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21 February 2007

Honourable Mayor of the Siyanda District Municipality Alderperson, Councillor Ntuli,
Honourable mayors of the local municipalities and councillors within the district municipalities,
Members of the Executive Council present,
Members of the provincial legislature present,
Representatives of the organised labour,
Representatives of the organised business,
Representatives of Community-Based Organisation (CBO) and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector,
Representatives of DFIs and State Owed Enterprises (SOEs),
Officials of the national, provincial and local government,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a privilege and indeed an honour for me to address this historic and goal directed and determining gathering referred to as the Siyanda District Growth and Development Summit. This summit is being held, logically so, after the State of the Nation Africa (SONA) and State of the Province (SOPA) whose central purpose is to provide direction and refresh government's delivery mandates within the short and medium term.

All those that are gathered here either as government officials, private sector, CBOs and important and relevant stakeholders are aware of and fully conversant with government's intentions and plans in order for us to create jobs and to eradicate poverty.

In line with the President's and the Premier's pronouncements [State of the Nation Address (SONA) and State of the Province Address (SOPA) 2007] on the District Municipalities Growth and Development Strategies and Summit, let me commend the Siyanda District Council for the hard work and effort embarked on such that we are able to record the holding of the second District Growth and Development Strategy (DGDS) in the province.

Programme Director, the review of our first decade of democracy resulted in the observation that, "great progress had been made in the first decade of freedom but that such progress was manifest particularly in areas directly under the control of the state." Furthermore, the Ten Year Review argues that and I quote:

"The advances made in the first decade by far supersede the weaknesses. Yet, if all indicators were to continue along the same trajectory especially in respect of the dynamic of economic inclusion and exclusion, we could soon reach a point where the negatives start to overwhelm the positives. This could precipitate a vicious cycle of decline in all spheres."

It was therefore necessary to define a new trajectory of growth and development so that all could benefit from the positive growth cycle being experienced in our country. This is one of the reasons why President Mbeki called on all district and metro municipalities to have growth and development summits, so that each of the district municipalities could set its new direction to contribute positively to the target of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation we have set ourselves as a country.

Guided by the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), our vision is to build a society that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic. Central to this is a single and integrated economy that benefits all. The following are the key objectives for 2014:

* reduce poverty and unemployment by half
* provide the skills required by the economy
* ensure that all South Africans are able to fully exercise their constitutional rights and enjoy the full dignity of freedom
* compassionate government service to the people
* achieve a better national health profile and massively reduce preventable causes of death, including violent crime and road accidents
* significantly reduce the number of serious and priority crimes and cases awaiting trial
* position South Africa strategically as an effective force in global relations.

This occasion provides us with the opportunity to understand the new development trajectory that the country, the province and now Siyanda District Municipality will set for itself.

Through consultation with stakeholders, they have collectively agreed to focus on medium to high potential sectors of the economy so as to drive growth and development in the district. The implementation of the strategy that the district develops is intended to attain the socio-economic vision that the district will own, guided by the shared analysis of current and future trends and the forces driving these trends with respect to poverty, inequality, economic development and ecological sustainability in spatial terms.

Indeed, if decisive action is taken on a number of focused areas, the convergence of possibilities is such that the district would enter a road of faster economic growth and job creation, faster and more efficient provision of quality services, increased social cohesion and reduction of the paradigm of exclusion prevalent among sections of our society.

Therefore, the decisions to be arrived at during the course of this summit will seek to steer this Siyanda ship towards the development of a common vision and an intensified path for job creating economic growth, opportunities and poverty reduction as its key focus.

Programme Director, better performance by the State has been identified as one of the major measures to inform the trajectory for the second decade of freedom, moreover better performance by the State entails three things:

* make government work better in meeting common objectives and outcomes, (improved planning capacity)
* the need for decisive, co-ordinated interventions to improve the State's capacity to spend and deliver services
* the need to specifically include a geographical dimension to growth and employment.

The harmonisation and alignment process currently being driven by the Presidency, the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and Human Resources unit (OTP), is directed at the integration of the efforts of the three spheres of government towards a common set of goals and towards a "better performance of the State."

The district municipality plays a central role in getting various stakeholders together to develop a shared understanding of the essential characteristics, trends and dynamics of the district space economy and synergises the efforts of the three spheres of government.

The district intergovernmental relation (IGR) forum provides the stage for discussions and integrated planning to occur across the three spheres of government.

It is envisaged that the DGDSs will provide an appropriate platform for joint discussions, interactions and agreed implementation to take place through a convergence of initiatives of the three spheres of government and provide an opportunity for partnerships with social partners in the district.

The DGDS should not be viewed as an event but rather as the beginning of continuing deliberations with stakeholders to plot a way forward to unlock and exploit the potentials in the district to grow its economy.

The outcomes of the DGDS are to be incorporated into the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of the district municipality and result in the development of the mandatory credible IDP for the district, indicating the interventions that will be embarked upon to develop the district and realise its full potential and ability to create more jobs and decrease the number of people and households trapped in the cycle of poverty.

We are aware that an economy is grown through investment in areas of comparative and competitive advantage. We acknowledge, therefore, the role to be played by the private sector in that through their commitment and investment, jobs will be created for the unemployed in the district.

We therefore implore business to partner us in developing a vibrant economy in the district in which all of us will stand to benefit.

We also are aware that the private sector will invest in opportunities based on their confidence in municipalities. To heed this call, government has identified as one of four key strategies over the next five years to need to "build public and market confidence in municipalities."

Municipalities will play an important role by creating an enabling environment through the provision of infrastructure and services, by-laws, land-use management and planning and procurement policies in stimulating the local economy.

Programme Director, according to the National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP) spatial profiles, the contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Northern Cape by the Siyanda District is dominated by agriculture and labour intensive manufacturing (grape farming and related products). Although some value addition to the primary sector product is occurring, much is still to be done for innovation that can yield maximum benefits from the said products.

The province and district continues to experience a structural weakness in the economy, being trapped in the primary sector with little value adding to primary products.

It is for this reason that we have as a part of one of the objectives of the Provincial Growth and development Strategy (PGDS) to "diversify" the economy.

Furthermore, the Siyanda District is characterised by a 21,7% contribution to the GDP of the Northern Cape, an unemployment rate of approximately 17%, a human development index of 0,54 for the district compared to 0,63 for the province and 14,4% of the people in the province below the minimum living level, reside in Siyanda.

As a response to the above socio-economic scenario, government has consciously decided the following:

* With respect to skills development, 20% of the skills development fund received from the Department of Labour in support of the PGDS and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) projects be appropriated for the Siyanda District. We need to ensure that this funding is directed at skills development in the sectors that the district has identified as those that have the potential to drive the economy of the district.
* Proceed with the next phases for the building of the Upington Hospital that will provide secondary and some tertiary services to the district together with the completion of clinics for primary healthcare in Olifantshoek and Heuningsvlei.
* Continue to lobby the Minister of the Department of Transport to have the establishment and building of the second largest cargo hub in South Africa located in Upington. Studies have shown that it will be commercially feasible to develop Upington Airport into an alternative cargo hub for South Africa and will benefit the region with an inflow of capital into the local economy as well as create job opportunities and stimulate the economy.

Other projects with high potential in the Siyanda District include:

* High speed testing facility

The demand for high speed testing, the lack of a proper high speed test track, the relative unsafe practice of using public roads for legalised high speed testing, the attractiveness of Upington as a vehicle test venue, current strong support from influential European players, the growth of the local motor industry, the current need to create work opportunities in the non-urban areas in South Africa and the current positive attitude towards South Africa after winning the 2010 soccer world cup bid have created a once in a lifetime window of opportunity for the building of a world class high speed test facility in the Upington area.

* Hoodia

The climate and availability of land makes the Siyanda District suitable for the growing and harvesting of Hoodia for which a tremendous global market exists.

The existence of the beta-carotene factory in Upington has awakened the interest of potential investors who are looking at extracting the active ingredient from the Hoodia plant. There is competition though, with other provinces, for the location of the extraction facility.

Other opportunities that exist are:

* grape seed oil extraction
* bio-fuel, the Department of Agriculture is commissioning a bio-fuel strategy
* grape farming (table grapes)
* livestock farming, mainly semi-desert areas in Siyanda and therefore suitable for extensive livestock farming
* salt producing, salt pans in the area
* dry meat
* game hunting.

These are but some of the opportunities that exist in this district. There are numerous side stream activities that could result from these projects, ranging from tourism to manufacturing.

The question that we need to ask now is, "What are we doing to ensure that these opportunities come to fruition? Are we driving these developments collectively to ensure that the investment comes to our shores?"

It is therefore my contention that this summit that will lead to a Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) is the starting point to respond to the above question.

Together as a collective, we are charting a development path for the Siyanda District. Together as people of the district, we are committing to put shoulder to the wheel and ensure that we contribute to the targeted 6% to 10% growth by 2014.

Together we will ensure that the strategy becomes a living document with a clear implementation plan that will ensure the holistic development of the district.

We will and must succeed in implementing the resolutions of this summit because in the words of Henry Mintzberg:

"Many great strategies are simply great visions. And great visions can be a lot more inspirational and effective than the most carefully constructed plan. Only when we recognise our fantasies can we begin to appreciate the wonder of reality."

Let me once more call upon all of us to join hands in re-writing the history of what used to be the green Kalahari into what should be a vibrant, improved and thriving economic development hub of the Northern Cape.

Let us start today in order to realise what we have decided to set ourselves as development goals for this district and province.

I thank you, baie dankie, enkosi, kea leboga!

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
21 February 2007