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27 June 2008

Madam Speaker
Honourable Premier
Colleagues in the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Honourable Members of the Extended Portfolio Committee
The Director General of the Province
Heads of Departments
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

During the State of the Nation Address in February this year, President Thabo Mbeki said and I quote:

"Ngiyethemba bonyana u-2008 kuzakuba mnyaka oqakathekileko, kudemikhrasi yethu, njengoba sisebenza soke ukubonelela umnqopho wabantu bethu, ukufumana ipilo engcono yabo boke."(*a)

I believe we all are confident, that this year, will indeed be a great year for our people, as the budget appropriated by this house, will go a long way to realise our commitment as the caring African National Congress (ANC)-led government, to provide a better life for all. This is a commitment we made to our people, when we took government in 1994, and we promise never to renege on it, along the way.

Madam Speaker, Honourable members, when we stood before this august house on 4 March this year, we requested the house to appropriate a total amount of R19 007 billion, for the requirements of the province. Out of the total amount proposed to be appropriated, R18 739 billion was to fund departmental priorities, and a further R268 million, which arose from provincial surplus, to fund amongst others:

* a shortfall in the budget of the Mbombela Stadium,
* the Provincial Growth Fund,
* the water-for-all flagship project,
* the remaining four Flagship Projects of the province.

It should be noted that education receives a lion's share of the total proposed budget, which is 47,7 percent, indicating that the budget is biased towards the social services sector. In total, the social services sector has been allocated 73,8 percent or R13 837 billion of the R18 739 billion provided to fund departmental priorities, as informed by national and provincial priorities. This decision Honourable Members, is in support of the country's fiscal policy stance – that of prioritising the social services sector.

Once again, this symbolises a commitment by our government, to push back the frontiers of poverty, thus continuing to provide a better life for all.

Allow me Madam Speaker, to remind the house about which priority areas, especially under the social services sector, have been catered for:

1. Education
* increasing accessibility of more learners into grade-R,
* training and appointment of additional staff including support staff at schools,
* provision of adequate classrooms with appropriate learner and teacher support material,
* setting-up of supporting structures and appointment of staff required to manage and administer the system effectively,
* consolidation and expansion of the sector for learners with special education needs,
* upgrading of the existing facilities and improving transport facilities,
* improvement of working conditions for educators.

2. Health
* implementation of the new remuneration dispensation for health professionals,
* fast-tracking of the Hospital Revitalisation Programme,
* implementation of the HIV and AIDS National Strategic Plan,
* treatment of tuberculosis, with more emphasis on the Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) and extreme-drug resistant (XDR) strains,
* development of a common Health Information System.

3. Social Services/Development
* funding of infrastructure for social welfare service delivery,
* protection of women and children and reduction of child poverty,
* strengthening capacity of NGOs to enable them to undertake service delivery on behalf of government,
* implementation of the occupation-specific dispensation for all categories of social welfare workforce.

Madam Speaker, Honourable Members, the provision of infrastructure remains a critical priority area for the province. As the Provincial Treasury, we aim to:
* reduce the backlogs in infrastructure and improve the capacity of provincial departments to deliver on their infrastructure targets,
* build capacity in the province for planning and managing infrastructure projects,
* increase capital budgets to include increased maintenance budgets,
* and introduce Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a co-funding arrangement for increasing costs on specific projects like the Hospital Revitalisation Programme.

Through their respective Policy and Budget Speeches tabled to this house, departments have ensured that the identified sixteen (16) Provincial Apex priorities, will be addressed for the realisation of the all-important goal of a better life for all our people.

Having said that Honourable Members, the members of the Extended Portfolio Committee will agree with me when I say that departments, have also confirmed these priority areas, when they tabled their respective Policy and Budget Speeches to this house.

Our mandate as the Provincial Treasury, is to thus monitor and ensure that departments use their budgets for what they requested funding for. We commit to continue to ensure that departments and delegated municipalities comply with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) respectively.

We will also ensure that all concerns raised during debates of Departmental Policy and Budget Speeches, including those in the composite report are attended to.

In concluding, Honourable Members, an Italian political thinker and poet, in the name of Niccolo' Machiavelli, once said and I quote:

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great."

Madam Speaker, these inspiring words are a reminder to all of us that as long as you are determined and willing to be a servant of your people, nothing can stand on our way.

We should admit that the road travelled thus far, was not an easy one, but we derive solace from the fact that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The lives of our people are better than were yesterday, and we go forward in a belief that tomorrow will even be much better than today.

As we proceed in our quest to better the lives of our people by emancipating them from the bondages of poverty and hunger, let us commit all our efforts and energy, lest we became complacent. We have a contract that we have signed with the electorates; that of providing a better life for all.

We must all commit to doing business in an unusual way, as the President called on us to put "All hands on deck – to speed up change," and continue with zeal in our quest to provide a better life for all.

We need a cadre of committed and willing individuals in the public service, who understand that our people cannot wait forever, and continue to endure misery at the hands of those who always have a reason, for not doing some of the things. We should not tolerate any under-expenditure by departments, at the expense of our people. As the Provincial Treasury, we will continue to monitor expenditure against what was planned in the implementation plans of departments and report back to this house.

Madam Speaker, Honourable Members, I therefore appreciate the pronouncement of this house, in approving a total amount of R19 007 billion for the requirements of the province, as per Chapter 4, Section 26 and 27 of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999, as amended by Act 29 of 1999.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Finance, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
27 June 2008