Despite diverse political party affiliations, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, believes it is crucial to combine strengths to achieve the strategic goals set out in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Opening of Parliament Address (OPA), last week.
The goals include promoting inclusive growth and job creation, alleviating poverty, addressing the high cost of living, and establishing a capable, ethical, and progressive State.
‘These are too significant to be achieved in isolation. We must complement each other and recognise collaboration as the key to our success,’ he told Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Deputy President was speaking in Parliament where the Presidency was outlining its 2024/25 Budget Vote. His address also follows the May General Elections and the establishment of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in the seventh administration.
‘We should use our diverse political ideas to improve our country’s course,’ he said on Tuesday.
He told the House that their actions must be motivated by the need to
better people’s lives and not by political desires.
‘Whatever we do as members of this seventh Parliament must benefit the people. We must live up to our commitment to serve.’
The country’s second-in-command said the Presidency was committed to supporting and fulfilling its obligations as outlined in the Statement of Intent and the Medium-Term Development Plan.
‘As the centre of government, we will ensure broad representations and a solid mandate to govern the country, fostering increased transparency, accountability and trust in a people-driven governance.’
The Presidency would continue to play an essential role in bringing about significant reforms over the next five years and beyond.
‘We will always act as the compass for our nation, leading the agenda to create an even more equitable, democratic, and prosperous South Africa.’
Programmes of action
Some of the responsibilities that fall under the Deputy President include accelerating land reform, improving service delivery and assisting in the Distri
ct Development Model (DDM) roll out.
His other tasks also involve championing social policy through the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and Human Resources Development Council (HRDC), social cohesion and initiatives focusing on traditional and Khoi-San leaders and military veterans, as well as leading the Water Task Team.
‘The Presidency is prioritising the need to improve the speed of execution and introducing the discipline of getting things done,’ he explained.
Government is also determined to strengthen partnerships with local communities, including traditional leaders, government and community organisations.
Working with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), he said the Presidency will provide stability to municipalities.
In addition, work is being done to expedite the much-needed turnaround in service delivery in this sector.
‘We will assess the progress and commitments made during Presidential Izimbizo, and further engage the private sector to impro
ve the implementation of the agreed-upon tasks in the various social compacts. More importantly, we want to continue working with the private sector to create jobs, especially for the marginalised youth.’
He committed to supporting the Department of Basic Education’s reading campaign to promote a reading culture in schools and communities, ensuring that children can read for meaning.
The Deputy President told the MPs that South Africa remains determined to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
As of February 2024, he said over 5.9 million people were under treatment, and over 4.3 million had their viral load reduced.
Meanwhile, he said government must work around the clock to find ‘missing’ people with TB as part of implementing the National TB Recovery Plan.
Shifting his focus to land reform, he said it continues to be a top priority and a key programmatic response to achieving restorative justice and transforming colonial and apartheid spatial planning.
‘We will continue to fast-track the land reform agenda rega
rding access and beneficial land use.’
He also touched on the payment of a pension benefit for qualifying military veterans.
In March this year, the Department of Military Veterans contracted the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) to process applications for the new pension benefits and said the target for the current financial year is to process 4 000 applications.
Source: South African Government News Agency