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8 March 2007

Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Distinguished colleagues in the Legislature
Stalwarts and veterans of our struggle
Speakers, mayors, councillors and managers of municipalities
Esteemed traditional leaders here present
Leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and MDM structures
Leaders of the trade union movement
Leaders of religious organisations and churches
Leaders of opposition parties
The Director-General (DG) and senior officials in our provincial administration
Leaders of chapter nine and ten institutions
Youth, women, business and community leaders in our midst
Representatives of the media
Distinguished guests
Comrades
The people of Limpopo

Forty six years ago, on December 11, 1961 when Chief Albert Luthuli delivered the Nobel Lecture at the Oslo University he said:

"In economic matters we will be satisfied with nothing less than equality of opportunity in every single sphere and the enjoyment by all of those heritages which form the resources of the country which up to now have been appropriated on a racial 'whites only' basis. In culture we will be satisfied with nothing less than the opening of all doors of learning to non-segregatory institutions on the sole criterion of ability. In the social sphere we will be satisfied with nothing less than the abolition of all racial bars."

He continued by saying, "We do not demand these things for people of African descent alone. We demand them for all South Africans, white and black. On these principles we are uncompromising."

Honourable Speaker

We are where we are today, because our people never gave up on this vision nor did they compromise on those principles even under the most difficult conditions. They internalised this vision as their guiding light. They had an undying spirit of defiance.

We, the people of South Africa and Limpopo, have a long tradition of struggle for our national rights. Our history is one of active and relentless opposition to domination of protest and refusal to submit to tyranny and we never ever doubted that the day would come when we will be the masters and architects of our own destiny. We may not have known the date and the hour, but as the late O R Tambo stated in 1987 at the LA Trobe University in Australia where he motivated for the implementation of sanctions against the apartheid regime:

"We have never doubted that in South Africa justice will triumph. This conviction sustains us, keeps us on the move. It enables us to defy difficulties, to defy suffering and misery, to defy pain, to defy death but now we can identify the light at the end of this dark tunnel. We accept that before we reach the point where this light shines, we are going to have to go through gruelling darkness guided only by the vision which we can now delineate of a non-racial, democratic, united South Africa of South Africans living together as one people under one government in one un-fragmented country."

This, honourable Speaker, was the intensity and character of the resolve of the people who fought for the freedom we enjoy today. Our gathering in this fashion, as free people who can determine their own destiny, is only possible because the people of this country and province, our heroes and veterans, some of whom we are still fortunate to have with us in this House today never betrayed the revolution. Let us not forget that comrade Bra Ike stared death in the face when he was sentenced to death by hanging by the illegitimate regime of Ian Smith in the former Rhodesia. Against seemingly overwhelming odds they sought the goal of a fuller life and liberty, striving with incredible determination and fortitude for the right to live as free men and women. They refused to be silenced!

How do we protect this precious gift of freedom? How do we ensure that each step we take forward and every achievement we chalk up is not cancelled out by complacency and self interest? How do we ensure that in "economic matters we ensure equality of opportunity and enjoyment by all black and white of the resources of the country"?

Last year, our Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, commenced the delivery of his 2006 budget speech by quoting the profound words of Ben Okri, who wrote:

"There are no joys without mountains having been climbed. There are no joys without the nightmares that precede them and spring them into light."

In tabling that budget proposal, he also placed before the nation an account of the mountains we have climbed as well as the frontiers that still remain unchallenged. He demonstrated how our budgets are closely bound with our journey to freedom, with our concept of democracy, with the progressive realisation of social and economic freedoms to which we aspire, with our understanding of the service delivery obligations of government alongside the development impetus of active citizenship.

Two weeks ago when he tabled the 2007 budget speech the Minister chose as his theme the important idea which is fundamental to our vision of building a people centred society contained in the words "human life has equal worth".

In this context he quoted the British writer, Will Hutton, who wrote, "The foundation of human association is the idea that human life has equal worth and human beings are equally entitled to political, economic and social rights which allow them to choose a life they have reason to live motho ke motho ga ana bosehlana (a human being is a human being, there is no lesser human being)."

The Minister stated that, "The idea that human life has equal worth and that this is the core value that unites us, invites us to ask whether we have done enough to give practical effect in South Africa today to our shared humanity. Have we acted in a manner that shows that human life has equal worth? Or do we still live in a society where the shadow of history dominates over the opportunities of an open society."

This is not inconsistent with what President Mbeki said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), "None of the great social problems we have to solve is capable of resolution outside the context of the creation of jobs and the alleviation and eradication of poverty and therefore the struggle to eradicate poverty has been and will continue to be a central part of the national effort to build the new South Africa. The central task of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is to construct a people centred society that will in practice demonstrate that it values every human being on an equal basis determined that each should enjoy a life of dignity, regardless of race, colour, gender, age or belief."

Honourable Speaker

We, therefore, have to work tirelessly as a province to push back the frontiers of poverty, recognising that no people can be truly free until and unless they have cast aside the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment. We must as the Premier mentioned in the State of the Province Address (SOPA), "Build up momentum to deliver on the objectives of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS)."

This we must do with greater determination and focus to realise the potential of our economy to meet the needs of the poor, particularly those living in the rural areas. We need to act in unity and in a people's contract to ensure that this progress is not only sustained but elevated to a higher level during the coming financial year and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

In order to achieve this we may have to, among other things, assess and endeavour to change the role and contribution we may be making towards the creation of what has become known as market fundamentalism reducing complex social, economic and political problems to the dictates of the market where everything has to be viewed by whether or not it has a market value.

In the fourth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture President Thabo Mbeki noted among numerous other things that, "Greed has gripped the South African society, the practice of pursuing accumulation above all else and at all cost is driving a section of the population to accumulate ever increasing assets."

The President asserted that, "The ascendancy of greed, smothered social cohesion and blocks mutually beneficial human solidarity. Human relations are reduced to market relations. Values of the entire society suffer untold harm in an environment in which greed has been allowed to take a pole position."

The President's assertion is consistent with what George Soros wrote in an article entitled "The Capitalist Threat", way back in 1997:

"Unsure of what they stand for, people increasingly rely on money as the criterion for value. What is more expensive is considered better. The value of work of art can be judged by the prices it fetches. People deserve respect and admiration because they are rich. What used to be a medium of exchange has taken the place of fundamental values, reversing the relationship postulated by economic theory. What used to be professions have turned into businesses. The cult of success has replaced a belief in principles. Society has lost its anchor."

Where in this type of society do we locate the notion of human life has equal worth?

Honourable Speaker, we cannot allow anything to undermine the strides we have made towards the total liberation of all our people. All of us must work even harder to further transform our province and country, fundamentally. The accomplishment of this task needs us to be made in the metal of true organic revolutionaries. It requires of us to be of the same character and quality as the stalwarts and veterans we spoke about earlier. The spirit of defiance and the refusal to submit to tyranny must therefore continue!

In the end, what we are about is a revolutionary act for the creation of a new society. Those of us who have no choice or have chosen to be agents of change will indeed at all times have to ask ourselves what more can we do, what more can we contribute to bring about the change we want to see?

When we talk about change, we speak as we must do about the number of jobs created, about the number of houses built, about the provision of water, sanitation and electricity, about the lives we sustain through the social security net, about the lives we sustain and save through the free access to antiretroviral treatment, we speak about improving the quality of public schools and about the rate of economic growth.

Honourable Speaker

The change we speak about must mean that all of us will do more to rewrite the figures contained in the latest provincial profile released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) which indicate that:
* in Limpopo approximately 49% of households use pit latrine toilets without ventilation
* of the working age population in Limpopo about 28,2% were employed in 2004 compared to 39,7% nationally
* our matric pass rate is in the lower ranks
* Limpopo has the second lowest literacy rate of all provinces
* only 2,2% of households have access to a computer.

These statistics are alarming but this should not serve to scare us nor should it be construed to deny the obvious fact that our government has achieved a lot over a short period. The fact of the matter is that there are encouraging signs that suggest that even greater things can be achieved if we continue to work together. Our attention must therefore be clearly focused on changing the lives of our people for the better. Nothing short of this will be adequate.

We table this year's budget satisfied that we have registered significant gains in our ongoing effort to deliver on the vision of a better life for all and the pledge we made to our people in 2004. Through this budget, we seek to expand on our gains and underscore our commitment to create a government that truly and deeply cares for its people.

Achievements for the current financial year

Honourable Speaker

Before we table the budget allocations for the next financial year, I would like to briefly touch on a few of our achievements towards improving the quality of our people's lives during the current financial year, 2006/07:

* 282 965 households received free basic electricity which is more than double the number (120 424) that received this benefit in 2005/06.

* 1 020 905 households have now been electrified.

* 977 223 households enjoy free water supply and 534 548 have access to sanitation.

* 35 548 houses were completed over the MTEF period.

* 70 schools for children studying under trees and storm damaged schools have been completed.

* The revitalisation of the Lebowakgomo, Jane Furse, Nkhensani and Dilokong hospitals has been completed.

* 2 500 schools in quintile one and two have been declared no fee schools and they receive a per-learner allocation of R319 excluding learner support material per annum.

* The Department of Education absorbed 8 651 temporary teachers into permanent positions and trained 7 000 teachers on the national curriculum statement.

* 1,14 million learners benefit from the national school nutrition programme in the province.

* The provincial crime rates have reduced from 118 479 cases to 103 880 cases between the 2003/04 and 2005/06 financial years.

* The Department of Health purchased 100 ambulances, 12 paramedic response vehicles, 20 scene management and 10 rescue vehicles as well as six multiple patient carriers. The Department also appointed 914 emergency care practitioners.

* The number of people who got access to HIV and AIDS treatment increased more than six times over the MTEF period from 1453 in 2004 to 8 907 in 2006.

This is why I said the figures released by Stats SA which we quoted above should not scare us. After all we only quoted the negative aspects of that report intended solely to remind us of the areas that still require our attention.

The 2007/08 budget framework

Honourable Speaker, our budget framework is as follows:

The equitable share for the province prior to the new provincial demarcation for the MTEF period was R22 992 613 000 for 2007/08, R25 725 665 000 for 2008/09 and R27 655 090 000 for 2009/10.

The amounts were adjusted downwards as a result of the demarcation process by R1 075 702 000 to R21 916 911 000 in 2007/08, R1 272 162 000 to R24 453 563 000 in 2008/09 and R1 367 574 000 to R26 287 516 000 in 2009/10 before any additional allocations to provinces were considered.

When the provincial fiscal framework was finalised, the provincial allocations were adjusted upwards by R422 627 000 in 2007/08, R783 805 000 in 2008/09 and R1 861 345 000 in 2009/10.

The total estimated receipts for the province consist of:

Equitable share: R22,339 billion
Conditional grants: R2,504 billion
Own revenue: R0,468 billion
Total: R25,312 billion

Honourable Speaker, the provincial budget will increase by 16,9% in the 2007/08 financial year. Based on the MTEF baselines the provincial revenue will pick up by 18,3% in 2007/08. However, our revenue is still unacceptably low. The Provincial Treasury must play a leading role in finding strategic mechanisms to maximise our revenue collection and identify new sources of revenue as a matter of extreme urgency. We need to review our tariffs all round, e.g. liquor licences, motor vehicle licences, traffic fines and hunting licences.

The equitable share comprises the bulk of the provincial allocation at 88,3%, the conditional grants 9,8% whilst own revenue accounts for 1,8% of the total budget.

Expenses by economic classification

Honourable Speaker and honourable members of the House

As indicated the Bill before this House seeks to appropriate R25,312 billion for the 2007/08 financial year. The MTEF estimates for allocation reflect R25,312 billion for the 2007/08 financial year, as well as R28,648 billion for 2008/09 and R31,755 billion for 2009/10.

The current expenditure accounts form the largest year on year allocation. It accounts for R20,266 billion, which is about 80% of the total expenses proposed for the 2007/08 financial year. In this proposed budget allocation, compensation of employees receives an allocation of R15,852 billion that is 62,62% of the total provincial budget.

Transfers and subsidies receive an allocation of R3,336 billion which is equal to 13,17% of the budget.

For the 2007/08 MTEF, R12,670 billion has been allocated for infrastructure development, R3,586 billion for 2007/08, R4 304 billion for 2008/09 and R4,780 billion for 2009/10. This represents an infrastructure allocation increase of 31% as compared to the 2006/07 financial year.

The most critical challenge in this area is the serious concern of under spending. As the Premier mentioned in his SOPA, "Our medium term review identified weaknesses in planning and capacity to spend. This has led to delays in the implementation of many important infrastructural projects."

A province's ability to spend is a key determining factor in as far as motivation for future allocations is concerned. Under spending carries serious consequences. In the 2005/06 financial year, R318 9 million meant for the provincial infrastructure grant was suspended from the province due to under spending only R218,9 million of that amount was released in the 2006/07 financial year. So we effectively lost R100 million which is unacceptable for a province as poor as ours. The poor of our province cannot wait for delivery while we sit on money like a hen on eggs.

It is obvious that there are gaps within the system our planning processes and abilities are weak. Undertaking project planning, design and procurement in the same year leaves departments' infrastructure delivery programmes vulnerable in cases of contractor underperformance, heavy rains, short term shortage of building material, etc.

There is, therefore, a need to change the current system and build in a degree of flexibility to ensure that these shortcomings are addressed. It is encouraging to note that capacity building within departments is being given priority. Technical expertise are being sought to boost infrastructure delivery in departments. For example, the Department of Education has engaged the services of a team of two technical experts on a short-term contract to support infrastructure delivery in the Department while they work on filling their vacancies. The Department of Local Government and Housing has set up a Project Management Unit (PMU) to drive infrastructure delivery in the Department.

As a province, we face serious backlogs in terms of infrastructure. We need good infrastructure in order to be competitive. It must be remembered that, notwithstanding the fact that we are one country, we face serious competition from other provinces with respect to attracting investors to our province particularly from those provinces with a similar economic profile as ours investors will not come here if our infrastructure is inadequate because this will raise the cost of doing business in the province.

However, we are informed that there are presently investments worth no less than R61 billion that have been made through various private sector interests in our province. This gives a welcome impetus to the objectives of our PGDS. Our commitment to provide the necessary infrastructure such as roads, improving and expanding our rail network and the provision of water will therefore also assist and compliment the private sector investment agenda.

If our capacity to spend on capital projects does not improve, we stand to lose funding as was the case in 2005/06. Looking at it positively, if we improve our performance in this area, we have an opportunity to position our province as a beneficiary of the funds that will be redirected from other provinces that cannot spend.

Provincial Treasury will play a leading role in ensuring that departments are geared to deliver on their infrastructure delivery mandate. Section 14 of the 2007 Division of Revenue Bill, requires the compulsory participation of relevant departments (health, education, roads and public works) in the Infrastructure Delivery Improvement programme (IDIP). These departments can only be exempted from participation in the IDIP by the National Treasury.

IDIP is a programme aimed at improving the delivery of infrastructure and is sponsored by national Treasury, national Department of Public Works, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

It is our intention to ensure that IDIP best practices are adopted across the provincial government. We have already set up an IDIP Steering Committee at MEC level to drive the implementation of the programme, this will be supported by a programme management committee at technical level.

Honourable members may remember that the national Cabinet has approved the 'alignment model for the infrastructure delivery cycle and the budget cycle'. This model is aimed at ensuring that government departments deliver on their projects according to their plans and that the growing phenomenon of roll overs is gradually discontinued. It may be useful to share with members, in part, the statement of the Cabinet meeting of 21 February 2007 on infrastructure:

Cabinet approved a framework to align infrastructure delivery cycles with the MTEF budget cycle in order to improve planning, implementation and better cash flow management that would among other things deal with the fourth quarter expenditure spike. This framework accommodates the long lead time before infrastructure projects reach the construction stage.

The infrastructure delivery cycle will be amended to include an Infrastructure Programme Management Plan (IPMP) and an Infrastructure Programme Implementation Plan (IPIP) which will be mandatory for all departments. Best practice approaches will be adopted to include budget cycles that commit funds for the duration of the project without leading to the so-called roll overs. This framework will require the appointment of appropriately skilled built environment professionals across all relevant departments, provinces and local government.

The Provincial Treasury is committed to this new approach and to this end will be enforcing Section 40 of the 2007 Division of Revenue Bill, which requires that:
* by 31 July 2007, departments must submit infrastructure plans to Provincial Treasury in the required formats
* departments must budget for newly created or upgraded infrastructure.

The planning horizons of departments will therefore be extended meaning that instead of planning, tendering and implementing projects in the same financial year, these project phases will be spread over three years to ensure that no project gets delayed prior to its commencement due to tenders being awarded late, plans and designs not being finalised on time, etc.

Importantly according to Section 14(3)(a)(ii) of the aforementioned Bill, a province in allocating the infrastructure grant to departments may, where a receiving provincial department lacks capacity designate an amount not exceeding four percent of the allocation for acquiring such capacity to facilitate delivery.

However, Section 14(3)(b) places an obligation on departments by demanding that the percentage referred to in subsection (3)(a)(ii) must be informed by a capacity plan prepared by the receiving provincial department and approved by the provincial treasury.

Therefore, the lack of capacity can also no longer be accepted as a valid reason for under spending. Departments must invest time and effort into proper planning and effective management.

Skills shortage has been identified as one of the major constraints to the acceleration of development in our country and Limpopo is no exception. The issue of skills shortages is a recurring theme in all major discussions that centre on the PDGS. The low level of skills serves to perpetuate the high levels of unemployment and poverty. It is for that reason that the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) has prioritised skills development.

The national budget has also proposed generous allocations to the Department of Education budget vote. For this reason, in this budget Further Education Training (FET) colleges in Limpopo shall be made to respond positively to the requirement of skills in the job market provided by the growing economic sectors in the province. Government is, therefore, poised and it is hoped that the relevant private stakeholders will equally take up the challenge.

The province has in the past few years experienced relatively high levels of economic growth with only slight improvement in income levels. However, the levels of unemployment have remained unacceptably high at 35%. Though the economy is still dominated by the primary industry namely the mining sector, growth levels in the secondary industry, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and the leisure and tourism trade are beginning to register impressive growth levels since 2004. These sectors will no doubt improve the job creation capacity of the economy in line with the PGDS.

Expenses allocation per sector

Social sector

The social sector accounts for R17,284 billion, which is 75,8% of the R22,339 billion equitable share. Of the R17,284, education accounts for R11,351 billion, health R5,456 billion, social development R439 million and safety, security and liaison R37,7 million.

Department of Education

Department of Education's share of the provincial equitable share is 49,8% or R11,351 billion in 2007/08 and it grows to R12,918 billion and R14,373 billion in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years, respectively. This allocation is almost two percent higher than what education received last year. We hope that this allocation will deal with the challenges facing the province with respect to the quality of education in order to reverse the declining matric results in the province and continue to produce high quality matriculants with university entrance particularly in maths, science and technology.

The budget is mainly to cater for the scaling up of the remuneration packages of school managers (principals), general salary increases, provision of clerical staff for schools and district offices, improving remuneration levels for teachers, teacher assistance especially in the foundation phase and the provision of targeted incentives for teachers in critical subjects.

The additional personnel budget to fund the above and other personnel pressures in education is R170,871 million in 2007/08, R334,450 million in 2008/09 and R671,520 million in 2009/10. The budget further provides for 2 526 no fee schools. R355,5 million has been set aside for this purpose in 2007/08, R591,1 million in 2008/09 and R683,2 million in 2009/10. In addition, R819,313 million has been set aside for learner teacher support material over the MTEF period which excludes the allocation to no fees schools.

Further, the Department will use the budget to intensify training on all aspects of the national curriculum statement and introduce compulsory winter and Saturday schools for learners at schools that obtained less than 70% in last years senior certificate examinations.

An amount of R43 million will be spent this year and R225 million over the MTEF period to construct laboratories, workshops and resource centres that will enable learners in FET colleges to gain practical exposure to the subjects that have been prioritised by the PGDS and AsgiSA.

Department of Health

Department of Health gets an allocation of R5,456 billion or 23,9% of the provincial equitable share in 2007/08. The budget for health is mainly to provide for the review of health professionals' remuneration. The remuneration review targets professional nurses in the first year of the MTEF, doctors, dentists and pharmacists in the second year and various other professional groups such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists in the third year. We have provided R144,1 million in 2007/08, R189,9 million in 2008/09 and R282 million in 2009/10 for these remuneration reviews.

A further R273,8 million has been set aside over the MTEF for the recruitment of critically needed health professionals.

The Department's non-personnel priorities include the extension of air medical services and the expansion of the emergency medical services. These will partly contribute towards the province's 2010 FIFA World Cup readiness.

We are also aiming to intensify the implementation of the comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS following the launch of the framework for the strategic plan on World AIDS Day last year.

To this end we will be allocating conditional grants totalling R689,970 million for HIV and AIDS programmes in the MTEF. The social cluster must ensure that the departments of education and health, as the recipients of HIV and AIDS allocations, co-ordinate their programmes and interventions in a way that will maximise the impact and avoid duplications.

Department of Social Development

Department of Social Development receives R439 million or 1,9% of the provincial equitable share in 2007/08 and it grows to R754,9 million or 2,6% of the provincial budget in 2009/10.

The budget provides for the recruitment of social workers and social auxiliary workers. The non-personnel budget is mainly to cater for the delivery of social welfare services and to increase support for children's homes as well as the implementation of the Social Development Bill, the Child Justice Bill, the Children Bill and the Older Persons' Bill. The challenges of substance abuse will also receive the needed attention.

Department of Safety, Security and Liaison

Department of Safety, Security and Liaison receives an equitable share allocation of R37,7 million in the 2007/08 financial year which is a 23% increase from last year's R29 million. The Department gets a further R78,8 million for the second and third years of the MTEF. This we have done despite the fact that our province is one of the safest provinces and the annual number of reported cases is on the decline.

The budget is mainly to fund the provincial crime prevention strategy, improve the organisational structure, and establish fully-fledged and functional victim empowerment programmes.

Community mobilisation against crime is key to the successful implementation of the Department's crime prevention strategy (PCPS). Together with other departments and role players the Department must ensure that, among others, our schools and farms are safe. The resolutions of the recent Ritual Murder Summit will also form an integral part of the PCPS.

We must emphasise though that the police alone will never succeed in the total eradication of crime without the assistance of the community. Let us, therefore, play our part and make our contribution towards keeping Limpopo among the safest provinces in the country.

Economic sector

The economic sector accounts for R4,296 billion or 18,8% of the equitable share. Of this amount economic development, environment and tourism accounts for R759,6 million, roads and transport accounts for R1,870 billion, agriculture accounts for R966,5 million, public works accounts for R601,6 million and sport, arts and culture accounts for R98,3 million.

The higher allocation to this sector remains the provincial goal to grow the economy and create sustainable jobs. We are proud that Limpopo recorded an average annual economic growth rate of four percent between 1995 and 2005. This makes us the second fastest growing economy in the country and places us above the national average of 3,7%.

Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism

Department of Economic Development is allocated R759,6 million in 2007/08, mainly, to provide for the planning of the International Convention Centre commercialisation of nature reserves, bolstering of provincial tourism and Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) development.

Our efforts at SMME and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) development and small business growth must be geared towards lifting our historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) out of a cycle in which they are only involved in providing, catering, security, printing and cleaning services. Through the procurement and our supply chain management module we need, as government, to work out ways in which our public entities can contribute to the upliftment of SMMEs and move them into the higher levels of our economy. Our various chambers of business can also play a meaningful role in this regard.

The Department will avail R25 million towards the establishment of a provincial BEE fund. Absa made a commitment to contribute R25 million towards this fund, provided that the provincial government matches its commitment. This R50 million fund will certainly go a long way towards assisting HDIs who find it difficult to access funding for their business ventures from the banks.

The Department will also spearhead the challenge of enhancing international economic relations by developing and implementing an export programme on how best the province can access international markets. To this end, the province will be participating at the Africa and international pavilions to showcase the province's products and to promote investment opportunities.

The Department will also enhance integration and implementation of cross border projects including the establishment of cross border tourism marketing routes.

Further, we are revisiting our financing strategies to ensure that our people have greater access to funding. However, the Department and the relevant agency must ensure that mechanisms are put in place to recover the money spent on funding qualifying business ventures so that we can broaden the impact of our funding initiatives by assisting many more needy business people.

Department of Roads and Transport

Department of Roads and Transport's share of the provincial equitable share is R1,870 billion or 8,2% of the provincial equitable share in 2007/08. The budget is mainly to provide for tarring of economic roads, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads and the construction of new roads. The budget further caters for traffic and car licence enforcement, subsidies to bus operators and the extended public works programme.

Department of Public Works

Department of Public Work's share of the provincial equitable share is R601,5 million or 7,58% in 2007/08. The budget is mainly to cater for the provision of infrastructure to client departments and the expanded public works programme. The Department will also provide for poverty alleviation skills transfer and job creation, particularly to the youth.

Consistent with the provisions of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), public works will have to employ labour intensive practices in the development and maintenance of the infrastructure programmes of government.

Department of Agriculture

Department of Agriculture's share of the provincial equitable share is R966,5 million to cater for the funding of smallholder/irrigation schemes and the provision of supporting infrastructure to make irrigation schemes functional.

The Department will be developing an aquaculture strategy in the next financial year with a view to introduce commercial aquaculture production amongst emerging farmers. Plans are also underway to establish an Agribusiness Development Agency focusing on farmer training, market information management and institutional development in the next financial year.

The budget further provides for land care and farmer support during drought. Some farmers have already started to shout for assistance as a result of the acute drought that is gripping the province. This money will therefore come in handy to assist the affected farmers as far as possible.

Many residents of Polokwane have already experienced the difficulty of making it through the day without a drop of water from their taps. The review of 27 February carried a front-page article on the water shortages in Polokwane. In the article a resident of Ster Park was quoted as saying, "Finding a place to take a bath has been the weekend's top priority on her to do list." She and her family were apparently not able to do their washing or clean the dishes, and they used water from the swimming pool to flush the toilets. This situation may get even worse unless the municipality finds ways to manage the shortages and all of us work together to save the little water we have available. Unfortunately, we cannot budget for rain. If this was possible we would have made provision for it in our MTEF allocations.

Department of Sport, Arts and Culture

Honourable Speaker

Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is allocated R98,3 million which will grow to R105,7 million and R115,3 million in the second and third year of the MTEF. The budget is mainly to cater for major national and provincial cultural events such as Freedom Day, Heritage Day, Africa Day, Day of Reconciliation and the Mapungubwe Arts Festival.

In response to the Premier's directive during the SOPA, the Department will begin the process of erecting the heroes' acre that will be home to the departed stalwarts of the liberation struggle. The Department will also intensify its programme of documenting the role played by our people in the fight against colonialism.

The Department is also committed to ensure that the annual Mapungubwe Arts Festival is greatly improved administratively for it to meet its intended objectives. Treasury is ready to assist the Department to ensure that the shortcomings of the past are overcome. We have to tighten our efforts around the procurement process, project management, sponsorships, proper branding and positioning of the festival as the main arts and culture event of the province.

The budget will further cater for library services, that is, the provision of books and materials to regional and local libraries amounting to R124,9 million over the MTEF. We must use this allocation to promote readership amidst the ever diminishing culture of reading within our communities. It will also provide for mass sport and recreation participation programmes like club development, school sport and Siyadlala amounting to R111,5 million over the MTEF.

Governance and administration sector

The governance and administration sector accounts for 5,4% of the budget which is R1,228 billion. From this amount the Office of the Premier receives R448,4 million, the Legislature gets R100,2 million and Provincial Treasury receives R393 million. The allocation to the sector increases in real terms over the MTEF to deal with the challenges facing the institutional efficiency of government, more especially the new Traditional Leadership Act and provincial audit performance.

Office of the Premier

The Office of the Premier's allocation is R448,4 million for 2007/08 to cater for the Premier's special programmes including youth, gender, disability, etc, running of the traditional affairs, community development workers and improving the co-ordination of the Executive Council (ExCo) and the clusters.

Legislature

The Legislature's share in respect of the provincial equitable share is R100,2 million for 2007/08. The budget will be utilised for the running of the Provincial Legislature, strengthening public participation and the oversight functions.

Department of Local Government and Housing

Department of Local Government and Housing's share of the provincial equitable share is R393 million or 1,7% for 2007/08. The Department receives a conditional grant of R1,1 billion over the MTEF to complete the incomplete housing block projects in the province. For this year the department will get R325,817 million towards this objective. We certainly hope that this will bring relief to the many people who have been waiting for a long time to move into their houses. However, we must state that we have to ensure that we get it right this time. It will be a serious indictment on all of us if we were to find ourselves in a similar situation in future.

The Department's budget will mainly focus on the comprehensive plan for the creation of sustainable human settlements. The Department is implementing a turn around strategy to fast track housing delivery in the province. The strategy entails the following elements:
* forward planning
* unblocking blocked projects
* fast-tracking and eradication of informal settlements
* partnering Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
* contracting strategies mix of highly capacitated and emerging contractors
* development of integrated sustainable communities
* settlement upgrading in line with the millennium development goals.

A crucial element of the strategy is the interaction between the Department and the beneficiaries, which is why it is so important for all affected parties to direct all housing related queries to the toll free number of the housing consumer call centre.

The Department must also move with speed towards the eradication of the bucket system in formal settlements and the fast tracking of the provincial sanitation programme.

An amount of R46,5 million has been earmarked for sanitation, water and electricity projects in Moutse West. The procurement processes has already started in respect of some of these projects.

The processes of Integrated Development Planning (IDP) Local Economic Developments (LEDs) and budgets of municipalities must be closely scrutinised and monitored as they are an important and necessary component of our PGDS. We must ensure that, as provincial departments, we provide the various levels of capacity within the municipalities to develop sustainable strategies and realistic implementation plans. The LEDs must be closely linked and aligned to both our national and provincial strategies. Municipalities must be able to discharge their economic responsibilities.

Local government's share of revenue raised nationally in respect of the financial year 2007/08 is R20 675 620 billion. The municipalities in the Limpopo Province receive R1 820 529 billion of the total national revenue raised or 8,8 in percentage terms. The share to the province is further broken down by district municipality as follows:
* Greater Sekhukhune: R325 703 million
* Mopani: R396 389 million
* Vhembe: R395 753 million
* Capricorn: R449 430 million
* Waterberg: R253 254 million

Provincial Treasury

Provincial Treasury's share of the provincial equitable share is 4,2% in 2007/08, 4,1% in 2008/09 and 4% in 2009/10. The budget for the Treasury will be utilised for the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and to offer support to departments and municipalities in terms of planning, monitoring, capacity building and financial reporting. The Department must also provide financial system support to the province and monitor the management of provincial assets and supply chain management.

Honourable Speaker

With these allocations we have to bring about tangible changes to the lives of our people. We have to focus our attention on planning better and pursuing our plans vigorously. Treasury and the Legislative committees must find synergy in their monitoring and oversight roles and work together towards improving service delivery whilst reducing the unacceptably high incidences of financial irregularities and negligence. As members of the Legislature, we must also be seen to actively assist departments to do more, better. We must all work together and towards the same objective in the interest of our province. The high number of qualified financial reports and the increasing number of suspended officials for misusing public funds must be relegated to the past very urgently. We must not allow greed and avarice to deprive our people of the services they so desperately need and depend on.

The increase in the budget is a clear indication of larger and stronger spending on the part of provincial government. Minister Manuel has indicated that over the next three years government expenditure nationally will be over R2 trillion. Limpopo Provincial Government's share of that will be approximately R80 billion for the next three years.

The provincial government, therefore, will continue to be an important player in our economy as employer and as a purchaser of goods and services and a client to the many interests that do business in Limpopo. We therefore have to assert our significance in the economic activity of the province by conducting our affairs with the necessary honesty and integrity. We have to uproot corruption at every level both in government and in the private sector and display the framework within which prudent fiscal governance must operate.

To achieve the 6% growth in the national economy by 2010, to half the poverty figure and unemployment by 2014 as stated in the AsgiSA document, to fight poverty and create jobs we need to play our part in reducing the many constraints that stand in our way as provincial government.

We have to, as indicated earlier on, continuously build and increase capacity and skills within all sectors of government at both provincial and municipal level. If it is true that motho ke motho ga ana bosehlana and if human life indeed has equal worth, then we must ensure that the money we spend on every school we build, the money we spend on every clinic and hospital we construct, the money we spend on feeding each and every deserving learner is worth every cent. Every cent must therefore have equal and corresponding worth! The R1 000 I spend as a private citizen on an item cannot become R10 000 just because I am government. Every cent must have equal worth.

Government, individuals, communities and business must join the struggle and continue to contribute meaningfully and tirelessly towards the eradication of poverty and unemployment.

We must also not allow ourselves to become like those who, in the words of the Minister of Defence during the debate on the State of the Nation Address, "…have contributed nothing or very little to the struggle to end the very long years of oppression, who will stride down the sidewalk as we march along the long and difficult highway to the better life to which we are committed, forever mocking, forever throwing our inevitable temporary failures at our faces, forever triumphant when we falter, forever finding fault even with the way we walk, always predicting that nothing but despair will be our reward whenever we come to the end of our long journey to that new South Africa that will be free of everything that is ugly and repulsive in human society."

We must speak together of freedom and act in partnership to realise the happiness for all that should come with liberty. Let the joy and happiness of those who strike, extract and benefit from the mineral wealth from the depths of mother earth's Limpopo be shared by the young boy and girl child who stand above her oblivious to the wealth under their feet. We must work together to build a province defined by a common dream.

You may have noticed how unfamiliar and probably nervous I looked from this podium today. I am only in Treasury for a mere three months. This has been my first budget speech. I am sure that all the mistakes you picked up today will improve as time goes. Allow me therefore to thank my party, the African National Congress (ANC) and the honourable Premier for deploying me into this very challenging position. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity I have, within the leadership collective, to make my minimal contribution towards the advancement of our province and its beautiful and humble people. With all the support I am getting, I have no doubt that we will succeed.

May I also use this opportunity to thank the honourable Joyce Mashamba and comrade Thaba Mufamadi for the foundation they laid in the Department. Their council and guidance really assisted me tremendously. The former head of Department, Mr Mphahlele, who is an official in the project management unit (PMU) for the information provided on certain matters on the budget.

This budget was made possible by the hard work and inputs from a number of stakeholders and role players. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to my colleagues in the Legislature and the ExCo, members of the various committees in our Legislature, in particular Treasury and Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) for their contributions.

We also want to declare our appreciation for the support we enjoy from the various stakeholders who are gathered both here and in the districts. Thank you very much to everyone who attended and participated in our budget road shows. Your inputs and questions have assisted us to ensure that this budget is alive to the needs and aspirations of our people.

I would like to thank the management and staff of the Provincial Treasury under the leadership of the acting Head of Department (HOD), Mr Mpho Mofokeng, for their sterling and tireless contribution towards the success of this budget. At the same time I would like to officially welcome into the Department and congratulate our new HOD, the former honourable member of this House, Mr Rob Tooley. He is tasked with the daunting task of steering the Department through his management team, towards meeting its strategic objectives and mandate. I wish him well in his new responsibility and trust that he will be equal to the task.

Many thanks to the Provincial Public Service Commissioner, Mr Mahoai for his guidance and assistance on the organisational structure of the Department.

To the media, we say thank you for the cordial relationship that exists between us and for assisting us to convey our government's programmes to the people we serve.

Special thanks to Minister Trevor Manuel, Director-General of National Treasury, our own son of the province, Lesetja Kganyago, Lungisa Fazile, Jan Hattingh and all the staff of National Treasury who have guided us through our own budget process.

All our makgosi, religious leaders, mayors, councillors, speakers and municipal managers, community leaders, financial institutions and business at large we thank you for your support. We look forward to a long lasting and fruitful relationship with you. Thank you for being here today!

Honourable Speaker, the Premier has once again laid down afresh the line of march we need to pursue. We have now added to it the money that we have been given to appropriate. The budget is our investment to ensure that our profits are maximised. These profits can only be measured in terms of the number of houses we build, the number of pupils that we remove from studying under trees and place into proper classrooms, the electricity, water and sanitation we deliver to our people and the lives we save. Our dividends are reducing poverty, creating jobs and creating a better life for all.

We have defined the character of the society we strive to achieve. Let us march forward by getting down to work. There is an east African saying which says, "If the goat roars and the lion bleats, take out your spears." Let us therefore not act out of character for the people will most certainly reach for their spears.

Honourable Speaker

It is my honour to table before this House, the citizen guide to the provincial budget and the provincial budget speech for 2007/08.

Baie dankie, inkomu ndza khensa, ndo livhuwa nga maanda, ke a leboga, I thank you!

Issued by: Provincial Treasury, Limpopo Provincial Government
8 March 2007