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Mr Speaker and honourable members.

Amidst a world that is fraught with international strife, intolerance, inequality, and increasing poverty in developing countries, I bring you a message of hope, stability and progress.

During the year 2001, we experienced both the joys of achievement as well as the distressing challenges of poverty, HIV/AIDS, events of September 11 and other major catastrophes.

The true test of any government is that of consistency in the face of adversity. Today I am proud to report that with the maturity gained through time and experience, the coalition government of KwaZulu-Natal is set on a course of joint leadership that places the community foremost in governance, growth and development.

The State of the Province address therefore offers the opportunity to all of us to pause and ponder achievements and future challenges. We have done this on several occasions since I have been the Premier, when we have considered a broad variety of issues. This year we again need to take a comprehensive look at a broad variety of issues which affect the economy of our Province, the welfare of our people and the functioning of our government. However, as we undertake this exercise we find that in respect of each item under our consideration, the issues of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty rise to dramatic pre-eminence.

At our provincial level of policy-making, planning and management, we cannot ignore both international and national conjunctures which present to us both constraints and opportunities. With its chaotic properties, showing lack of regularity and predictability, the global economic scene is characterised by recession and consolidating regional interests which thwart export efforts by developing countries such as ours.

As if this was not a problem enough, the international capital flows are dominated by "Hot Money" with devastating effects on values of currencies in the developing countries: this has the effect of fuelling inflation and the destabilisation of monetary policy regimes. Since 1995, South Africa has experienced a rise in short-term capital inflows which have been more destined for the bond and equity markets. The results of this phenomenon are already part of our recent economic history.

During the third quarter of 1998, R5.4 billion left the country. The concomitant exchange rates instability prompted a series of interest rates hikes, which had debilitating effects on the economic growth prospects for this country.

Unfortunately, we are again being revisited by the same events. Towards the end of 2001 and at the beginning of this year, we have been witnessing a Rand that is being severely battered. This has triggered the most unfortunate decision on the part of the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates with a view to contain the rising of inflation.

It is no secret that under conditions of dwindling purchasing power of the majority due to unemployment and inequitable distribution of income, increasing cost of living can only escalate crushing poverty to the majority. Our exports are showing signs of decline; so are our imports for different reasons. Due to rising costs and weak domestic demand fuelled by a weak Rand, imports showed a dramatic decline between November and December 2001. Under these conditions the country has strangely registered a trade surplus: this demonstrates the level of import decline when exports are not increasing.

The prospects for economic growth are not bright. The economy is likely to grow at a rate under 2%. Given the population growth rate this indeed shows that the quality of life of the majority is going to continue along the declining function. Both foreign and domestic investments are low. Our economic policies have been based on a linear model depicting investment as a direct function of investment sentiment and conducive macro-economic climate.

As observed by the ILO in 1996, investment is primarily determined by the profitability of investment and the complimentarity between investment by the state and the private sector. A phenomenon, which can be called a waltz syndrome, may explain the behaviour of investment as follows: investment tends to follow investment, typically initiated by the state and domestic private sector.

The message that should be clearly understood is that as a province and as a country, we are facing challenging economic and social development outlook.

There is sluggish economic growth; whatever economic growth takes place is not pro-poor and not pro-jobless; inflation is above official targets; and fairly high interest rates are going to fuel further economic decline.

Unfortunately, it is the same higher interest rates that provide conducive conditions for speculative short B term capital inflows, and which in turn depresses real foreign direct investment. Whatever trade surplus has been registered in recent months is going to be wiped out by huge capital outflows in the form of dividend outflows and profit repatriation by companies with head offices abroad.

Our greatest challenge as the province of KwaZulu-Natal remains the need to reduce and finally to eradicate poverty, to manage the impact of HIV/AIDS and to reduce its spread and to reverse the trend of unemployment and to protect existing jobs. All these challenges are to be tackled under conditions of declining available resources. Financial resources available to the province under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework are promising no significant increases: in fact they are declining in real terms due to the rising cost of living and cost of running government.

I would, however, like to endorse the wise words of Opa Kapijimpanga of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, which says: We must turn our language around that in every problem that we have faced, we can see for ourselves, new opportunities for change. Externalising problems shuts the door to our self- knowledge and self- determination and ability to define and manifest the reality that we want.

The bottom-line of my State of the Province Address is my government's commitment to fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty. All other policy pronouncements must be perceived in terms of the contribution they make to this bottom-line. Given the conditions of a shrinking pie, which I have already articulated, my government's programmes are to be informed by the re-prioritisation and re-allocation of our scarce and dwindling resources. The goal is to use our efforts to optimise what we can achieve out of our own available resources; out of our collective and integrated efforts, inclusive of collaborating with local government institutions, private sector, communities and civil society organisations. My government positions itself as a leader and player in the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty and associated unemployment and crime.

The single most important step taken during 2001 by the Provincial Cabinet was the identification of six provincial priorities. They are:

* Eradication of poverty and inequality;
* Managing the impact of HIV/AIDS and reducing its spread;
* Re-engineering and enhancing integrated service delivery in government;
* Investing in infrastructure;
* Strengthening of governance; and
* Human capability development.

These priorities form the foundation for achieving our goals of enhancing service delivery, strengthening governance and leap-frogging development. Most importantly, these six priorities provide a focus point for all government activities to contribute to our vision in a co-ordinated and integrated manner.

Honourable members, my address today will concentrate on two of our provincial priorities: The Eradication of Poverty and Inequality and the need to manage HIV/AIDS and reduce its spread.

THE WAR ON HIV/AIDS: BACKGROUND

Our economy is dramatically affected by the consequences of HIV/AIDS, as are all our governmental efforts, especially those aimed at alleviating poverty. We must accept that we are in the middle of a war and that we must deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic as one would during a war. We have been insufficiently aware of the dramatic nature of the problem confronting us for far too long. For far too long we have stated that the situation is dramatic, but we have not drawn the necessary conclusion of matching a dramatic situation with necessary drastic measures. We have employed the ordinary ways and means of government to confront an extraordinary situation of emergency which, in its consequences, can only be likened to the impact of a vast scale war. We must now shift gear and deal with the situation at hand differently. Unless we do so, all our efforts in any other field of economic endeavour or government activity are doomed at their commencement.

The casualties which HIV/AIDS imposes on our population and the costs that it inflicts on our economy and our infrastructures of government clearly show that likening it to a situation of war is no exaggeration and is perhaps the only responsible way of placing it in the perspective it deserves.

When I was elected in 1999, I stated that the long-term goal of my administration is the eradication of poverty and arresting the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This House elected me on this basis and must now accept my intention to fulfil this mandate. Each hour that goes by is marked by an estimated 15 people contracting HIV/AIDS in our Province. KwaZulu-Natal had an estimated 80 000 HIV/AIDS related deaths in 2001. In 2001, about 40 000 of our children were infected with HIV/AIDS by their mothers. It is estimated that possibly 36% but as much as 40% of our women giving birth are HIV positive. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection in our country and possibly up to 35% of our population is HIV positive.

No other priority can be higher on our agenda of concerns than the fight against HIV/AIDS. In no other province should concern about this desperate situation should be as great as in KwaZulu-Natal. For this reason, it is the primary obligation of the office to which this House elected me to pronounce that this Government must go further than any other province in addressing this problem. No greater threat to the lives of our citizens has ever come from any past war or potential enemy. Our population is being decimated and is facing the real possibility of mass destruction on a scale that only modern tools of war may deliver. In the face of this extreme challenge I and my government must act and act now. History will judge us harshly if we falter or hesitate. USibongile Khumalo uthi: Ayihlome ihlasele! Ayihlome ihlasele ingculazi! Impela ngithi isiyaviva, isiqalisile ukuhlasela!

In 1999, I set up an AIDS Council to co-ordinate our response to this scourge, and I continued to engage and familiarise myself with the subject. History will judge the tragic circumstances which have forced a concerned Premier to dwell in health policies because neither I nor any concerned fellow South African, could be satisfied with the official national government policy

There were reports that a drug called Nevirapine was available to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, but the reason why this available and inexpensive drug was not administered on a general scale to save children was not at all clear. Children who did not have to die were dying and are still dying and are convicted to die in the future.

We had to act, and may God forgive us for waiting so long. We shall not wait one day longer, nor allow any space for any further excuse, delaying tactic or preposterous theory which may get in the way of saving our children.

It should be stated for clarity and emphasis that HIV/AIDS, which stands for Human Immune-deficiency Virus, is the cause of AIDS, which stand for Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome. HIV causes AIDS. In this Province, this axiom of science is not open to bizarre personal theories with any relation to reality. I want to go into the details of this matter and give the members of this House and the people of KwaZulu-Natal a full report, because people are entitled to be empowered with the knowledge of the matter.

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS occurs in a significant percentage of HIV positive mothers, but not all mothers who are HIV positive will pass the virus on to their child before or at birth. It depends on the viral load in the mother's blood when the placenta separates during the birth process. Most infection is transmitted at this time when the blood of the mother and that of the child mix. If there is a considerable virus in the mother's blood, the baby is likely to become infected.

We are reliably informed that a number of studies and trials have conclusively proved that a single tablet of Nevirapine will halve the number of babies that become infected by their mothers. A small dose of Nevirapine suspension is also given to the baby soon after birth to supplement the dose given to the mother. For months our Province has participated in trial programmes which have been conducted in pilot facilities across the country, not to test the drug itself, which has been fully approved by the Medical and Dental Council, but to deal with the logistics of its administration. There is no relevant issue about the drug's safety, for such issues are dealt with during their approval stage, and this drug has been approved.

Months and months were consumed developing protocols dealing with the administration of this drug, including the counselling of mothers before they are tested for HIV/AIDS, the requirement of special space for privacy and confidentiality during one-to-one counselling, the training of lay counsellors, the development of standard and uniform protocols for counselling, protocols to include the mother's spouse or partner or to deal with the case of his non attendance, protocols to deal with issues of sensitiveness at home and in the community on the discovery of an HIV positive status of the mother, and other matters of this nature.

While these corollary and tedious issues were debated, analysed and dissected in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, at least 20 000 children who are now infected with HIV/AIDS could have been saved and protected by the use of Nevirapine. But this figure could be much higher depending on different sources. I want this House to pause and think about this army of children, whom we could have saved, and their mothers, and their families. We must think of them because, in a few short years, when their HIV conditions will explode into full blown AIDS, they will ask us why we waited this long. In August of last year, I instructed the Director General to find out from our Department of Health why we cannot distribute a simple pill to every health facility every time an HIV/AIDS infected mother gives birth. It is a simple procedure which any facility should be able to perform. I was told that his investigation revealed that, in accordance with published national policies, our Department of Health was not willing to distribute the drug without first finishing their studies in the pilot sites and ensuring the availability of infrastructure such as, laboratories for testing, counsellors, formula for feeding and trained staff. Women and their babies in other parts of the province had to wait another two years before they can have access to the drug in other public facilities. I thought that somewhere in the bureaucratic meanders we had lost our marbles or not understood at all that we are fighting a war. Our Department of Health was part of an agreement to limit the administration of Nevirapine to only the pilot sites.

However, with the information outlined above, I could see no reason to continue limiting the programme to a few facilities, while our children are becoming infected in the tens of thousands elsewhere in the Province.

I looked into the issue more deeply and discovered that the basic procedure begins when a pregnant woman first goes to an ante-natal clinic where blood is taken for a series of necessary blood tests, such as haemoglobin, blood grouping and syphilis, and the HIV/AIDS test is easily added if the woman approves after being counselled. The pre-test counselling is done to empower the woman, and the whole HIV/AIDS issue is explained to her including its potential effect on her baby. The test is done on the spot and the results are given to the woman within minutes. Therefore, she can be offered Nevirapine for her to decide whether to take it when the time comes. The baby gets its 3-drop dose soon after he or she is born.

In my efforts, I was not alone. In August 2001, my office was approached by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs and Chairperson of our House of Traditional Leaders in KwaZulu-Natal, who personally had begun looking into this issue and meeting with experts and pharmaceutical companies. Because of his positive advice and through his good offices, I organised a meeting and requested that my Director-General, the Superintendent-General of Health and the Head of Department of Social Welfare and Population Development meet a delegation from the German Pharmaceutical Company Boehringer Ingelheim. Because of this meeting, this company has offered the Province, through Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a donation, free of charge, of Nevirapine for the management of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS for a period of five years. The meeting took place on the 6th of August 2001.

After the discussions, the meeting agreed that this matter should be forwarded to me so that I can discuss it with the Minister of Health. In the meeting, the Department of Health had raised concerns about accepting the offer arguing that obtaining the drug is not really a problem as it is very inexpensive, but the real expense lies in the provision of infrastructure such as, laboratories for testing, counsellors, formula for feeding and the training of staff.

I immediately embarked on an extensive process of consultation in preparation for the bilateral meeting with the Department of Health and tried to drive home a few facts which to me, as a laymen, were both simple and cogent. First, while the Department of Health established Nevirapine pilot sites around Durban and Pietermaritzburg to test the efficacy of Nevirapine, a large number of HIV positive pregnant women around the Province are not receiving the much needed assistance. The issue of efficacy was no concern of mine, because, for as long as there is certainty that the drug is safe, the fact that it is effective in only 60% of the cases or in 100% of the cases should not prevent its general distribution, for as long as we do not have anything better to use. Now it turns out that the drug is highly effective. Sadly, in future we will be faced with the severe problem of HIV/AIDS infected orphans requiring treatment and care in spite of the fact that the opportunity was presented to administer free drugs to manage the issue.

Second, there was the formula feeding issue. I did not understand how this could affect the Nevirapine distribution. The concern was that formula feeding had to be part of the programme before Nevirapine could be widely distributed for fear that a small percentage of the children saved from HIV/AIDS infection could then be infected at a later stage through their mother's milk. It was thought that there was a small chance that HIV/AIDS could be transmitted through breast-feeding. I could not understand why, in order to avoid this small possibility of a secondary subsequent infection, all the children of HIV/AIDS infected mothers would need to be left open to the much greater chance of getting the primary infection. It now appears that both AZT and Nevirapine trials in breast-feeding populations have shown a continued efficacy for 18 to 24 months and experts are now recommending that the formula should not be substituted and that mothers should continue breast-feeding exclusively for 6 months.

There have been more fundamental policy and moral issues which remained incomprehensible to me. I fail to understand why the Province should refuse a free donation of medicine merely because the drug costs are not the main expense. The money saved on the drug could be used to provide the necessary infrastructure. Equally, people talk about infrastructure costs, but what about the suffering of our mothers and children? What about the physical, emotional and moral costs?

This is not a matter of politics. I am a father and a grandfather. I am a God-fearing man. For me, this is a matter of principle and common decency. I have turned upside-down the scientific facts to find a reason which can justify the failure to act and ameliorate the suffering and reduce the death of so many of our children, I have found none. The undisputed facts before me are that there are sound scientific bases on which Nevirapine is recommended, which include that it is effective in reducing the number of HIV/AIDS infected babies born to HIV positive mothers. It is cost-effective in that it is more expensive not to treat and it is safe. There to me is where the issue stops.

Yet, I went into corollary issues to avoid any red herrings and found that in the short-term, the drug is safe and, while long-term results may take some years to be understood, it is possible that the drug does lead to the virus becoming resistant to it. I was advised this should not deter us from using Nevirapine. This resistance is transient and fades away. I also found that there are countries in the developing world which show the best practices in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS such as, Thailand, Botswana, Uganda and Brazil. Here at home, the Western Cape and Gauteng have already embarked on a wider dissemination of Nevirapine. In developed countries, they have all but eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

In October 2001, I then met with our Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, to discuss the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS in the Province, the offer of free Nevirapine by Boehringer Ingelheim South Africa and the unfortunate impression of people in other parts of the Province that since Nevirapine sites are only around Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the provincial government does not care for them. We reached two separate agreements in that meeting:

* Firstly, that I as the Premier can accept the offer of free Nevirapine for five years from Boehringer Ingelheim.

* Secondly, the Minister requested me to put in writing the concern of the people of the Province about the limited pilot sites. This I did. Up to this day, I have not yet been favoured with any progress report in this regard.

In the meantime, communities, non-governmental organisations and health workers have been knocking on my door asking what the government is doing about the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Province and how can they join in the war against AIDS.

THE WAR ON HIV/AIDS: MOVING INTO FULL ACTION

Therefore, I, as Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, decided that enough is enough. As the wise adage goes for evil to prevail, it is enough that people with good intentions should do nothing. Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane was indeed quoted as saying that government stands accused of sinning against God and the people of South Africa. He went further to say that if the life of a child rests on getting a drug, but she is denied it, this is a sin and is immoral. National government policies are standing in the way of the right to life and health of a born individual, and thus have overstepped the mark.

On Monday, 21 January 2002, I issued a media statement wherein I took a principled position that the government of this Province is under an obligation to supply anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant mothers who are HIV positive. In this regard, I have formally accepted the free donation of Nevirapine from Boehringer Ingelheim for five years. I took it upon myself to commend doctors at Empangeni and Bethesda and other public hospitals and clinics who were supplying anti-retroviral drugs to patients in those parts of KwaZulu-Natal ravaged by the scourge of HIV/AIDS. I encourage them to remain faithful to the Hippocratic Oath which in part states:

"I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required... If it is given me to save a life, all thanks... I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure."

In addition, I publicly reiterated our commitment to implement in this regard section 11 of our Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, and section 27, which provides for the right to access health care services including reproductive health care. In fact, constitutionally no one can be refused emergency medical treatment. The administration of Nevirapine is an emergency measure in a life-threatening situation to the baby.

Judge C Botha of the Pretoria High Court (The Treatment Action Campaign case) has looked very closely at the issue of the National Government's refusal to roll out Nevirapine throughout the country in order to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. His observations are instructive:

After reviewing the submissions of the government and eight provinces including our Department of Health on why the administration of Nevirapine should only be limited to the pilot sites, the judge observed, A There is in my view incontrovertible evidence that there is a residual or latent capacity in the public sector outside the pilot sites to prescribe Nevirapine. The experience in the Western Cape is evidence of it. Dr Grant (The acting Medical Superintendent, Bethesda Hospital at uBombo) lends support to this in respect of a rural hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

The judge, therefore agreeing with our assessment that this is a national catastrophe, felt that doctors in the public sector must be allowed with some qualifications to prescribe Nevirapine. The judge felt this would allow an element of flexibility and would add further capacity that hitherto has been inhibited to manifest and develop itself. This provides another means of access, less structured, less perfect, but infinitely to be preferred to the choice between all or nothing.

In addition, the judge decried the fact that A there is no comprehensive and co-ordinated plan for a rollout of the MTCT programme. There is no unqualified commitment to reach the rest of the population in any given time or at any given rate. This of course is what Section 27 (2) of the constitution expects when it obliges the state to take reasonable measures to achieve the progressive realisation of the right to health care. Needless to say that the lack of a clear plan, and commitment to roll out this programme has been our people's greatest concern. As the judge remarked, "A programme that is open-ended and that leaves everything for the future cannot be said to be coherent, progressive and purposeful... What I find unacceptable in the respondent's (government) approach is the formulation that once the lessons have been learnt from the test and research sites, the rollout will follow as the means allow. That does no justice to the exigency of the case."

The learned judge then summed up his incisive observations, "About one thing there must be no misunderstanding: A countrywide MTCT prevention programme is an ineluctable obligation of the state... It is clear that with Nevirapine it is affordable. To the extent that the impression was created... that the further rollout of the programme will depend on the availability of resources, it must be dispelled. The resources will have to be found progressively. The availability of resources can only have an influence on the pace of the extension of the programme. But there must be a plan for a further rollout. Only if there is a coherent plan will it be possible to obtain the further resources that are required for a nation-wide programme, whether in the form of a re-organisation of priorities or by means of further budgetary allocations... I repeat: A MTCT prevention programme with the full coverage is affordable with proper planning."

As a Premier who heads a legitimate government, I must ask myself, as our posterity will undoubtedly do, what went wrong in South Africa for a judge to have to order us to have a plan and re-prioritise in order to save out children. Certainly, History will judge us harshly for the appealing of this ruling and the many unfounded attacks made on it on the grounds that it threatens to interfere in government policy-making.

On 30 January, we held a Cabinet meeting where the supply of Nevirapine throughout the Province was discussed. Cabinet stood resolutely by the announcement I made on the 21st of January 2002 that KwaZulu-Natal will supply Nevirapine to HIV positive pregnant mothers. I now call on this House and on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to support me and my Government in taking the matter further, and to be with me as we cut through the false issues and red herrings. The issue is saving the children and we must treat this matter as what it is: a medical emergency. I need the support of the entire Province to treat this as the emergency it is.

I am pleased to announce that our Department of Health has submitted to Cabinet a plan for the rollout province wide, of the MTCT programme. Cabinet of course adopted this with the proviso that the time frames be brought forward. We agreed that the public institutions and doctors that are ready to prescribe Nevirapine must go ahead. We also agreed to re-prioritise and allocate more resources to this programme. This is what is required if we are to do justice to the exigency of the case. I will not have another 20 000 HIV positive children, who could have been saved on my conscience in 2002.

I report to this House with a clear conscience. I have done what my conscience demanded of me, and what the people of our province expected of me as a responsible leader and as a person who cares. I only hope that when one day I stand before Him on judgement day, God Almighty may forgive me for not having acted sooner to save His children from the HIV/AIDS scourge.

In my desperation after being informed about the infrastructural needs that are required for a province wide roll out of Nevirapine, I even considered calling, as an interim measure, for the distribution of the drug to all pregnant women without testing or counselling and therefore irrespective of their HIV status. This would be like an immunisation programme. This approach would be very helpful in rural areas. Of course, I am aware of the importance of counselling and the moral and ethical considerations involved. I am aware that Judge C Botha advised against prescribing the drug without proper counselling and testing. However, I feel that as an interim measure until infrastructure is available, this should be considered. Certainly, the drug must be made available to all known HIV positive pregnant mothers.

I must repeat: our Province has had an estimated 80 000 AIDS-related deaths in 2001. About 40,000 babies were infected by their mothers last year. Nevirapine will result in a great saving to paediatric departments in the near future and the removal of much suffering on the part of thousands of families. It will also spread the message regarding prevention in terms of contracting HIV/AIDS infection. We cannot hesitate nor falter. This is a principled stand which I have taken out of a deep concern for the plight of unborn generations who are condemned to premature death even before they see the light of day, for sins not their own. No leader worth his or her salt would turn a blind eye to the suffering our children go through. This is a moral position. It is not a political issue. Let us stand together, without divisions or doubts, as one family who share a common determination to save our children.

THE WAR ON HIV/AIDS: THE NEXT STEP

Saving the children is essential but not sufficient. We need to save the mothers and we need to save all those whose lives are threatened by HIV/AIDS such as rape survivors. Research into developing an HIV vaccine must continue but it should be kept in mind that it might take many years before such vaccine is available. This means that the preventive anti-retroviral drug will remain the major weapon in the efforts to contain the pandemic. A few weeks ago Business Day reported that Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel declined the offer of very large institutional donors in the United States for funding of HIV programmes. He indicated that the problem we have in our struggle against HIV/AIDS does not hinge on the lack of available financial resources, but rather on the lack of capacity of our Government to deliver programmes. Simply put, we do not have enough people on the ground to spend the money we can raise internationally to finance our war against AIDS.

Our immediate priority will be that of building capacity on the ground. The programme of distribution of Nevirapine is the first stage in building that capacity which we are undertaking with the awareness that the same capacity, the same health workers and the same volunteers will need to be used and employed for much greater and broader efforts. We need to begin developing programmes to provide anti-retroviral drugs to those who are infected with HIV. These drugs can prolong the time before HIV becomes full blown AIDS and, therefore, the quality of their lives. However, in addition to being extremely expensive, the distribution of this type of anti-retroviral drug presents enormous logistical problems. In addition to having to deal with the issues of testing and counselling which I referred to earlier, in this case we must confront challenges arising out of the wide distribution and reticulation of very expensive drugs with often complex administrative procedures and protocols. We must also run large programmes to educate the recipients on how to take them and ensure that the administering of the drug is accompanied by other measures aimed at improving the overall health of people who are HIV positive, such as better diet, intake of vitamins and improved primary health care.

We must make a commitment today to move in the direction of giving anti-retroviral drugs to all those who can benefit from them. We must build capacity to make this possible and create programmes which can offer the basis for our raising money directly from international donors to fund them. For this reason, I call on the community of NGOs, churches and people of goodwill in our Province to join hands to begin building capacity on the ground and assist my Government to prepare proposals which together we can submit to international funding organisations to receive their financial assistance to save the lives of our people.

We must also deal with the victims of HIV/AIDS above and beyond those who are immediately infected with this disease. Among such victims are children who are orphaned. We need to reach out to them in all practical ways and, in so doing, our efforts must rely on a plurality of approaches. We need to provide assistance to the extended family to be able to provide for those who have been orphaned, but we must realise that by itself this measure may not be sufficient. We need to look at other measures which may go beyond the paradigm to which we are accustomed. Also, in this respect, we must realise that the dramatic nature of the situation confronting us calls for drastic and innovative solutions. In searching for such solutions, we must look at the experience of other countries as well as at what South Africa has to offer.

The office of the Premier will undertake an urgent assessment of current policies and programmes pertaining to the care of HIV/AIDS orphans and other children in distress including street children with a view to the development of an intersectoral response co-ordinated from the Premier's Office. With the assistance of international donors and specialised NGOs, my Government will consider developing children's villages. These children's villages are mainly populated by children, under the supervision of few adults performing the roles of teachers, paediatricians and social workers. These are indeed communities consisting of children in which children themselves are required to perform the bulk of functions relating to the organisation of their daily lives and the operation of their community. This will allow a new generation of children to support one another in their plight while having the opportunity of having a fresh and possibly joyous start in life, removing them from the plight of their HIV ravaged communities. It will also enable children to grow up with a greater sense of responsibility in respect of the fight against AIDS and other matters. Obviously a project like this can only begin through pilot projects.

The war against HIV/AIDS will be long and cannot be won by government alone. We can only win it if we change our attitudes and, from this moment on, begin dealing with this problem differently than we did before. We need to move ourselves into emergency mode. We must conduct this war with the assistance of each and every segment of our society. We need to summon and enlist their support and launch from this House a firm appeal for all citizens of KwaZulu-Natal to mobilise in this effort. My government has taken the challenge of managing HIV/AIDS and reducing its spread by also embarking on the following initiative:

* The Provincial HIV/AIDS Action Unit was established in 1999 and the year 2000 saw the launch of the AIDS CHALLENGE 2000. To date significant progress has been made in that:

1. Partnerships with NGOs/CBOs, private sector have been strengthened. Currently 34 organisations across KZN are working with the AIDS Action unit. No less than 19 private sector companies are working in collaboration with the unit to develop HIV/AIDS programmes and workplace policies.

2. 484 HIV/AIDS Communicators (HACs) have been integrated into the Community Health Worker (CHW) programme. Currently 2 780 CHWs are recruited to run door-to-door campaigns.

3. Life skills Programmes in schools have been implemented in secondary and primary schools with 1 558 educators having been trained to date.

4. Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) has been implemented in 9 identified sites across the province.

5. 30 home-based trainers have been trained on the nationally recommended training manual for home-based-care. Each health district has identified an NGO to render home-based care in their region.

6. 23 drop-in centres have been established across the province and are fully operational.

To build towards an integrated response where all three spheres of government and the various sectors of society contribute, the goals for 2002/3 will be to:

* Strengthen partnerships with all sectors and stakeholders;
* Increase the training base of Community Health Workers;
* Strengthen Life Skills programmes;
* Voluntary counselling and testing will be monitored, evaluated and increased;
* Home-based care will be extended to meet the needs provincially; and
* Media campaigns including electronic media will be vigorously promoted.

The collaboration between departments to jointly address HIV/AIDS is now becoming a reality. The departments of Works, Social Welfare and Population Development, Health, have for example, in partnership with Non Profit Organisations and the Independent Development Trust launched projects to create assets for HIV/AIDS support centres, community gardens and irrigation schemes and other income generating projects to improve the quality of life of the communities and ensure proper nutritional source for them.

The Department of Housing has established a housing policy for HIV/AIDS victims. There are 2 projects running at the moment, namely God's Golden Acre and Lily of the Valley and a further one has been approved, The Dream Centre.

As the single largest employer in the Province it is pleasing to note that most provincial government departments have now also put in place departmental policies on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, embarked on or support the HIV/AIDS Awareness Programme and are in the process of establishing counselling programmes.

The Department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs and the Town and Regional Planning Commission facilitated research on how planning needs to respond to this pandemic. The results of this research are now used to advise municipalities on how to make provision for the impact of HIV/AIDS in the preparation of their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).

The Department of Education and Culture has approved in principle a dedicated Planning Unit responsible for actions to mitigate the impact of educator-incapacitation and deaths as well as the plight of AIDS orphans. Its annual budget allocated to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been increased substantially from R4 million to R14 million.

This department has also focussed its attention on the values and life-skills relevant to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and its efforts are appreciated and supported by the children's parents, teachers and the community at large. During 2001, the HIV/AIDS Education Programme of the Psychological Guidance Special Education Systems (PGSES) aimed at training educators in 60% of schools, focussing on teachers of Grades 5-7 and Grades 8-10. Educator training workshops were organised and conducted in all regions. Learner Support Materials for the programmes was reproduced and distributed. In order to keep parents, the schools themselves and education managers informed, advocacy workshops were also held.

As the youth is the one group that is most at risk, strenuous effort was made by the Department of Education and Culture to hold workshops to sensitise learners (mainly the leadership corps, the Representative Councils of Learners (RCLs)) to the dangers of behaviour which is conducive to contracting HIV/AIDS and related sicknesses. The RCL members in turn devolve what they have learnt to the children they represent. This peer leadership is apparently more effective than using adults to propagate the message. However, this strategy needs considerable development and expansion, particularly with regard to synchronisation with other role-players doing similar work.

The Department of Social Welfare and Population Development indicates that there is evidence that the current 55% growth rate of Government Support Grants applications over the last 20 months is as a result of the ever increasing impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is due to more children requiring alternative care. There has also been a sharp increase in the number of foster placements of orphans. Financial support granted to a number of Welfare Organisations and Community Based Organisations, fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS is a direct intervention towards the reduction of the spread of this scourge.

In support of the paradigm shift from viewing HIV/AIDS as a health challenge to viewing HIV/AIDS as a development challenge, new activities will be launched during the course of the year. Through a programme funded by the government of Denmark, KwaZulu-Natal is one of the provinces to be assisted to develop an integrated Response Framework For Poverty and HIV/AIDS. As is the case in all three provinces, the programme will be coordinated from the Office of the Premier.

In view of the fragmented response to the plight of HIV/AIDS orphans, I have instructed the directorates of Poverty and HIV/AIDS and Human Rights within my Office to visibly undertake an assessment of current policy and programmes initiatives within the province which provide care for AIDS orphans and other children in distress including street children.

TACKLING THE MENACE OF POVERTY

In the KwaZulu-Natal province, the phenomena of poverty and unemployment are increasing and are becoming profound and lasting. It is important to appreciate the context within which poverty and unemployment manifest themselves. The total population of this province was last given to be about 9.1 million with over 80% being Africans. With respect to Africans, over 70% live in the non-urban areas.

The KwaZulu-Natal population has been growing at about 2,14% and over 39% of inhabitants are younger than 15 years and another 26,6% are between age 15 and 29. It is reported that in the Zululand District nearly 74% of the population are under the age of 30. The province has also a relatively high proportion of aged people in the non-urban areas. 53% of the adult population are women.

The demographic structure of the population has a number of implications. A youthful population presents a high potential for the spread of HIV/AIDS. The high population growth rate increases the demands for goods and services. Schooling, recreation and entry job opportunities are required. High dependency rates represent a financial burden on the few members of households who are employed. This means that focussed socio-economic policies should be crafted to address these issues. The role of government, private sector, NGOs and community organisations in dealing with these problems cannot be overemphasised. Poverty should be tackled head on with a view to its eradication.

Strategies to tackle the scourge of poverty should be informed by the nature of poverty being addressed, the determined causal factors and the affected population or demographic groups. It is common knowledge that KwaZulu-Natal experiences low levels of Human Development as measured by the Human Development Index; low women participation in political, administration, professional and technical occupations as measured by the Gender Empowerment Index and equally low human development affecting women as measured by the Gender Development Index.

The world experience on the correlates of poverty was as summarised by the UNDP in 2000 as follows:

"Poverty is very closely related to unequal development in terms of infrastructural and administrative capacity, assets, access to information, knowledge and opportunities Low human development correlates with high levels of poverty and inequality."

Poverty is multidimensional. In general and in particular, it has spatial, racial and gender dimensions. Any attempt to deal with poverty, must, therefore, be informed by the available knowledge. It is a fact that the KwaZulu-Natal province provides all the elements which exacerbate poverty. The majority of the African people live in abject poverty. The rate of unemployment is high in the African community. Rural women and youth constitute the most vulnerable sector of our society.

In keeping with best practice elsewhere in Africa which was again endorsed by the participants of the Second Africa Forum on Poverty in Dakar in September last year our provincial poverty reduction strategy needs to be developed in such a way that it reflects the following:

A clear understanding of not only the geographical spread of poverty in the province but also the nature and depth of prevailing levels of poverty.

An outline of the programmes most likely to have an effective impact on poverty in this province.

A clear indication of the roles and responsibilities of the various departments in addressing poverty to avoid current problems of overlap and duplication.

Concrete plans of action reflecting the cost and fiscal, economic and social sustainability of the various sectoral programmes.

The mechanisms and tools that will be used to monitor programmes and assess impact.

The institutional arrangements for co-ordination not only within provincial government but also with other spheres of government and major stakeholders such as civil society structures, the private sector and donors.

It is now a well documented fact that the greater the involvement of local people in the design, implementation and evaluation of poverty reduction programmes the greater the programme's effectiveness in reducing poverty. Thus, the engagement and empowerment of poor people in poverty programmes is clearly critical to their effectiveness. This poses an enormous challenge to our programmes, which all too often fail to adequately involve and empower local people.

Our response to poverty will not only derive from poverty reduction programmes but all of our major development, economic and social policies should reflect a commitment to addressing the needs of the poor and reducing inequality in this province.

Sound governance, transparency and accountability are also integral aspects of the fight against poverty. The province will need to adopt a zero tolerance approach to corruption and fraud to ensure that scarce resources reach those who need them most and that poor people are not forced to pay bribes to get services that are their constitutional right.

In the course of this year in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and with the technical support of the United Nations Development Programme, we will finalise the provincial poverty reduction strategy as outlined and linked to our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy. Thereafter our fight against poverty should have a much clearer focus and we will be in a much stronger position to monitor our effectiveness.

I have been encouraged to learn from the provincial Minister of Finance, the Honourable Peter Miller, that with respect to request for additional funding from departments 30% weight has been allocated for poverty reduction programmes. Poverty and HIV/AIDS have been given a 45% weight according to the Honourable Minister for Finance. This is encouraging; but we as government must ensure that much more resources are directed towards both poverty reduction and the reduction of the impact and spread of HIV/AIDS. We need to undertake serious public expenditure reviews to express through benefit incidence analysis, the degree to which spending is pro-poor.

As the former managing director of the IMF said in 2000: "It is not enough to increase the size of the cake; the way it is shared is deeply relevant to the dynamics of development and to reducing poverty."

Almost all provincial departments have programmes and projects that have impact on poverty reduction. What we have been emphasising is effective co-ordination of these programmes, better focussing and the designing of measurable indicators. Tools for assessing and evaluating the impact of these programmes are being designed. I am only going to give few examples of some programmes and projects that are being implemented by the provincial government. The department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs has allocated R6 million from its budget in the form of the Indigent Support Grant to support assistance to municipalities in implementing their indigent policies.

In December 2001 the number of children benefiting from Child Support Grants were 4119 305. The target given for KwaZulu-Natal is 600 000 children by March 2003. Since 1998, 10 921 jobs have been created by the Department of Social Welfare and Population Development to provide employment opportunities for the poor. By mid-2000, 683 poverty Relief Projects had been funded by the same department. About R5.5 million has been spent in support of Flagship Programmes aimed at capacitating women and communities to escape the scourge of poverty. Social Finance is a programme targeting households facing extreme vulnerability and poverty.

Community Based Public Works Programmes have been implemented with 50% of the labour provided by women and 15% by the youth. 180 emerging contractors have been trained. The allocation of Free Basic Water Services to the poor has been embarked upon under conditions of limited resources, which threaten sustainability.

It is envisaged that Community Production Centres are to be established to engage in agricultural produce production. Co-operatives are to be formed in the rural areas to run these Community Production Centres.

Agricultural activities by my government have had emphasis in increased food security, increased food accessibility and affordability.

The pass rate in the Senior Certificate examination rose by 5.2% during 2001. The province is now at a 62,8% pass rate. We congratulate the Honourable Minister of Education and Culture, the Honourable LBG Ndabandaba, his department, the learners and their parents for a job well done. I hope that we will redouble our efforts to improve on this achievement.

Within the next few weeks, a Memorandum of Agreement between ourselves and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will be signed providing for technical assistance to enable us to finalise a provincial poverty reduction strategy linked to our Provincial Government Development Strategy. Most of my government's infrastructural projects are focussed on poverty reduction and I shall attend to these at a later stage.

UNEMPLOYMENT

There is no gainsaying that in the past seven years, unemployment and poverty have become worse throughout South Africa. It is reported that about 70% of all last year's matriculants are unlikely to find jobs in the formal sector.

I call for your support and the support of the entire Province, including its businesses, churches, community organisations and NGOs to begin a new programme of massive employment generation. We may discuss the details of this programme at a later stage. What is important now is to garner the political momentum and the institutional will to take charge of this issue and take appropriate decisions.

I have done it before in this House and I will do it again today. I will again today present a broad-brush vision of employment generation in this Province.

One of the main potential sources of employment generation in our Province is agriculture. We must use some of our land to create a new type of agriculture in our Province which is not only perfectly suited to our climate and geography but also to emerging global market conditions and trends. We need to use some of the land to develop agricultural industries, which are labour intensive and have high added value while requiring little land. We should grow crops such as avocado pears, tropical nuts and fruits, olive oil, olives, grapes, cacao beans, specialised herbs and other crops for which world demand is skyrocketing. Our Province should become the catalyst of this land conversion, providing the interim resources and possibly even the required legislation to make this possible.

Our Province should also bridge the gap between production markets by enabling small-scale farmers to market their products through cooperative arrangements. What was once termed the 'Garden of the Empire' shall now become the food basket of Africa.

The Africa Growth Opportunity Act of the United States provides a number of opportunities for employment in intensive undertakings including agricultural produce, clothing, textiles and footwear. Public Works, Transport and Housing infrastructural projects should be intensified to generate employment and to fight against poverty. These projects include roads, water, sanitation, energy and electrification, housing, irrigation systems, township renewal and development, etc.

Another source of massive employment generation for our Province can and should be tourism. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and you have heard me speaking in this House before about the great potential that our Province has to capture new markets. However, not enough has been done to promote our Province as a tourist destination. The responsibility of promoting tourism has been vested in a few entities, which have done some good work, but obviously cannot accomplish the full measure of what is required all by themselves. We need to transform tourism into a preoccupation and concern of all our organs and branches of local and provincial government. We also need to broaden the activities which can be engaged by tourists and extend our list of local attractions.

As part of our effort to promote employment among the youth, a Youth Empowerment Fund has been established by the Office of the Premier. Projects have been invited from the youth of the province. A number of them have been received. Within a couple of weeks, I shall make an announcement on the projects that will receive support from the fund. The fund has an initial allocation of R20 million.

INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE

In realising this priority my government is providing a project development and management to traditional authorities to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of traditional institutions by engaging in a Programme of Constructing Traditional Courts for all Traditional Authorities in the Province, facilitating the provision of electrification and telecommunication to traditional courts and the Provision of Information Technology Infrastructure (Computerisation Programme) to Traditional authorities. To this end, consultants were appointed to assess the infrastructure needs of traditional courts in terms of new and old courts. An amount of R14 million has been allocated to build 23 new traditional courts. These amounts have been transferred to Traditional Authorities' accounts in order to get the Amakhosi to own the process.

R3.2 million has been allocated to cater for renovations of the existing traditional courts.

R35 million was provided from the provincial budget for the provision of basic administrative facilities such as council chambers, computers and furniture at municipalities.

The Department of Housing has built 22 118 housing units during 2000/2001 and it is anticipated that about 22 000 units will be built each year.

Our government has built 289 new classrooms between 1 April 2001 and 31 December 2001, in an attempt to deal with over-crowding in schools. A further 712 classrooms are under construction or ready for tenders to be called. The planning phase (drawings and documentation) of a further 3 282 classrooms is close to completion and it is envisaged that the Department of Works will start calling for tenders on these projects by March 2002.

An amount of R9 million has been allocated to three district councils, for the construction of administrative buildings.

An amount of R25 million has been set aside for the provision of adequate toilet facilities and the collection of rainwater in rural areas as part of its fight against the cholera epidemic.

A security-fencing programme at schools is underway in an attempt to minimise vandalism and safeguard the school buildings as well as occupants thereof.

The Department of Transport has constructed 650km of roads and 86 minor bridges structures. These roads and bridges have facilitated access to 780 000 people and 405 schools and 129 clinics are now within reach. We all anxiously look forward to the upgrading of road P700 which will promote tourism and development in previously inaccessible rural areas.

The establishment of the King Shaka International Airport is high on the agenda of the provincial government. To that end, the government plans to invest an amount of R250 m over the next 5 years towards its construction. The Ethekwini Metro has committed a similar amount. We in the provincial government are ready to move at full speed with the planning and construction of the airport.

THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME

All our efforts in promoting tourism are going to be ineffective unless we get a strong grip on crime. I speak to you about crime being aware that my Government remains impotent to deal with the issue because we have no powers and functions in respect of policing. We do not have the power to increase the number of policemen and women across the Province and to provide them with more equipment and resources, better training and higher salaries.

As a province, we should contribute to the fight against crime. We must increase efforts to change attitudes. We need to give responsibilities to people at community level to work and support the police. I wish to receive a mandate from this House and from the people of KwaZulu-Natal to deal with the issue of crime in the best way I can, within the constitutional limitations which are imposed upon my Government.

Let me present to you a concept which will be worked out in detail once we agree on the way forward. The concept I put to you is that of establishing a Goodwill Corps in which our Province, working together with businesses, community leaders, religious leaders and local government, trains people who carry the responsibility of assisting the police and promote a culture of law and order at community level. These people will not have any public authority or law enforcement capacity. They will not be expected to enforce the law in their private capacity. They will be available to the police to conduct investigations and to assist them with their work in communities. The greatest importance I ascribe to the notion of a Goodwill Corps is the training of people who can internalise the value and importance of law and order and good citizenry. We should accept that as a society we have not done enough to inculcate the values of good citizenry.

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT

I intend to address the concepts of good governance and development within the context of what I have referred to as the bottom-line of my address to this House. I start from the truism that the concept of good governance stresses the interdependence between governmental and societal sectors. Such interdependence is a crucial variable in determining the capacity of government to solve societal problems. This is to say that the capacity to solve societal problems is a critical indicator of good governance. It is my conviction that the quality of governance affects public policy making structures and processes and the degree of participation by citizens. Governance is a means to an end. It determines social, cultural, technological and economic progress. The capacity of government to stimulate processes of co-operation is considered critical, so is the general empowerment of all sectors in the policy making domains to participate effectively. Actors in the policy and political decision making domains need each other because resources like authority, expertise and knowledge, finances, political support, power and information are not a monopoly of any actor.

We start from a recognition of the fact that not all issues that represent problems or opportunities and thus calling for public response are recognised as deserving government attention. Similarly, the structuring and definition of societal problems depend on those who are doing it; so are the recommended strategic responses in the form of public policy programmes.

I have already emphasised the need to assist the poor to organise themselves as a strategy to fight against powerlessness which is one of the sources of poverty.

The international experience on the fight against poverty is that governance is the missing link. The same applies to anti HIV/AIDS policies and programmes. It has been recognised that good governance is a missing link between anti-poverty efforts and poverty reduction. What is required are responsive and accountable institutions of governance. In order to hold government and civil society institutions and officials accountable to the poor, the poor must be organised and must be informed. The self-organisation of the poor and their capacitating assists them to effectively influence both the local and provincial government with regard to their needs and how these can be satisfied.

In order to further this objection our provincial departments should allocate resources towards assisting the poor or poor communities to organise themselves. The provincial communication unit will be called upon to serve as a provider of useful information to poor communities so that they can effectively influence public policies that affect their lives. Through this approach, the citizenry will hold government accountable. Our Batho Pele programmes will also be directed towards this effort. More decision B making powers have to be moved down to the poor and their communities.

In pursuit of both good governance and co-operative government, my government is committed to exercising its responsibility in its relationship with local government. Relevant decision making power will, as a result of negotiated consensus with local government, be devolved to the local government sphere. This will enable this sphere of government to play a meaningful role in the poverty reduction programmes and in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The devolution of power will be accompanied by the appropriate resources and capacity building programmes. Local government will also be expected to assist the poor to organise themselves against poverty of power, influence and information. The emphasis here is to bring about the existence of pro- poor local good governance. Local government should be more open to participation by the poor and must be accountable to them. The role of the provincial government will be to monitor and support local government to exercise its expenditure function in a more pro poor approach and to ensure that resources intended for the poor are not diverted to other purposes. Local government will be assisted to build partnership with organisations of the poor and with civil society organisations so as to encourage greater transparency and accountability.

We move from a premise that Good Governance contributes positively to promoting development and thereby eradicates poverty, illiteracy, disease and hunger.

On the 23-24 January 2002, we had a Cabinet retreat at San Lameer Resort. The objectives of our indaba were:

* To review the programmes that should be undertaken to implement the provincial priorities from year 2002 to 2004.
* To clarify the core competencies of the province and local government and to find ways and means of strengthening co-ordination and relationships between the province, Amakhosi and Local Government in order to enhance service delivery and co-operative good governance in KwaZulu-Natal and to plan for the year ahead.

The provincial Cabinet has agreed that in the areas of improving governance we need:

1. To urgently establish a Provincial, Traditional Leadership and Local Government Forum (ProvTradLog). This forum will provide an avenue for the exchange of views on issues of common interest. It will also allow for consultation before engaging the National Government on these matters. We have already delayed the launch of this forum and we should establish it before the end of June 2002.

2. There was a need to produce a discussion document on the constitutional and legislative provisions relating to provincial, traditional leadership and local government powers, functions and relationships.

3. The provincial government must exercise its policy making and legislative competencies including the drafting of enabling legislation that will regulate local government competencies. It was acknowledged during the deliberations that the provincial government is constitutionally mandated to establish, support, monitor, build capacity, supervise and to regulate Local Government.

4. We need a workshop as soon as possible, with Local Government on Provincial and Local Government competencies and relations. The alignment of national priorities (medium term strategic framework) provincial priorities (as outlined in the provincial Growth and Development Strategy) and the municipal and Amakhosi priorities (Integrated Development Plans {IDPs}) is absolutely critical. It is when we have integrated service delivery, aligned development plans, objectives, and coherent governance that we can eradicate poverty and inequality.

Let me reiterate the call I made last year that we need a coherent and clear agenda for provincial governance. In this regard, the Provincial Lawyers Forum, the Central Policy Unit and the Directorate: Intergovernmental Relations should complete as soon as possible the following tasks:

* The rationalisation of all pre and post 1994 legislation.
* A comprehensive constitutional analysis of the role, powers and functions of provinces.
* An audit of areas of policy making by the province, and,
* Mechanisms for promoting relations between the different spheres of government including dispute resolution mechanisms. We are also keen to develop mechanisms that will ensure that local government, especially the district councils, become development agencies of the provincial government.

We are continuing our call to the National Government to finalise the outstanding matter of the National Framework on the powers and functions of Amakhosi. Any further delays will impact negatively on Rural Development and Rural Local Governance

My government is working jointly with Amakhosi to improve the lot of both Amakhosi and their people. In this regard the Department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs has launched the following programmes:

A one-week University of Zululand certified course which covers conflict resolution, land administration, public finance, leadership & Fellowship, Community Development, Judicial and Environmental Management. The Department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs funds these programmes to an amount of R100 000. Two hundred and fifty one (251) Amakhosi participated in the programme which began in September 2000 and was successfully completed in September 2001.

Training was provided for 110 traditional administrative personnel who have electricity in their traditional courts. The R432 000 training programme ran from 11 to 21 December 2000 at the University of Zululand and covered computer training, public relations, basic bookkeeping, human resource management and an introduction to local government and district administration. This programme has provided the relevant trainees with the capacity and expertise to effectively utilise the information management equipment such as computers and printers, photocopiers and fax machines) provided to electrified traditional courts.

An amount of R200 000 was spent on training 104 traditional authority secretaries who do not have electricity in their courts. The focus of the course was Office Management.

We are looking forward to the tabling and finalisation of the following pieces of legislation during the current parliamentary session:

* The Amakhosi and Iziphakanyiswa Amendment Bill 2002 and the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders Amendment Bill 2002. The Department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs has been directed to draft appropriate legislation to regulate the revenue collection in traditional authority areas of jurisdiction.

To further demonstrate our commitment to Good Governance, the Office of the Premier has established a charity trust fund called the Premier's Good Governance and Development Trust. The trust fund will be used for the furtherance of good governance and development in areas such as, education, development, research, humanitarian field and welfare, health and healthcare, cultural and historical purposes, conservation, environment and animal husbandry. Towards this end, I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the contribution which has been made by the South African Breweries to donate an amount of R125 000, the MIBTEK Legal Finance who have donated R5000,00 and free legal services. A donation has also been received through Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi from Mrs Delor Adams, a US national, of an amount of R3 500($300) for education purposes. A word of appreciation is also due to Messrs Austen Smith, attorneys-at-law, and KPMG auditors who have offered their services free to support this trust.

The following people will serve as members of the Trust: Premier (Chairperson), Dr OD Dhlomo, Mr M Myeni and Mrs L Mzoneli.

CONSTITUTION-MAKING PROCESS

If we can tackle satisfactorily the three major crises confronting us, which are HIV/AIDS, unemployment and poverty and crime, we can begin setting the Province in motion towards a better future. It is clear that these three crises can only be tackled by all political parties working together and enlisting the support of our provincial citizenry, stakeholders and role players. Only a new spirit of unity of intent and purpose can bring about results in dealing with these three crises. I hope that the renewed spirit of unity amongst the members of this House can also lay the foundation for the drafting of a new constitution for our province. This is also a recurring issue in the discussions held in this House and I have addressed it on previous occasions. I want to address it again on this occasion, giving it greater clarity.

I will add to my clarification a good dose of bluntness. This is a serious issue which should be tackled seriously. Writing a constitution is a serious affair which must be based on serious reasons and serious purposes. In 1996 we produced a Constitution for the serious purpose of maximising the full measures of powers and functions our Province could enjoy under the most liberal and open interpretation of the then governing interim Constitution. It was also a tool through which our Province expressed its aspirations for greater future autonomy. The interim Constitution also provided extensively for a new local government model and regulated the position, role and functions of our monarchy. It also dealt with a broad variety of other matters ranging from the provincial civil service to cultural councils, a provincial electoral system and the House of Traditional Leaders. These were all serious matters of great future import.

Under the present Constitution there is little space left to address many of these matters. We must create consensus around the list of matters and agenda items for which we believe a constitution may be required. Constitutions are not written in committees. Their drafting must always proceed from a fundamental understanding amongst the political parties on what they intend to achieve through constitution drafting. Once such fundamental agreement is achieved, committees may start dealing with the actual drafting of the constitution, and the acquisition of proposals and processes to make the constitution a reality.

We are committed to the process of drafting a constitution. We have asked all political parties to engage in discussions at the highest possible level to determine the content of the constitution and to establish that there is sufficient serious agreement in principle on a serious list of serious agenda items to justify the great efforts involved in the drafting of a serious constitution. We are not willing to ridicule our Province by adopting a constitution which copies verbatim the national Constitution, with the sole exception of changing the provisions relating to the composition of cabinet to allow for a greater number of ministers to be appointed. We are committed to making this provision part of a package of provisions which could rightly deserve to be called a constitution. If our intention is that of merely extending the number of cabinet ministers, then we don't need anything more than a one liner constitution, the drafting and negotiation of which requires no special dedicated process.

It is our intention to ensure that all political parties discuss through bilateral and multilateral negotiations a list of items which they feel ought to be addressed through a constitution. I am sure that issues such as the institution of monarchy, the role of our House of Traditional Leaders and different legislative structures, legislative procedures, executive structures and executive procedures may be part of such an agenda. Once political parties reach agreement on a tentative list of items to be included in a constitution, my Office will seek a preliminary legal opinion which it will make available to this House and its relevant committees to ensure that all the items which political parties intend to address through a constitution do indeed fall within the narrow and limited area of provincial constitution-making. This will ensure that our efforts in drafting a provincial constitution proceed from a basis which enhances the possibility that the outcome of the process may receive the certification of the Constitution Court.

My Office, under my supervision, wishes merely to be a catalyst of that which political parties may decide to agree to upon. As the Premier of this Province, I do not wish to become directly involved in defining the contents of the provincial constitution, but would rather play an enabling and empowering role to ensure that all political parties can work together to produce something which is authored by none of them but belongs to all of us. I would like my Office to develop technical capacity to assist the process and that my Director General becomes available to coordinate technical efforts which may assist political parties as well as this House.

I believe that the first step is for political parties to engage in discussions which create a climate of serene reflection on constitutional matters in the Province. It is also important that political mechanisms are set in place to resolve disputes amongst political parties and thus enable them to reach a preliminary agreement. Obviously, the 1996 Constitution can offer a baseline for discussions between and amongst political parties, once political parties and members of this House reach a clear understanding of how much the framework in which a constitution can be drafted has changed because of the new national Constitution and the Constitutional Court judgement which narrowed the area in which provincial constitution-making can take place.

I think that in this way, we can give to our constitution-making process a serious start, and we can ground it on the technical level of discussions to which it rightly belongs. We must make sure that this process is driven by political agreement. The process should not only be a political exercise. It must indeed be an exercise in constitutionalism aimed at improving our Province's constitutional makeup and institutional life.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that I have acknowledged challenges that face us as a South African Nation as well as citizens of KwaZulu-Natal. I zeroed on poverty, and HIV/AIDS, unemployment, crime, infrastructural investment and good governance. These factors act as either casual variables or correlates to HIV/AIDS and Poverty. I have challenged the citizens of this province to weather the storm of the above manifested challenges through decisiveness, discarding all prevarications and duplicity. Through this House, I would like to promise the people of KwaZulu-Natal that my government is committed to do whatever is possible within our stretched efforts and resources. Excuses have been banished out of this province. Action, reflections and learning and action again shall from now onwards become our distinguishing mode and ethos of operation.

With unity, political will and dedication to serve the people of KwaZulu-Natal, we shall overcome any challenge. A people resolve to succeed, come what may, will never be found wanting. We as government shall re-prioritise and re-allocate our resources with a view to defeat the twin scourges of HIV/AIDS and poverty. We are going to rob the graveyard of our babies and children. We shall endeavour to develop and implement pro-poor, pro-women and pro-jobless public policies and programmes. Indeed our mind in this regard is made up and we dare not fail!

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal, 25 February 2002