Hon Chair of the NCOP, hon President of the Republic of South Africa, hon premiers, MECs, members of the House, traditional leadership, SA Local Government Association, Salga, leadership, our hon councillors, the hosting mayor, Dr Mzangwa, Mmathokwana Mopedi and the community, the NCOP is doing such a good job. The Taking Parliament to the People programme, I think, must be commended.
Thank you to the hardworking members of the NCOP for coming to the Free State. I'm sure, moving forward, we can draw strength from whatever you have said. Let me remind South Africans - and I agree with the President - that South Africa is a unitary country and, indeed, there are different challenges in different provinces. The Free State is not like the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal or Limpopo.
In the Eastern Cape there are big challenges. I think the history of where we come from in terms of the Bantustans or homelands - for example, the Ciskei and the Transkei - and the poverty created in that province and many other provinces must be taken seriously. Therefore we need the support of the people of South Africa and the national government to work together with all the municipalities, local governments and provincial governments.
Let me take the members back to the past. In the past, ...
... re ne re sa dumellwa ho vouta rona re le batho ba batsho. Re ne re lahletswe dibantustaneng Kapa Botjhabela kwana Transkei le Ciskei. Re lahletswe Bophuthatswana, KwaZulu-Natala le Venda. Ha re hopoleng nalane eo. Ha re hopoleng hore dipetlele tsa rona kajeno lena ke tsa batho kaofela, ha pele ho ne ho na le tsa makgowa le tsa batho ba batsho.
Ha re hopoleng moo re tswang teng hore dimaene le moruo wa naha, ditsela le marokgo a Afrika Borwa a ahilwe ke rona batho ba batsho ba dulang mona Afrika Borwa empa mofufutso oo ha o se o qhalehile, ha ho letho leo re ileng ra le etsa.
Ditoropo tsa rona di ne di na le matlo, tsamaiso ya dikgwere-kgwere, ditsela tsa sekontiri, motlakase le tsohle. Ha re hopoleng hore rona batho ba batsho re ne re sa kgone ho dula moo re batlang mme re sa kgone ho tsamaya moo re batlang. Ha ke le nke hanyane ha e le mona le tswa nalaneng eo, ke le bontshe ho ya pele hore re entse eng rona re le mmuso wa mokgatlo wa ANC diprovenseng le tlase ho bomasepala. Ha re hopoleng moo re tswang teng hore batho ba batsho ba ne ba sa fumane tjhelete ya penshene e lekanang le ya makgowa.
Ha re hopoleng moo re tswang teng hore ka selemo sa 1953 Ngaka Verwoerd o ile a fetisa molao wa Thuto ya Kgethollo. Ha thwe bana ba rona ba batho ba batsho ba tla rwalla dipatsi le ho kga metsi, mme ba se dumellwe ho etsa Mmetse le Thuto ya Mahlale. Jwale, ha re bua ka dintho tseo kaofela ha tsona, ha re hopoleng moo re tswang teng hore re tle re kgone ho utlwisisa moo re batlang ho ya teng re le mokgatlo wa ANC mmoho le setjhaba sa Afrika Borwa.
Ha re hopoleng moo re tswang teng hobane Palamente le Mopresidente ba ne a sa kgone ho fihla setjhabeng empa kajeno lena ba fihlile. Jwale, ha re bueng ka seo re batlang ho se etsa hobane ka selemo sa 1994 ha setjhaba se qeta ho voutela mokgatlo wa ANC, lona batho ba ka hara Ntlo ena le ne le qala ho vouta. Ka mora dilemo tse ka bang makgolo-kgolo mmuso wa kgethollo le kgatello o re tshwere, la qala ho vouta.
Jwale, ha le voutile ka selemo sa 1994, le tla kgona ho utlwisisa hore ba neng ba hloka metsi e ne e le dimilione-milione tsa batho. Ba neng ba hloka dibukana tsa boitsebiso e ne e le dimilione-milione tsa batho. Ba neng ba sa kgone ho vouta e ne e le rona. E ne e le rona ba neng ba sa dumellwa ho dula le ho kena dikolo moo re batlang teng mme re etse Mmetse. Nna le wena re ne re etsa "Momo le Semboho ba mema Didimaho". Le lebetse ka pele jwang? [Mahofi.] Le lebala ka pele jwang? Mopresidente o re kopile hore re etse dintho ka tsela e fapaneng le ya pele, Modulasetulo. Taba ya ho tlisa Palamente bathong ... (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[... we were not allowed to vote, as black people. We were thrown into Bantustans in the Eastern Cape - the Transkei and the Ciskei. We were thrown into Bophuthatswana, KwaZulu-Natal and Venda. Let us remember that part of history. Let us not forget that our hospitals today are for everyone, whereas before there were separate hospitals for white and black people.
Let us remember where we come from, that mines, the economy of the country, roads and bridges were built by us, black people, who live here in South Africa. But when all that sweat had gone to waste, nothing was done.
Our towns had houses, sanitation, tarred roads, electricity and everything. Let us remember that as black people we could not stay wherever we wanted to. Now that you've remembered all that history, let me continue to show you what the ANC government has done in the provinces and even in the municipalities. Let us remember that black people did not receive pension money equal to that of white people.
Let us remember that in 1953 Dr Verwoerd passed the apartheid education law. It was said that our black children would fetch wood and water, and they were not allowed to do maths and science. Now, let us talk about all those things. Let us remember where we come from so that we can understand where we want to go as the ANC, together with the nation of South Africa.
Let us remember where we come from because Parliament and the President could not reach the nation but today he is here. Now, let us talk about what we want to do because in 1994 when the nation voted for the ANC you people in this House were also voting for the first time. After years and years of the government of discrimination and oppression, you could now vote.
Now that you voted in 1994, you will understand that there were millions and millions of people who needed water. A million others needed identity documents. We were the ones who could not vote. We were the ones who were not allowed to live and attend schools where we wanted to and do maths. You and I used to do noun groups by reciting them according to their prefixes. How can you forget so quickly? [Applause.] How can you forget so quickly? The President asked us to do things in a different way to before, Chairperson. The issue of bringing Parliament to the people ...]
... means we are doing things differently because, for the first time since 1994, the people of South Africa can interact with the Ministers and Members of Parliament. What a good thing!
In the Free State, President, our manifesto said we must create decent jobs. Within four months during our administration, we ensured that 1 069 temporary teachers became permanent. Today they are permanent. [Applause.] When we took over, you said we must create decent jobs. In our hospitals and government buildings where we had security companies, we have made sure that those security officers and some of the police reservists are well trained. We have terminated contracts of security companies because those people must be permanent so that they can have decent jobs. [Applause.] In terms of education, I have documents which I will give to the Chair of the NCOP and the President. These documents reflect that 3 099 students have been taken to schools and universities through our bursaries as a provincial government. [Applause.] Since Motheo District Municipality is the biggest, it has 1 228 learners; Thabo Mofutsanyana has 563; Lejweleputswa has 631; Fezile Dabi has 410; and the Xhariep District Municipality has 208.
I have just checked how many people from Qwaqwa are our bursary holders. In terms of this report - their names, identity documents and telephone numbers are here - 239 people from Phuthaditjhaba, Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality, have bursaries from the provincial government. [Applause.] I also tried to check whether our bursaries are only received by black people. No, that is not the case because in 1955 in die Vryheidsmanifes het ons ges dat Suid-Afrika aan almal behoort - wit en swart [... in the Freedom Charter we stated that South Africa belongs to everyone - white and black].
Lengolong la tokoloho ka 1955 re ile ra re Afrika Borwa ke ya rona kaofela. Ha ke bala mabitso hona jwale tokomaneng ena ke fumana boVan Zyl, Naude, Botes, Blignaut, Viljoen, Oorkamp, Koornhof le Sinclair. Ba bangata feela ho etsa bonnete ba hore ha re aha Afrika Borwa ho ya pele, le ka 1996 ... (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[In the 1955 Freedom Charter we said that South Africa belongs to all those who live in it. When I read out the names now in this document I find people such as Van Zyl, Naude, Botes, Blignaut, Viljoen, Oorkamp, Koornhof and Sinclair. There are so many of them because we wanted to make sure that when we built South Africa going forward, even in 1996 ...]
... ons het ook in die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika ges dat Suid-Afrika aan almal behoort - wit en swart. [... we also stated in the Constitution of South Africa that South Africa belongs to everyone - white and black.]
Ke kahoo re tla yang pele re tsamaya mmoho le setjhaba sa Afrika Borwa. Ke kahoo selemong sena se fetileng sa 2010 re butseng dikolo tse 12 tse ntjha tseo bana ba rona ba ka ithutang ho tsona. Ke a kgolwa Ditho tsa rona di di bone. Mona Qwaqwa feela ... (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[That is why we will move forward together as the nation of South Africa. That is why last year, 2010, we opened 12 new schools, schools where our children learn. I'm sure that our members saw them. Here in Qwaqwa ...]
... we have 20 students' who are studying medicine - 20, at different universities. [Applause.] In the whole of the Free State, we have given 108 medical students bursaries, and we are going to give them bursaries for the next six years. We will do this because we have identified and we know that there are no doctors. You can't blame us for not having doctors as a province. You must blame apartheid because it denied black people the opportunity to study mathematics and science. Therefore when you want to blame us you must understand where we come from.
Consciously and deliberately, we are investing in human resource development as a country. We have built farm schools. You can go to Manthatisi here in Qwaqwa and you will find rural kids at that school. We have given, as I have said, bursaries to blacks and whites.
In terms of health, no one can deny that we have challenges. People must not make as if we are denying that there are challenges in health. However, I have said you must look at our history; you must flash back. In the past these hospitals were only meant for white people and there were very few. Today we have free medical access, and many of our people have access to these facilities.
Yes, there might not be medicine available tomorrow. The reason for that is that the numbers have increased and these numbers were denied this access in the past. So understand where we come from so that you will understand how we must build the future as we move forward.
People must understand that in the past they could criticise us. However, let the truth be told. You can go to our various municipalities where you want us to appoint people on merit. We agree that that is what we should do because the Freedom Charter demands that we do that. However, go there and see how many white people were employed there in the past without qualifications. [Applause.] The truth must be told. We are compiling that report and we know.
That is why in our municipalities - you can go to Moqhaka Local Municipality, Ngwathe Local Municipality and various provincial departments - we have employed black and white chartered accountants. There are many black chartered accountants who are prepared to come and work for government. I think we must congratulate them.
Moving forward, and if we work together, we can do more. We can tell you about qualifications because when something is black, people criticise it. I think the qualifications, competency and merit of our heads of department must be known.
We have revitalised and are still busy revitalising our townships. That is why in the next financial year we have decided to put aside R300 million just for township roads so that we move forward as a province. Moving forward, in terms of local government, I think we agree that there are challenges. I was saying to the people here that to be a councillor is not like being a Member of Parliament or a premier because a councillor is there on the ground. When people want water, water is there on the ground. When people want better services, these services are there on the ground. If people are not paying for their services they can't get better services because the province collects money and sends it to the local government. That is why we need to work together.
I agree with the President and everybody that there are many good councillors. There might be a few ...
... hobane ho thwe tapole e le nngwe e bodisa tse ngata, empa re se ke ra akaretsa. Re etse bonnete ba hore re sebetsa mmoho. Ke kahoo ke batlang hore ... [... because it is said that one potato can spoil the whole bag, but we must not generalise. We must make sure that we work together. That is why I want ...]
Hon Watson says, "The government has failed dismally."
Ho tjho ntate Watson. Bomasepala ba rona ha ba a atleha. Empa bomasepala ba rona ha ba tshwane le ba nako e fetileng bao e neng e le ba makgowa feela. Ba ne ba isa ditshebeletso ho batho ba mmalwa feela. Metseng ya rona le kajeno re ntse re hloka mabone. Dintho tseo kaofela ke tseo re tlamehileng re di lwantshe ho ya pele.
Ke batla hore ka mantswe ana, re utlwile dillo tsa baahi mme re se re nkile dikgato. Re se re dumellane le ba tsa bophelo bo botle hore re tla aha ditliniki tsane tse Bolata re sebedisana mmoho le setjhaba. E re ke re ho Ditho kaofela ... (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[So says hon Watson. Our municipalities did not succeed. But our municipalities are not the same as the previous ones who were serving whites only. They provided services only to the few. Even today in our communities we still need electricity. We must fight all of those things in order to move forward.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we heard the cries of the citizens and so we took a step. We made an agreement with the Department of Health that we will build those clinics in Bolata, working together with the community. Allow me to say to all the members ...]
... Gesende Kersfees en 'n voorspoedige Nuwejaar. Ke a leboha. [... Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Thank you.][Time expired.][Applause.]]