Modulasetulo, Mopresidente wa Afrika Borwa le Motlat?a Mopresidente, Maloko a Palamente le bamemiwa ba ba hlomphegago bao ba dut?ego ka madulong a makgethwa, dumelang. [Good afternoon, Chairperson, the President of South Africa and the Deputy President, hon Members of Parliament and distinguished guests sitting in the gallery.]
On Wednesday we witnessed the announcement of a five year programme that government will be implementing through the state of the nation address.
Ons is baie bly. [We are very happy.] Re thabile. [We are happy.] We are happy, as Members of Parliament of the ruling party, to identify with the priorities contained in your state of the nation address. These priorities, as contained in the ANC election manifesto, are what the people of South Africa voted for on 22 April this year.
Re ikgant?ha ka thlalo?aboemo bja ANC le ka polelo ya seemo sa naga ya rena, ka ge di emet ?e mant?u a batho ba naga ya rena. Ke ka thlalo?oboemo bja ANC mo batho ba t?ereng karolo ka Khampeine ya ANC ya ka, Ponelopele ya ka, Bokamoso bjaka.
Re thabi?it?we kudu ka polelo ya Mopresidente, ya seemo sa boset?haba, ka ge e akaredit?e meoya le maikemi?et?o a kopano ya ANC ya boset?haba yeo e bego e swerwe e bile e tsebja ka la Khonferense sa Polokwane. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[We pride ourselves in the ANC's election manifesto and the state of the nation address as they represent the voices our people. It is through the ANC's election manifesto that people participated in the campaign 'My ANC, My vision, My future'.
We embrace the state of the nation address as it encompasses the vision and objectives of the ANC national conference which took place and is even known as the Polokwane Conference.]
Taking forward those resolutions through the state of the nation address means that we are speaking to the thousands of delegates who attended that conference - the majority of whom still remain members of the ANC - and the hundreds of thousands of members of the ANC who had mandated those delegates.
Ga gona temokrasi e feti?ago yekhwi. [No democracy can be compared to this one.]
We are also happy that the majority of young people - mainly members of the Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League - came out in support of, and contributed to, that manifesto and, therefore, directly to your state of the nation address.
We hope that you will not heed calls from some quarters in this House that suggest that you should not heed those organisations and sectors of society as part of the programme of governing the country.
We also hope that, in implementing the manifesto and shaping the objectives as contained in the state of the nation address, you will include all organisations and sectors of civil society, especially the SACP, Cosatu and Sanco, so that we attain the call that "Together, we can do more." [Applause.]
All of us in this House, sitting on both its sides, are fresh from an exciting election campaign which revealed both the wealth of our nation and its accompanying poverty. We have spoken to the men and women in the rural countryside, the depressed townships and opulent suburbs, mobilising them to participate in the elections and vote for our different political parties.
They have shared with us their vision for this country. They have instructed us to change the course of their history, from poverty and want to prosperity. We have been given a mandate by that old woman who has to walk miles to fetch water, by that child who walks miles every morning to school and back, and by that young person who is unemployed or retrenched because of the economic recession. We are the protectors of those mandates.
Ons praat van die ouer wat nie kos vir haar kinders kan gee nie. Ons moet haar stem behou. [We refer to the parent who is unable to feed her children. We must retain her vote.]
It is heartening to hear from the benches of the Opposition about their commitment to working together with the ANC government to contribute towards changing the course of history and ensuring that all South Africans weather the storms.
We are aware that we are faced with a most daunting economic recession whose victims are not its creators. This period, therefore, does not warrant "we told you so" speeches, as so many may be tempted to give. It is a period that requires men and women of courage, elected as legislators, contributing collectively towards helping our people survive through and through.
This situation also requires that, as ordinary men and women sit at home and listen to our speeches, they are inspired and have hope, as they did on Wednesday when the President spoke to them, that together, we can survive this economic situation.
At the heart of the state of the nation address is the need for infrastructure development and its importance in building the economy. Infrastructure development is a vital part of our attempt to alter the course of history from poverty and want, to prosperity.
Through this, we should build houses that will provide shelter; build schools that will provide education; build clinics that will provide basic health care; build community facilities that will serve as recreational centres; build roads that will connect the rural to the urban; build nursery homes that will enable children to sing rhymes and learn their first alphabets and vowels, while their parents are at work; build telecommunication infrastructure so that, in the words of the President, " ... we do not leave the rural poor out of these developments".
When President Nelson Mandela took us along a new path of democracy, he took with him one of the most important policy documents that the ANC, together with its allies, had led the people into crafting. That document is called the Reconstruction and Development Programme. At the time, the RDP stated that the infrastructural development programme must ensure an integrated approach to the provision of various services, so that we upgrade our infrastructure in a manner that both meets basic needs and enhances new and effective economic activity.
This pronouncement of the RDP, as well as the pronouncement you made on Wednesday - about your commitment to creating more than 500 000 jobs through the Expanded Public Works Programme by the end of the year, and more than 4 million jobs by 2014 - is in line with meeting basic needs and enhancing new and effective economic activity.
The creation of a Ministry and Department of Human Settlement means that a plethora of our people's basic needs, as opposed to a mere house, will be provided for. It means that town planning should take into consideration the provision of schools, sanitation, basic health care, small and macrotraders, an integrated transport system, recreational facilities, telecommunications and electricity. This means that the relevant government departments need to look into the model and designs of public schools, clinics and hospitals.
Our people in the rural and peri-urban townships deserve the same quality and standard of service as those in the well-off areas. There should be no school that is built without a science lab, computer laboratory, sports field or proper sanitation. [Applause.]
There should be no clinic that is without the necessary facilities that can take care of the immediate health needs of our people. There should be no hospital that is built on the skeleton of an apartheid design 15 years after the demon was buried. This will ensure that those who settle in these towns will become the heart of their economy and will not have to travel long distances to access services, as is the case now with some of the planning of our towns.
At the heart of infrastructure development is the need for skills. I hope that your agreement with the various social actors and training workers, before they are retrenched, will consider such skills-based professions as plumbers, electricians, welders, bricklayers, painters, woodworkers and pavers, as those artisans have the skills which are needed to construct the ideal town that we spoke about.
I also hope that the training will assist these workers in setting up co- operatives so that they are able to manage their economic activity.
The constraining situation - that you said needs to be relaxed for the success of small and medium enterprises - should also be extended to include co-operatives. We must challenge the monopoly of big construction companies so that it is not only the few who enjoy the sweetness of the honey produced by the hive of democracy. This should be done by promoting small, macro and medium enterprises and co-operatives who will share in the cake that government is availing and also create work.
I am also pleased that the President has indicated his commitment to black economic empowerment and affirmative action.
I therefore implore all structures and institutions that are charged with the responsibility of supporting small businesses and co-operatives to assist them, so that they are able to compete with the conglomerates in providing quality infrastructure for our economy.
At the heart of your state of the nation address you have provided the details of an industrial policy and the specified lead sectors. These details provide a clear infrastructure development programme which will connect these industries to the factories that will produce the goods that are needed to ensure that the wheels of our economy are oiled.
As part of this, we hope that the millions of workers in the rural areas, who are involved in agriculture, will be able to connect with the urban areas and ensure that their oranges, their avocados and whatever other produce they produce in those rural areas are able to reach the cities and, therefore, enhance their economic activity. This can only be done through an improved roads network and various other infrastructural projects which will ensure that we create jobs in the rural areas and so forth.
As you champion the development of an industrial policy, we need you to keep in mind that the National Youth Service remains at its centre. The youth of our country, irrespective of their race, have come out in their numbers to vote for this government. The main reward we can pay to them is by integrating them into your industrial policy.
Next year, our country will be hosting one of the most prestigious sports events in the world, the Fifa World Cup. If we cannot win on the field of play during the World Cup - and I hope we do - at least our people should be able to win when they are on the touchline. Who is building the stadiums that the teams will play in? Who is building the roads leading to these stadiums? Who will be printing the tickets that provide entry into the stadiums? Who will be providing the transport to the stadiums? Who will be cooking for the guests and the players? Who will be providing their accommodation? Of course, workers will be at the centre of these services. However, we implore the powers that be to give these workers, the unemployed, and the youth of the country, a share in the profits. That is the legacy we cherish. [Applause.]
We are happy with the announcement that R787 billion has been set aside to ensure that we build stadia, improve telecommunications, introduce a Bus Rapid Transport public transport system and connect road, air and sea travel. All of this means that we need to involve our people as both the producers and consumers of these goods in order to ensure that they are back on their feet as they fight against the tide of the economic recession.
Our region is burdened with a lack of infrastructure development. Many in the region travel long distances into our country in order to break through the borders that keep them in poverty. South Africa is better placed to ensure that we connect this region, the SADC region, through our infrastructure in roads, air, sea and telecommunications. This is the commitment we want to hear from our government.
All of the programmes that you have developed will require a cadre that is determined, committed and understands the vision of "Working together, we can do more."
I must advise you that the ANC strategy of deploying cadres on the basis of their ability, commitment and astuteness has always ensured that we get the best services in the public sector to implement these programmes. [Interjections.]
I must also say - don't worry, Chair, I can handle people disrupting my maiden speech - that all of these programmes that you have announced in your state of the nation address should also benefit the people of Orania and the Western Cape. They are South Africans. They belong within the same borders as you and I, irrespective of that which their leaders may claim. They share your vision, and know that you understand their needs, interests and aspirations.
I also hope that these programmes will also benefit the women of the Western Cape. They are part of the jewels of our country. They may not be regarded as meritoriously deserving of serving in government, but at least, through your leadership, they should be placed at the helm of development in our country.
In conclusion, I want to guarantee the President that, with the kind of state of the nation address he presented on Wednesday, there is no need for the ANC to recall him from government and Parliament. This is because your state of the nation address represents what your party, the ANC, and the people it represents, has espoused in its election manifesto.
As the ruling party, we are committed to ensuring that democracy is implemented to the letter. In doing so, it is our responsibility to ensure that our Head of State takes forward the broad mandate that our party has been elected on, and maintains it throughout his term of office.
In that regard, we dare not fail our people. Their hopes, needs, interests and aspirations are embodied in our efforts and tireless endeavours. Thank you. [Applause.]