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The turn of the century - year 2000 - marked the coming of age of the Free State Province and the beginning of the second term of the provincial Government after the democratic dispensation of 1994. This all-important period was ushered in with words of comfort from President Thabo Mbeki when he addressed the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town on 28 October 1999 when he said,

"Our democracy is five years old. It is my firm view that, during this period, we have worked well together, to establish and consolidate the base, which must enable us, as a country and as a people, to move forward faster towards the creation of better life for all, to which all right thinking people in our country are committed. Because of the experience we have accumulated over these past five years, we must surely be wiser now than we were five years ago and therefore better able to respond to the continuing and pressing challenge of the reconstruction and development of our country"

The challenge facing the Free State then was and still is the reversal of the outflow of human, financial and natural resources and the reconstruction and development of our people's lives after long years of devastation of racial discrimination. The situation is compounded by the declining mining and agricultural activities, which are the mainstay of the economy of this Province. The onset of democratic rule was faced with serious socio-economic problems aggravated by poverty and underdevelopment in the rural hinterland. This then introduced the phenomenon of URBAN DRIFT where people from the countryside moved into urban areas, thereby severely overwhelming the already inadequate social services. People were leaving rural areas in the hope for better life in the urban areas.

The countryside had come to be associated with oppression. This necessitated deliberate allocation of resources in the rural areas for development and job creation.

Driven by a strong desire to find a lasting solution to social ills facing our people, the Free State Provincial Government identified five strategic goals as a barometer to service delivery. These are:
* Enhancing economic development and job creation
* Providing and facilitating sustainable infrastructure development
* Investing in the development of people of the Free State
* Ensuring a safe and secure environment
* Good/co-operative governance with sustainable use of resources and environment

Political and technical clusters were created to drive each of these strategic goals. Central to this process is the principle of cooperative governance where all spheres of government and state enterprises integrate plans and optimise state resources in the best interest of the poor.

It is against this background that we give the state of delivery account to the people of the Free State as our commitment to interactive governance and public accountability. This statement gives account on service delivery from July 1999 - the beginning of the second term of the ANC-led government in the Free State. Setting the tone for this account is the acknowledgement that the massive fiscal deficit of R378 million in 98/99 has been wiped off. Creative financial reengineering and the adherence to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act are responsible for this turn around.

The total expenditure of the Province increased by 10.9% in 2001/2002 compared with the previous financial year as result of improved budget processes and capacity to spend budgets. This is a clear indication of improving service delivery in the Province. Faced with a huge infrastructure backlog, infrastructure and capital expenditure were increase by a hopping 99% in the previous financial year.

SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

The reconstruction and development of the lives of the majority of the people of the Province is underpinned by provision of adequate and decent housing. Available statistics indicate that as at 31 March 2001 the housing backlog in the Free State was 197421 units. To address this backlog, the Provincial Government rolled out 32 932 subsidies totalling R627 million since July 99 to July 2002. This entailed project linked, individual, consolidation, discount benefit and hostel upgrading subsidies. Fourteen previously single men hostels were converted into 2300 family units.

It is important to acknowledge that informal settlements have become an integral part of housing strategy in South Africa. In this regard, the FSPG has planned and surveyed 26 655 erven throughout the Free State at a cost of R13 million over the three year period. Seen against the Provincial target of 12000 units a year, these results are an indication that we are

Winning the battle against homelessness and therefore broadening access to better life for all in the Free State. Over the past three years this Government has built 26 new schools at a cost of R80 million. Nine more new schools are being completed currently at a cost of R69 million. Our commitment to the education of the children of the Free State is also demonstrated by the total expenditure of R9 444 267.67 for maintenance and renovations of schools over the past three years. Primary health care is the cornerstone of a healthy, stable and productive nation. Pressured by high incidence of poverty in the Province, above average attention had to be given to available health infrastructure in the Free State. For this reason, 27 hospitals were rehabilitated and reconstructed at a cost of R109 million over the period under review.

48 728 km of the Free State road network were deteriorating very fast and posing a huge litigation threat to the Government as results of accidents and breakdowns. R408 million has been spent and allocated to maintenance and rehabilitation of roads. Out of the twelve key roads currently under rehabilitation, we can announce that work is in progress for the rehabilitation of the Ficksburg/Clocolan road at a cost of R50 million. The work started on 3 September 2001 and is expected to be completed by 23 October 2003. Infrastructure provisioning remains the biggest procurer of services therefore the single biggest source of job opportunities for our people. To date, 1874 short term and permanent jobs were created through this process excluding jobs created through black economic empowerment initiative.

During the period under review the FSGP has established and upgraded 22 basic sport facilities at various towns and schools in all five districts in the Province at a cots of R15 million. More than 1100 temporary job opportunities were created with the construction and upgrading of sports facilities.

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

Our commitment to development of the people of the Free State is a deep one. This is a deep-rooted resolve to create a new cadre for our Province. Our call for the new Free Stater who is someone who has a culture of caring, who is willing to face challenges, who can compete without fear, who is educated and learned, disciplined, trustworthy and efficient has good education as its pillar.

Whilst there is still room for improvement, our matric results over the reporting period bear testimony to Provincial Government's concerted effort towards the culture of learning and teaching. A steady improvement in matric results, (42.1) 10.9% in 99; (52.7) 12.5% in 2000 and (59) 14.5% in 2001 demonstrate a winning partnership between learners, teachers, parents and the Government. This improvement was not only on quantity, but also on quality as well. In 1999 10.9% passed with university endorsement. This figure rose to 12.5% in 2000 and 14.5% in 2001. The number of dysfunctional schools has been decreased from 153 in 1999 to 88 in 2001. Our Holistic Intervention Programme where some Principals of well performing schools have been temporarily transferred to these schools whilst others are assisting these schools on mentorship basis is beginning to bear fruit. I am therefore confident that soon dysfunctional schools will be a thing of the past in this Province.

Underpinning this initiative is a comprehensive provincial bursary scheme. To date more than 7 000 individuals have benefited from this scheme. The provincial government has spent around R27 million to improve in the interest of skills development in the Free State. The bulk of the recipients is educators whose qualifications where improved at the cost of R21.6 million. Among the remaining, is around 200 needy children from disadvantaged communities selected to undergo training in fields like sport, health, social, and other sciences.

Currently, the FSPG operates 153 community libraries, which are visited by approximately 3 million annually. Since 1999 almost 80 000 information enquiries were answered while 5.9 million books were issued to library users.

Adequate health for all the citizens of the Province remains a huge but necessary challenge. Our fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and other diseases is not only ongoing but a compelling one too. More than ever before, we are convinced that the voluntary confidential counselling and testing (VCCT) for HIV/AIDS presents us with the best ever opportunity to make inroads in the war against the epidemic.

Two Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) research sites have been established at Virginia and Frankfort. Step-down facilities are also operational at

Botshabelo, Petrusburg and Ficksburg where people with chronic diseases, HIV/AIDS, and frail age are being cared for. These centres and the Home Based care centres are currently providing care to 3640 patients. 540 volunteers have been trained and are offering a touch-of-angel care to the sick. This is providing the much needed relief to the already over stretched health facilities in the Province. We have also done incredibly well in reducing the backlog of cataract surgery. In 2001 alone 1790 surgeries were conducted which achievement presented the Free State department of Health with the Cataract Surgery Award.

The shortage of trained health practitioners continues to undermine our efforts to provide the people of the Free State with proper health care. To this end the FSPG has selected 25 young dedicated Free Staters to undergo training in health sciences like medicine,

Pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy, optometry, nursing and health inspection.
We are confident that this humble beginning is the right tonic to the ills of our health system.

Thirty four (34) percent unemployment and sixty-three comma four (63.4)percent of incidence of poverty makes the Free State one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. Statistics show that 65% of African households receiving pensions have three generations living in them. One third of all South African children under the age of four live in households receiving state pensions.

Poverty and unemployment levels in black rural communities are so high that state pensions constitute the main source of income for between 20 and 30% of the black population - shocking statistics in deed. Broadening of the social safety net is therefore critical.

Following the clean up of the social security database in the Free State in 1999, there are currently 294 022 beneficiaries. During October an amount of R152 048 621 will be paid to these beneficiaries. Subsequent to the cleaning up, 137 105 new beneficiaries were identified and are now receiving their pension A new pension payout system providing improved pension service and minimizing fraud has been put in place. To date, 255 662 pensioners are on the new system. 177 pay sites have been introduced for our pensioners through out the Free State. The upgrading of these pay sites to ensure that our beneficiaries receive their grants under favourable circumstances is receiving our urgent attention.

Our challenge in this regard however, remains searching for and identifying our people who until now are still outside the system. Not a single soul who qualifies for these grants should die of hunger because (s)he cannot access government money that is meant to feed the poor

and the vulnerable. One other initiative of this government to push back the frontiers of poverty, is the child support grant meant for needy children under the age of 7. To date we have 120 491 children receiving the R130 a month. I know we can do better than that. Again we will search for these needy children and provide them with these grants as we fight against poverty in this Province. I must acknowledge that we are not moving at speed that we had envisaged due to administrative bottlenecks.

Children often do not have birth certificates, their mothers do not have ID's and some have children at a very early stage. These problems are being attended to, jointly with the Department of Home Affairs and we hope to overcome them. Our target is to reach 300 000 children by 2005.

Another initiative undertaken by the Province to increase access to disability grants has been the introduction of multi-disciplinary assessment panels in the Xhariep and Motheo Districts. An independent appeals panel also investigates appeals lodged by applicants who feel aggrieved by a classification. At present there are 60 416 people receiving disability grants to the value of R48 877 000 every month. The disability assessment panels need to be rolled out to rest of the Free State as soon as possible.

I am happy to announce that an amount of R62 506 796 has already been paid back to 107 130 beneficiaries since June this year. This follows a Cabinet decision earlier this year to set aside R2 billion to pay 1.9 million social assistance beneficiaries throughout the country who had been disadvantaged by the three month limitation on the accrual of arrears since April 1998. These back payments will be completed by March 2003. We have allocated resources and gave instructions to our social security officials that it is not only immoral but also criminal for them to sleep peacefully when people who are meant to receive these grants sleep on empty stomach and die of hunger.

I also wish to warn those whose sole intention is to undermine the noble intentions of this government by bypassing the screening system and register for these grants when they do not qualify. We are aware of media reports that allege that there is collusion between public servants and others to defraud the state. Their time is running out.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION

The economy of this province is driven largely by mining, agriculture and petrochemical industry. With the declining mining and agricultural sectors, the economic transformation is inevitable to guarantee economic growth and therefore job creation. Our industrial strategy underpinned by strong manufacturing and export potential is our answer. Beneficiation of natural resources and establishment of agro industries are the launching pad of this strategy. Our foreign direct investment strategy has begun to bear fruit. The creation of the Virginia Jewellery Manufacturing Hub is fast taking shape.

To date, R100 million in foreign investment has been secured with immediate 350 job opportunities guaranteed and further 1250 jobs at a latter stage. Our strategy plans to grow the foreign direct investment by 8% annually. A jewellery school with the first intake of 18 students from the previously disadvantaged communities has been established in Virginia in support of these efforts.

The appointment of the twelve member Premier's Economic Advisory Council is a bold step by the FSPG to speed up economic transformation in the Province. The objective of the council is to critically review the Free State Provincial Government's economic policies and develop strategies, within the framework of National Trade and Economic policy and advice the government accordingly. The council is currently working on its research agenda as a first step to move the Free State to the diversified economy.

Agriculture is the lifeline of the economy of the Free State and therefore requires delicate attention at all times. Exposure to adverse climatic conditions places strain on the already declining agricultural sector in the Free State. In September 2001, unprecedented cold front that brought about huge livestock losses to farmers hit the Free State. The areas of Bethlehem, Frankfort, Harrismith, Reits, Lindlye, Heilbron, Vrede and Qwaqwa were declared disaster area. Overall 1235 farmers were affected.

Again, in July and August this year the North Easter Free State was hit by devastating veld fires. In total, 273 036 hectors of gracing land were destroyed alongside 3025 hectors of unharvested maize. 1513 animals perished in the inferno along with 26 382 bales of fodder and regrettably three people were injured and two lost their lives. The hardest hit in both these disasters were emerging farmers.

Phakisa Raceway was completed in 1999 at a cost of R97 million as a sport tourism project. This international motorcycle racing facility has staged 4 Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championships since 1999. In addition to 33 permanent job opportunities created at this facility, 150 entrepreneurs provide about 900 temporary jobs during each event. These events placed the Free State on the international map and have proven to be an effective marketing tool. These events were beamed live on television in 200 countries with exposure to 1.4 billion people. They generated 14 609 minutes of television coverage which is equivalent to R1.23 billion of advertising time.

About five thousand (5000) foreign tourists visit the Goldfields during a single championship. A single event injects into the economy of the area R117 million which translate into R468 million over the past three years. Strategies to maximize the utilization of the facilities are in place and it is expected that this facility will be self-sustainable in due course.

With regard to Black Economic Empowerment, we are satisfied with the progress we are making. Our department's procurement procedures are geared towards identifying and supporting the previously disadvantaged. The services procured include, among others, packaging and distribution of learner material, cleaning and catering services, construction and others. Collectively, excluding all poverty alleviation projects, the FSPG has procured services worth R519 million from PDIs. In addition to empowerment of small businesses the outsourcing of these services has improved services delivery tremendously.

For instance delivery of learner material has been improved and is being perfected. We are not far from giving an upfront guarantee to Free Staters that all material will be delivered in their right quantities at the right places in time. Of strategic importance however, is the close monitoring of these government contracts to avoid enrichment as opposed to empowerment.

There are allegations that these contracts are awarded, interestingly, to the same faces across departments year-in and year-out. Let me assure you, should these allegations be true and procedures have been flouted, things will never be the same again for those involved. Government policies cannot be used for get rich quick or pyramid schemes.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Safe, stable and secure environment for the citizens of the Free State is very high on our priority list. To this end, we paid attention to visible policing. Police work in this regard is enhanced by effective community policing fora. There are 107 CPF's, 96 of which are operating optimally in the Free State. Driven by a strong urge for crime free environment, 14 302 reservists signed up since 1999. In the true spirit of Letsema, 9374 volunteers joined forces with the police in different roles, from painting police stations to joining local CPF's.

During this period, three cross border drug smuggling syndicates between South Africa and Lesotho were crushed. This also included a Namibian/South African multi million fraud syndicate. Crime statistics in the Province show that vehicle theft followed by gold smuggling and stock theft are the most prevalent crime in the Province.

CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE

Real and effective socio-economic transformation of the Province dictates well thought out integrated planning. This demands meticulous coordination between all eleven provincial departments, national departments, various state enterprises, 5 district municipalities, and 20 local municipalities. Synergistic linkages and proper alignment are key to

Implementation of government plans. For this purpose, the Executive Council of the Free State established ministerial clusters to monitor and evaluate progress made with service delivery. These clusters were a response to earlier observations and criticism on lack of willingness to decentralize or outsource, poor co-ordination across departments, inadequate understanding or application of policy, inadequate financial management, poor internal communication and teamwork and lack of innovation. The formation of these clusters is also in line with the call for integrated approach to Governance as per President's directive.

High on our list as we streamlined Government work was the transformation of the local government. This entailed fast tracked capacity building for municipalities to ensure that they meet their targets. Central to this process was the development of integrated development plans (IDPs) aligned to the Free State Development Plan. Subsequently, Letsemeng local municipality was awarded the prestigious ZK Mathews Award as the best performing council in the country in accountability to the community, clean administration, sound financial practices and tangible improvement in the quality of life of the community.

Co-operative governance in the province is also demonstrated by the Executive Council and the departments' relationship with the Legislature. Regular reports on the progress of the government on its programmes are table before the legislature for consideration.

For improved governance, the FSPG has also established the Provincial and Local Government Forum (PROVLOC) and the Mayors' Forum, which meet monthly and bimonthly respectively to monitor and evaluate progress made by government programmes in changing the lives of the people.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Total onslaught against poverty and underdevelopment is a priority to this Government. Strategies to achieve this, among others include creation of jobs and the training of new workers with skills required by the changed labour landscape. Our efforts in this regard articulate what the United Nations Development Programme defines as " a process of enlarging people's choices". This is done through creating community assets, or improving the environment through labour intensive schemes, creating sustainable jobs through skills training and opportunities for SMMEs, building institutional capacity and empowering local communities through participation in infrastructure projects.

The Government's Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS) introduces an integrated approach towards poverty eradication. The strategy pools government resources making the fight against poverty the responsibility of all departments. To deal a telling blow to poverty, our programmes seek to:

* Target poor areas and communities
* Set a wage lower than the market
* Employ labour intensive methods
* Generate infrastructure that is most likely to benefit the poor

Thabo Mofutsanyane as the poorest area of our Province has been identified by the President as the nodal development area. This is the area where we concentrate government resources to the benefit of better life for all. We are currently evaluating our efforts in this area and I will be visiting all projects shortly and give out a report to the people of the Free State. That notwithstanding let me outline the extent of poverty alleviation efforts in the FS.

Major poverty alleviation programmes in the Free State include:
* Community Based Public Works Programme managed by Public Works, Roads and Transport. It entails building of community assets like:
-- Community halls
-- Access roads
-- Crèches, etc

* Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme managed by Local Gov. & Housing. This entails provision of basic infrastructure services to poor households like:
-- Water
-- Sanitation
-- Storm water
-- Waste etc

* Community Project Fund Support Programme managed by Agriculture. This is an emerging farmer support programme that entails a host of enterprises like;
-- Beef production
-- Piggery
-- Diary production
-- Irrigation
-- Poultry etc.

Projects under this programme are currently financed to a tune of R10 000 per project. These projects should be evaluated so as to see if it would not perhaps be better for the calculations to be done at the R25 000 per beneficiary so as to ensure project sustainability. Vegetable projects for example could probably be allowed to continue at the R10 000 level, whereas piggeries require the additional funding as the infrastructure is expensive.

Since July 1999 to 31 July 2002, more than R237 million has been allocated to these and other programmes generating around 41000 temporary jobs.

In conclusion, our own assessment of this account is that more still need to be done if the social and economic transformation of this Province is to be a reality. To add impetus to service delivery we need a working partnership between the Government and the people of the Free State.

Communities can no longer be passive bystanders but should be active participants in our efforts to push back the frontiers of poverty. For this reason we need a new Free Stater who displays hard work, perseverance, excellence, ethical conduct and unshakable commitment to the creation of better life for all.

Thank You

Issued by the Office of the Premier, Free State

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