Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, I recognise management and staff and the leadership of Statistics SA in the gallery.
Modulasetulo, ka ge e le tlwaelo le tlhago go tsopola bangwadi le diboledi, go ya ka maleme a go fapana a bobona, ke be ke kgopela gore ke thome polelo ya ka ya let?at?i ka go tsopola yo mongwe wa borena, setsebi, mongwadi, monna yo a bego a t?habega efela a hlomphega ka mo polelong ya gabo ya Sepedi; yena ke O K Matsepe. Go t?wa go ye nngwe ya dipuku t?a gagwe t?e di tumilego, yeo e bit?wago Megokgo ya Bjoko, mo polelong ya gagwe o ile a re, gomme ke a tsopola:
Go rarolla le go hlopholla ditaba le bokamoso bja set?haba, re swanet?e go tseba gore batho ka tlhago re llela go phela, re lli?wa ke go phela, re llela go phala bangwe, re lli?wa ke go phalwa ke ba bangwe, re llela t?welopele, re lli?wa ke t?welopele.
Ka ge nneteng gona bophelo e le peakanyo yeo go yona mang le mang a ratago go ba t?hia ya let?at?i le lengwe le le lengwe, re llela go bu?a, re lli?wa ke go bu?wa, re llela go huma, re lli?wa ke bodidi; gobane nneteng gona, se se kaone se ka ganwa ke wa mogopolo wa mohuta mang? (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
Chairperson, because it is normal to quote the authors and the speakers in their different languages, allow me to start my speech today by quoting someone from the royal family, a specialist, an author, a man whom many people were scared of, but who was respected by many with regard to his language, which is Sepedi; that is O K Matsepe. In one of his popular books entitled Megokgo ya Bjoko, he said, and I quote:
Go rarolla le go hlopholla ditaba le bokamoso bja set?haba, re swanet?e go tseba gore batho ka tlhago re llela go phela, re lli?wa ke go phela, re llela go phala bangwe, re lli?wa ke go phalwa ke ba bangwe, re llela t?welopele, re lli?wa ke t?welopele.
In life everybody wants to be a winner every day, we want to lead, we complain about those who are leading us, we want to be rich, we complain about being poor; who doesn't want the best?] On World Statistics Day two years ago, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that:
Statistics permeate modern life. They are the basis for many governmental, business and community decisions. They provide information and insight about the trends and forces that affect our lives.
This was but an affirmation of what O K Matsepe said about the role of statistics, according to his own understanding, in that statistics will support the quantification of human needs, and not wants, and human entitlements such as education, health and jobs.
Our progressive Constitution guides the trajectory of our development and the path we ought to take in achieving a national democratic society. However, in order for us to build a society that is prosperous and free of the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment, we must be able to measure the damage that has been done by apartheid. After measuring this damage, we can then fashion objectives, policies and programmes, and allocate sufficient funding or resources to these. In this regard, the importance of relevant, reliable and accessible statistics must be emphasised as the backdrop to successful development.
In assessing the historical evolution of Statistics SA, the pre-1994 period is a reflection of the development of a deep-seated partialness in the development of statistical information, selective and deliberately skewed, thus undermining its own science that it sought to project and defend.
Barely eight years ago, Statistics SA was seen as an ugly duckling government institution. Some thought it was like trying to fly a kite on a windless day and, as nothing happened, Minister, you and your team would even try to adjust the tail of the kite, probably even change the design and try to run faster without a breeze. Nothing was going to sweep the kite upwards and, consequently, critics said nothing would happen to change the situation.
Hon Minister and Statistician-General, you have proved that in our case - contrary to the belief that those who came before us were supposed to be masterful and the latter ones, like ourselves, were supposed to be feeble, unmotivated or just puppets - as we speak today the opposite is true, because Statistics SA is an independent body that collates, processes and analyses information and data as an independent organisation that makes its own pronouncements without interference.
Today we see an organisation that has evolved and matured into a swan. You dug deep and openly identified the limitations you inherited and those that you also created in the course of trying to build a better institution. You constructed a thorough strategy that continues to implement coherent and sequenced annual work programmes that deliver an enduring institution and better statistics that win the trust of the nation and the world. Today, without fear of contradicting ourselves, we can say that we have an institution that is in the service of the state, that leads in the implementation of statistics locally and on the continent and that holds its own globally.
This has been possible because government chose men and women whose passion and commitment have ensured that Statistics SA is not only a player here at home, but an international player of note in matters of statistics.
Modulasetulo, ga se ka pho?o go bona kgatelopele goba t?welopele ye mo leetong le. Maloba le maabane re be re lebelet?e ngwana ge a sa ithuta go abula; lehono ga a ithute leleme le go ikati?a fela, o tloga a kitima, ka gore kgorong go dut?e banna ba maledu le bohlogoputswa gammogo le basadi. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, I am not surprised that there is progress on this journey. Yesterday we were watching a crawling baby, today the baby is not only learning how to speak and how to walk, but is also running, because there are real men and women in leadership positions.]
Nga Tshivenda tsha hashu ri ri i rema nga lu?we mbevhana mulindi wa vhuya wa ?ala. [In Tshivenda we say we keep on trying and it will ultimately be all right.]
Ka ge re tseba gore lefase le ikadile ka bophara bja lona, mabothata le ona ga a kudupana, gobane ge a ka kudupana, a fa ka nnete re ka phela gabotse? Ke lona lebaka leo re lakalet?ago ba Dipalopalo Afrika Borwa mahlogonolo ka dipholo t?a bona t?a go bala batho t?a 2011 ka baka la gore katlego ya me?omo ya bona ke katlego yeo e lego gore e phumola meokgo ya set?haba, ebile ke sehlare sa manyami set?habeng. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[We know very well that the world is big and it can therefore not be without problems. Can life be normal without encountering problems along the way? The problems that were encountered are the reason we are congratulating Statistics SA on the 2011 census. Their success is the success of the nation and it also brings joy to the nation.]
The annual strategic plans and budget underpin the established tradition and practice, which we have observed as a committee over the past few years within the context of continuity and change as encapsulated in the work programmes that focus on three critical areas. I will not elaborate on these critical areas.
In terms of economics statistics, improvements in both producer price index, PPI, and the consumer price index, CPI, are being made. Hon members, it is common knowledge that a robust PPI is a good lead indicator for the CPI, and that a comprehensive PPI will enhance the ability of citizens to understand the drivers of price changes and how these impact on their ordinary lives. Of course, CPI has a direct influence on the movement of interest rates in many countries, and South Africa is no exception.
The second priority I have identified, in terms of the transformation and the enhancement of Statistics SA, is improvement in the legislative environment, particularly sections 7 and 14 of the Act. In addition, your interest in international statistics development is well appreciated.
As we all know, our past could have been a better one, and it is not possible to fight for a better past. We must appreciate the progress made thus far by men and women since the dawn of democracy. We have moved from a situation in which Statistics SA was the domain of an exclusive science, wielded by a select few for steering social, economic and political divisions. The ostensible vision of separate development demanded that statistics had to, in a true Machiavellian manner, justify the ends.
This manipulation not only did damage to the science of statistical research, but, to a large extent, also retarded the development of the science itself - to the extent that our heads were permanently spinning with suspicion every time statistical information was presented to the public. This turned the field of statistical research into a parochial and underdeveloped science.
The then national agency responsible for statistics, Central Statistical Services, was blighted by political imperatives far removed from the objective realities. Statistics had to serve an objective and be manipulated to that end.
Paradoxically, the self-engineered demise of Central Statistical Services arose from its own incapacity to respond to the increasing social and economic value and need for accurate and unengineered statistics. The disregard for social value in favour of strategic political value engendered erroneous measurements, the legacy of which we witness today. The information gap peaked, the quality of output regressed, and the capacity to produce data deteriorated. The growing call for change nationally was flanked by international critiques of discriminatory national statistics.
Transformation of the former national statistics agency, Central Statistical Services, thus became a necessary condition. The publication of the 1992 ANC set of policy proposals entitled "Ready to Govern" thrust statistical research into a new developmental paradigm. Here were a set of comprehensive policy drafts being presented during the period of the transitional executive committee which demanded that research bodies in the socioeconomic discipline and those producing statistical data reorientate themselves and begin to prepare for a new democratic government whose research, demands would far outstrip anything that had been seen before.
The 1994 launch of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, adopted as a White Paper in 1995, set in place the new paradigm in which epistemology, and socioeconomic and statistical research would be carried out in the future. The twin pillars of growth and development were to signal to statistical research that a fundamental shift from data collection for its own sake to data usage for developmental planning was dawning.
The greatest inputs to evidence-based policy-making are the establishment of the two Ministries in the Presidency. The National Planning Commission and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation signal an emphasis by government to develop policies and programmes that are rooted in measuring development. Data production is thus not removed from knowledge production aimed at service delivery and the transformation of the country.
The department emphasises the mutually reinforcing relationship between measurement and successful planning. In addition, through statistical information gaps, policy and project delivery can be traced back to their source with ease. For the first time in South Africa we are creating comprehensive data, standards and application that place us on par internationally.
Our vision for Statistics SA has never been nominal. The execution of statistical research cannot be detached from the challenges on the ground and from the needs of the people it serves. Statistical research must serve the needs of the masses of our people.
Therefore, the birth of Statistics SA had to be underpinned by a vision and mission that would be people-centred and people-driven and aimed at improving measurement for evidence-based decisions.
The imperative to move from statistical fragmentation to a more inclusive statistical system became paramount to the project of transformation. Through installing legal autonomy in professional statistics, an unprecedented move was made by the ANC-led government to dissociate statistics from its preoccupation with mechanics and operations to being outcomes - oriented.
The changes that have been brought about in Statistics SA reflect broad- based change for development. Inclusivity shapes research programmes of statistics, and the internal restructuring of Statistics SA is a reflection of the orientation of functions for developmental purposes. This, in turn, has led to continual improvement in the discipline of statistical information and the cadre of professionals driving this. Strategies directed at driving quality improvements are unprecedented in the field of statistics. The critical relevance of statistics can be seen in the high level of adherence to founding legislation. National statistics must become central to evidence-based policy formulation by linking its statistics and products to policy development, and monitoring and evaluating as prescribed in the Statistics Act.
In casting our net wider, Statistics SA has been able to increase public confidence in its research findings. The move from official statistics to new statistical domains will also enable government to meet the growing demand for the supply of official statistics.
The power of information can be seen in the manner in which it has been able to facilitate democracy. We have ensured that citizens have the right to quantitative information that allows them to make informed choices about their lives. More importantly, the oversight role of Parliament can be strengthened by the statistical capacity to track departmental benchmarks, targets and achievements against national priorities. This sets the tone for the legislature or Parliament that is based on the will of the people, as enshrined in chapter 4 of our Constitution.
Fears about data quality will continue to be allayed by the SA Statistical Quality Assessment Framework, Sasqaf, which follows international best practice with regard to quality and standards. Gaps in the quality of statistics will be addressed through the assistance of this quality assurance framework. Increased demand ...