Introduction
We have great cause for celebration. There has never been a better moment to be South African, and there is no better place to live in South Africa than right here in the Western Cape.
Akukho nto imnandi njengokuba ngummi waseMzantsi Afrika, kwaye akukho ndawo ibhetele yokuhlala eMzantsi Afrika ngaphezu kwalapha eNtshona Koloni.
Consider for a moment how far we have come, and how fast we have moved. Ten years is barely sufficient time for the maturation of a great wine, it is less time than it takes to educate a child, it represents one 80th of the age of the giant Outeniqua Yellowwood that towers above the Tsitsikamma Forest. Yet we have accomplished more to bring human dignity to millions in the first ten years of South African democracy than was accomplished in the ten decades that preceded them.
We have seen communities rejoined, hope restored and the creation of a new strength grounded in our determination to build our future together.
Die Wes-Kaap se krag lê in die karakter en inbors van sy mense. Deur die ontberings en suksesse in ons geskiedenis is ons mense gevorm om stamina te hê, 'n vasberandenheid om te oorleef en te leef, en met wortels wat hulle met diep lojaliteit in ons provinsie en land anker.
For centuries there were diamonds that lay buried under the shifting dunes at Kleinsee and Alexander Bay, hidden for generations from those who had no idea of the wealth beneath their feet. Like those diamonds, the hidden potential of our people lay untapped for decades. There were flashes of hope, and those who occasionally rose above their restricted opportunities to shine. It has only been in the last ten years of real freedom, however, and in the last two years when our coalition has governed for all the communities of the Western Cape, that the potential of our people has been truly unearthed. In our commitment to build a World Class Province, we are busy discovering and unlocking the brilliance of rough-diamonds in communities and areas like Khayelitsha, Mitchell's Plain, and the Karoo. For the first time the talents of all our people are being harnessed in this building process, and this is a treasure that we must guard with great care.
Speaker, the people of the Karoo and Namaqualand understand the effects of drought. They know too that just below the surface of the Earth lie the seeds in which rests the sleeping potential of their region. With the first rains, even after years of drought, these seeds germinate and this world that was dry and bereft of life becomes a garden of vitality which sustains and supports its people.
En dit is hoe die mense van die Wes-Kaap is. Ons mense se karakter en inbors het hulle dor tye en ontberings laat deurleef. En met die eerste reëns het daardie latente potensiaal van ons mense en ons provinsie ontsluit in iets wat sterk groei, waarin almal deel het, en wat net nuwe hoogtes kan bereik. Maar dit is nog maar die begin van die bloeiseisoen, en noudat die reën begin val moet ons sorg dat niks die oes bederf nie.
Nou diegene van die Karoo weet in daardie streek kry jy die Ag dae gras. As dit vandag reën kan jy weet ag dae later groei die Ag dae gras welig. En die skape het weer hoop en hardloop hulle moeg agter die nuwe groeningheid aan. Maar die mense van die Karoo weet ook, dit is 'n valse hoop, want hoewel die Ag dae gras mooi lyk en groen is, is sy voedingswaarde maar min en is dit nie blywend nie.
Dan kry mens ook in die Kalahari die N'abbas. Dit is 'n Nama woord vir 'n sampioen-agtige uitsoekkos. Sy voortbestaan bly verberg onder die grond en hy wag vir die regte omstandighede om te groei en ge-oes te word. Anders verdwyn hy weer vir jare. As die N'abbas nie in Maart reën kry nie, breek sy lewenskragtigheid nooit deur die oppervlak nie. En as hy nie vroeg in die winter ge-oes word nie, ryp hy dood.
Dan is daar ook in die Karoo en Namakwaland die Gannabos. Hierdie bos is rateltaai met hoë voedingswaarde. Die Gannabos kan ook vergelyk word met die simbool van die Griekwavolk, die Kanniedood - 'n simbool van die Griekwavolk se vermoë om te bly groei en sterker te word ten spyte van swaarkry. In die droogte lyk die bos verstok en dood, maar as die reën begin val verdwyn die leweloosheid. In die tye van swaarkry verloor hy sy fleur, maar sy wortels is so stewig geanker in die aardbodem dat hy in die regte omstandighede jaar na jaar herrys.
In die Wes-Kaap is ons besig om soos die Gannabos en die Kanniedood ons karakter te wys. Noudat die reën begin val en die regte omstandighede daar is, is die pad wat ons kies nie die een wat vir ons mense net Ag dae gras sal bring nie; want dit sal maar net tydelike verligting en valse hoop wees. Ekonomiese groei sonder werkskepping en volhoubaarheid is nie vir ons mense goed genoeg nie. Deur die regte planne op die regte tyd in te stel en met dissipline te implementeer, sit ons vir ons mense N'abbas - die beste uitsoekkos - op die tafel. Ons planne is gemik op die skep van stabiliteit en volhoubaarheid - menswaardigheid vir al ons mense - geanker met lewenskragtige wortels soos die van die Gannabos en Kanniedood.
Speaker, ons Regering verteenwoordig al die mense van die Wes-Kaap. No longer are we divided. Today we have a Government in the Western Cape that governs for all the people of this province. We are illustrating that coloured, white, black and Indian South Africans succeed best when working in partnership to build our shared future.
A Charge to Keep
I was greatly moved this morning to be greeted by so many children of the Western Cape - from every community - their voices united in song, their faces united in hope, and their futures united in and by South Africa. Ten years old, they are our Born Free Generation - the most concrete and powerful expression of how far we have come in the first decade of South African democracy.
Aba bantwana basiSizukulwana sethu esiZalelwe eNkululekweni - yindlela yethu eluqilima nemandla yokubonakalisa umgama esele siwuhambile kule dikheyidi yokuqala yedemokhrasi yoMzantsi Afrika.
Last February I committed our Government to making 2003 a year of implementation and delivery, to laying the ground-work for addressing both our short-term challenges and their long-term causes. We introduced iKapa eliHlumayo, growing and sharing the Cape, as the best vehicle to drive our policies and our actions for the next decade. iKapa eliHlumayo is our vehicle to carry every community with us on the path to the World Class Province. This is our charge to keep.
Gedurende die afgelope twee jaar het ons Koalisie van Hoop 'n stabiele platform in die Wes-Kaap geskep. Hierdie Koalisie is 'n anker wat sekerheid vir buitelandse en plaaslike beleggers skep - beleggers wie se vennootskap ons besonder waardeer in die groei en ontwikkeling van ons ekonomie sodat ons werk vir ons mense kan skep.
Long-term Planning Horizon
Apart from stability and breaking down the barriers between our communities, the greatest contribution of this Government to the future success of our province has been the introduction of a long-term planning horizon - putting into place 10 and 15 year plans to address the underlying causes of many of our most serious challenges.
It is fitting that we are able to report, in the last two years of the first Decade of Democracy, that we have excelled in the creation of solid foundations for expanding our service delivery and building lasting human dignity in the next decade.
Unemployment, Migration, and Job Creation
Ensuring the future for our generations to follow requires us to seriously and urgently address the issues of unemployment and poverty. Our provincial population has grown from just less than 4 million in 1996 to well over 4,5 million according to Census 2001 - mainly as the result of migration from other provinces. This means that our provincial population has been growing by about 2,9% annually, compared to national population growth of about 2,1%. More significantly though, the economically active population in our province grew almost twice as fast as it did in South Africa as a whole.
Amongst the most important issues addressed at our recent Cabinet Bosberaad was the need to agree, with our social partners, on micro-economic strategies for the province to meet our targets. Binne vyf jaar gaan ons R5 miljard se nuwe beleggings en ten minste 100 000 nuwe werksgeleenthede verseker. Ons streef ook daarna om teen 2008 deur middel van uitgebreide openbare werke-programme 120 000 werk- en opleidingsgeleenthede op die kort termyn te skep.
A Delivery-Focused MTEF Budget with Fiscal Discipline:
Madame Speaker, Minister Rasool and his Departments have presented us with a focused and priority-driven Budget that concentrates our spending on the implementation of iKapa eliHlumayo. Ours is a Budget emphasising both targeted poverty relief and the development that the Western Cape needs for sustained economic growth and job creation. Our Budget embraces real fiscal discipline.
We will not mortgage the future of our Born Free Generation for short-term gains. In addressing the backlogs of our past, this Government, in our Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, has reduced the budgeted deficit from more than R434 million in 2003/04 to R366 million in 2004/5.
Healthcare 2010:
Under the leadership of our Provincial Minister for Health, Piet Meyer, Healthcare 2010 was approved by the provincial Cabinet in March last year. Healthcare 2010 is designed to ensure that instead of a R1 billion Health deficit by 2010, the people of the Western Cape will see improved services. The end result is projected to be an increase in our capacity by an additional 2 million primary health visits every year by 2010.
Amongst the many other successes in health-care over the last year has been the in-principle approval of up to US$66 million over five years from the Global Fund to fight HIV/Aids; and the roll-out of our Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Aids programme to 100% of pregnant women attending public health clinics.
Budget Pressures on the Social Safety Net, Health, and Housing Delivery
It is important, Madame Speaker, for us to understand both the scope of the challenges and the budget pressures facing Ministers Meyer and Fransman, and their Departments, partly as a result of migration, partly because of the restructuring of health-care, and partly because of the expanded need for social grants.
The number of social grant beneficiaries has increased from about 362 000 in December 2001 to more than 502 000 this month - and it is projected that the number will reach 550 000 by next year. The single largest driver of this growth is the increase in Child Support Grants - this month we already have 42 479 children between the ages of 8 and 9 receiving these grants. We believe that, by the end of the next financial year, more than 93 000 children over the age of 7 will be benefiting from these grants.
Soortgelyke uitdagings word ondervind in ons lewering van gesondheidsdienste - terwyl migrasie na die provinsie alleen die oprigting van tot drie nuwe klinieke elke jaar noodsaak. Afgesien hiervan, en die feit dat 'n ontleding deur die Nasionale Departement van Gesondheid toon dat verhoogde finansiering - in die omgewing van R150 miljoen per jaar - vir die Wes-Kaap geregverdig is, sal die ál kleiner voorwaardelike toewysing vir tersiêre gesondheidsdienste waarskynlik uitloop op 'n tekort van omtrent R160 miljoen in reële terme.
Minister Hangana and her Department of Housing are facing comparable challenges. In spite of our having almost doubled the Housing Budget from R271 million in 2001 to R514 million last year, we are unable to keep up with the demand. In the City of Cape Town alone, demand increases by about 20 000 units annually, with about 9 000 as the result of new family formations, and 11 000 due to migration from other provinces.
We must address the under-spending of our Housing Budget. This is a country-wide problem because of new national legislation and regulations, as well as a lack of capacity at local government level, but we must also rectify the situation in the Department of Housing so that everybody pulls in the same direction.
Against the background of these pressing budget issues, the Western Cape Government will be engaging constructively this year with the National Government on the composition of the equitable share formula, and the extent of conditional grants arising out of national policy.
The new Draft Strategy for Human Resources and Skills Development:
Speaker, ons verstaan dat gehalte-onderwys die sleutel is tot werkskepping. In September last year Ministers Rasool and Gaum established a Task Team under the Chairmanship of Dr Franklin Sonn to advise our Government on a strategy for Human Resources Development and Skills Training, to support iKapa eliHlumayo and to encompass all learning activities in the province. The resulting report and recommendations, combined with Minister Gaum and his Department's Vision 2020, will help us to break down the so-called 'silos of learning', emphasising an integrated approach to all provincial education from pre-Grade R, through formal schooling and tertiary education, to work-place learning, Adult Basic Education and Training, and life-long learning.
Last year's increase in the Matric Pass rate for the third year in a row, to a record of 87.1% indicates that our education and training initiatives continue to bear fruit.
BEE Conference and Provincial Growth and Development Summit:
The Western Cape broke new ground in May last year when we were the first province to host a Black Economic Empowerment conference to set the tone for the implementation of iKapa eliHlumayo. In die Wes-Kaap moet Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging ook bruin ekonomiese bemagtiging insluit.
The Black Economic Empowerment conference also gave real impetus to the first-ever Provincial Growth and Development Summit which we hosted in November with our social partners. By bringing together Government, Business (including Agriculture), Labour and the Community (including women, youth and the disabled) we achieved not only a framework agreement as the basis of a new social accord for the province, but also reached consensus on the macro-economic strategies for the province.
Strategic Infrastructure Plan:
Ons Regering besef dat ons groeistrategie gerugsteun moet word deur die nodige fisiese infrastruktuur. Dit is waarom Minister Essop en haar Departement nou die laaste afrondingswerk doen aan ons Strategiese Infrastruktuurplan om ons groeisektore te versterk en ons besteding allereers te rig op die mees kritieke infrastruktuur. Dit sal deur middel van konstruksiewerk ook op die kort termyn geleenthede vir werk en vir die oordrag van kennis in ons armste gemeenskappe sorg.
Our key aim is to increase the levels of investment in key social and economic infrastructure from the current 1.1% of GDPR to 2,5% by 2008. To address the estimated R1,4 billion backlog in provincial road infrastructure and maintenance we will also be pursuing with the National Treasury the implementation of a fuel levy in the Western Cape. The feasibility report has been completed and the Province will embark on a process to consult with industry and the taxpayers through a public hearing process prior to any final representations being made to the National treasury.
Increasing Police Numbers by 50%:
Madame Speaker, at this very moment we are increasing the number of police from 12 000 to 18 000 in the Western Cape. When our coalition government took office in late 2001, there were 11 833 police officers in our province. Last year we announced that 3212 new police recruits (64% of the national intake) would be added to the SAPS in our province. There are currently more than 16 000 officers protecting our communities and we are well on track to boost this number to 18 000 by the end of this year - a more than 50% increase in just two years. Next month alone will see a further 1700 new recruits in the province, with another 900 due in May. We have done this to break the grip that criminals have on some of our neighbourhoods, and to secure the streets for our generations born in freedom.
That is why we've had the safest festive season in a decade. I would like to congratulate Minister Ramatlakane, Provincial Police Commissioner Petros, the men and women of the SAPS, our EMS and traffic staff, and every volunteer whose hard work led to this outstanding achievement. Murder dropped 34%, robbery was down 24% and total crime fell by 18,2%. With other policing initiatives like the roll-out of 36 new CCTV cameras, at a cost of R11 million to new areas like Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha, the strengthening of our Child Protection Units around the province, and our plans to train neighbourhood street committees this year, we are turning the tide against crime.
Officially Breaking the Barrier of 1 Million Overseas Tourists:
Vir die eerste keer in die geskiedenis het meer as 1 miljoen buitelandse toeriste verlede jaar na ons provinsie gereis en sodoende aan ons plaaslike ekonomie 'n direkte inspuiting van ongeveer R17 biljoen gegee. Dit is te danke aan Minister Witbooi en haar Departement, wie se pogings om toerismegroei op lang termyn te verseker, reeds vrugte afwerp. With milestones like the opening of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the successful staging of the Cricket World Cup Opening Ceremony and the golfing President's Cup, increased numbers of direct flights to Cape Town, and our plans to launch our Western Cape Tourist Guide Registration system in the next two weeks, tourism in the province is on the move. We also plan to pass the new Western Cape Tourism Act this year and to launch our new Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO). It is clear that tourism, as one of our most important growth sectors, is poised to reach even greater heights in 2004 with projected growth of about 6%. We remain committed to our target of attracting 3 million tourists a year by 2010.
Fast-tracked and Sustainable Land Reform:
Since August 2001 there have been more than 4400 beneficiaries of agricultural land reform in the Western Cape and it is our plan to have increased this number to 7000 in the next few years. Minister Gelderblom and his Department, in partnership with the National Government, have also succeeded in ensuring that 54% of these beneficiaries are women and 40% are youths, making land reform one of the most important tools of direct empowerment in our province. To ensure their long-term success, we have also opened a new agricultural training centre in George. This will be followed by the opening a similar centre in Oudtshoorn early this year, and a third in Vredendal next year.
Renewed Urban and Rural Development Focus:
Speaker, guided by Minister Dowry, the Provincial Cabinet has now approved the business plans for the ongoing development, through the Urban Renewal Programme, of Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha. In partnership with the City of Cape Town we will be developing Central Business Districts in these two development nodes to a value of more than R580 million over five years. We will also be renewing our focus on rural development in areas like the Central Karoo, to ensure that our provincial growth benefits all Western Cape communities, not only those in urban areas. We have also made much progress this past year in strengthening the cooperation and coordination between our Provincial Government and the municipalities of the Western Cape.
Our efforts to bring development and increased opportunity to our areas in greatest need have also been a focus for Minister McKenzie and his Department. Through major events like the Cricket World Cup and also through grass-roots initiatives like the Sports Stepping Stones project, we continue to bring all communities onto the path to the World Class Province.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Madame Speaker, many of us living in the Western Cape fall into the trap of forgetting how good life is in our province. We forget that the inflow of people from all parts of South Africa, and from around the world, is testimony to our ongoing success. We forget that we have every right to be proud of the Western Cape and that we should be proud to live and work here. That said, we must always remember that much work remains to raise the standard of living for thousands in our poorest communities.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal appreciation to the leader of our coalition partner in Government, Minister Rasool. Nowhere has it been more apparent how positive this coalition is for the Western Cape than during our Provincial Imbizo Focus Week and the Presidential Imbizo last year, where the people of the province in vast numbers endorsed our Government and expressed their appreciation for our willingness to work together in the interests of their communities.
Ek wil ook my trots uitspreek teenoor die staatsdiens in ons provinsie onder die leierskap van ons Direkteur-generaal, dr Gilbert Lawrence, en die Hoofde van Departemente. Die mense van die Wes-Kaap kan trots wees om ongeveer 68 000 uiters bekwame mans en vroue in ons staatsdiens hê, en namens die Regering en die mense van die provinsie dra ek ons dank aan hulle oor. Ons sal ook vanaand tydens 'n gala-dinee in die Paarl ons staatsdiensamptenare vir hul uitnemende diens tydens die eerste tien jaar van demokrasie eer.
In remembering our first Decade of Democracy, in celebrating our first Born Free Generation, we should also remember that the challenges we must still confront will be overcome through the same strong partnerships that have brought us this far.
In the words of one of the Western Cape's most respected sons, Dr Franklin Sonn: "The best is yet to be".
Siphumelela ngakumbi, sitsho sakhe namacebo aphilileyo okuphucula ubomi bomntu wonke, xa abantu abantsundu, abamhlophe nabebala besebenzisana, bebonisana kunye.
[When black, white and coloured people take hands and put our heads together, we succeed best in improving the lives of all]
Let's join hands to build our world class Province. Together we are securing a fair share for our sons and daughters in the Western Cape.
Enquiries: Riaan AucampCell: 083 778 9923
