournament in our province.
Once more Limpopo has emerged as the leading province with regard to the crime rate. We are deepening our interaction with communities around enforcement in order to ensure that crime is exposed and fought from all corners. Our low crime rate has been attested to by the latest crime statistics that show our province has one of the lowest crime rates.
The process of expediting service delivery to the people continues to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the majority, especially in the rural areas of the province. Although our province is ranked the lowest when it comes to access to universal basic services, we have managed to expand the provision of basic services in the form of water, sanitation, and electricity to many people. We have continued to provide people with houses and other infrastructure development programmes.
We have declared this year the year of intensive learning in the province as we continue to regard education as a strategic bedrock for a sustainable and better tomorrow. The number of children with access to basic education has exceeded the anticipated target. The school nutrition programme assists in the realisation of our resolve to fight hunger at schools, enabling the environment to be conducive for learning to take place. Through working closely with communities we have been able to register great strides in the war against crime and corruption.
This brief account of Limpopo should serve as a motivation that we are on the correct path in building a prosperous society which is able and committed to the overriding cause of creating a better life for all. Thank you.