February 3, 2006
By Lucky Sindane
TELEVISION sets were on in the City council this morning as Speaker Nandi Mayathula-Khoza and some of Joburg's ward councillors took time off from their busy schedules, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat back to watch President Thabo Mbeki deliver his State of the Nation speech.
A big screen was set up next to the council chambers so that the councillors could view the much-anticipated speech, opening the 2006 sitting of parliament.
Councillors started gathering about 11am, with technicians still busy trying to set up the screen – and there was some panic that it would not be ready in time.
Then silence descended on the room as the president began to speak. During his speech, Mbeki raised a few issues of interest to the local government representatives.
Speaking about the expectations of the people of South Africa, Mbeki said the government should:
- move faster to deal with the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation and ensure the poor shared in the growing prosperity;
- work towards achieving higher levels of economic growth and development of at least 6 percent a year;
- sustain and improve the effectiveness of social development programmes;
- improve safety and security, the functioning of the courts and increase conviction rates "to strengthen the message that crime does not pay";
- ensure the machinery of government, especially at local government level, discharges its responsibilities effectively and efficiently, "honouring the precepts of Batho Pele"; and
- harness the Proudly South African spirit to build the strongest possible partnership between all sections of our population to realise a better life for all.
The president also referred to the local government elections on 1 March, saying that after the elections "all three spheres of government will continue working together to ensure each and every district and metro municipality is properly positioned to discharge its responsibility to the people".
"In particular, this will mean that each of these municipalities has a realistic Integrated Development Plan, a credible Local Economic Development Programme and the material and human resources, as well as the management and operational systems, to implement these IDPs and LEDs," Mbeki said.
Councillors clapped when the president commented on Bafana Bafana's dismal performance at the 2006 African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Egypt. Bafana Bafana failed to progress to the knock out stages, losing all three of its matches and failing to score a single goal.
"I am afraid that our performance in the current African Cup of Nations in Egypt did nothing to advertise our strengths as a winning nation. However, starting today, the nation must bend every effort to ensure that we meet all the expectations of Fifa and the world of soccer, so that we host the best Soccer World Cup ever," he said.
"Simultaneously as we work together to restore the sport of soccer in our country to full health, and prepare a winning national team, we must ensure that we work full steam ahead to get everything else ready for a successful Soccer World Cup.
"This will encompass the stadia, broadcast facilities, including high-definition television, the necessary transport and hospitality infrastructure, safety and security, popular support for soccer and the World Cup, and selfless dedication by the local organisers of the tournament."
Joburg will be playing a crucial role in the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with many of the key facilities based around the city, including the FNB and Ellis Park stadiums.
At the end of the speech, ward councillor Joe Nemaungani said he was impressed with what the president had said. He pointed out that much of the policies and infrastructures were in place. "The only thing we need to do is to implement them."
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