Erasibo Consulting

Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan restates our constitution:

The constitution enjoins us to

“Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;

Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;

Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and

Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. “

Source: http://bit.ly/9f9tQi

Here’s whats being said on twitter about South African media freedom and the ANC’s  moves to “deter” the media.
http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23zamediafreedom

Please don’t let them take me to Mpumalanga.

There is mounting evidence that political pressure lay behind the arrest this week of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Africa, despite furious denials from police top brass.

http://supportpublicbroadcasting.co.za/

SABC CRISIS DEEPENS – PARLIAMENT MUST INVESTIGATE, BOARD CHAIR MUST RESIGN OR BE REMOVED

6 AUGUST 2010

The SOS Campaign representing trade unions (including Cosatu, Fedusa and Bemawu), NGOs (including Media Monitoring Africa, the Freedom of Expression Institute and Misa-SA), CBOs, industry related bodies (including SASFED), academics and freedom of expression activists notes with dismay the seemingly endless governance problems at the SABC.

From media reports it appears that the Chair of the Board, Dr Ben Ngubane and the CEO, Mr. Solly Mokoetle are again involved in decisions that flout good corporate governance practices and procedures. It appears that the CEO, Mr Solly Mokoetle, without Board approval, has authorised additional bonuses to staff. These discretionary bonuses related to the World Cup are reportedly costing the public broadcaster R4.5m – and this at a time of great financial strain for the broadcaster. Further, there seems to be some controversy around whether these payments were in fact in lieu of overtime.

The interim Board of the SABC arranged a R1.47bn government guarantee in 2009 to pay back the SABC’s debts and further to assist with the implementation of a much needed turn-around strategy. The understanding from National Treasury was that the starting point was that all unnecessary spending would be strictly curtailed. So even if the CEO did not require specific Board approval for the World Cup bonuses, the wisdom of the decision must surely be questioned.

The Coalition believes that the ongoing crises at our public broadcaster have become so serious that urgent intervention from Parliament is, sadly, once again required.

We believe the following interventions should be undertaken by the Board:

1)    First, the Board needs to pass a resolution of no-confidence in the Chair for non-compliance with Board procedures and decisions.
2)    Second, the Board needs to pass a resolution to send a formal letter to the Speaker of Parliament requesting the National Assembly to initiate an enquiry into the alleged misconduct of the Chair with a view to removing him from the Board on the grounds of misconduct in terms of the sections 15, and 15A of the Broadcasting Act.

If the Board is effectively paralysed and cannot act in the ways we suggest, then we call upon Parliament to act. Parliament must (as it is legally entitled, indeed required, to do in times of crisis involving the SABC) initiate its own enquiry into what appear to be serious violations of corporate governance processes involving the Chair of the SABC Board. If after due enquiry it is clear that such violations have taken place, then Parliament must act to remove the Chair. Parliament cannot afford to drag out these crises in the same way it did over the crises that plagued the previous SABC Board.

SOS notes that the Board has been in office for the last seven months and yet we have little to show for this.  No new vision for the SABC appears to have been crafted and the much-talked-about turnaround strategy is still not forthcoming.  Further, communication with the general public in terms of its numerous corporate governance breaches and crises has been grudgingly scarce. For the most part the public has been forced to rely on media leaks.

SOS reiterates once again the critical importance of the SABC fostering a culture of transparency and communication. As a public broadcaster, the SABC’s main stakeholder is the public. Hence the SABC needs to ensure that its decision-making and governance processes – and the details of the crises and how they are being handled – are effectively communicated to the nation.

Further, SOS is considering taking up the numerous corporate governance breaches with the Public Protector. It is critical to restore the credibility of the SABC and this may be one important way.

Finally, SOS notes the comments made in today’s Mail & Guardian newspaper that there are further crises around the appointment of the Head of News and that allegedly divisions have arisen in terms of the disciplining of the CEO, Solly Mokoetle. SOS believes that this further confirms the need for the proposals we have outlined above.

For more information please contact:

Kate Skinner – SOS Coordinator – 082-926-6404
William Bird – Executive Director Media Monitoring Africa – 082-887-1370
Siphiwe Segodi – Freedom of Expression Network – 072-655-4177
Matankana Mothapo – Spokesperson Communications Workers Union – 082-759-0900
Hannes du Buisson – President Broadcasting Electronic and Media Workers Union – 082-920-8669
Marc Schwinges – Communications SASFED – 083-901-2000
Ayesha Kadjee – Executive Director FXI – 083-500-7486

All South African citizens must act to stop this unnecessary and clandestine piece of legislation. Read the Civil Society statement on the Protection of Information Bill. You can read the Bill and a few responses after the Civil Society Statement below:

A responsive and accountable democracy that can meet the basic needs of our people is built upon transparency and the free flow of information. The gains of South Africans’ struggle for freedom are threatened by the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) currently before Parliament. We accept the need to replace apartheid- era secrecy legislation. However, this Bill extends the veil of secrecy in a manner reminiscent of that same apartheid past. This Bill fundamentally undermines the struggle for whistleblower protection and access to information. It is one of a number of proposed measures which could have the combined effect of fundamentally undermining the right to access information and the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution.

Our concerns:

The Bill will create a society of secrets

• Any state agency, government department, even a parastatal and your local municipality, can classify public information as secret.
• Anything and everything can potentially be classified as secret at official discretion if it is in the ‘national interest’. Even ordinary information relating to service delivery can become secret.
• Commercial information can be made secret, making it very difficult to hold business and government to account for inefficiency and corruption.
• Anyone involved in the ‘unauthorised’ handling and disclosure of classified information can be prosecuted; not just the state official who leaks information as is the case in other democracies
• The disclosure even of some information which is not formally classified can land citizens in jail. This will lead to self- censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech.
• Whistleblowers and journalists could face more time in prison than officials who deliberately conceal public information that should be disclosed A complete veil is drawn over the workings of the intelligence services.
• It will prevent public scrutiny of our spies should they abuse their power or breach human rights.

Who will guard the guardians?

• Officials do not need to provide reason for making information secret.
• There is no independent oversight mechanism to prevent information in the public interest from being made secret.
• The Minister of Intelligence, whose business is secrecy, becomes the arbiter of what information across all of government must remain secret or may be disclosed to the public.
• Even the leaking of secret information in the public interest is criminalised.
• Unusually severe penalties of up to 25 years in prison will silence whistleblowers, civil society and journalists doing their job.
• All these factors will limit public scrutiny of business and government, whether through Parliament or journalists. Accountability will be curtailed and service delivery to the people will be undermined.

Our demands:

The Constitution demands accountable, open and responsive government, realised among other things through freedom of expression and access to information. Our elected representatives are bound by these Constitutional values and any legislation they pass must comply. We demand that the Protection of Information Bill – the Secrecy Bill – must reflect the following: ·

• Limit secrecy to core state bodies in the security sector such as the police, defence and intelligence agencies.
• Limit secrecy to strictly defined national security matters and no more. Officials must give reasons for making information secret.
• Exclude commercial information from this Bill
• Do not exempt the intelligence agencies from public scrutiny.
• Do not apply penalties for unauthorised disclosure to society at large, only those responsible for keeping secrets.
• An independent body appointed by Parliament, and not the Minister of Intelligence, should be the arbiter of decisions about what may be made secret.
• Do not criminalise the legitimate disclosure of secrets in the public interest.

————————————————————————
Sign on today!

The deadline for signatures is Friday, 13 August 2010..

Who signs on:

• Civil Society Organisations (South African based)
• International friends (organisations) who share our concerns
• Individuals (mobilise prominent women and men to support the statement)

How to sign on:

Send the name of your organisation and the details of a contact person to Hopolang Selebalo at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) who is co-ordinating the collection of signatures – hselebalo@issafrica.org.

Join the discussion:

Join the Information AccessNow e-mail discussion group to receive news (including of meetings) and inform others of activities you are involved in. Send an e-mail to Mark Weinberg at majimaji11@gmail.com. Subject: Subscribe: InfoAccessNow.

Spread the word:

Circulate the statement as widely as possible to organisations in all sectors.

Public Meeting:

A public meeting will be held on Wednesday 11 August 2010 (11h00) at the ISS offices in Woodstock, Cape Town (2nd Floor, The Armoury Building, 167 Sir Lowry Road) to discuss next steps. Please attend. Similar meetings are planned for Johannesburg and Durban.

Enquiries:

Mark Weinberg
AIDC
Tel: 021 447 5770
E-mail: mark@aidc.org.za

Protection of Information Bill State Security – South Africa

Idasa Reponse to Protecrtion of Information Bill – Hearings

Ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence – MEMORANDUM ON THE PROTECTION OF INFORMATION BILL

“It was noted that South African banks weathered the global financial crisis well, due to a strong regulatory environment and sound risk management practices.”
- Meeting between Minister of Finance and Bank CEO’s 31 May 2010

Small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) represent an important vehicle to address the challenges of job creation, economic growth and equity in South Africa. Around the world, one finds that SMMEs are playing a critical role in absorbing labour, penetrating new markets and expanding economies in creative and innovative ways.

The availability of finance is important for SMME business development. In South Africa the major banks have for years tried to limit their exposure to previously disadvantaged communities and SMME’s. The public relations spin, which is directed to us by the banks and their communications specialists, simply don’t live up to the spins promises. Banks say they are your “partners”; they are here to help with your “dreams” etc. to the point of nausea.

In my opinion, the apathy shown by the commercial banks towards the SMME sector is surprising, the banks talk a good talk about “development” and “empowerment” but have delivered very little in real terms to South Africans. Recently I interviewed a leading economic analyst to the government of South Africa, who pointed out to me the following perspective: “ there are two sides in South Africa; the banks and their interests and the rest of us”. Here is an excerpt from the Competitions Commission about the Banking Sector from their annual report 2008-2009:

Competition concerns in this sector arose from the fact that concentration was very high in almost all banking product categories with little evidence of rivalry between the four largest banks which accounted for 86% of total deposits and 99.7% of transactions through the payments system. Fees were also high and increasing rapidly with the incidence of costs falling particularly heavily on low-income customers and small businesses. There was also substantial public concern regarding the level of bank charges and other providers of payment services to consumers. The sector is of particular significance as more efficient and competitive financial services would reduce the cost of capital to SMME’s and all consumers. Lower bank charges and fees would also make banking services more affordable to low income earners

Read the National Treasuries: Facilitating the implementation of the Recommendations of the Banking Enquiry Panel report which is available at the National Treasury via this link http://bit.ly/9PQuz1

In researching this article it was very difficult to ascertain exactly what percentage of the major banks loan books are extended to SMME’s. Add to this the fact that the major banks coerce you as an SMME to enter into contracts which gives them all the protection whilst exposes you to all the risk and you start to see the banks for what they really are: profit at all costs.

A South African bank in 2010 is not your partner; it’s a line item for which you need to carefully budget every single month. The courts are filled with examples of what kind of partner’s banks are. You need to realize that when a bank evaluates your business idea what they are actually looking at is not the viability of the business, but whether or not your personal net worth will cover their loan, so that in the event of a recession, crime, malpractice on the part of the bank or even an act of God they will get their money back from you, even if it leaves your family destitute.

Here are some alternative sources of funding that you may want to try out first, before handing over your life to a major bank.

I find that the reason so many SMME’s don’t approach alternative funding partners is because:

• They don’t know what’s out there in the way of alternative funding
• They don’t know how to access and interact with these funds – this is more to do with the maturity of the individual applicant and less to do with the agencies procedures albeit that they are sometimes cumbersome; what did you think borrowing money was going to be easy?
• They prefer approaching the major banks because the marketing of the major outshines the alternative funders marketing and they find the major banks processes to be easier. In affect many people will take the riskier option of a commercial bank simply because the banks process faster by demanding higher risk burdens to be borne by the lender.
• They assume that these alternative funds are only for “blacks” – for the 2008/2009 period Khula Enterprise Finance allocated 52% of its funding to “black” business’s meaning the other 48% went to non black business. These alternate institutions don’t help their cause by not being clear on this message.
• Alternative funders don’t seem to have tailored the products as attractively as the commercial banks have i.e. where commercial banks will have specific products for franchising, financing of private schools, the funding limits are below the market value of viable business ventures such as franchises etc.

I prefer alternative funders to the banks because:

1. they take on more risk,
2. they don’t tie you as heavily to personal sureties (some in fact don’t ask for personal surety at all),
3. they do a an actual due diligence on the business you want to acquire, and
4. if you negotiate your contractual terms correctly you can get them on as backup should your deal go sour – and this is not be underestimated.

The organization listed below in my view are the best alternative funding options that a South African SMME / entrepreneur from a working class or previously disadvantage background has:

How should you go about engaging with these potential funders? Potential funders are an essential element to your business network. Businesses cannot survive in isolation, especially SMME businesses.

Consider the following diagram, it illustrates where the commercial banks fit in servicing the South African market. Identify where you fit and begin an engagement process with the institutions that are targeting you.

There is no secret formula for successfully approaching a funder. There is not guarantee you will get the financing you require.  Your best chance of success with a funder is to firstly know your business and your environment; if you are a going concern you must have stable financial results and you should know how your potential funders would react to your business and its environment.

Your engagement process with funders should not start with the initial loan application. I would suggest following this elementary engagement process

Collate all your information: you will be asked by a funder to submit along with a business plan, financials and application forms, the following:

1. All company registration document
2. Place of residence and operation (typically a municipal account
3. Detailed CV’s on yourself and partners
4. Tax Clearance certificates if you are a going concern and are registered for tax with SARS
5. A detailed business plan with financials and projections – most funders have their own formats
6. Know your industry – collate as much information and interpret it about your industry, what are the drivers of your industry and where do you fit in your industry.

Pre-Application: Send out requests for information packs to the list of potential alternative funders. I would suggest learning as much as you can about the various funders and then selecting who to apply to:

• Ask for a complete profile on their products and services as well as application packs, and
• A detailed explanation  (most do not have these detailed) on the application process including what happens if you are successful and what prejudice will you face if you are rejected.
• Ask for a meeting with an account manager. You need to build personal relationships with these people. Funders receive thousands of requests a year, its best to try to differentiate you as best as possible; start with a handshake
• Enquire about whether or not the funder will take ownership in your business and what the pros and cons of this are.

Application: My best advice to you is to sit down with the funder (actually schedule time with someone) to walk you through the application process and the development of your business plan. This is one of the big differences between commercial banks and the alternate funding agencies; the agencies will assist you develop your business plan more than a commercial bank will.

Securing funding is no mystery. It’s just very difficult. If you speak frankly with knowledgeable account mangers in the lending game they will tell you, that ideally a SMME should start off with out any need for financing, financing can kill a good business idea. You really need to know what you need the money for and be disciplined to follow the application process and if you are lucky to secure the funding (by being pedantic about the detail) you need to be disciplined about how you spend that money, ensuring that you repay the funder.

Whether you are considering buying a business for a few thousand rand or for a few million rand or whether you are considering starting up a business, a due diligence exercise will prove most useful in providing you with a degree of peace of mind prior to putting pen to paper on the business agreement.

I want to stress that regardless of the size of the deal and regardless of who the parties to the deal are, make sure you undertake a due diligence. I will always advocate for the most thorough due diligence you can afford, this is money, time and effort you should spend in order to save you money, time and effort later. Also remember, you often get the value of service you pay for, so don’t cut corners.

In researching this article I have been staggered to see how little information is readily available on public platforms on the subject of due diligence. What is available is very pricey and usually only talks to high level issues. This is worrying considering how vital a due diligence exercise is, especially to the first time business owner.

What is Due Diligence?

For the purposes of this article, Due Diligence should be understood as an exercise to be undertaken as part of the purchase of a new business. Simply put, due diligence is an investigation into a business with the purpose of proving to the initiator of the due diligence (typically the buyer) whether the facts offered up by the other party to the deal (typically the seller) are in fact a true reflection of the business.

Who should do the Due Diligence?

In order to do a due diligence well you will need two key role players:

1. Professional Assistance: Due Diligence’s exercises are technical in nature and if you have the funds available make use of a professional firm that has done these types of exercises before. Apart from all the certificates and client references that you will get from the firm you hire, check to see if any of the people who will work on your due diligence have ever run businesses before – you cannot under estimate the value of experience.
2. You: Your personal involvement in the due diligence process is vital. The professionals you bring on board work for you, but will not always understand, amongst other issues, precisely what your vision is for the business, what your appetite is for risk is and how you would deal with problems that will be encountered.

I would encourage a more hands on, engagement with your team so that at the end of the day you are getting a due diligence report that will allow you to take an effective decision. You don’t just want a report that says, “Yes do it” or “No don’t do it”. A due diligence is not simply a synopsis on the business you want to acquire or startup. In fact your due diligence report (which will be a detailed report on all aspects of the investigation) can serve as a great tool for guiding your future business plans and strategies for the business should you acquire it.
Some finance houses and banks will offer to do a due diligence for you. Be wary of this service; be wary of any due diligence exercise where the companies doing the exercise for you will profit from your deal outside of the fee you pay for the due diligence.

A Due Diligence Model

Non-Disclosure Agreement

The due diligence exercises should always start with a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Characteristics of the NDA that you should be aware of are:

• The NDA is to be signed between yourself and the seller.
• This agreement essentially protects both parties from the having their confidential business information made public.
• A confidentiality period must be specified. Please remember that the confidentially clause does not apply to illegal activity.
• The NDA should talk to you requiring a Due Diligence and it should specify the high level areas that the Due Diligence will cover. The seller must agree to this. If the seller does not agree to this, walk away.

Due Diligence Areas

A good due diligence exercise will cover the following nine areas1. In addition you (or your team) will need to acquire from the seller the following documents for your due diligence exercise. These documents should be made available to you quickly as the seller should already have these available. If the seller is unable or unwilling to provide this information this would be a cause for serious concern. The fundamentals of running a good business are record keeping.

: *please note the Due Diligence Item column is not exhaustive*

Due diligence is your safety belt, often you only realize that you need it, when the deal has gone sour and your business is in crisis. Do not make that mistake and overlook this process.

Being a consultancy that specializes in providing our clients with answers to problems required that we very early on had to adopt a Knowledge Management approach. We review, generate and process literally thousands of documents a year, which are relevant to the work we do. We think that we have struck upon an approach that works well for a distributed team of people working on a variety of differing projects in different sectors.
We store most our documents in the “cloud”, we have made our email and calendaring available via remote devices and have integrated our document management into our groupware so we are able to track documents across consulting processes e.g. conception, billing, pitching and so forth. We have also tied together RSS feeds and video streams into the landing pages of our Knowledge Management System, thereby allowing out team to not only look at proprietary information but also public domain information that is related to the project at hand.

We’ve noticed that many of our clients have struggled with conceiving their own knowledge management approaches. Sometimes their approaches seem to be driven by a fascination with new technology and other times the approach seems to be driven without consideration of the real cultural changes that need to take place within the organistion and its network; surprising organisations struggle to formalize the informal process of knowledge sharing.

This three-part slide excellently represents what knowledge management is, how it benefits the organization and what is needed to get knowledge management to work.

The entire transcript of tonights speech:

State of the Nation Address by His Excellency JG Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa; Joint Sitting of Parliament, Cape Town

11 February 2010

Honourable Speaker;
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces;
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP;
Deputy President of the Republic, Honourable Kgalema Motlanthe;
Honourable Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and all esteemed members of the Judiciary;
Isithwalandwe President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela;
Former President FW de Klerk;
Our father, Former President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia;
Former Deputy Presidents;
Distinguished Premiers and Speakers of our Provinces;
Chairperson of SALGA and all local government leadership;
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders;
Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions;
The Governor of the Reserve Bank;
Special international Guests especially the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr Jean Ping;
Former political prisoners and veterans;
Members of the diplomatic corps;
South African and foreign media;
Fellow South Africans,

Dumelang, molweni, goeie naand, good evening, sanibonani nonke emakhaya!

Siyavuya ukuba nani ngobubusuku bubaluleke kangaka.

I stand before you this evening, 20 years since President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela walked out of prison.

We have chosen this as the day to call this Joint Sitting of Parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address, to celebrate a watershed moment that changed our country.

The release of Madiba was brought about by the resolute struggles of the South African people.

You will recall that the masses of this country, in their different formations, responded with determination to the call to make the country ungovernable and apartheid unworkable.

We are celebrating this day with former political prisoners who we have specially invited to join us.

We welcome in particular those who have travelled from abroad to be here, Helene Pastoors, Michael Dingake from Botswana, Mr Andimba Toivo ya Toivo of SWAPO in Namibia.

We are pleased to be joined by members of the legal team in the Rivonia Treason trial – Lord Joel Joffe, who is now based in London and Judge Arthur Chaskalson.

We also remember and pay tribute to Mr Harry Schwarz, who sadly passed away last week.

He was amongst other things, a member of the Rivonia defence team.

We extend our gratitude to our friends and comrades in the international community, for fighting side by side with us to achieve freedom.

We extend a special welcome to the Mandela family.

They became a symbol of the sacrifices of many who bore the brunt of apartheid.

We greet the leadership of the ruling party and Alliance partners, for whom this is an extra special occasion.

Compatriots and friends,

On this special day, we must also acknowledge the contribution of those within the leadership of the National Party, who eventually realised that apartheid had no future.

Allow me to mention the role played by former President PW Botha.

It was he who initiated the discussion about the possible release of political prisoners.

President Botha worked with the former Minister of Justice, Mr Kobie Coetzee, who was in turn assisted by Dr Neil Barnard and Mr Mike Louw.

They played a significant role in the process leading to the release of Madiba.

Honourable Members,

South Africa is yet to acknowledge in full, the critical role played by the former President of the ANC, Comrade Oliver Tambo, who laid the foundation for this country to become a shining example of freedom and democracy.

It was his outstanding leadership, foresight and clarity of vision that led the ANC to intensify the pursuit of a negotiated settlement.

His wisdom was also displayed in the Harare Declaration which he wrote and championed.

It was this that laid the groundwork for the historic announcements by President FW de Klerk, 20 years ago.

In this, President de Klerk demonstrated great courage and decisive leadership.

On this great day, let me also acknowledge the role played by the late Ms Helen Suzman.

She was for a long time, a lone voice in Parliament, calling for change.

We also recognise the role of the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who also called for Madiba’s release, as well as that of other prisoners and the return of exiles.

We reiterate our heartfelt gratitude to the international community for its unwavering support to our struggle.

These moments in our history demonstrate our ability to come together, even under the most difficult of circumstances, and to put the country’s interests first above all other interests.

Deur saam te werk, kan ons meer bereik.

Honourable members,

During the course of this year, we will mark the centenary of the establishment of the Union of South Africa.

This created a unitary state.

Significantly, the exclusion of black people from this Union was one of the chief reasons for the formation of the African National Congress in 1912.

As we mark this centenary later in the year, we should reflect on how far we have travelled as a country.

Honourable Members,

We recall the words of Madiba on his release, when he said:

“I stand before you, not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people.

Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today.

I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”

These words inspire us not to rest, until we achieve the ideals of a society free of poverty and deprivation.

In the two decades since the release of Madiba, our country has changed fundamentally.

President Mandela united this country behind the goal of a non-sexist, non-racial, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

As we celebrate Madiba’s release today, let us recommit ourselves to building a better future for all South Africans, black and white.

Let us pursue the ideal for which Madiba has fought his entire life – the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

Honourable Members,

We called a joint sitting in the evening so that the majority in our country, workers and school children, can be part of the occasion.

We are impressed by the enthusiasm of the youth about the occasion.

Two hundred and sixty six children from all provinces participated in the pre-State of the Nation debate on the role of the youth in the fight against poverty.

We congratulate the overall winner, Charlotte Le Fleur of Worcester Secondary School and all the participants for the hard work.

Compatriots and friends,

We are meeting against the backdrop of a global economic crisis.

Last year, we experienced our first recession in 17 years.

The crisis cost our economy about 900 000 jobs.

Many of those who lost their jobs were the breadwinners in poor families.

In February last year, government, business, labour and community representatives agreed on a package of measures to reduce the scale and impact of the crisis.

We have put many of these measures in place.

We have implemented decisive anti-recession spending by government, especially on infrastructure.

To ensure a safety cushion for the poor, we brought social grant increases forward, and extended the child support grant to children over 14 years of age.

In the next three years, an additional two million children from poor households, aged 15 to 18 years, will benefit from the child support grant.

The Industrial Development Corporation has put aside R6 billion to help companies in distress.

Government introduced a “training lay-off scheme” to allow workers the option of a period of training instead of retrenchment.

These efforts were enhanced by our public works programme.

The nation will recall that during the 2009 State of the Nation Address, I announced that the Expanded Public Works Programme would create 500 000 work opportunities, by December 2009.

Let me reiterate that these are not jobs in the mainstream economy.

These are job opportunities created to provide unemployed people with an income, work experience, and training opportunities.

Honourable Members, Fellow South Africans,

We are pleased to announce that by the end of December, we had created more than 480 000 public works job opportunities, which is 97% of the target we had set.

The jobs are in areas like construction, home and community based care, and environmental projects.

We have identified some areas of improvement which we will effect going forward, including ensuring more labour intensive projects.

We know that these and other measures cannot fully mitigate the effects of the recession.

We are grateful for the spirit of family, community and voluntary work that inspires many people to help those most affected by the crisis, through these difficult times.

Honourable Members,

Economic indicators suggest that we are now turning the corner.

Economic activity is rising in South Africa, and we expect growth going forward.

The labour statistics released on Tuesday, show that the economy is now creating jobs rather than shedding them.

It is too soon, though, to be certain of the pace of recovery.

Government will therefore not withdraw its support measures.

Now is the time to lay the groundwork for stronger growth going forward, and for growth that gives rise to more jobs.

Our long-term infrastructure programme will help us grow faster.

Our education and skills programmes will increase our productivity and competitiveness.

Our Industrial Policy Action Plan and our new focus on green jobs, will build stronger and more labour absorbing industries.

Our rural development programme will improve rural productivity, and the lives of people living in rural areas.

Underpinning our strategy for economic recovery and growth, is our capital investment programme.

Over the next three years government will spend R846 billion on public infrastructure.

On transport, we will maintain and expand our road network.

We will ensure that our rail network is reliable, competitive and better integrated with our sea ports.

To ensure reliable power supply, we have established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Energy, to develop a 20 year integrated resource plan.

Among other things, this will look at the participation of independent power producers, and protecting the poor from rising electricity prices.

We will establish an independent system operator, separate from Eskom Holdings.

Eskom will continue to build additional generation capacity and improve the maintenance of its power stations.

To ensure the promotion of an inclusive economy, to aid growth and development, we have established the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council, chaired by the President.

The most urgent focus of policy change must be interventions to create jobs for young people.

Unemployment rates for young people are substantially higher than the average.

Proposals will be tabled to subsidise the cost of hiring younger workers, to encourage firms to take on inexperienced staff.

A further expansion of public employment programmes is also underway.

This includes local infrastructure and literacy projects, home-based care, school maintenance and early childhood development initiatives.

Last year we launched the National Youth Development Agency.

We have directed the Agency to work faster to establish its structures, throughout the country, so that it can assist us to mainstream youth development programmes within government.

Honourable Members,

When this administration came into office last year, we undertook to work harder to build a strong developmental state.

We said it would be a state that responds to the needs and aspirations of the people, and which performs better and faster.

This year, 2010, shall be a year of action.

The defining feature of this administration will be that it knows where people live, understands their needs, and responds faster.

Government must work faster, harder and smarter.

We will expect the executive and the public service to comply with this vision.

We are building a performance-oriented state, by improving planning as well as performance monitoring and evaluation.

We also need to integrate gender equity measures into the government’s programme of action.

This action will ensure that women, children and persons with disabilities can access developmental opportunities.

We are pleased to announce a new way of doing things in government.

The work of Departments will be measured by outcomes, developed through our performance monitoring and evaluation system.

The Ministers who are responsible for a particular outcome, will sign a detailed Delivery Agreement with the President.

It will outline what is to be done, how, by whom, within what time period and using what measurements and resources.

As you are aware, we are committed to five priorities:
education, health, rural development and land reform, creating decent work, and fighting crime.

In addition, we will work to improve the effectiveness of local government, infrastructure development and human settlements.

We will undertake a number of key activities towards the achievement of these outcomes.

We have placed education and skills development at the centre of this government’s policies.

In our 2010 programme, we want to improve the ability of our children to read, write and count in the foundation years.

Unless we do this, we will not improve the quality of education.

Our education targets are simple but critical.

We want learners and teachers to be in school, in class, on time, learning and teaching for seven hours a day.

We will assist teachers by providing detailed daily lesson plans.

To students we will provide easy-to-use workbooks in all 11 languages.

From this year onwards, all grade 3, 6 and 9 students will write literacy and numeracy tests that are independently moderated.

We aim to increase the pass rate for these tests from the current average of between 35 and 40% to at least 60% by 2014.

Results will be sent to parents to track progress.

In addition, each of our 27 000 schools will be assessed by officials from the Department of Basic Education.

This will be recorded in an auditable written report.

We aim to increase the number of matric students who are eligible for university admission to 175 000 a year by 2014.

We urge parents to cooperate with us in making this a success.

We welcome last month’s statement by the three teacher unions, NAPTOSA, SADTU and SAOU, reaffirming their commitment to the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign from the beginning of 2010.

Honourable Members,

We need to invest in our youth to ensure a skilled and capable workforce to support growth and job creation.

We therefore plan to increase the training of 16-25 year olds in further education and training facilities.

This will enable us to provide a second chance at education, for those who do not qualify for university.

We are working with higher education institutions to ensure that eligible students obtain financial assistance, through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

We have also set ambitious targets for skills development, to produce additional engineers and technicians, and to increase the number of qualified mathematics and science teachers.

We must also increase the number of youth who enter learnerships in the private and public sectors.

Honourable members,

Another key outcome is to ensure a long and healthy life for all South Africans.

We will continue to improve our health care system.

This includes building and upgrading hospitals and clinics, and further improving the working conditions of health care workers.

We have partnered with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to improve the functionality of public hospitals and their district offices.

We are also collaborating with the DBSA and the Industrial Development Corporation, in a Public-Private Partnership programme to improve hospitals and provide finance for projects.

Honourable Members,

We must confront the fact that life expectancy at birth, has dropped from 60 years in 1994 to just below 50 years today.

We are therefore making interventions to lower maternal mortality rates, to reduce new HIV infections and to effectively treat HIV and tuberculosis.

We will also reduce infant mortality through a massive immunisation programme.

We will reinstate health programmes in schools.

We will implement all the undertakings made on World Aids Day relating to new HIV prevention and treatment measures.

Intensive work is underway to ensure that this work is on schedule.

We will also continue preparations for the establishment of a national health insurance system.

Fellow South Africans,

We are working hard to ensure that everyone in South Africa feels safe and is safe.

We will take further our work to reduce serious and violent crimes, and ensure that the justice system works efficiently.

We are implementing plans to increase the number of police men and women by 10% over the next three years.

We have identified the fight against hijacking, business and house robberies, as well as contact crimes such as murder, rape, and assault, as top priorities.

We all have a role to play.

Let us participate in community safety forums.

Let us stop buying stolen goods.

Let us always be ready to provide the police with information about criminal activity.

Tshebedisano mmoho etla lwantsha botloko-tsebe.

Compatriots and esteemed guests,

Local government must work.

Municipalities must improve the provision of housing, water, sanitation, electricity, waste management and roads.

We held a meeting with mayors and municipal managers last year.

This provided valuable insight into the challenges in local government.

We also visited various communities and municipalities, including Balfour in Mpumalanga and Thembisa in Gauteng.

After the Balfour visit, we sent a nine member Ministerial team to visit the area to address the issues that had been raised by the community.

A number of issues have already received attention.

I have directed the Ministers to attend to the outstanding matters.

We reiterate, that there are no grievances that can justify violence and the destruction of property.

We have directed law enforcement agencies to take a tougher stance on lawlessness in Balfour and other areas.

In December 2009, Cabinet approved a turnaround strategy for local government.

This will ensure that local government has the correct management, administrative and technical skills.

During this year of action, let us work together to make local government everybody’s business.

We are working to upgrade well-located informal settlements and provide proper service and land tenure to at least 500 000 households by 2014.

We plan to set aside over 6 000 hectares of well-located public land for low income and affordable housing.

A key new initiative will be to accommodate people whose salaries are too high to get government subsidies, but who earn too little to qualify for a normal bank mortgage.

We will set up a guarantee fund of R1 billion to incentivise the private banking and housing sector, to develop new products to meet this housing demand.

Bakwethu,

Ngonyaka odlule sathi, abantu basemakhaya nabo banelungelo lokuba nogesi, amanzi, izindlu zangasese ezigijima amanzi nemigwaqo.

Sathi kufanele babe nezindawo zezemidlalo kanye nezindawo zokuthenga ezinkulukazi eziphucuzekile njengasemadolobheni.

In this regard, we launched the first pilot site of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme in Giyani, Limpopo in August last year.

Since then, 231 houses have been built.

Progress has also been made in providing infrastructure to support agricultural development, and training for community members.

Access to health and education facilities has improved.

We are implementing similar programmes in seven sites across the country, benefiting 21 wards.

By 2014, we aim to have sites in 160 wards.

We want 60% of households in these sites to meet their food requirements from own production by 2014.

Kancane kancane kuze kulunge, phela bakwethu, kuthiwa nempandla iqala ngenhlonhlo.

We also need to better integrate land reform and agricultural support programmes.

Our success in this area will be measured by the increase in the number of small scale farmers that become economically viable.

Honourable Speaker and Chairperson of the NCOP,

We are not a water rich country.

Yet we still lose a lot of water through leaking pipes and inadequate infrastructure.

We will be putting in place measures to reduce our water loss by half by 2014.

Honourable Members,

As part of our efforts to encourage greater economic growth, we are working to reduce the cost to communicate.

The South African public can look forward to an even further reduction of broadband, cell phone, landline and public phone rates.

We will work to increase broadband speed and ensure a high standard of internet service, in line with international norms.

Fellow South Africans,

This government will ensure that our environmental assets and natural resources are well protected, and are continually enhanced.

Together with Brazil, India and China, and joined by the United States which represented the developed world, we made a significant contribution to the accord adopted at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December last year.

Although it does not go as far as required, it is an important step forward as it commits all countries to respond to climate change.

We will work hard with our international counterparts towards a legally binding treaty.

As South Africa we have voluntarily committed ourselves to specific emission reduction targets, and will continue working on our long term climate change mitigation strategy.

Honourable Members,

We will intensify efforts to promote the interests of South Africa globally.

We will support efforts to speed up the political and economic integration of the SADC region, and promote intra-regional trade and investment.

South Africa continues to play a leading role in continental efforts to strengthen the African Union and its organs, and to work for unity.

We will focus energy on revitalising the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, as a strategy for economic development on the continent.

Fellow South Africans,

The public service has to respond to the call to make this term one of faster action and improved State performance.

We require excellence and hard work.

We need public servants who are dedicated, capable and who care for the needs of citizens.

Government is already working on the development and implementation of a public service development programme, which will set the norms and standards for public servants in all spheres.

Honourable Members,

We continue our efforts to eradicate corruption and fraud in procurement and tender processes, and in applications for drivers’ licences, social grants, and identity documents, among others.

We are pleased with the progress government is making in some areas.

This week, we terminated 32 687 fraudulent social grants payments, valued at R180 million.

Our Inter-Ministerial Committee on Corruption is looking at ways to decisively defeat corruption.

Nga u shumisana rothe ringa bveledza zwinzhi.

Compatriots,

As you are aware, we introduced the Presidential Hotline to make government and the Presidency more accessible to the public, and to help unblock service delivery blockages.

The Hotline represents our determination to do things differently in government.

It has made a difference in the lives of many South Africans.

We can mention Mrs Buziwe Ngaleka of Mount Frere, whose call about her late husband’s pension was the first we took on the first day of the service.

She is with us here tonight.

We also have among us Mr Nkululeko Cele, who was helped to obtain identity documents which allowed him to enroll at Tshwane University of Technology.

These are just two among many success stories.

From these and other examples, we identify weaknesses that should be rectified by various spheres of government.

Through the Speaker, we have invited a multiparty delegation from Parliament to visit the call centre, so that MPs can get a first hand account of the work done.

Compatriots and friends,

I have outlined the main elements of our plans for 2010, our collective commitment as government to the people of South Africa.

The State of the Nation Address provides a broad overview of our action plan.

Ministers will provide the detail in their respective Budget Vote speeches.

Honourable Members, Fellow South Africans,

In November this year, we will mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in South Africa.

It provides an opportunity to recognise the important contribution of the Indian community in the fields of labour, business, science, sports, religion, arts, culture and the achievement and consolidation of our democracy.

Compatriots and friends,

Let me take this opportunity to once again extend our heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Haiti on the monumental tragedy that has befallen them.

We are pleased that our rescue teams were able to go and assist.

I would like to especially recognise one South African who never fails to assist in times of disasters, and helps us to promote the vision of a caring society.

We welcome Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of the Gift of the Givers in this House.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow South Africans,

The hosting of the FIFA World Cup makes 2010 truly a year of action.

We have spent many years planning for this World Cup.

We only have three months to go.

And we are determined to make a success of it.

The infrastructure, security and logistics arrangements are in place to ensure a successful tournament.

As a nation we owe a debt of gratitude to the 2010 Local Organising Committee for their sterling effort.

We wish the LOC Chairperson Irvin Khoza, CEO Danny Jordaan and Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira all the best for the months ahead.

President Mandela was central in assisting the country to win the rights to host this great event.

We therefore have to make the World Cup a huge success in his honour.

Compatriots, let us also stand behind the national team Bafana Bafana.

Most importantly, ithikithi esandleni bakwethu!

Let us all buy tickets timeously to be able to attend the games.

Fellow South Africans,

As we celebrate Madiba’s release today, we recommit ourselves to reconciliation, national unity, non-racialism and building a better future together as South Africans, black and white.

We are guided by what Madiba said in the dock, that:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people.

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all persons live together in harmony, and with equal opportunities.

It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to achieve.

But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.

Inspired by our icon Madiba, it is my honour to dedicate this 2010 State of the Nation Address, to all our heroes and heroines, sung and unsung, known and unknown.

Let us work together to make this year of action a successful one for our country.

I thank you.