THE 2015/16 BUDGET VOTE SPEECH FOR FINANCE
THE 2015/16 BUDGET VOTE SPEECH FOR FINANCE, ECONOMY AND ENTEPRISE DEVELOPMENT PRESENTED AT THE BOKONE BOPHIRIMA PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE BY HONOURABLE MEC WENDY JOY NELSON, 19TH MAY 2015. Honourable Speaker of the Provincial Legislature Honourable Premier of Bokone Bophirima, Mr Supra Obakeng Ramoeletsi Mahumapelo Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature Honourable Members of the Executive Council Honourable Executive Mayors, Mayors and Speakers of Municipalities Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi Zibi Magosi a Bokone Bophirima All members of the business, civic and religious societies Acting Director General, Heads of Departments, CEO’s of State Owned Entities and Municipal Managers Distinguished Guests and Fellow Comrades Honourable Speaker, today’s departmental budget is constrained by the need to consolidate provincial public finance in the context of slower economic growth and growing national public debt. 1 Since I presented the 2015/16 Provincial Budget to date, the economic climate both globally and nationally has not improved significantly. The world economic growth forecast is 3.5% for 2015 with uneven prospects across countries in the world. Advanced economies are likely to increase slightly from the current rate as some financial crisis related effects wear off. This is likely to translate into growth in the demand for our domestic output, thereby supporting local economic growth. The South African economic growth was subdued by the low economic performance of advanced economies in the Euro Zone and other emerging economies such as China. Due to many countries recovering from the economic meltdown, the South African economy registered a growth of 1.6% in the third quarter of 2014. However, the supply side constraints such as labour unrest and electricity supply interruptions have led to the unsatisfactory growth of 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, measures such as the accelerated infrastructure expenditure have supported positive economic growth. The decline in the price of crude oil by 55% has provided business with a temporary window of opportunity for reduced input costs and relief to consumers. This relief will be short lived as the oil exporting countries will readjust supply and re-arrange market prices to favour their fiscal position. Honourable Speaker, the NDP proposes that the South African economy should grow by 5.4% per annum in order to create additional jobs for the many unemployed South Africans, reduce unemployment to 6% in 2030 and reduce income inequality. This requires a concerted effort by all role players in order to meet this objective. 2 Provincial Economic Overview Honourable Speaker, notwithstanding the less favourable global and national economic outlook, the Bokone Bophirima Government (BBG) re-affirms its commitment to achieving the 6% growth rate by 2019 through its key provincial economic pillars; Agriculture, Culture and Tourism (ACT) supported by critical tributaries namely, mining, beneficiation, service industries, manufacturing and the green economy within the context of the National Development Plan (NDP). The provincial economy enjoyed economic growth of 5.1% in 2005 which is the highest peak since 1996. Following the economic crises, the Province reported an economic growth rate of 2.5% in 2013, which was an improvement from the -2% growth rate in 2012. Growth was supported by the rise in the export of mining output and expenditure by the public sector service. In this regard, provincial growth recovery is still inadequate for the creation of much needed jobs to curb soaring unemployment, drastically reduce the percent of people living in poverty and close the income inequalities measured by the Gini-coefficient which currently sits at 0.59. For the province to achieve its anticipated 6% growth rate we are required to confront the broader structural challenges facing our economy and support the programmes that ensures full implementation of the NDP objectives. Today’s budget speech deliberately seeks to support economic growth by ensuring value for public finance spend, re-directing of resources towards ACT, economic sector development and diversification. 3 It is for this reason that the province needs to diversify its economy in order to mitigate the risk of an over-reliance on the mining sector, this cannot be over emphasized. Honourable Speaker, we are aware that the majority of our people support this radical move taken by Government, but, we are equally aware that there are forces that are discouraging this radical approach, this is because there are a few individuals who have continuously been the sole beneficiaries of the government purse, they want to remain the only beneficiaries of this government, this will no longer be the case. Honourable speaker I must hasten to indicate that the government of the people’s province has committed itself to sharing the government spend amongst the people of this province, because, in line with the Freedom Charter the people shall share in the wealth of the country, and in this instance, specifically this province. I want to urge the people of this province to support this 5th Administration in its efforts to massify economic participation in this Province. Re batla tswelopele (we want progress). Ons moet almal saamtrek en ons moet almal saamwerk. We recognise that this road will not be easy and that we will face many challenges, we are ready for them. This Government is encouraged by the overwhelming support and positive feedback received during our public platform engagements in the form of Setsokotsane and Bua le Puso. In recognising these daunting tasks, I have borrowed encouraging words from the first President of democratic South Africa, the Late Tata Nelson Mandela when he said “there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain top of desires.” 4 Inspired by the words of the late Icon, the unfavourable economic conditions facing our country and Province which led to the reduction in budget allocations will not deter this Bokone Bophirima Government (BBG) from implementing developmental programmes which seek to radically transform the socio-economic conditions of the Province and its citizens, underpinned by the following intervention programmes introduced by the 5th Administration: Focus on Agriculture, Culture and Tourism (ACT) as the strategic economic pillars; Rebranding, Repositioning and Renewal (RRR); Saamwerk - Saamtrek Philosophy; Reconciliation Healing and Renewal (RHR); Setsokotsane and Bua le Puso; Honourable Speaker, these radical programmes form the basis for resource allocation to the departmental initiatives as outlined in its budget and annual performance plan and are geared towards improving the socio-economic conditions of villages, townships and small dorpies (VTSD). As a department we are in total agreement with the Premier’s policy pronouncement that, 60% of our procurable items within the goods and services budget would be sourced from suppliers in villages, townships and small dorpies. In supporting this policy pronouncement, we will be monitoring procurement patterns of all departments and public entities and regularly report to EXCO on compliance with this important directive. Honourable Speaker, I made commitments in the previous financial year that I will always make time to continuously report on financial matters to the EXCO and Legislature. I can confirm that through our oversight functions on 5 financial matters, the department has in the past financial year achieved amongst others, the following: Intensified municipal support and provision of monitoring and financial management support to departments and state owned entities led to improvement on audit opinions; Overall, eleven (11) out of thirteen (13) Departments (including NW Provincial Legislature) were unqualified with one (1) clean audit as compared to the year before, when only seven (7) were unqualified. This is a success rate of 85% as compared to the year before of 54%; The unaudited system payment reports indicate that the department has paid all of its creditors within 30 days during the 2014/15 financial year; An assessment of the skills level of Chief Financial Officers in Provincial Public Entities was conducted during the past financial year and Provincial Treasury has accordingly provided the support by assisting entities with the preparation and submission of Annual Financial Statements (AFS); Provincial Risk Management Forum has been established for public entities and has been effective throughout the financial year, Treasury also successfully hosted the Provincial Risk Management Indaba; Provincial Internal Audit ensured that during the first three quarters of the 2014/15 financial year, 281 assurance and advisory audit reports were issued; Cluster Audit Committees met with all departments prior to the submission of the annual financial statements and annual reports in order to review documentation submitted and subsequently issue reports containing matters to be addressed by Heads of Departments; Provincial Internal Audit function has also been involved in the audit of the reconfiguration process and have not only performed audit on evidence files submitted but also advised on where the processes need 6 to be strengthened as well as provide guidance on file indexing, substantiating evidence and training on these processes; Four provincial economic review and outlook reports were produced, two of which focused on municipalities; Vacancy rate of the last three years has declined from 40% to 17%. Finance has improved its employment equity status; we currently have 36% of women at SMS level and 2, 6% people with disabilities. This is an increase of 3% and 0, 6% respectively. Honourable Speaker, I am proud to announce before this august house that the MFMA Unit has recently scooped the following two national awards at the Sixth Annual Audit and Risk Indaba: Provincial Treasury of the year Award for providing dedicated support to municipalities on operation clean audit initiatives, and the Provincial Treasury of the year award in supporting governance processes in municipalities. In celebrating these awards, it is important to sustain the clean audit outcome recorded in the 2013/14 financial year by Treasury and improve the audit opinions of the provincial administration by increasing this number from only one. I am confident that we are on the right track in our contribution towards changing how Bokone Bophirima is perceived and the budget and performance targets set for 2015/16 re-affirms our commitment in this regard. Plans for 2015/16 Improved Audit Outcomes In order to improve the 2014/15 outcome, support will be intensified to focus on nine municipalities to achieving Unqualified Audit outcome. 7 Support to Village, Township and Small Dorpies (VTSD) Honourable Speaker, in support of the VTSD economies, the Bokone Bophirima Provincial Government (BBG) is committed to improve the delivery of services to our people through the ward based budget model. The macro-economic analysis programme will produce reports to the lowest level to assist with resource allocation in VTSD and monitor the implementation of the resources allocated in VTSD by providing regular reports on a monthly and quarterly basis on the socio-economic impact of this policy position. These reports would also be used as an early warning system and provide valuable advice to departments about the need to change the approach and plans if necessary for effective implementation of the policy pronouncements. Sustainable Resource Management Honourable Speaker, in order to improve the monitoring and reporting by Public Entities, all public entities will be required to submit a monthly In-Year Monitoring (IYM) and the Quarterly Performance Report (QPR) which would provide financial and non-financial performance information. Provincial Treasury will facilitate a process for the review of the Bokone Bophirima Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS) Framework. Notably, The IDMS Framework is a prerequisite for the Performance Based Incentive Grants allocation to Health and Education and provides guidelines on how the province intends to plan and implement infrastructure projects. This also serves as an important tool for proper planning and implementation of infrastructure projects. 8 Honourable Speaker, whilst the focus would be on protecting and ensuring sustained funding for Health and Education in terms of performance based incentive grants, Treasury would be working with other departments in the same way to improve planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting on infrastructure delivery. Reduction of Government Debt Owed To Municipalities Since the introduction of the “reduction of government debt” programme, the department has noted the need to substantially decrease the debt owed to municipalities by government departments. When the programme was introduced in September 2014 government departments accounted for R410 million or 6 % of the total municipal debtors book of R6,9 billion. It was important to start with this exercise in order to confirm the latest information and undertake the necessary determination of what is disputed and “not disputed” debt. As part of the programme, the current value of disputed debt is at R143 million and needs to be resolved by all parties by July 2015 as this is the close of the municipal fiscal year. In relation to undisputed amounts, to date about R38 million have been paid to municipalities. Whilst there is dispute resolution in progress, all state departments must settle current accounts within the prescribed 30 day period. The MFMA unit within the department will request monthly progress reports from municipalities for purposes of monitoring. Honourable Speaker, the department will continue with this important programme and as indicated before, in instances where the debt has been recognised and is undisputed, Treasury will effect payments directly to municipalities. 9 Shared Services Model - Appointment of Financial Experts Honourable Speaker, the Bokone Bophirima Government will implement the Shared Services Model as announced by Hon Maine in his departmental budget speech, the programme seeks to address the challenges that municipalities are facing by striking a balance between sound corporate governance, an enhanced control environment, effective risk management and service delivery. The Bokone Bophirima Premier’s Coordinating Council (BBPCC) has approved the implementation of the model and this model will be implemented from July 2015 under the guidance of FEED, LGHS and OOP. MEC Maine and I have agreed that for 2015/16, we will conduct joint MUNIMEC’s and our old Memorandum of Agreement will be reviewed. In an effort to curb the over reliance on consultants and to improve audit outcomes, support to municipalities will be intensified through the appointment of retired financial experts in 2015/2016. The public recruitment process has already commenced and the department is currently finalising selection and placement through the shared service model. The focus areas of the shared service model are as follows: budget management assets management, credit control and revenue collection, municipal financial assets and liability management, governance and performance management, supply chain management, risk management and internal audit. 10 Key deliverables of this programme would be skills transfer which constitute an integral part of contractual obligations in order to build capacity in the identified municipalities. Municipal Standard Charts of Account The implementation of the Municipal Standard Charts of Accounts (mSCoA) will be strengthened to ensure that all municipalities within the province are compliant by 1st July 2017. The mSCoA provides for alignment of spending and revenue collection based on classifications consistent with National and Provincial departments within the uniqueness of local government. Implementation of Financial Recovery Plans Honourable Speaker, the department will also assist all municipalities with the implementation of a financial recovery plan for improved revenue collection. These measures are intended to enable municipalities to honour their commitments. This will also assist municipalities to devise a plan to expand their current revenue sources in order to improve their financial viability. Honourable Speaker, the following local municipalities will be prioritised for asset management support: Kgetlengrivier, Moretele, Maquassi Hills, Ventersdorp, Greater Taung, Mamusa, Ditsobotla, Mahikeng, Tswaing, Ratlou, Ramotshere Moiloa and Kagisano Molopo. 11 Capacitating Departments and State Owned Entities Honourable Speaker, for improved financial management, the department will be rolling out the following programmes: Financial Improvement Programme, the objective is to reform financial management in departments and public entities. Furthermore the department has developed a Support Plan which should result in six (6) departments and two (2) public entities receiving a favourable audit outcome; Capacity Development Programmes are being developed to be implemented as part of Financial Management Improvement Interventions for provincial Chief Financial Officers, in line with the findings and recommendations of the Chief Financial Officers Skills Assessment Project; Financial systems support and training in BAS (Basic Accounting System), PERSAL, Asset Management, Budget Formulation & Analysis, SCoA (Standard Chart of Accounts) and Economic Reporting Format for managers and practitioners. Honourable Speaker, we will be extending the financial risk management audits which is currently instituted with PERSAL salary runs to BAS (Creditors Payment System), to detect possible fraudulent payment transactions with the sole objective of reducing the escalating salary bill of the provincial departments. To demonstrate governments commitment to cost containment measures, I am happy to announce that we have commenced with the “headcount” programme and to date three of the four districts of the Department of 12 Education and Sports Development have been covered and we will be concluding the last district before the end of this week. Honourable Speaker, what is encouraging and different about this initiative is that we are using departmental officials with no reliance on costly and expensive consultants. Departmental officials have been pulled from different directorates and I am looking forward to the joint implementation of the recommendations and this report will also serve before EXCO for implementation. Provincial Treasury will closely monitor the implementation of cost containment policies in the Provincial Departments and Entities. Special effort will be taken to provide assistance to the Provincial Departments to resolve and clear Unauthorised, Irregular and Fruitless expenditure. The cost reduction measures announced during the 2015 Provincial Budget Speech will also form part of the comprehensive cost containment programme of the current administration. In view of the ever increasing budget pressure in the departments of Education and Sports Development, Health and the department of Public Works and Roads which is also exacerbated by the perpetual challenge of accruals emanating from unpaid invoices from prior financial years. EXCO has resolved and directed Provincial Treasury to closely support and co-manage the financial affairs of these three departments with the view to restore sound financial management. For us to achieve the desired results, the implementation plans have been developed which respond to specific challenges in each department. The implementation plans focus on areas such as supply chain, financial and human resource management. 13 Honourable Speaker, I want to emphasise that, Provincial Treasury has not taken over the functions of these departments. The departments are expected to continue with the delivery of services under the leadership of their responsible MEC’s and Accounting Officers and as such, the intention of the co-management of financial responsibility does not in any way exonerate the said departments from executing their mandate. Honourable Speaker, I wish to put it on record that the principal objective of this assignment is to support and assist the three departments to restore their cash position and expenditure management. Provincial Internal Audit Key initiatives that will be pursued by the Provincial Internal Audit function during the 2015/16 financial year will include assurance assignments to audit and advise departments on the effectiveness and adequacy of departmental action plan systems with regard to external and internal audit and Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) findings. The system is important, not only for preventing repeat findings but also with regard to financial compliance and performance management in ensuring progress towards good governance, clean administration as well as enhancing our Provincial reputation in this regard. Centralized Supplier Database The National Treasury along with Provincial Treasury will be implementing Phase 1 of the National Central Supplier Database from August 2015. This database will ensure online self-registration for suppliers in the country. In this regard, through our outreach programmes, we would ensure that all SMME’s and Co-operatives are registered on the database. 14 This database will expose our SMME’s and Co-operatives to economic opportunities not only in the Province but throughout the entire country. Budget Allocation Honourable Speaker, to enable the department to achieve its annual performance targets, the following funding per programme is proposed: PROGRAMMES 2015/16 R ‘million 1. Administration 163, 155 2. Sustainable Resource Management 129, 116 3. Asset and Liabilities Management 47, 582 4. Financial Governance 146, 149 TOTAL BUDGET 486, 002 Honourable Speaker, only through prudent spending of the limited resources at our disposal, will we be able to radically transform the lives of our people. With this allocation and within the context of the VTSD, this budget will be an instrument to improve the lives of the marginalized and disadvantaged people of Bokone Bophirima. Honourable Speaker, having concluded budget proposals for Finance, allow me to present the budget proposal for Economy and Enterprise as part of Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development. Without repeating what I have said before, I need to emphasise a few points that have already been conveyed to this august house since the beginning of the debates on vote speeches. 15 Before I deal with the detailed plans for the 2015/16 financial year, I need to reflect on the “Back To Basics” approach which reminds me of an ANC statement captured in the 1994 RDP document; “small business development is a key strategy for economic advancement of historically disadvantaged individuals and communities”. As a province we are fully committed to growing a diversified and prosperous economy and the “Saamwerk-Saamtrek” philosophy compels us to work together to achieve the 6% growth rate. In order to achieve this, public private partnerships anchored on co-operatives and SMME’s are essential. As government, we are convinced that all stakeholders should embrace this bold and radical approach of transforming the socio-economic conditions of our province through villages, townships and small dorpies. Pursuant to the attainment of the developmental objectives as outlined in the National Development Plan, the Provincial Government extends an invitation to business and civil society to work together in the spirit of “Saamwerk – saamtrek” philosophy and not to undermine efforts of government by embarking on undemocratic tactics which encourage violence, disorder and infringement of individuals rights as enshrined in the constitution. Honourable Speaker, in order to achieve the NDP and provincial priorities, the department will focus its efforts and resource allocation to VTSD through the implementation of the following programmes: Cooperatives and SMME Development, Integrated Enterprise Development Services, Business Regulation as well as Trade and Sector Development. The 2015/16 budget allocation provides us with the opportunity to improve and better the performance of the 2014/15 financial year. In doing so, we need to evaluate the performance of the last financial year, which in the main was a 16 transitional period which would lead to the implementation of programmes informed by the 5th Administration. As part of the evaluation report the department will be further realigned to ensure efficient service delivery in line with the deliverables of this 5th Administration. I have also noted the following progress recorded which formed the basis for review and alignment to the radical programmes of the 5th Administration: 376 Cooperatives and Companies were registered through the department; 262 Annual Returns for Cooperatives and Companies were lodged; 181 SMMEs and Cooperatives were trained on new venture creation by FET colleges; There are 398 cooperatives that are active in the Province and the spread is broadly as follows: Bojanala District has 122 cooperatives; Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati has 67 cooperatives; Ngaka Modiri Molema has 140 cooperatives; Dr. Kenneth Kaunda has 69 cooperatives as per the departmental data. These are mainly in the Villages, Townships and Small Dorpies. The sectors are primary agriculture, manufacturing and services and in total 2140 job opportunities have been created. These records were updated and collated with the assistance of the Community Development Workers. 23 Information Workshops for SMMEs and Cooperatives were held; 74 Targeted groups of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities enterprises exposed through Flea markets, and equipment donated as part of interventions; Borobalo Diamond Cutting Project in Wolmaranstad is currently up and running and has created permanent jobs for 6 youth in the area and we will continue to support this project 17 The Provincial Stokvel Exhibition Bokone Bophirima 2015 was recently hosted with the aim of formalising relationships between various stokvel clubs; financial cooperatives and service providers; Successfully hosted the Provincial Small business and cooperatives summit on 30 March 2015. Approximately 700 delegates at the summit agreed with the Governments proposal of redirecting 60% of our procurable resources and efforts towards “village, township, and small dorpies through SMMEs and Cooperatives. The department successfully hosted the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Workshop in November 2015. Approximately 1500 youth were in attendance and were exposed to various opportunities by amongst others ESKOM, The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), the Agricultural Research Council, Brand SA, Nerpo, Taung Agricultural College, CETA, Shanduka Black Umbrellas, NEF, IDC, SEDA and SEFA to mention a few. Total number of liquor licensed premises as at the end of March 2015 in Bokone Bophirima were 6 348 and 2 999 of these being taverns; About 4 728 inspections were conducted and liquor business premises were inspected for compliance with the legislative requirement 267, contraventions were noted with fines amounting to R424 500,00 issued by SAPS; A total of 548 consumer complaints were resolved successfully resulting in R2.8 million returned to consumers in Province; Consumer Bill has been enacted and the implementation of the Bill will be rolled out in 2015/16 financial year; Conducted investigations into market practices in the remote rural areas as part of the Setsokotsane Programme, where unscrupulous businesses were found to be exploiting consumers especially pensioners who were cheated out of their grants. 18 Plans for 2015/16 NWDC Honourable Speaker, the NWDC has seen a turnaround in strategic focus. In line with the 5th Administration policy pronouncement, the NWDC has clear directives with regard to the following Key Performance Areas: Investment and establishment of PPP’s; SEZ Development, resuscitation of the Mahikeng Agro Processing SEZ and leverage on the investments already done through MIDZ; Co-operative and SMME Development In this regard the following RFP’s will be issued for potential investment: Establishment of a stationery factory; International Convention Centre in Mahikeng; 5 Star Hotel in Mahikeng; Government complex in Mahikeng; Green energy initiatives; The NWDC will also finalise the process of the appointment of a suitable candidate for the construction of the Itsoseng Shopping Centre. This will allow for the people of Itsoseng to be able to perform various economic activities within the economy as well as to stimulate employment creation. Furthermore, the process of establishing warehouses for Bulk purchases will be accelerated. This development will ease the burden on Tuck Shop and Hair Salon owners in doing business. Salon and Tuck Shops will be clustered together and encouraged to form cooperatives to realise the ideal of doing 19 business and reduce barriers to entry like single or individual mass capital outlay. Funding for SMME’s and cooperatives have been restructured at the NWDC and I want to encourage the public to apply for these funds ranging between R1000 – R1 million. Lessons from the past have indicated that stricter collection and management of the SMME fund needs to be put into place and this will be done as part of the 2015/16 programme and beyond. New applications will start on 01 June 2015 and young people are encouraged to participate. With continued economic development, social upliftment and sector growth at the helm of both the national and provincial development agenda, the NWDC has repositioned itself to implement projects in line with the provincial priorities (VTSD). The focus will be to create enterprise in villages, to open economic hubs in townships thus resuscitation of village, township and small dorpies. Honourable Speaker, the department has received a solid proposal from organised designers led by Mr Morahanye “TK” Leokaoke, he is amongst our guests today. The proposal focuses on creating an enabling environment where designers in our province could showcase their garments in malls and many other public platforms for commercial purposes This request to partner with government to assisting designers to become commercially is exactly what we will do. I have requested NWDC to work with organised designers and interact with TK as the project lead. I want to extend this call to all designers to support this initiative and make necessary inputs for the successful implementation of this programme. This year also marks the close out of a three year incubation commitment with Mr Rolance Molapisi who has ignited the province with the annual national 20 Drifting Competition. This 3 year investment and incubation has seen a talented young man rise to be an entrepreneur in an environment that was not transformed, this initiative has brought local investment and has also been a catalyst for tourism, Mr Molapisi also joins us here today. North West Gambling Board With regard to the North West Gambling Board, I am very proud to announce that in line with the vision of the gambling board to become the leading Gambling Board globally, the CEO – Mr. Fortune Sekgaphane has been elected 1 of the 14 trustees to the International Associates of Gambling Regulators in October 2014 as well as the Chairperson for the sub- committee on technology and illegal gambling at the Gaming Regulators of Africa Forum. Congratulations are in order. Honourable Speaker, the North West Gambling Board continues to make great strides and have managed to collect R105 million in revenue for the people of Bokone Bophirima. This is above the target set in 2014/15 of R98 million. The Gambling Board will in 2015/16 accelerate the fight against illegal gambling in the Province; this illegal industry is currently robbing our province of revenue that can be used to improve the quality of life of the people of our province. This year will also see the finalisation on the matter of the 5th Casino licence that must be re-allocated to the Province. In this regard, we have received a letter of intent from DTI and express our gratitude to Minister Davies and the department for the manner in which the matter is being addressed. 21 SMME’s and Co-operatives Development Honourable Speaker, Premier Mahumapelo stated that the “massive programme of cooperatives development intends to roll out as a transition from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to rather establish sustainable enterprises”. To this end, the following programmes would be implemented in support of the Premier’s pronouncements The Department in partnership with NWDC will roll out the establishment of four (4) alternative building material factories with one in each district. Beneficiaries of the current EPWP will participate on this program. The factories would be in Madibeng, Tswaing, Taung and Maquassi Hills; The department will establish textile industries in the four districts. Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and Bojanala District Municipality have been engaged and beneficiaries have been identified; In support of SMMEs and Cooperatives, the NWDC will establish 19 Enterprise Development Centres in all Local municipalities. Unused school buildings as well as NWDC offices will be utilised for this purpose. The department will implement a bakery program in all municipalities which will be linked to the National School Nutrition Program; To support our informal businesses the department will encourage hair salons and tuck-shop owners and new entrants in the industry to form cooperatives and consortiums for job creation. For 2015/16 financial year, one warehousing project would be implemented for this purpose and vacant school building will be used as part of this project; Taxi rank vendors will be encouraged to use the cooperatives model for the cost reduction through bulk purchasing as well as warehousing in all 22 municipalities, in phased approach with the first pilot this year. In addition to this, the Department will conduct a study of economic activities taking place at taxi ranks in the Province and the revenue cycle to further leverage on opportunities in the taxi rank economy as well to create an enabling environment for trade. The department will commission the incubation program for people living with disabilities in Phokeng village ward 5. This incubation centre will house the following three enterprises: clothing and textiles, electronics, furniture as well as upholstery. The Bakery project in Mokgalwaneng is in the process of being commissioned and will be launched in the next 3 weeks The Call Centre in Logagane village ward 2 will be operational in this financial year and the following entities have been identified to buy space as part of activating the call centre: North West Gambling Board; North West Development Corporation; Industrial Development Corporation; National Empowerment Fund; Detpartment of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development – environmental component; SEDA, SEFA and Provincial Supply Chain – registration of suppliers Roll-out of the Incubator support programme will be implemented for the purpose of training of emerging and existing enterprises. The department will leverage on private sector incubator initiatives to increase capacity. In partnership with Wholesale and Retail SETA we will be rolling out the informal sector instruments and the provision of financial incentives for the development of formal retail businesses; Resuscitation of the Mahikeng Special Economic Zone, this process will be led by NWDC and making use of the MIDZ infrastructure is important for this initiative. Discussions have already commenced with the Department of Trade and Industry, progress on the matter will be provided to the legislature 23 Business Regulation Honourable Speaker, as Government we are aware of the crime statistics, this requires Government to act decisively and boldly. Jointly with Community Safety and Transport Management, the department will be embarking on a massive awareness and law enforcement programme with the view of reducing incidents of crime as a result of alcohol abuse as well as enforcing legislation and liquor licence trading conditions. The following key initiatives will also be implemented in the 2015/16 financial year: Introduction of new trading license certificates with security features; Public education on the Consumer Act and the establishment of the Consumer Court; Budget Allocations Honourable Speaker, the total budget breakdown to support the implementation of key policy imperatives is as follows: Programmes Amount Administration Integrated Economic Development Services Trade and Sector Development Business Regulation and Governance Economic Planning R R R R R 77 228 56 203 45 778 70 931 4 956 TOTAL R255 096 Honourable Speaker, included in the R255 million allocation is an amount of R103 million or 40.67% of the budget that will be transferred to Public entities as follows: 24 Entities Amount North West Gambling Board North West Development Corporation R 52 661 000.00 R 51 103 000.00 TOTAL R103 764 000.00 From the goods and services budget of R41 million, 60% which translate to R24.6 million has been ring-fenced for VTSD procurement with emphasis on Co-operatives and SMME’s. Honourable Speaker, this is the Year of the Freedom Charter and with such recognition, we re-affirm the declaration which says, “All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.” In the re-affirmation of this declaration, consistent with the key message of government, we strongly condemn the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in our country and we agree with the “Saamwerk – Saamtrek” philosophy that as fellow Africans, we are one and that we can work together for the betterment of our country and the Province in particular. 25 I wish to conclude by the thanking: Our heavenly Father to whom I depend on for health, wisdom and a sound mind My beloved movement the ANC for the opportunity to serve the people of our province The Honourable Premier Mahumapelo for his visionary leadership My colleagues in the EXCO for working together in the spirit of “Saamwerk – saamtrek” The Honourable Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee for your support as well as the former Chairperson Hon Rosho and the new Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Elisha; Honourable members of this august house for being true to the principle of “accountability”; The Acting Head of Department, currently overseeing FEED and the staff in the department for their dedication; The Head of my office and dedicated staff My family for understanding servanthood Last but not least, the People of Bokone Bophirima for allowing us to lead Ke a Leboga Thank you Baie Dankie 26
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