Chairperson, during the course of the Provincial Week, the North West NCOP permanent delegates conducted a visit to the province in order to meet with the premier, her executive members, the speaker, the chief whip of the legislature, the mayors, representatives from the SA Local Government Association and communities from selected municipalities such as the Ramotshere Moiloa and Ntsweletsoku municipalities.
The visit by the NCOP permanent delegates took place from 8 September to 11 September 2009. All NCOP permanent delegates to the North West participated in this visit.
The main purpose of the visit was to afford an opportunity to NCOP permanent delegates to interact with other spheres of government and the community in order to gain a fresh mandate for this Council and deliberate on issues of service delivery.
This visit to the province was informed by the NCOP's theme: "Working together to ensure the delivery of quality services to communities". This visit was also informed by what President J G Zuma confirmed in his fourth speech to Parliament, when he said:
On 9 May 2009, during the presidential inauguration, we made a commitment to our people and the world that, for as long as there are South Africans who die from preventable diseases; for as long as there are workers who struggle to feed their families and who battle to find work; for as long as there are rural dwellers unable to make a decent living from the land on which they live; for as long as there are women who are subjected to discrimination, exploitation or abuse; for as long as there are children who do not have the means nor the opportunity to receive a decent education, we shall not rest, and we dare not falter in our drive to eradicate poverty.
In our first meeting with the premier and the executive council, we received reports from each member of the executive council. These reports focused on priorities, programmes, successes, challenges and solutions.
From our interaction with the executive council, there were certain issues that we observed as the delegation and that needed the attention of the NCOP. They were: the service delivery infrastructure backlogs, which were estimated at R13,2 billion over the 2010-11 year, based on recently submitted infrastructure plans; municipal support experiencing challenges in areas like financial management capacity, viability and continuity of technical and management resources; insufficient funding across all departments, preventing departments from fully implementing their programmes; scarce skills; the illegal evictions of farmworkers from farms - a practice that is still prevalent in the province; inadequate infrastructure, particularly in rural areas; a shortage of educators; and inadequate training of councillors in order for them to master their duties.
All municipalities are in dire need of water reservoirs. Demonstrations for water in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district are a classic example of the extent of this problem. The rest of the observations are provided in the report reflected in the ATCs.
The ANC government has unequivocally made its commitment towards service delivery issues. That is why the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Motshekga, has recently announced the 10-point plan to address immediate challenges within her department; that is why the Minister of Health, Dr Motsoaledi, is also talking about a 10-point plan focusing on health priorities that need immediate attention; that is why the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Shiceka, has set up a task team to establish the challenges faced by municipalities across the whole country.
All these interventions demonstrate that the ANC-led government is committed to its promises or commitments. We don't make empty promises; we stick to our word. If we experience challenges, we go back to the people through izimbizo, taking Parliament to the people, and other forms of communication, to inform people of the bottlenecks we are experiencing.
There is no doubt that the ANC-led government is providing leadership at all times, and that government is in the right hands. We hope that the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement announced by Minister Pravin Gordhan will offset some of the financial challenges our provinces are experiencing and translate these into better quality services.
The interaction by the NCOP delegation with communities was highly appreciated and welcomed in the province. It was the first of its kind. Let me hasten to mention that the Ramotshere Moiloa and Ntsweletsoku communities demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm and excitement during discussions and it was difficult to draw the meeting to a close. My colleagues here can attest to that.
Out of these interactions with different stakeholders in the province we have suggested several recommendations that require consideration by each department in the North West for immediate or later implementation. We will monitor the implementation of these recommendations by means of our frequent visits to the province. Through this approach we will be able to monitor service delivery and its impact. All these interventions will translate into quality services for the communities.
There are a number of positive programmes that have been implemented successfully in the North West, such as the opening of an additional health unit in the Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital in Rustenburg, the selection of students to study medicine in Cuba, and many other programmes that are successful.
These initiatives will increase the intake of patients and ease the high levels of congestion in these hospitals. Training additional doctors means that the North West government is addressing the shortage of doctors and providing better quality services to the people. This displays the extent of the commitment of the ANC to its goals and priorities.
The North West province is proud to be chosen as one of the provinces that will host the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup tournament. The province is ready to host this tournament. During the Confederations Cup earlier this year, we hosted about four successful matches at Rustenburg without major incident.
The Local Organising Committee, the Departments of Sport and Recreation and of Arts and Culture and other sister departments are well on course with their plans. This observation was supported by the LOC nationally when they recently came to make their presentation to the Select Committee on Education and Recreation and reassured everyone that it was all systems go.
The challenges experienced during the Confederations Cup will be avoided at all costs. The province has developed a master plan, which is aimed at addressing those challenges. All 24 soccer and rugby games to be played in the province will be used as practice games and will activate all stakeholders for the implementation of the master plan.
To ordinary members of the community this means they will be able to participate and play a pivotal role in the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup tournament by offering their services and becoming volunteers. Our people will be able to sell their products, such as imibhaco and iinkciyo, to visitors who will be coming into the country. Our people will be able to open up their homes and accommodate visitors at a reasonable price. Our people will be able to sell African cuisine, such as umngqusho, mogodu, amadumbe, umphokoqo namarhewu. They will be able to market South African products through which these visitors may develop an interest in our country and visit again at another time. Only the ANC government can make all these opportunities possible. Viva to the ANC!
The NCOP provincial week report reflects the material conditions of our province as a whole. Through our oversight, we will ensure that the NCOP's theme is made a reality and the President's commitments fulfilled. This report is supported by the province. Thank you very much. [Applause.]