Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon Premier of the Northern Cape and all members present, the National Council of Province's ``Taking Parliament to the People'' was held in the Northern Cape province in the Kgalagadi District Municipality from 27 to 31 March this year.
The people of rural Kgalagadi experience poverty, joblessness and often the lack of basic services. However, the iron and manganese mines present some potential for employment. Because of the vast area of the province and the sparseness of the population, most of the members of the National Council of Provinces were flown in by charter flights to Sishen Airport for the visit.
``Taking Parliament to the People'' is an important public participation mechanism and affords people living in remote areas of the country the opportunity to speak directly to their elected representatives, and gives members the chance to listen to the concerns of the people. In our relatively new democracy, many people cannot afford to travel to Cape Town and see how Parliament functions. In fact, there are people in the country who have never seen the sea, let alone Cape Town and, if for no other reason, Parliament must continue to visit other parts of the country wherever and whenever possible.
At the sittings at the Moshaweng Municipal Hall, members of the various communities participated in the public hearings, raising issues of concern such as poverty alleviation, social security and the provision of basic services. Our chairperson had noted that one of the objectives of the public hearings was to explore the effectiveness of local government in the region and whether the municipality involved the communities in the preparation of integrated development plans, the IDPs. In addition, it would look at whether ward committees had been established and were functioning effectively. The Kgalagadi region, it was noted, had been declared a rural development node.
Members of the National Council of Provinces, the Premier of the province, provincial MECs, municipal Speakers, mayors and councillors all participated, and formed part of the panels where they responded to issues raised by their communities. The Northern Cape, among other areas, had experienced heavy rains, which caused damage to infrastructure such as roads, housing and sanitation connections. Normally, however, these areas don't get any water or rainfall for periods of between three and six months.
It was interesting to note the mode of transport in the area - donkey carts with registration number plates, nogal. [Interjections.] Maybe that's for speeding fines but at least its pollution free and not affected by the price of petrol. [Interjections.]
Members carried out various visits to farms, schools, health centres and projects falling under the Expanded Public Works Programme. I personally accompanied a group that visited the Wrenchville Small Farmers Women's Society situated near Camden, some 82 kilometres from Kuruman. This project consists of some 30 emerging women farmers involved in livestock farming with varying skills.
Various challenges were noted during the visit, namely stock theft and security, social conflicts resulting in poor co-operation among group members, and lack of skills, which has resulted in financial problems and debt with the bank. The Department of Agriculture plays a vital role in the sustainability of the project, and must ensure that there is a transfer of skills to the members of the society.
The National Council of Provinces occupies a unique position in our constitutional system in so far as it straddles all three spheres of government, ie national, provincial and local, and places the NCOP in a strategic oversight position. I therefore wish to personally thank the Premier of the Northern Cape province for the hospitality extended to the NCOP during our visit, and for the gifts that we received. I trust that the members - and this comes in as a bit of an advertisement here - will enjoy the forthcoming visit to my home province, the Free State, just as much. Thank you. [Applause.]