Programme Director, Cllr Xanthe Limberg, Deputy President of SALGA,
President of the South African Local Government Association, Cllr Bheke Stofile,
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Premier of the Eastern Cape, Mr Oscar Mabuyane,
Ms Tsakani Maluleke the Auditor General
Executive Mayor of the Buffalo City Metro, Cllr Xola Pakati,
Mayors, councillors and municipal officials,
Delegates,
Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Good Morning. Molweni. Sanibonani. Dumelang. Goeie môre. Lotjhani. Avuxeni. Ndi Matsheloni.
 
Let me begin by thanking the Buffalo City Metro for hosting this year’s Council of Mayors.
 
It is now ten months since we held local government elections and began the new term of democratic local government.
 
The Council of Mayors is therefore an important platform for Mayors to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as they settle into their positions.
 
Earlier this week, national government convened a Cabinet Lekgotla, at which the strengthening of local government was a major topic of discussion.
 
There was agreement that challenges at local government level undermine the country’s social and economic development programmes.
 
The Premiers reported that the poor performance of local government is inhibiting the ability of provinces to drive the pressing economic recovery programmes our country needs.
 
When local government fails, it is not just service delivery that fails.
 
It isn’t just that our people’s expectations are not met.
 
The failure of local government has a direct and material impact on economic growth and jobs.
 
We cannot realise a South Africa of common prosperity, where the life of every person is improved, without a strong economy.
 
When roads are poorly maintained, people cannot get to work.
 
Produce and other goods cannot get to markets.
 
When important social infrastructure is not maintained, children cannot get to school, people cannot access health care and homes are often without water or electricity.
 
This has enormous costs for productivity, learning, health outcomes and quality of life.

The failure of local government is essentially the failure of government as a whole. If local government succeeds all of government becomes a success. 
 
We do not need more diagnosis on the state of local government.
 
We have all seen the many reports, from those of the Auditor-General to the State of Local Government reports.
 
Local Government has come under a lot of scrutiny recently. Perhaps necessarily so as this is the most visible sphere and closest to the people. 

As we pay closer attention to what should be done about local government we should imagine what an ideal local government should look like.

COGTA has identified key elements which they describe as - resilient, sustainable, coherent, cohesive, integrated, non-sexist, vibrant, climate smart communities and which if implemented would constitute and ideal municipality.

The elements are:

- A vibrant economy 
- Money rotates in the area
- Inter-connected communities
- Place where people want to visit
- Decent living with clean air
- Skills and training hub
- Place where people     access health, education and recreational facilities
- Place where there is safety and empowerment 
- Food security
- Resilient human settlements
- A place where the District Development Model drives the integrated functioning of  government 

As our system of wall-to-wall municipalities manifests focused on all these elements all developmental work within a ward and our municipalities the ideal municipality would be a reality. 

In analysing why local government does not achieve its developmental role four root causes, including the resultant effects and interventions, have been identified as the essence of the sector’s inability to discharge its mandate. These include:

1. Poor political leadership capacity and weak administrative management;

2. Ineffective utilisation of financial resources (poor financial administration), inability to collect revenue and insufficient fiscus allocation;

3. Inefficient and non-integrated local government delivery mechanisms, systems and processes to enable service delivery; and

4. Degenerating infrastructure and non-existent or poor services provided to local communities.

At the core of a municipality’s response to this problem statement is the role of the Mayor or Executive Mayor as the political head of the Municipality, exercising executive leadership pursuant to statutory and delegated powers. 

As political leaders, Mayors and Executive Mayors provide political leadership and guidance in the council, in particular with regard to strategic planning and direction, financial planning and budgeting and policy development. 

Executive Mayors are the political representatives of communities in various structures and interact with various stakeholders and leaders of other spheres of government.

We know what our key challenges are:

1. poor governance - instability by changing political leadership.
2. financial management and controls, 
3. lack of proper planning, 
4. revenue collection and generation, 
5. skills and capacity - educational qualifications are poor.
6. corruption, 
7. and political infighting and interference.
 
As national and provincial governments, we are challenged to look at how we use the constitutional and legislative instruments at our disposal to make local government work better address these challenges and to work for the people.
 
EXPECTATIONS OF MAYORS AND EXECUTIVE MAYORS

What expectations do we have of our Mayors? 

Considering the challenges our municipalities face, it is necessary to remind Mayors and Executive Mayors that the White Paper on Local Government provides that developmental local government requires a political leadership and by extension Mayors and Executive Mayors as political heads should be at the forefront, to do a number of things:

Firstly - provide community-wide leadership and vision: By putting forward a vision for the local area, building coalitions of common interest and encouraging the development of a vibrant civil society.

Secondly - constantly build its capacity to make policy judgements: Local political leaders should actively strengthen their ability to make policy judgements through deepening their understanding of the dynamics in the local area, anticipating changes and learning from past practice.

Thirdly - be accountable and transparent: This requires a political leadership  which creates opportunities to account to the community. Increased accountability ensures that the actions of the Council reflect the aspirations of the community, increases the legitimacy of the Council and deepens local democracy.

Fourthly - build partnerships and coalitions: Meeting the needs and aspirations of local communities requires a political leadership able to build partnerships with communities, business, labour, various organs of civil society and other public agencies.

Fifthly - represent the diversity of interests: Municipalities should take active steps to ensure that representatives from groups which tend to be marginalised are encouraged to stand for elections.

Sixthly - demonstrate value for money: Local political leadership is responsible for ensuring that local taxes are utilised to the maximum benefit of the local community. Local political leadership should therefore be concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the local administration, and constantly seek to enhance performance and service quality.

Building on these leadership requirements, I call on Mayors and Executive Mayors to serve the communities with honesty, diligence and selflessness. Not only will this place them at the centre of responding to the weaknesses as identified in the problem statement, but more so place them at the epicentre of a local government leadership that positively contributes towards regaining and rebuilding trust and confidence of society in this sphere of government.

I also call on the newly elected Mayors and Executive Mayors to rise to the challenge of changing the narrative regarding the image, the standing and reputation of your municipality. A game-changer in this term of office is needed and required. In order to show and demonstrate that we are changing the narrative of local government 

There must be consequence and accountability management. This must be the hallmark of restoring the credibility of our municipalities. It is not numerous workshops, support programmes and calls for more funding, however genuine they may be, that will shift the believability of the intentions, but consistent actions that inspire people who have lost hope and confidence in the promise of our constitution and local democracy, that our municipalities do care and act responsively to address communities concerns.

With most senior managers having left either through the ending of employment contracts or natural attrition, it should be impressed upon Mayors and Executive Mayors to appoint professional and competent managers to run municipal administrations. Similarly, to remain vigilant and act decisively on instances of maladministration and corruption in our municipalities such that the confidence will be restored in our municipalities.

Further to this, what will change the image of local government is when as Mayors and Executive Mayors, you advocate for the newly empowered MPACs to play their effective oversight role and mandate unhindered and when our council takes collective responsibility to enforce discipline and decisive actions when the Auditor General issues a disastrous audit report against our municipality and hold senior executives accountable.

Another area that needs to be addressed is the working relationship between Office Bearers in the Municipality.

As the municipal council operates in terms of several office bearers (Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Speaker and Chief Whip) and committees, the effective functioning of a council depends much on the co-operation and coherent distribution of functions between the various institutions and persons.

The relationship between the speaker and the mayor is often problematic because there is confusion about the speaker’s mandate.  The full-time nature of a speaker also frequently attracts functions that fall outside of the traditional and legislated role of a speaker. We have similarly seen strained relations between Speakers and Chief Whips due to role clashes and duplication

There is therefore a need for greater political maturity by political office bearers, led by Mayors and Executive Mayors to ensure greater understanding of respective roles and responsibilities, supplemented with ongoing and structured political monitoring of adherence. 

It may be in the interest of Mayors and Executive Mayors to instead of micro-managing, create internal reporting, monitoring and evaluation processes and structures to hold office bearers accountable. The absence of a M&E system also results in an absence of an early warning mechanism, hence the prevalence of many community protests that are not anticipated.

Local Government has undoubtedly made great strides towards realising the rights of our people to a better life and in advancing human dignity. We must, however, take a moment to reflect on the commitments made by former President Nelson Mandela, on the 27th of April 1994 when he said that “Our message is that the basic needs of the masses of the people must be addressed: the creation of jobs, of houses, the introduction of electricity, building of schools and hospitals, providing free, compulsory quality education, running water, paved roads”.

Upon honest reflection, it is common knowledge that across many parts of our beautiful country, this promise of 1994 has not yet been fulfilled. So, as Council of Mayors take stock of current realities, Mayors and Executive Mayors must go a step further to capture the moment as an opportunity to renew and recommit ourselves to the 1994 promise in this 5th Term of Democratic and People Centred Local Government, with sights clearly set on improving the living conditions of the  people of South Africa through developmental local government – to embark on Course Correction which is best summarised as follows:-

i. A focused and committed leadership across all municipalities, with stronger strategic relations with the private sector and other  social partners;
 
ii. Improvement in the quality and efficiency of local government through better funding, planning and execution;
 
iii. Fixing municipalities and their agencies to restore governance and service delivery;
 
iv. Being decisive in professionalising municipal administrations and stabilizing management and political leadership; and
 
v. Pursuing fiscal sustainability, sound municipal financial governance and eliminating corruption.

In dealing with the challenges that local government faces legislatively and effectively SALGA has raised the fact that a Section 139 intervention, although necessary in many instances, is not a sustainable solution to the challenges our municipalities face.
 
We know that we have to fix the underlying problems, not what we see on the surface.
 
In April this year, parts of KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Eastern Cape were hit by devastating floods.
 
In the aftermath, we were forced to confront serious questions about the ability of local government to deal with crises of this nature.
 
Moving beyond issues of humanitarian relief and infrastructure repairs, we found that basics like updated disaster management plans were found wanting.
 
Of the many lessons we have learned from the floods, and before that from the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to go back to basics stands out.
 
For local government, these basics include:
 
Firstly, putting people and their concerns first.
 
Secondly, supporting the delivery of municipal services to the right quality and standard.
 
Thirdly, promoting good governance, transparency and accountability.
 
Fourthly, ensuring sound financial management and accounting, and,
 
Finally, building institutional resilience and administrative capacity.
 
We are all familiar with these basic actions and we all agree that we must prioritise them.
 
The question then is, why are we not successful in implementing these actions?
 
Why are we continuing to witness persistent failures that are widening the levels of distrust and lack of confidence between us and the South African people?
 
The reality is that we cannot return to basics so long as local government is seen by many as a terrain of patronage, political squabbles and personal enrichment.
 
That is why this Council of Mayors, aside from looking at the critical issues of best practice in governance, financial management and community engagement, needs to grapple with these challenges.
 
It needs to discuss how to shield municipal management and functions from political interference, infighting and corruption.
 
No discussion around building stronger municipalities will be complete without a frank look at the conduct of those who run them.
 
Since the election last year, more municipalities than ever before are governed by coalitions.
 
This means that, if we are to effectively attend to the needs of residents, there needs to be far greater cooperation across party lines and less focus on ding dong practice of removing mayors every week of the month. 
 
There needs to be a concerted and shared effort to address growing levels of public dissatisfaction with service provision.
 
There is hardly a municipality in this country, regardless of who runs it, that has not been impacted by some form of protest.
 
We have seen a deeply disturbing trend of attacks on councillors and municipal administrators. I am told that more than 300 councillors have been killed in the past few years by virtue of being councillors.
 
Although this violence has varying causes, we need to once again take a hard look at the extent to which this is a manifestation of something much deeper. Is it as a result of public anger or is it because some of our municipalities have been captured by other interests? Have criminals taken over some of our municipalities?
 
As mayors you carry a heavy responsibility.
 
It is up to you to ensure that your respective councils aren’t just functional and fulfil their mandates, but also that they are cohesive.
 
You have to ensure that suitably qualified and experienced managers are appointed and that there is regular upskilling and training.
 
Municipalities have to make provisions in their budgets for capacity building and development programmes for councillors.
 
As I said at the recent SA Human Rights Commission Conference on Local Governance, communities must feel that they have a stake and a voice in how their municipalities are governed.
 
You are champions of accountability.
 
You need to ensure performance and consequence management.
 
We should therefore welcome the fact that National Treasury, CoGTA and SALGA are finalising a Consequence Management and Accountability Framework.
 
This should empower councillors and administrative leadership to effectively implement consequence management.
 
You are trade and investment ambassadors, promoting your metros, cities and towns as places where businesses can grow and thrive.
 
You are political heads and have to ensure that your administrations are stable and protected from political interference.
 
This means you have to lead by example and not indulge in the very conduct for which you seek to discipline others.
 
You are your administration’s foremost advocate of sustainable development.
 
Mayors have to ensure that infrastructure is climate resilient and that communities are protected from extreme weather events.
 
This requires partnerships to mobilise expertise and resources to support sound decision-making and investments.
 
Mayors must lead the country’s transition to renewable energy sources, efficient water use and management, effective solid waste management, the construction of climate-proof infrastructure and green transportation.
 
As Mayors, you are a bulwark against corruption in all its forms and have a critical role to play in promoting ethics and integrity in our municipalities.
 
We look to Mayors to guide the Local Government Anti-Corruption Forums convened under the District Development Model.
 
A critical issue for local government is that of municipal revenues and revenue collection.
 
Local government is different from other spheres of government in that most of its revenues are meant to come from local businesses and residents.
 
The infrastructure services that local government provides are ‘trading services’ and need to be run along business lines.
 
We are committed to provide free basic services to indigent households, but everyone else must pay for the services that municipalities provide. Mayors must be at the forefront of spreading this message amongst the residents of your municipalities.
 
Yet in municipality after municipality, we have been hearing the same story.
 
Services are poor or are not being provided, the relationship with residents has broken down and residents are not prepared to pay for poor quality services.
 
By ensuring a decent level of service and by treating customers both fairly and professionally, residents will have their faith and trust restored and will be prepared to pay for services.
 
This Council of Mayors has set an ambitious agenda.
 
We should not allow the recommendations that come out of this Council to languish in a file somewhere.
 
The country’s mayors have the responsibility to steer the ship of local government through turbulent waters.
 
It is not a responsibility that can be outsourced.
 
Like all of us, you were not elected to serve a party, a government, private interests or your own personal interests.
 
Like all of us, you were elected to serve the South African people.
 
I have the utmost confidence that this is a mandate you understand and fully appreciate.
 
I also have the utmost confidence you are up to the task.
 
We have to go back to basics and deliver on our promise to the South African people.
 
We have to regain their trust.
 
We have to work with unity of purpose to overcome poverty, unemployment, inequality and underdevelopment.
 
Above all, we have to ensure that in driving inclusive growth and economic development we leave no-one behind.
 
I thank you.

Programme Director,
 
Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele,
 
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola,
 
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson,
 
Deputy Minister of Police, Mr Cassel Mathale,
 
MECs for Community Safety,
 
National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola,
 
National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya,
 
All Generals, senior management and members of the SAPS,
 
Representatives of labour unions,
 
Members of the clergy,
 
Families of our fallen police officers,
 
Guests,
 
 
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
We have just participated in and witnessed the traditional wreath laying ceremony by the families of our fallen police officers.
 
We do this to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty, making sure that South Africans are safe and protected.
 
We are gathered here today to salute and commemorate 33 brave men and women who were killed while serving the country between the dates of the 1st of April 2021 and the 31st of March 2022.
 
The circumstances surrounding their deaths vary.
 
Among those we honouring, some were targeted by criminals for their firearms, others were involved in shootouts with criminals, and others were killed by reckless drivers who failed to stop when pulled over.
 
This National Commemoration Day should serve not only to pay tribute to our fallen men and women in blue who lost their lives in the fight against crime.
 
It should also serve to mobilise society against the killing of our officers.
 
No society can remain silent when criminals have clearly declared war on the police.
 
Our men and women in blue represent the authority of the state and any attack on them is a direct attack on the state and an attack on the people.
 
If criminals bother to read history, they must know that no one has ever defeated the people.
 
Those responsible for police killings who have not yet been arrested must know that wherever they are, they will be found and they will face the full might of the law.
 
Let us spare a thought for our police men and women in blue and what they must feel each time they leave their homes to enforce the law.
 
Yet, even knowing the risks, our officers continue bravely and relentlessly, on a daily basis and with a stern determination, to prioritise the safety and security of the people of this country.
 
We honour the memories of our beloved heroes and heroines, remembering the amazing colleagues, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, neighbours and friends that they were.
 
While this may be of little comfort to the families, we commend the police for the inroads they continue to make with the arrests of police murderers.
 
In the recent media briefing by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, Lieutenant-General Lebeya confirmed that 187 suspects had been arrested for the murder of police officials since 2018.
 
Fifty-five accused were convicted and sentenced during the same period.
 
Minister Cele, I want to urge that your ministry drives the process of ensuring that the SAPS is adequately resourced to prevent, combat and investigate police killings.
 
All the perpetrators of these attacks on police must be brought to book.
 
If we are to win the war against crime and police killings, we need to build healthy, stronger relations between the police and the communities they serve.
 
In any community where crime happens, somebody always knows something.
 
Some of our people remain silent for fear of victimisation.
 
It is for this reason that we are always striving to make it easier for citizens to anonymously report crime or suspicious activities.
 
General Masemola, on your appointment as the National Commissioner of the SAPS, you made a commitment that you would prioritise the rejuvenation of Community Policing Forums, which are legislated structures to bridge the divide between the local police and their communities.
 
It is important that CPFs work so that communities can appreciate the critical role they play by working with the police and by reporting criminals who live among us.
 
The fight against crime cannot be won by the police on their own.
 
Let us, as communities and the police, take responsibility for each other’s safety.
 
As we remember our fallen heroes and heroines, let us salute all police officers for the love they have for our country and its residents, and for their patriotic spirit and resilience in the face of brazen criminals.
 
Let us demonstrate that we value our law enforcement officers, who make a deliberate choice to take up policing as a calling rather than a mere job.
 
Let us today thank our fallen heroes and heroines posthumously for their sacrifice.
 
Let us cherish the memories they have left behind, whether as family members or as colleagues.
 
Let us, amid the despair, sustain the determination that the lives lost should not be in vain.
 
Let us transform the sorrow, the hurt and the anger at their deaths into a sense of determination to rid our streets of all forms of crime.
 
The 1st of September each year is the start of Police Safety Month.
 
I call upon all our police members to remain vigilant at all times.
 
Take heed and implement the objectives of the Police Safety Strategy, ensuring at all times that any action you take is within the confines of the law.
 
Be decisive in defending your own lives and the lives of our law-abiding citizens.
 
While we are here today to honour members of our police service who lost their lives in a particular financial year, we know that South African Police Service personnel face risk daily.
 
As recently as Tuesday, 30 August 2022, we lost Warrant Officer Willem Erasmus when a fixed wing aircraft of the police service crashed at Rand Airport in Gauteng. 
 
Four contractors to the SAPS also perished in this tragedy.
 
We offer the family, colleagues and friends of those who lost their lives our sincere condolences.
 
We pray equally for a speedy recovery of Captain Casper Swanepoel, who sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving medical care in hospital.
 
Let us all present here today renew our commitment to unite and work together to ensure that those who are responsible for crime pay for their deeds.
 
Let us avenge the deaths of these slain officers by making sure that we fulfil their dream of a society that is safe and secure, where all people live in peace.
 
We salute our fallen heroes and heroines for their bravery and for selflessly providing our communities with a sense of comfort.
 
We thank them for uniting us and their families in love and prayer.
 
We thank God for the years we lived and worked with them.
 
Long may their memories live.
 
May their souls continue to rest in peace.
 
I thank you.

Programme Director,
Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, Professor Bongani Majola,
Deputy Chairperson of the SAHRC, Ms Fatima Chohan,
Commissioners,
Representatives from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs,
Representatives of the South African Local Government Association,
Leaders and representatives of provincial local government associations,
Delegates,
Guests,
Colleagues and Friends, 

Good Morning, 

I wish to applaud the South African Human Rights Commission for convening this conference on accountability, service delivery and human rights in the local government sphere. 

The SAHRC has taken up an issue that is the litmus test of our commitment to advancing, upholding and entrenching human rights in our society. 

The Burkinabe revolutionary Amilcar Cabral famously said: 

“Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.” 

This sentiment, rooted in the concept of human dignity, guided the drafters of our Constitution and underpins our constitutional order. 

One of the most progressive aspects of our Bill of Rights is that it guarantees not just political and cultural freedoms, but also socio-economic rights.  As we drafted the Constitution, we saw that as an important departure from the ugly past the country has been dread through for more than 340 years. 

It enjoins the state to achieve the progressive realisation of rights to healthcare, to education, to food and water, to housing and to social security. 

It so happens that one of the foundational constitutional decisions or judgements that was made by the Constitutional Court right at the beginning revolve precisely around this.

It recognises the right of all to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being. 

In many respects, local government is one of the most important custodians of the socio-economic rights of the South African people. 

Efficient and affordable service delivery could mark the difference between leading a life of dignity, as promised by our Constitution, and a life of squalor, misery and deprivation. 

When local government works – when basic services like water, sanitation, education, electrification and health care – are distributed efficiently and equitably, people’s quality of life is improved, businesses thrive and economies grow and the dignity of our people is assured.

When local government delivery fails, the impact is direct and devastating and it immediately has an overarching impact negatively on the lives of our people where they live. 

It is therefore deeply disturbing that recent reports from the Auditor-General, National Treasury and COGTA show that the majority of our municipalities are failing.

The National Treasury classifies two thirds of South Africa’s 257 municipalities as being in financial distress, with only 41 receiving clean audits in the past financial year. 

What this means is that many municipalities are unable to deliver basic services and are unable to build and upgrade clinics and hospitals, and fix roads. 

Political contestations and infighting, lack of skills, failure to adhere to legislative prescripts, poor governance, lack of accountability, as well as what I would call super corruption are causing instability in municipalities and eroding the provision of services. 

This is a crisis. 

Continuing along the current trajectory is neither viable nor sustainable. 

It undermines the constitutional promise of human dignity. It threatens economic growth and investment. 

It is a threat to our constitutional order, because local government, is in many ways the most important sphere of government, because it operates where our people live, it operates where businesses invest and it operates in a sphere where basic human rights of our people needs to be actualised. 

The rise in service delivery protests, many of which turn violent, are a barometer of public dissatisfaction with the non-delivery of services. 

Now this also gets worse because it also extends to public servants.  I just heard that we have public servants protesting for wage increases in the Eastern Cape in the Amathole District municipality. 

What do they do, they go and break water installation as they are protesting for wages and now they go and destroy public infrastructure, which delivers water to the ordinary people of Amathole municipality.

The people of Amathole municipality are now going to protest themselves because they do not have service delivery and an act, which would have been caused by the very public servants who are meant to serve them. 
    
Although the reasons for these protests are varied, social and economic dynamics, high unemployment and municipal governance issues all play a role. 

We are categorical that no matter how legitimate the grievance, arson, looting, violence and damage to property can never be justified. 

We are alive to the reality that failures at local government level are widening the trust deficit between government and the citizenry. 

Unless these are remedied, we run the risk that the South African people become disillusioned with democracy itself. 

It should at the same time be acknowledged that achieving financially viable and sustainable municipalities cannot be realised in an environment where non-payment for services, both by residents and businesses, has become entrenched. 

One of the issues to which we hope this conference will give serious attention is assisting our municipalities to develop social compacts with residents to entrench a culture of payment for services. 

By the same token, communities need to feel they have a vested interest in seeing their municipalities work. This will go a long way towards overcoming problems with the theft and vandalism of public infrastructure. 

While good governance is a prerequisite for efficient local government, facilitating access of local communities to municipal decision-making is essential to participatory democracy. 

The ideal municipality is accessible, provides opportunities for public engagement, and communicates in a manner that is considerate of local needs with respect to things like language and media platforms. 

In an ideal municipality, customer care and feedback management systems are functional and implemented effectively. 

In an ideal municipality, local government has regular outreach with communities on matters affecting development and consults other stakeholders, such as businesses, NGOs and community-based organisations. 

Such cooperative relationships strengthen governance and contribute towards building capacity in communities. 

Our foremost aspiration is for citizens to be partners in their own development. 

The purpose of the District Development Model we introduced in 2019 is to integrate and coordinate planning, economic development and service provision at local government level. 

It is about targeted development that takes the needs of local communities into account, determined through regular engagement and public participation. 

During the course of this year I have held Presidential Izimbizo in North West, Free State, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. 

During these engagements, I was reminded that community involvement is at the very heart of governance and that partnerships are essential to driving development. 

Through the District Development Model, we are doing away with so-called ‘parachute development’, where projects are conceptualised in offices hundreds of kilometres away, and important factors like the creation of local jobs and local enterprise development are not prioritised. 

We have seen the detrimental impact of ‘parachute development’ over the years, with important projects being stalled, subject to litigation and even sabotaged. 

By applying an integrated approach, the District Development Model brings different spheres of government together with communities to plan for and implement programmes that result in development for the local community first and foremost. 

Despite the significant challenges facing local government, the implementation of customised Municipal Support and Improvement Programmes by the Department of Cooperative Governance is yielding positive outcomes. 

These programmes focus on putting people first, delivering services to the right quality and standard, and advancing good governance and sound financial management. 

According to the latest State of Local Government Report, the number of stable municipalities has increased from 16 to 31 across the country, with KwaZulu-Natal registering the most improvements, followed by North West. 

This is incremental progress that we must build on. 

We work to overcome the systemic challenges facing local governance by mobilising support from sector departments using the District Development Model approach and by developing, implementing and monitoring Municipal Support and Intervention Plans.

We can also deploy multidisciplinary teams to support municipalities as KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Western Cape have done. 

The National Treasury and COGTA, in collaboration with SALGA, have also developed municipal Key Performance Indicators for local government that are being implemented by all municipalities. 

The new Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act is an important tool for improving the manner in which our municipalities function and for accountability. 

Among other things, the Act disallows municipal officials from holding political office, defines competency criteria for the appointment of municipal managers and strengthens the framework for performance evaluation. 

It is our expectation that this seminal conference will enable us to move beyond diagnosis to solutions and, beyond that, to implementation. 

As the Constitutional Court said in a 1997 judgment: 

“We live in a society in which there are great disparities in wealth. Millions of people are living in deplorable conditions and in great poverty. There is a high level of unemployment, inadequate social security, and many do not have access to clean water or to adequate health services. These conditions already existed when the Constitution was adopted, and a commitment to address them, and to transform our society into one in which there will be human dignity, freedom and equality, lies at the heart of our new constitutional order. For as long as these conditions continue to exist that aspiration will have a hollow ring.” 

As we approach 30 years of democracy, the time for asking ourselves questions about the mismatch between aspiration and reality is over. 

Our focus must be on what must be done. 

I am finding that quite a number of key players in the municipal place, some of them be they mayors, and other officials are beginning to ask themselves that. 

As they get into positions, they are beginning to see, to look at what needs to be done. 

I talk of a municipal mayor, in one of our provinces, who on being appointed found that all the services in the municipality that he was meant to run have been outsourced to six key players and I think they call them the big six; everything had been outsourced to them. On a monthly basis, they were earning millions and millions of rands.

The people would be employed by the municipality to do many of those functions continued to be employed and largely doing nothing.

And as he looked very closely at what these contracts were all about that had been outsourced, he found that the municipality was being overcharged; in certain instances to up to 200%.  

He went on to examine even the invoices and found that the overcharging was just enormous; where the municipality was supposed to pay twenty thousand rands it was paying two hundred rands every month. 

And he is  one of those that are scattered throughout our country who are beginning to change the trajectory of our municipalities and decided that those contracts will be re-examined and it need to be cancelled.  

The municipality was taken to court a number of times and he has been able to ensure that the reduction of the costs that the municipality has been paying has been reduced by almost sixty to seventy percent; meaning that the rot that had set in in that municipality is now being turned around.

This conference, in my view, needs to focus on stuff like.

You have people from various non-governmental organisations who know what is happening in our municipalities and it is through the deliberations that should take place here that we should be able to get that wisdom professor that you were talking about.

The wisdom should come from those who are closest to what is happening at a municipal level.

In fulfilment of its mandate, the SAHRC has convened all stakeholders to deliberate on the work needed to improve the functioning of this critical sphere of government.

I would urge that you come up with learnings; come up with solutions, come up with proposals that we can propagate throughout the local government system as we as government continue to do the best from the legislative point of view as well as the executive point of view.

In doing so you will be able to add to what needs to be done.  The work that is being done by this mayor I spoke about and many others who having taken up their positions are now beginning to turn local government around and beginning to look very introspectively at what has been done in the past.

That is where the trajectory of what we have done in the past needs to be looked at and needs to be changed. 

Local government in our country needs a massive review.

We need to ensure that those that are deployed there recommit themselves to the values of our constitution; and those who get involved in maleficence and corruption are rooted out; and that local government accounts to our people of our country at a level at which local government functions. 

This mayor informs me that with the number of changes that have now ensued that they have introduced, the people of that municipality willingly and happily come to public meetings that are held and public meetings are held regularly to report back on the progress the municipality is making to clean up and the people of the municipality are delighted and come up with a number of tales, stories, accounts of the toil and suffering that they had been going through. 

He says they do not even need to be bussed in; they walk to meetings because they are so enthusiastic about what is happening at their local government space now.

It is this type of change that we want to see, it is this type of change that this conference should advocate and in many ways, it is this type of message that should come from this conference that will strengthen the hand of those who are key actors in the local government space.

In doing so you will be able to make a contribution as the SAHRC, which obviously you continue to do.

I want to end on applauding you as the SAHRC on the excellent focus that you have been showing. You did say Professor that one of the key areas you that you focus on is service deliver. 

It is in this regard that we would want to continue to urging the SAHRC to continue with this work and from our side as government we will continue to support you much as you must also monitor us. You must continue examining precisely what we do as government. 

Where we fail and fall short do speak out, do come up with your findings so that we can continue to correct our ways both at national, provincial and at local government level.

This is our shared responsibility to improve the lives of the people of our country and we are delighted that your commission is executing this task with the type of focus and commitment that you are showing.

I am sure that beyond this conference a number of ideas would have come through so that we are able to improve local government.

I will be addressing our mayors in a few days and the learnings from this conference I would like to look at closely, so that we can actually pass on some of the learnings from this conference to the mayors.  

I am delighted that this time around, this year our focus on local government is intensifying - Intensifying to strengthen the hand of those who are doing the right thing; but also intensifying as to terrify those who are doing the wrong thing; to show them that we are going to have a radar focus on what happens in local government.

We have to change the trajectory of our local government so that we can deliver a better life to our people and leave no one behind. 

I thank you.

President of Business Unity South Africa, Prof Bonang Mohale, 
Vice-President of BUSA, Mr Adrian Gore, 
CEO of BUSA, Mr Cas Coovadia, 
Directors of BUSA, 
Representatives of business and labour, 
Guests, 
Colleagues and friends, 

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for this opportunity to engage once again with the leadership and membership of Business Unity South Africa.

As government, we always appreciate the direct, considered and constructive approach that BUSA takes in responding to the challenges facing our country.

I will seek in my contribution today to be just as direct, considered and constructive.

Our country is facing a crisis of unemployment and poverty.

We know the reasons for this, including the devastating legacy of our apartheid past, state capture and corruption, policy missteps and the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

We know what we have to do.

We have to revitalise growth, create jobs, enable businesses of all sizes to flourish, fix our economic and social infrastructure, tackle corruption and crime, provide social support to the vulnerable, and improve governance throughout the country.

We are also clear that we need to work together – as business and government, as social partners and as a society – to undertake these vital tasks.

It is not enough for us each to play our part. 

We need to act in concert, sharing resources, expertise and capabilities.

It is not enough to have a common vision.

We need a common plan, with a clear set actions that will be undertaken.

As we undertake the far-reaching reforms necessary to fundamentally transform our economy and society, there are several immediate issues on which we must focus attention and resources right now.

As business and government, we are in broad agreement on what those issue are.

We need to:

Firstly, stabilise the country’s energy supply.

Secondly, ensure an effective and sustainable supply of water.

Thirdly, fix our rail and port infrastructure to realise the full export potential of our economy.

Fourthly, unlock investment in infrastructure.

Fifthly, combat crime and corruption, and,

Finally, I would add, improve the functioning of municipalities.

The partnership we forged in response to COVID-19 shows what remarkable heights can be achieved through collaboration between government, business and other social partners. 

Working together, we managed to administer 37 million COVID vaccines doses, delivering some 260,000 doses a day at peak, all free at the point of service. 

We established the Solidarity Fund, which raised R3.4 billion from more than 300,000 individuals and 3,000 companies and foundations.

We repurposed some of our industrial capabilities to produce ventilators, hand sanitisers, medical-grade face masks, therapeutic drugs, anaesthetics and vaccines.

Now we need to adapt the approaches that we used to such great effect during COVID to tackle other critical challenges facing the country.

In the area of energy, we are already working together on aspects of the actions that I announced in July to stabilise our electricity supply and end load shedding.

These actions aim to improve the performance of Eskom’s existing power stations, accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity, increase private investment in generation and enable businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar.

Since the announcement in July, additional generation units at Eskom have been returned to service, reducing the risk of load shedding.

The necessary amendments are being made to remove the licensing threshold for embedded generation.

Transmission and distribution lines in strategic transmission corridors have been excluded from the requirement to obtain environmental authorisation prior to commencement.

Local content requirements for renewable energy projects have been substantially eased.

Eskom is finalising agreements for its land lease programme, unlocking 1,800 MW of new generation capacity in the first phase.

Detailed work is underway to finalise a sustainable solution to Eskom’s debt by October 2022.

Over 500 MW of private renewable power generation projects have been registered to date, with a pipeline of over 6,000 MW of projects at various stages of development.

We are encouraged by BUSA’s view that we need to continue to work together, utilising all existing channels, to oversee the energy plan’s effective implementation. 

By resolving this persistent challenge, we can kickstart economic growth and create more avenues for employment.

More than that, we will fundamentally transform the country’s electricity architecture so that it is better suited for the dynamic economy of the future.

We are undertaking far-reaching reforms in the water sector to strengthen governance and increase investment in infrastructure to ensure a sustainable supply of quality water.

As a result of the turnaround plan for water use licenses supported by Operation Vulindlela, the backlog of water use license applications was cleared by the end of June 2022. 

The Department of Water and Sanitation is on track to meet its target of processing 80% of all applications within 30 days.

We have prioritised the establishment of a National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency to undertake the building, operation, financing and maintenance of national water resources assets

Following the revival of the Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop water quality monitoring system, the department is putting in place a range of measures to improve the quality of water services at municipal level.

The return of our rail and port operations to full capability is essential for the recovery and future growth of our economy.

We are addressing both policy and operational issues.

The Economic Regulation of Transport Bill, once finalised, will provide for open and non-discriminatory third-party access to the rail network and the establishment of a Transport Economic Regulator. 

In the interim, proposals are due from private operators for 16 slots made available by Transnet on the Durban-City Deep and Pretoria-East London lines.

Transnet has shortlisted 10 potential bidders for private sector participation in the Durban Container Terminal and a further four for the Ngqura Container Terminal in the Eastern Cape.

This is a major initiative that will enable private investment in, and management of, under-performing container terminals.

We are seeing improvements with respect to the security of our rail lines.

This includes cooperation between Transnet and the South African Police Service to secure the North Rail Corridor, which has led to a significant reduction in crime and derailments.

The reforms that are taking place in these network industries, together with the recent auction of high-demand spectrum, will contribute to a significant increase in infrastructure investment by the private sector, by SOEs and by government.

This year’s Budget outlined a 30 per cent increase in spending on public infrastructure. 

This represents an increase from R627 billion over the past three years to R812 billion over the next three years. 

However, there are several blockages to increased infrastructure spending, which we have been working hard to address.

Through Infrastructure South Africa, we have brought on board valuable technical expertise from the private sector to assist in the preparation of projects.

Through the Infrastructure Fund, we are seeking to pool resources from government, private investors, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions to fund infrastructure more effectively. 

This is an area that requires far closer and far more structured cooperation between government and business.

Our economy cannot grow and the circumstances of our people cannot improve in a situation of lawlessness and instability.

We need to work together, as we have done so effectively before, to tackle corruption and crime.

Since we came into office, we have undertaken decisive measures to end state capture and curb corruption.

A new National Director of Public Prosecutions was appointed in 2018 through a transparent public consultation process, bringing much needed stability to the NPA.

We established the Investigating Directorate in the NPA to work on high profile complex cases of corruption and fraud.

We established the SIU Special Tribunal, which has shown its value in recouping monies stolen from state coffers.

Working through the multidisciplinary Fusion Centre, entities like the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit are recovering the proceeds of economic crimes, and law enforcement entities are sharing information and supporting each other in investigating corruption.

The impact of this work is now being seen, with several arrests of suspects alleged to have been involved in state capture and other serious corruption.

Earlier this week, I announced appointments to the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which will oversee government’s anti-corruption strategy and our implementation of the recommendations of the Zondo Commission. 

The Hawks recently reported progress in dealing with crimes that have a particularly detrimental impact on business, such as cash-in-transit heists, damage to essential infrastructure, pipeline fuel theft, copper cable theft and illegal mining. 

The South African Police Service has set up task teams to deal with acts of economic sabotage, including infrastructure vandalism and theft, illegal mining and construction site extortion. 

A number of these teams are operational at hot-spots and have recorded important successes.

This progress shows that we can – with the right resources, capabilities and partnerships – restore law and order throughout the country. 

I have said on a number of occasions that economic growth cannot be realised without strong and capable local government. 

Local government is the most important sphere of government for businesses and for the citizens of the country. 

Municipalities are responsible for the water, sanitation, electricity, roads and waste management that businesses and households require, as well as planning for integrated development.

The reality is that municipal administrations are in disarray. 

We have not succeeded in building stable well-functioning and financially sustainable administrations, and political interference in the administration has led to the loss of good managers and technical skills.

The new Local Municipal Systems Amendment Bill will go a long way to improve the functioning of municipalities, alongside the interventions of COGTA and the National Treasury to ensure the efficient management of local government budgets and the delivery of basic services.

We have introduced the District Development Model to provide for a more integrated and coordinated approach to local planning, local economic development and service provision.

We have had some successes in bringing the different spheres of government together through this model, but we need to find a more structured way for businesses to participate alongside communities and other stakeholders.

Colleagues and friends,

All these areas of work, all these interventions and undertakings, must be directed to the creation of employment.

While the employment figures for the first two quarters of the year are encouraging, and provide hope for a stronger recovery, they also demonstrate the scale of the challenge we face.

They provide a stark reminder that every avenue to create employment must be pursued, allowing businesses to grow, emerge and thrive, while also using the capabilities of the state to create opportunities.

A good example of what the state can do is the Presidential Employment Stimulus.

The largest youth employment intervention in our country’s history, the Presidential Employment Stimulus has reached close to a million participants in less than two years. 

It has offered opportunities for earning a livelihood and for skills development that would otherwise not have been possible, especially for youth lacking formal qualifications. 

I call on business to complement the efforts of government by employing the young people who have exited the programme with newly-acquired skills, take advantage of the Employment Tax Incentive and use the SAYouth.mobi platform to publicise opportunities that exist in your companies. 

At the same time as we undertake these and other efforts to develop skills and provide work experience to young people, we are pursuing measures to attract much-needed skills into the country.

With the support of Operation Vulindlela, the Revised Critical Skills List was published for the first time since 2014 to reflect current skills shortages in the economy.

Together with the Department of Home Affairs, the Operation Vulindlela team has been able to complete the comprehensive review of the work visa system, with detailed recommendations to attract skilled immigration and investment. 

These are areas where the involvement of business, which knows best the skills needs of our economy, is crucial.

We wholeheartedly share BUSA’s view that the time for implementation is now. 

On resolving our energy crisis. 

On implementing growth-enhancing measures and creating more jobs. 

On clearing bottlenecks to growth and obstacles to progress. 

On resolving urgent issues of safety and security, and on resolving service provision challenges that affect all businesses. 

To do so, we must not only agree on a mechanism for collaboration between government and business, but we must also finalise the ‘Framework for a Social Compact in South Africa’. 

The foundation of the social compact is a recommitment from all social partners to the accelerated implementation of the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan.

We share a common desire to see our economy grow and our people thrive. 

What we are seeking to do is transformational.

We are seeking to provide skills and opportunities to the millions of South Africans that have been relegated to the margins of the economy.

We are seeking to change the structure of our economy.

We want to change not only the patterns of ownership, control and benefit, but also what our economy produces and how efficiently it functions. 

As government and business we may not always agree, nor should we. 

But we have a shared responsibility to nurture cooperation and consensus so that we can realise the South Africa we all want. 

There are pressing tasks that we must undertake with immediate effect.

Let us start now. Let us get to work.

And let us leave no-one behind.

I thank you.

Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Directors-General in the Presidency and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Good afternoon.
 
It is my great pleasure to welcome you as the incoming Heads of Mission to South Africa.

Since achieving democracy in 1994, South Africa has built strong and meaningful relationships with nations across the world.

Many of these relationships have their roots in the bonds of solidarity and friendship that were forged during the struggle against apartheid.

We remain grateful to all those countries, many of which are represented here today, that gave our leaders and fighters refuge, that provided material and moral support, and that mobilised for the isolation of the apartheid regime.

Just as we value your presence here, we are greatly encouraged by the value your respective governments place in maintaining and deepening relations with South Africa.
 
Three years ago, the world was confronted with an unprecedented global public health emergency.

As much as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on health, livelihoods and national economies, it also brought about new forms of collaboration between countries and strengthened existing partnerships.
 
It also exposed some of the imbalances in global relations.
 
Many lower-income countries had to look on while wealthy nations hoarded most of the world’s COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Several African countries suffered from the imposition of arbitrary travel bans after new variants were detected in their countries.
 
From this pandemic, we have learned a number of lessons on how we engage with each other as countries and on the importance of mutual respect.
 
It is pleasing that all the continents of the world are represented here this afternoon since South Africa has always endeavoured to maintain friendly relations with all countries regardless of location, size or alignment.
 
We share a belief in the indivisible unity of humankind and in the centrality of international diplomacy as an instrument of progress, world peace and mutual prosperity.
 
With the pandemic in abeyance throughout much of the world, our most pressing priority is a swift and equitable economic recovery that leaves no-one behind.
 
Since 2020, South Africa has been implementing an Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to lift our economy out of a prolonged period of slow growth, to create jobs and to undertake far-reaching economic reform.
 
At the same time, we are implementing programmes to alleviate poverty and inequality, to advance gender equality and to contribute our fair share towards addressing climate change and its impact.
 
Like most developing economies around the world, the pandemic has set back our national effort to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
 
We are nonetheless forging ahead.
  
We are also pressing ahead with our ambitious investment drive to significantly increase the productive capacity of our economy.
  
We are working to clamp down on corruption and to restore the integrity and credibility of key public institutions.
 
Central to this effort is restoring good governance and improving the financial and operational performance of strategic state-owned enterprises.
 
We are making progress in stabilising public finances, improving financial controls at all levels of government and rooting out graft and mismanagement.
 
We have instituted a number of key policy reforms centred on the network industries, including energy, ports and rail, telecommunications and water infrastructure.
 
All of these are part of the broader effort to make South Africa a country in which it is easier to invest and to do business.
 
Our expectation of diplomacy in the post-COVID era is that it should deepen bilateral trade and investment between South Africa and the countries with which we have diplomatic ties.
 
This is no doubt an expectation your respective governments hold in turn.
  
We anticipate that the African Continental Free Trade Area will not only benefit countries on the continent, but will also create conditions for greater flows of trade and investment between Africa and the rest of the world.
 
We share a responsibility to strive to settle differences within and between countries peacefully.
  
South Africa promotes the centrality of multilateral institutions in managing global affairs and we will continue to urge respect for international law and agreements.
 
We seek to work with our partners across the world to build a more democratic, just and equitable world order, one which prioritises the needs and interests of the poor and vulnerable.
 
As the peoples of the world, we have a shared interest in ending poverty and in ending disparities of wealth, skills, resources, and access to education, health and social support.
 
South Africa stands ready to work with all governments and peoples towards achieving these objectives.
 
We trust that your presence in South Africa will further aid our efforts to build a better world that is more egalitarian, that is free of war and conflict, where the rights of women and girls are respected, and where we all play our part to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
 
In the words of our Freedom Charter, the forerunner to the South African Constitution, let there be peace and friendship.
 
We look forward to working with you to strengthen relations between our respective countries and to advance a global economic recovery that leaves no-one behind.
 
I thank you.

Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane,
 
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
 
MECs and the leadership of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government,
 
Amakhosi,
 
Izinduna,
 
Abaholi benkolo,
 
Abaholi bomphakathi,
 
Leaders of political parties and civil society formations,
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
Bonke abesimame eRichmond,
 
 
Sanibonani. Molweni. Dumelang. Goeie dag. Lotjhani. Ndi matsheloni.
 
 Namhlanje sibingelela oNozala esizweni sakithi esikhulu, kwelikaMthaniya!
 
 oGogo bethu, oMama bethu, oDadewethu Kanye namadodakazi wethu.
 
 Izinsika emindeneni yethu nase zweni Lethe.
 
 Namhlanje umgubho wabo bonke abesifazane baseMzansi Afrika.
 
 Izimbokodo. Amaqhawekazi.
 
 
 
Today is a celebration of all the women of our great country, black and white, young, and old, urban, and rural, our mothers, our daughters, and our sisters.
 
Sixty-six years ago, more than 20,000 women marched to Pretoria to tell the apartheid Prime Minister that no, they would not carry the dompas.
 
They came as thousands of women from around the country, emabhasini, ezimotweni, ezitimeleni, ngisho nagezinyawo, bazincama babeletha izingane
 
emhlane.
 
Babekhona nababephuma KwaZulu-Natali, organised by our great women leaders, uMama Dorothy Nyembe, uMama Fatima Meer, uMama Florence Mkhize and others.
 
 
 
Some of the women travelling from KwaZulu-Natal were stopped by police and were forced to turn back.
 
But many did get to the Union Buildings, where they joined the march shouting their warning to the Prime Minister, “Strydom, Wathint Abafazi, wathint’ Imbokodo”.
 
Ngenxa yabesifazane bango 1956, because of their bravery and their sacrifices, the women of South Africa today have equal rights and opportunities that their grandmothers, great-grandmothers and great-great grandmothers were denied.
 
In South Africa today, girls learn alongside boys in our primary and secondary schools and receive equal education.
 
Last year, more females passed the matric exams and got more distinctions than their male counterparts.
 
There are currently more female students enrolled at institutions of higher learning than males.
 
Close to half of our Members of Parliament, judges and magistrates are women.
 
More than 60 per cent of public servants are women.
 
In South Africa today, women are champions.
 
Like our Banyana Banyana, who brought home their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy last week.
 
Just as the pioneers of the Women’s March of 1956 were role-models, the young women, and girls of today have no shortage of role models.
 
With the right support, they can become anything they want to be, from star soccer players to fighter pilots, judges, members of Parliament, businesswomen and entrepreneurs.
 
But for many young women, there are several obstacles they first need to overcome.
 
In South Africa, like many countries around the world, women bear the brunt of poverty.
 
Three-quarters of female-headed households live in poverty.
 
The slow growth of our economy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
 
Lapha, eRichmond, iphethewe abesifazane, nearly half of all households are female-headed.
 
Since the advent of democracy, we have implemented policies to address the impact of poverty on women.
 
Mothers and grandmothers have access to comprehensive social services, including child support grants.
 
To support poor families, especially those from single parent households, learners are exempted from paying school fees and receive meals at school.
 
Women are more likely to be unemployed than men.
 
Around half of all women in South Africa are unemployed, including those who have given up looking for work.
 
On average, women still earn far less than men.
This was thrown into the spotlight with the victory of Banyana, whose players still earn less than the men’s national soccer team.
 
Women do not get paid for caring for the elderly, children, and other family members.
 
And the time that women spend doing work in the home limits their ability to earn money through employment or run their own businesses.
 
Siyazi lapha eRichmond, abantu abaningi baphelelwe imisebenzi, ikati lilala eziko emindenini eminingi.
 
There are limited opportunities, especially for young people.
 
We also have the problem in this country of young girls being taken out of school early to perform household duties, to care for younger siblings and to look for work to support the family.
 
We need to change this so that young girls can finish school.
 
Government is working to enable women to participate in the economy.
 
Gender equality will not be achieved unless women are financially secure and independent.
 
Here in the Umgungundlovu District Municipality we are providing temporary work opportunities to women through the Community Works Programme, the Expanded Public Works Programme and by supporting community caregivers and community health workers.
 
Female entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, are supported through the province’s Rural and Township Economies Revitalisation Strategy.
 
The provincial government, through the Radical Agrarian Socio-Economic Transformation programme, is also helping women access land for farming and get their produce to market.
 
So far, it has assisted over 3,500 farmers, with the majority being women and youth from rural areas like uMgungundlovu.
 
Women entrepreneurs need companies, departments, and customers to buy their products and services.
 
Government has committed to set aside 40 per cent of public procurement spend to women-owned businesses.
 
We have been holding workshops countrywide to equip women with skills to do business with both government and the private sector.
 
Between September this year and January next year, we plan to reach all 11 districts in KwaZulu-Natal.
 
To ensure better access to finance, we want entities like the Industrial Development Corporation, Public Investment Corporation and National Empowerment Fund to make further resources available to women-owned businesses.
 
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
Gender-based violence is a stain on our celebrations today.
 
Hardly a day goes by in this country without a report of women being attacked, being violated, and being killed by men.
 
This cannot continue.
The women of South Africa have had enough of being afraid.
 
Afraid to go out after dark.
 
Afraid of being attacked in their own homes
 
Afraid of being preyed on in the classroom.
 
Afraid for the safety of their children, even from their own relatives.
 
Afraid of being a woman in South Africa.
 
We should not see this as a women’s problem, when it is in fact inkinga yamadoda, a men’s problem.
 
It is a problem of men with no respect for women, who feel they can do what they like with their girlfriends or partners because they buy them airtime or groceries.
 
It is a problem of men who lack the maturity to accept the end of a relationship and hunt down their ex-wives or ex-girlfriends.
 
It is a problem of men who think culture, custom and religion empowers them to hit their wives, sisters, and daughters and to deprive them of their rights.
 
It is a problem of men who hold positions of influence and authority who prey on women and take advantage of them.
 
Here, in Richmond, like in many places around the country, sexual assaults and other violent crimes are connected to alcohol abuse, and many take place in or around places where alcohol is sold, amathaveni, amashibhini.
 
This is not the South Africa for which the women of 1956 marched.
 
hey did not sacrifice to see the end of the slavery of the apartheid, only for today’s women to live in prisons of fear.
 
Earlier this year, we passed three important laws that will strengthen the fight against gender-based violence.
 
These laws give greater protection to victims of domestic violence.
 
The new laws empower the police to enter premises without a warrant and, if necessary, arrest a suspect.
 
Police can also remove dangerous weapons from a suspect. Complainants will be able to apply for protection orders online.
 
New provisions expand the scope of the National Register of Sex Offenders, and place a legal responsibility on us all to report any sexual offences committed against vulnerable persons.
 
There are now far stricter conditions under which a suspect may be granted bail.
 
Perpetrators will get harsher sentences.
 
Silence is no longer an option.
 
Asikwazi ukuthula. We have to break the silence.
 
Silence is the dark corner in which women and children are abused, beaten, raped, and killed.
 
Silence is the dark cloud under which men allow their friends to ill-treat women, children, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community as a display of their manliness.
 
Silence is the cancer that eats away at women who protect their husbands, sons, partners, and boyfriends who abuse them, their children, and other women because they are financially dependent.
 
On this Women’s Day I want to call on every South African to play their part in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide by speaking out.
 
In 2021, we introduced a 100-Day Challenge to pilot interventions to fast-track the provision of services to survivors of gender-based violence.
 
In the sites where the challenge has been implemented, sexual offences cases have been reduced by more than 42 per cent, case backlogs reduced by 80 per cent and survivors of gender-based violence are able to access legal and psycho-social support services more easily.
 
In November we will hold the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, where will do a detailed assessment of the implementation of our National Strategic Plan and chart the way forward.
 
 
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
We gather here today to mark Women’s Day deeply aware of the many challenges that the women of South Africa confront every day.
 
We gather here knowing that poverty, discrimination and violence continues to hold back the progress of the country’s women and girls.
 
But we also gather here to celebrate the achievements of many South African women, from all parts of the country, from all walks of life, who have overcome many obstacles to excel in their chosen fields.
 
We gather here to say that we will spare no effort to build a non-sexist society in which men and women have equal opportunities and prospects.
 
The women who marched on the Union Buildings 66 years ago demonstrated the power and resolve of the women of South Africa.
 
They were determined that women should take their rightful place in a free and democratic society.
 
As we honour their bravery, let us continue their struggle.
 
And let us achieve their vision.
 
 
 
I thank you.

Programme Director, Deputy Judge President Thoba Poyo-Dlwati,
 
President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and Deputy Chief Justice Designate, Justice Mandisa Maya,
 
Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, Justice Raymond Zondo,
 
Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Maite Nkoana Mashabane,
 
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola,
 
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UNISA, Professor Puleng LenkaBula,
 
Members of the judiciary and magistracy,
 
Members of the legal fraternity,
 
Academics and students,
 
Distinguished Guests,
 
 
 
It is an honour to address this esteemed gathering of women jurists as we commemorate Women’s Month in South Africa.
 
Sixty-six years ago thousands of women marched on the seat of the apartheid government to demand an end to the degrading and dehumanising pass laws.
 
Although nearly four decades would pass before apartheid was abolished and South Africa’s democracy would be born, their activism had far-reaching consequences that extend till today.
 
The Women’s March of 1956 sent a message to the apartheid regime, and indeed to the world, that achieving gender equality and advancing women’s rights was as important a goal of national liberation as casting off the bonds of racial oppression.
 
That is why when we became a democracy in 1994 we set ourselves clear and measurable targets to advance the position of women in the workplace, in government and across society.
 
We produced one of the most inclusive constitutions in the world, with a Bill of Rights that specifically requires equal treatment for all regardless of sex, gender or any other ground of discrimination.
 
We repealed all laws that discriminated against women, and replaced them with employment equity laws that oblige employers to reflect the country’s racial and gender composition in their hiring practices, and to advance the rights of persons with disabilities.
 
We prioritised greater representation of women in top management in the public service, with a particular focus on black women.
 
By 2021, 62 per cent of the entire public service workforce was female, with 44 per cent of senior management positions filled by women.
 
In 1994, women comprised 28 per cent of members of Parliament.
 
Today, 46 per cent of our lawmakers in the National Assembly are women.
 
Of the 28 Ministers currently in Cabinet, 13 are women.
 
As South Africa, we are proud of the progress we have made with respect to the representation of women in important spheres of public life, notably the state.
 
This administration has demonstrated its determination to build on this progress.
 
In 2019, Adv Shamila Batohi became the first woman to head the National Prosecuting Authority.
 
In 2021, Ms Phindile Baleni became the first female Director-General in the Presidency.
 
In 2022, Ms Thembisile Majola became the first Director-General of the State Security Agency.
 
Also this year, less than a week ago, Lt Gen Tebello Mosikili became the first female Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service.
 
And last month, The Honourable Justice Mandisa Maya – who as you know is the President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges – was appointed as our country’s first female Deputy Chief Justice.
 
I wish to once again congratulate you, Justice Maya.
 
It is a richly deserved honour and yet another milestone in a stellar career.
 
You are an inspiration to all women on the Bench, at the Bar and in the magistracy.
 
Today out of 256 judges on the Bench, 114 are women.
 
Nearly half of all magistrates are women.
 
Most encouraging is the growing number of young women entering the legal profession.
 
As at January 2019, more than a third of candidate attorneys were black women.
 
As a whole, women accounted for 57 per cent of candidate attorneys.
 
This provides impetus to the broader transformation of the legal profession.
 
Last week, government published for public comment the Draft Legal Sector Code.
 
The Code aims to ensure the legal profession is representative of the demographics of South Africa and to enable equitable and representative appointments to the judiciary.
 
Importantly, it also focuses on the provision of pro bono services and community-based legal services, ensuring access to affordable legal services for all South Africans, particularly marginalised, poor and rural communities.
 
There can be no doubt that the racial and gender transformation of the Bench is ongoing and can be improved, but we must at the same time acknowledge that we have come a long way.
 
Not just a long way, but a difficult way.
 
Gathered here this evening are jurists who have waged titanic struggles to earn the right to reach the pinnacle of the legal profession.
 
It has not been an easy road.
 
Besides the fraternal and collegial bonds you share as jurists, there is also a commonality of struggle to overcome bias, discrimination, sexism, racism and other prejudices in the course of your careers.
 
And yet, still you rise.
 
To paraphrase Maya Angelou’s eternal poem, up from a past that’s rooted in pain, still you rise.
 
And it has been the International Association of Women Judges that has been your anchor as you navigate the complexities of progressing as a female jurist in an environment that still remains overwhelmingly male.
 
 But the International Association of Women Judges is so much more.
 
It is a powerful and influential global network of jurists committed to ensuring women’s equal access to justice in the face of discriminatory laws and practices, barriers to justice for women, and the ever-prevalent scourge of gender-based violence.
 
I want to congratulate you on hosting this conference, and to applaud you for choosing the theme “Empowerment as a tool to fight gender-based violence”.
 
As many have said, gender-based violence is pandemic of the same seriousness, destruction and ferocity as the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
If we were to quantify the impact of gender-based violence in terms of lives destroyed or lost, families torn apart, societies shattered, economic productivity lost, and state resources diverted, we would see that violence against women and children is a far greater crisis than most health emergencies we have faced.
 
Even as we take a step forward in women’s representation and the advancement of women’s rights, gender-based violence takes us many steps back.
 
Last week, news of a gang rape of eight young women by armed men brought home once again the horror that confronts many women in our country and around the world.
 
No society can lay claim to being non-sexist if that country’s women live in fear, and where sexual assault, domestic and intimate partner violence and femicide, is an ever-present threat.
 
This terrible crime was not an isolated incident.
 
In the same week, more women were assaulted, raped and murdered in different parts of the country.
 
We are in the grip of what is no less than an unrelenting war on the bodies of the women and children of this country.
 
We know that in many jurisdictions in the world, women and girls are also subjected to trafficking, discrimination, abuse, exploitation and the worst forms of violence.
 
The State has a constitutional and moral duty to protect women against all forms of gender-based violence, which continue to impair the exercise of their fundamental rights and freedoms.
 
Our law enforcement agencies must do everything in their power to ensure that criminals who have violated the fundamental rights of women and children are caught.
 
Our courts have a duty to prosecute them without fear or favour, and in doing so send a message that gender-based violence will not be tolerated.
 
As the Constitutional Court said in a 2019 judgment:
 
“This Court would be failing in its duty if it does not send out a clear and unequivocal pronouncement that the South African Judiciary is committed to developing and implementing sound and robust legal principles that advance the fight against gender-based violence in order to safeguard the constitutional values of equality, human dignity and safety and security.”
 
Never has the role of female jurists been more important than in South Africa right now, to implement new and existing laws designed to strengthen the fight against gender-based violence, to support and protect survivors, and to ensure that perpetrators face the consequences of their actions.
 
As government, we will continue to work with our social partners to implement the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide by affording greater protection to vulnerable groups.
 
In January this year, I assented to three key pieces of legislation to strengthen the legal framework in the fight against gender-based violence.
 
Among other things, these laws tighten the sentencing provisions against perpetrators, enable online applications for protection orders, and improve provisions related to the sex offenders register by widening its scope.
 
We commend you for your commitment to a common programme of action to realise a truly non-sexist society that is free of all forms of gender-based violence.
 
We commend you for your longstanding commitment to applying the law with a keen understanding and appreciation of the gendered nature of poverty, inequality, unemployment and underdevelopment.
 
We know that it is women that disproportionately bear the brunt of these and many other social ills.
 
We know that it is women who are more likely to be unemployed, to have lower levels of education and who shoulder the burden of childcare.
 
All of these impact on access to justice.
 
For these and many other reasons, we look to you as female jurists to help shape and strengthen the discourse around patriarchal power relations, and what must be done to dismantle them.
 
You occupy a privileged position to exercise judicial authority, which is the cornerstone of any constitutional democratic order.
 
We look with keen interest to the proposals that will emanate from this conference around empowering women judges to effectively use the law to deal decisively with gender-based violence.
 
Courts are impartial arbiters committed to the administration and dispensing of justice. That is their foremost role.
 
At the same time, we have a rightful expectation that the courts should reflect in their judgements the foundational principles of our constitutional order, namely human dignity and the achievement of equality, non-sexism and non-racialism.
 
The struggles of women continue.
 
For equal pay for equal work.
 
Against discrimination on the basis of motherhood, marital status and sexual orientation.
 
To receive an education.
 
To not be disinherited or married against their will.
 
To be protected against human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
 
We must break all barriers and biases against women.
 
Our courts, enabled by a progressive Constitution, have played a significant role in the promotion of gender equality in South Africa.
 
It is our expectation that the South African chapter of the International Association of Women Judges should continue to serve as a beacon of progress, a symbol of women’s achievement and as an instrument of change.
 
I wish you fruitful deliberations.
 
I thank you.

Programme Director, Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Representatives of civil society organisations,
Representatives of NEDLAC,
Representatives of development agencies and all participating organisations,
Colleagues,

Four years since I spoke of the need for this Social Sector Summit in my first State of the Nation Address, and after many months of preparation, it is wonderful that we have finally been able to convene.

There were a number of factors that delayed the convening of this Summit, not least of which was the COVID-19 pandemic.

With our country and indeed the world now in the process of recovery, I want to thank and salute civil society organisations for their role in the national effort to contain and overcome the pandemic.

There are few words to describe the pride and gratitude we felt as a country as we saw our resilient and committed non-governmental organisations serving the South African people during those difficult days.

Where government had capacity and resource constraints, civil society stepped into the breach.

Where government rolled out relief programmes and initiatives, civil society provided support.

The partnership, collaboration and alignment between government and civil society organisations during the pandemic was an example of how we can work, and how we must work, to overcome our society’s many challenges.

It was a model from which we can draw many lessons as we strive to ensure that our Bill of Rights is not mere words on paper, but that it is translated into progress and prosperity for every South African man, woman and child.

A strong, vibrant and activist civil society is key to the development of any nation.

It is therefore critical that the interface between government and civil society is improved and strengthened.

We have a common appreciation that we are all heading in the same direction and on the same road towards the realisation of a better South Africa.

We know that to reach this goal we have to be partners, and not adversaries.

But at the same time, we have an expectation that where we falter or fall short, that we will hold each other to our promises.

There is an expectation that we can require transparency and accountability of each other.

Since before the dawn of democracy, civil society organisations in South Africa have taken up the causes of the marginalised, the oppressed and the vulnerable.

From the HIV/Aids pandemic to substance abuse, from poverty to illiteracy, from unemployment to gender-based violence, civil society has been crafting constructive strategies and driving collaborative approaches that put the needs of the poor first.

At the height of the HIV/Aids pandemic in in the late 1990s to mid-2000s, civil society movements waged a brave and principled struggle against stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.

Just as civil society fought to ensure equitable access to anti-retroviral treatment, South African civil society bodies are supporting the global advocacy for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. 

Just as civil society advocated for legal reform to tackle discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the early days of our democracy, civil society continues to speak out against practices and beliefs that discriminate against the LGBTQI+ community.

Just as civil society has consistently confronted entrenched practices that are discriminatory and harmful to women and girls, it now plays a key role in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

Twenty-eight years into our democracy, the role of civil society is as critical as ever. 

Poverty, unemployment and inequality remain the most pressing challenges facing South Africa.

Our society is confronted by lawlessness, crime and corruption, gender-based violence, hunger and malnutrition.

Over the past few days, we have witnessed scenes of violent protest, damage to public infrastructure and, in some cases, loss of life in areas such as Kagiso in the West Rand and Tembisa in Ekurhuleni.

These incidents are of grave concern and highlight many of the challenges our country faces. 

As we address these incidents, we need to distinguish between legitimate protest and criminality, addressing the concerns and grievances of communities, while acting to prevent loss of life and destruction of property.

We can all understand the public outrage in Kagiso sparked by the gang rape of eight young women last week and we all deeply and sincerely share in the pain of the victims, their families and the neighbouring communities.

Police are hard at work with investigations.

As we commend the police for apprehending suspected illegal miners and shutting down their operations, they must double their efforts in catching those responsible for the heinous crime of gang raping the young women.

This horrific crime is a reminder that as government, and as a society, we must do more to tackle gender-based violence.

Over the last few years, as a result of cooperation between government and civil society, we have strengthened the response of the criminal justice system to such crimes.

As part of the National Strategic Plan against GBVF, we have enacted new legislation and focused on the capacity of the SAPS, National Prosecuting Authority and courts to better support survivors and prosecute offenders.

We know that the NPA continues to place special emphasis on prosecuting these crimes, obtaining a conviction rate of 74%.

We want to encourage the National Prosecuting Authority and the Police to do more in their common efforts in the fight gender-based violence and femicide.

Government, represented by the South African Police Service and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, will convene an Imbizo with the community of Kagiso over the weekend to interrogate issues of illegal mining and crime.

As government, we remain steadfastly committed in our fight against corruption.

In the last financial year, for example, the specialised commercial crimes unit finalised 380 cases with a 90% conviction rate.

Over that period, 380 government officials were convicted for corruption and related crimes, whilst 209 people were convicted for private sector crimes.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit has completed 370 confiscations estimated at a value of R406 million.

There are currently 82 state capture cases are under investigation with 65 accused persons enrolled for prosecution in 20 cases.

There is clearly much more that needs to be done, but the fight against corruption is gaining momentum.

Overcoming these and other challenges requires all sectors of society to bring their respective capabilities together and unite behind a common vision.

Civil society organisations are where our people are, whether as NGOs, as community, professional and faith-based organisations, as academia or as worker representative organisations.

One of the priorities of this administration is to drive people-centred, localised development through the District Development Model.

It seeks to promote an approach to development that takes into account needs, circumstances and priorities on the ground. 

Now more than ever we count on your breadth and diversity of knowledge, experience and expertise to work with us, but also to guide us on what interventions are needed, where, how and on the best way to allocate scarce resources.

Civil society reaches where business and government often cannot.

You have a solid track record of organic interventions and activations that yield results.

For this reason, this summit is crucial, for us to align our efforts and actions.

Our most pressing priority right now is recovery from the pandemic.

We are hard at work implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to grow our economy and create jobs.

It is only through a stronger economy that we will be able to lift millions out of poverty, expand the rollout of comprehensive social support, improve the delivery of services and create employment so people can lead lives of dignity.

We have listened to your ideas and proposals on how to drive an inclusive and equitable economic recovery that leaves no one behind.

We also thank you for your participation in the ongoing process to develop a comprehensive social compact.

As civil society organisations continue with their difficult work they are confronted with challenges that demand our attention.

Foremost among these are financial constraints.

Like your global counterparts, South African civil society has been impacted by fewer resources, reprioritisation of donor budgets, worsening economic conditions and other factors.

Many civil society organisations are struggling to find money to keep their doors open, to pay their staff and to implement their programmes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened their situation.

Currently, government invests substantially in supporting the work of civil society organisations through the Department of Social Development.

In addition, the National Development Agency provides grant funding and capacity building to the sector.

We have to work collectively to develop sustainable and consistent funding streams for civil society, including emerging community-based organisations.

The second challenge is a capacity shortage that undermines the effectiveness of organisations.

I have heard reports of some civil society organisations being unable to submit annual reports as required by the NPO Act simply because they lack the expertise.

Besides a lack of professional skills, there are difficulties with recruiting highly qualified personnel.

Qualified staff are often lost to government and other sectors because civil society organisations cannot pay competitive salaries.

Civil society needs an enabling regulatory framework.

Many social sector organisations find that onerous red tape is holding them back.

In this regard, the Department of Social Development has published the Non-Profit Organisations Amendment Bill.

It seeks to strengthen the existing regulatory regime and make it more relevant to the prevailing environment, but without constraining the sector.

The Bill seeks to increase efficiencies and reduce red tape.

This is in recognition of the benefit civil society brings to policy-making and to the provision of services in our society.

We must acknowledge that corruption has contributed to the funding challenges the sector is facing.

By way of example, the Special Investigating Unit has uncovered how some civil society organisations were set up with the sole intention to loot the National Lotteries Commission.

This denied legitimate and deserving organisations the opportunity to access funding.

It is good that the investigations are progressing, that a number of arrests have been made and that civil action is being considered against a number of implicated individuals.

At the same time we must acknowledge that there needs to be greater accountability and transparency in the sector itself.

It is unacceptable for the lion’s share of donor and other funding to be spent on paying senior staff or funding lifestyles, instead of programmes.

High standards of governance, proper accounting and due diligence must apply.

This Summit has provided an opportunity to hear more about these challenges and how they can be overcome.

It has been an opportunity to hear more about work civil society organisations are doing in communities across the country, having taken stock of the reports that have come from all provinces through the Provincial Dialogues and roundtables.

Colleagues and friends,

The signing of the Social Sector Framework Agreement today is a milestone.

We are establishing a more comprehensive and inclusive framework for collaboration that recognises, supports and empowers civil society.

It sets the basis for us to foster a strong state-civil society partnership to tackle poverty, inequality and employment, and to deepen democratic participation. 

We must seize this opportunity to deep our collaboration as we build a better South Africa that leaves no-one behind.

I would like to thank all representatives of civil society organisations that have been part of this process.

I would also like to thank the Department of Social Development, the NEDLAC Community Constituency and the Presidency for guiding this process.

I have no doubt that government, civil society and all social partners will continue to work together meaningfully beyond this Summit, as we have done for many years, to improve the lives of our people and build a better country.

I thank you.

Your Excellency Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana,
Your Excellencies High Commissioners of both South Africa and Botswana,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Business Leaders,
Distinguished Guests,
Colleagues and Friends, 

Your Excellency, Mr President, 

I am pleased that the undertaking we gave each other in April this year to hold this engagement has now materialised. 

We have been looking forward to this visit to Gaborone to commemorate and celebrate 28 years of diplomatic ties between our two countries.

The trade and investment ties between our two countries have grown stronger over the years. They lay a firm basis for even greater economic cooperation and integration into the future. 

My delegation comprises Ministers and officials, and representatives from our state-owned companies, financial institutions and South African business. 

I am encouraged by the work that has already begun through our respective Trade and Industry Ministers to align our plans towards a common SACU plan of action for operationalising the African Continental Free Trade Area. 

The joint export promotion platforms that are being discussed at SACU level for leveraging AfCFTA trade opportunities are promising. 

I urge that the same vigour be given to concluding the work of creating industrial value-chains in the SACU. 

Through these value-chains we will be able to grow our industrial exports to the rest of the continent. 

New markets in West, East, North and Central Africa hold immense potential for both South Africa and Botswana. 

We will be able to produce and export local goods, products and services to our fellow African countries that would otherwise be sourced from outside the continent. 

Even as we do so, we do not seek to displace other African businesses. 

The intention instead is complementary trade and industrial development. 

Botswana and South Africa can both achieve more by working closely together. 

The development of value-chains can also move SACU towards a brighter new future of joint investment and development. 

I am also pleased to note that work is underway in SACU on a Work Programme on Industrialisation to promote industrial development and regional value chains, export promotion, investment attraction and promotion. 

Work is already underway on leather and leather products, fresh produce, meat and meat products, textiles, clothing, cosmetics and essential oils. 

These sectors present opportunities for the development of regional value chains across region. 

They also present opportunities for SACU exports to the rest of Africa, to the United States under AGOA, to the European Union under the EPA, and to other strategic markets in Asia and the Middle East. 

There are also opportunities for further cooperation in minerals.

Botswana is currently the chair of the Kimberley Process, an initiative that has successfully addressed concerns regarding the diamond industry, and last year was the world’s leading producer of diamonds by value.

Your Excellency, 

In April this year you opened the first SACU Investment Roundtable in Gaborone under the theme “Positioning SACU as an industrial, investment, manufacturing and innovation hub for the African continent and beyond” 

This remains our collective aspiration. 

Over the past five years, South Africa’s foreign direct investment stock in Botswana has increased year-on-year, reaching US$ 5.1 billion in 2021. 

While we will continue to encourage South African investment into Botswana, we are encouraged by the Botswana companies that have already invested in South Africa. 

Between January 2003 and December 2021, we saw nine FDI projects from Botswana to South Africa. 

They attracted capital investment worth R3.9 billion, resulting in the creation of over 2,000 jobs. 

We would like to see these numbers grow exponentially. 

Intra-African trade opportunities accruing from the AfCFTA can only be realised if we facilitate intra-Africa investments. 

In particular, we need to encourage our respective companies to invest in areas that will address the continent’s infrastructure and industrial deficits. 

South Africa is committed to supporting our partners on the continent to reach their industrialisation goals. 

As Team South Africa we want to be part of the African growth story by way of strategic investments into the continent by our companies, financial institutions and state-owned companies. 

It is our expectation that today’s session will unpack all these matters further, and that we will jointly identify the priorities for strengthening the Botswana-South Africa economic relationship. 

I look forward to vibrant and productive discussions.

I thank you.

Your Excellency Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana,
Your Excellencies High Commissioners of both South Africa and Botswana,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Business Leaders,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Thank you for joining us on the conclusion of what has been a successful and highly productive South Africa - Botswana Business Roundtable. 

I would like to thank His Excellency President Masisi for the warm reception given to me and my delegation.

The delegation comprises government Ministers and Deputy Ministers, representatives of our state-owned companies and financial institutions, and leaders from the South African business community. 

It has been 28 years since South Africa and Botswana established formal diplomatic ties. 

Even as our bilateral relations have grown stronger over the years, we want to see far greater levels of trade and investment between our two countries.  

As we noted earlier, South Africa’s foreign direct investment stock in Botswana reached $5.1 billion last year.

There have been important investments by Botswana in South Africa.

Between 2003 and 2021, there were nine such FDI projects, which attracted capital investment of R3.9 billion and led to the creation of over 2,000 jobs. 

In today’s discussion we got to hear the perspective of members of the Botswana business community on doing business in South Africa.  

This included representatives from companies that already have a presence in South Africa, and it has been refreshing to hear of their optimism about expanding their businesses in South Africa. 

The South African business delegation includes representatives from a wide range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, automotive, manufacturing, agriculture and others. 

Like all countries in the region and indeed the continent and the world, our economy was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

We have affirmed that deepening intra-African trade and investment, and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area, can hasten an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery for the region and for our continent. 

His Excellency President Masisi and I agreed that we need to encourage business in our respective countries to invest in catalytic development projects, particularly infrastructure.  

It has been pleasing to have representatives of our respective state-owned companies share their perspectives on the importance of infrastructure development to our common industrialisation efforts. 

As South Africa we reaffirmed our commitment to supporting our fellow countries on the continent, including Botswana, to reach their industrialisation goals. 

This can be done through strategic investments into other parts of the continent by our companies, financial institutions and state-owned companies.  

A major point of discussion today was around alignment towards a common plan of action by the Southern African Customs Union, of which Botswana and South Africa are members, for the operationalisation of the AfCFTA. 

We expressed confidence at the work being done around creating industrial value chains in SACU, which would have great benefits for our respective economies. 

We see great potential in leather and leather products, fresh produce, meat and meat products, textiles, clothing, cosmetics and essential oils.  

As Botswana and South Africa, we have agreed that our respective economies stand to gain substantially from the development of these value chains.

This Business Roundtable has been a good starting point for us to begin strategising and aligning our efforts in pursuit of common prosperity, greater reciprocal trade and much higher levels of investment.   

I am extremely pleased it has gone well and we look forward to the reports of our respective officials on the progress of the various initiatives we have agreed on today. 

I thank you.