Speaker of the Provincial Parliament
Executive Mayor of Cape Town
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane
High Commissioner of Indonesia
Dean of the Consular Corps
Heads of Mission
Let me start by congratulating the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker and express the confidence that they will conduct the proceedings in this House with dignity and in a way that makes this House the voice of the people, holding to account those who they have elected.
Congratulations also to all the Members of the Provincial Legislature - especially the new ones - on being sworn-in this morning. You will find that this Western Cape Provincial Legislature is one of the most lively in the country, because it is one of the most contested. We do not want to lose any robustness in our debates, but our debates would need to reflect a sharper focus on the issues all political parties encountered in our election campaigns. Those who have been here before must resist the temptation to rehash our old political fights reflective of an era where the gulf between political parties was so great as to make any consensus impossible. Let our robustness over the next five years always result in actions which put the electorate first.
The elections have come and gone. The electorate has spoken. It will not help any party to second-guess the electorate either by questioning the collective intelligence of the electorate, or by acting in ways which seek to undermine the will of the electorate. Well done to the parties who are in this House. The fact that you have been sent here by the electorate is the basis of your legitimacy. That should earn you the respect of every other party, even though we may not agree on everything.
All of these are important to remember as we start the Third Parliamentary Sitting in this era of democracy. The first two Western Cape Parliamentary Sittings were characterized by great instability, which often sunk to comical proportions as government, premiers and mayors changed with great regularity. We sent a signal that politics was about politicians, not the people. We sent out a signal that politics was about our parties and not the issues confronting communities. We sent out a signal that government was about desiring the perks of office and not services to the poor. All over the country this House and this Government was regarded as a circus.
Today I say to you: the circus is over!
When President Thabo Mbeki informed me that I should be the Premier Candidate for the Western Cape, I undertook to make the Western Cape a shining light in delivering the peoples contract to create work and fight poverty.
As we celebrate our first decade of democracy and enter our second, I believe this to be more possible that ever before
The possibilities are greater to have dignified, stable government in the Western Cape. While none of us have achieved the holy grail of 51% in the election, the ANC will stand at the core of this government, clearly representing the greatest number of voters, most of whom are poor whether rural or white, Coloured or African, women or men, young or old. At the core of government is an ANC with a strong mandate around the two key issues confronting our people: creating work and fighting poverty. This government will work because it has a strong core.
This government will work because it is founded as a stable coalition between the ANC and the NNP. This coalition laid the basis under Premier Marthinus van Schalkwyk over the last two years, and this coalition will continue over the next 5 years to be the coalition around which stable government is constructed. It must be a source of comfort for our people that we who have historically fought each other, now work together in their interest, that we who historically stood apart - one defending apartheid, the other fighting it - that we today seek to unite our people, and it must comfort our people that the party historically of rich whites now works with the ANC to create a better life for all people. I thank the NNP for sticking to the high road.
Stability in the Western Cape is also more possible because of what I see as a greater introspection by the opposition. The simple redefinition of "enemy" into "rival" must be an act of great goodwill and maturity, a recognition that for most South Africans transformation, reconciliation and co-operation is preferable to the polarisation that naturally ensues from a Westminster Parliamentary system. We have a unique opportunity to go beyond the sniping and point scoring, and join hands in the efforts to deliver the contract that our people have endorsed.
If my assessment is correct, then the people of the Western Cape must prepare themselves for the best five years of their lives so far. The exquisite beauty of our Province has not always been reflected in the lives of especially the Coloured and African poor of our Province. The beautiful hospitality we've given to our tourists has not translated into habitable abodes for those who squat in our province whether in camps or in backyards.
This is a Province with great potential and it is time to realise this potential for all our people. The lives of our citizens must reflect the beauty of our Province. For this to happen we require synergy. We require good, old-fashioned unity amongst our people.
No longer must black Africans be strangers in their own Province and City, their homes either flooded in winter or ravaged by fires, their language and culture despised, and their children having no prospect of work. This Province is their home.
No longer must Coloured people experience life as an insecure people, a twilight people, striving either to be white or black, but never simply being themselves. This Province is their home, as it is the home of the Indian Community.
No longer must the important contribution of the white Community be held back by fears - fears of the ANC, of black people, of a loss of privilege. Their role is too important to be confined behind high walls, burglar bars and alarm systems. This Province is their home.
And so, for the next 5 years, if it is to be the best 5 years, we must say unequivocally using the words of Chief Albert Luthuli in the context of the Western Cape: It is a home for all.
In saying this we acknowledge both realities and perceptions. We will not sweep them under the carpet, but will instead confront them, not to deepen division, but to heal wounds, not to build non-racialism only in sentiment, but to build non-racialism with equity, so that all communities begin to see police resources and feel a growing safety, so that all communities feel the impact of a growing economy, and all communities begin to experience an improvement in service delivery.
The unity, co-operation and non-racialism among the people of this Province is the key to any success we want to achieve. We cannot be satisfied with 3% growth in GDP nor with the skills level of our workforce and graduates. The next five years will see an unprecedented partnership between government, business, labour, and communities to ensure an economy capable of caring for our people. Our vision will find expression in our strategy to grow and share the Cape, called iKapa Elihlumayo, and our partnership will cohere around the outcomes of the Provincial Growth and Development Summit.
If this is to be the best 5 years then National, Provincial and Local Governments must co-operate like never before. We must reach out to local government to overcome the weaknesses the President has encountered not in a spirit of blame, but in a spirit that says that we swim or we sink together.
If this is to be the best five years then we must lessen the uncertainty of clothing workers, overcome the despair of the youth, stop the violence against our women, protect our children against abuse, and bring to the mainstream of society those who live with disability.
If this is to be the best five years and the Western Cape is to be a home for all, then we must roll out treatment to those with HIV, and grants to those with AIDS, but we must also prevent our youth from contracting HIV and our women must be able to take charge of decisions relating to their sexuality.
If this is to be the best five years then we must re-establish respect for the elderly and hope for our children so that the former transmits a collective wisdom and the latter can dream of a future.
If this is to be the best 5 years then our people must live in greater safety because as we sit here a mother from Philipi, Nomtandazo Vutula, lies in hospital shot by intruders. She is alive, thankfully, but only after she witnessed her 2 children killed by the same gunmen. If this is to be the best 5 years then this kind of violence must end.
I have no doubt that this can be the best 5 years so far for this province, that we can rise above our differences and divisions, that African, Coloured, Indian and White can live together in harmony, that men and women can respect each other, that the elderly can live in dignity and the young can anticipate a good future, and that rich and poor can come to understand that we need each other.
The Western Cape is a beautiful Province and it is a privilege and honour to be elected to lead it as Premier. I will try to do so with dignity, humility and honesty.
