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Programme Director
Members of the Executive Council of the Free State Government
Members of the Legislature present here today
Councillors present here
Director-General and Heads of Department
Parents and learners
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning

Today marks another milestone in the rolling out of our three-year Free State Development Plan. Just more than a year ago, we developed this master plan to help us build a new and better Free State, which will fulfil the needs of all its people.

To this end, we undertook to unlock the much-awaited economic potential of this Province through vigorous economic transformation. The biggest challenge in this regard however, remains the skills profile present and needed in the broader labour market in the Free State.

The awarding of the 252 bursaries to these deserving students is our continued commitment to this strategic objective if we have to achieve the competitive advantage this Province need to improve the lives of majority of its people. There is no doubt in our minds that a well thought-out human resources development strategy is our answer to this challenge.

This is the reason why we pronounced through the Free State Development plan that we will improve the skills and education levels of the people of this Province. The highest ever matric pass of 70.7% in 2002 is an indication that we are on course. We have to find answers to our problems.

What we know and believe is that "skilled people are a fundamentally necessary part of any economic and employment growth strategy" In this way we will be on track in continuously building capacity in the Province to ensure improved service delivery.

A brief inspection of the economic profile of the Free State reveals that our economy is dominated by Government 15%, mining 14%, community, social and personal services 13%, manufacturing and finance both 11%, and agriculture 9%. We therefore need specific skills to make an impact in these sectors. Numeracy or mathematic skills are undoubtedly central to strategies to make inroads in specified sectors.

Numerous surveys conducted by the Research Institute for Education Planning at the University of the Free State revealed that our numeracy rate remain around 30% which is a far cry if we were to make impact in productive and science sectors.

For these reasons, the selection of qualifying learners was an elaborate process executed with military precision. The need for natural, health, sport and human sciences in the Free State could not be over-emphasised. Equally so, agricultural sciences, tourism, accounting, economics and information technology are high in the Provincial skills requirement if we are to make a difference in the lives of our people.

To complement this, the laid down guidelines are a deliberate effort to help us address the policies of this Government. This will include the affirmative action and employment equity principles.

Those who have been awarded these bursaries therefore have a duty towards the people of the Free State in helping to make it a better place. With you, our process of building a new cadre of public servants who epitomize 'someone who has a culture of caring, who is willing to face challenges, who is educated and learned, disciplined, trustworthy and efficient' is gaining momentum.

From you and the other almost 1000 students who are already receiving state bursaries, we are expecting in the next three or so years, economic revolutionaries and combatants of poverty and underdevelopment. Our building process should not be detracted by anything no matter how important. Remember that individually and collectively you are caring the hopes of so many Free Staters you cannot afford to fail us the stakes are too high.

It will be remiss of me as the Premier of this Province and a teacher at heart if I do not tell you that your business at different institutions is to learn and learn and learn. Keep away from issues of the management of those institutions, there are those who are trained and paid to manage them.

Programme Director. Let the Free Staters and the rest of the country know that we are on course in building a new and a better Free State. We are motivated by these young and eager faces hungry for knowledge. We cannot fail them. I have been a teacher for a better part of my life, I know success even at its conception. The Free State is poised for better things.

These boys and girls are our partners in our endeavour to transform the public service. We should ready them to take up their call and responsibility when the nation calls. May the Good Lord guide and protect them in their preparation to take this Province to higher levels.

I Thank You.

Source: Free State Provincial Government (http://www.fs.gov.za)