Welcome remarks by the Acting Premier of the Northern Cape Province, MS GRIZELDA CJIEKELLA on the occation of the visit by the Deputy President of South Africa, his excellency, MR KGALEMA MOTLANTHE, to the Siyancuma Municipality on Saturday, 11 AUGUST 2012

His Excellency, The Deputy President of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe
Mr Collins Chabane, Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and Administration in the Presidency
Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
Ms Dipuo Peters, Minister of Energy
Ms Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth Children and People with Disabilities
Mr Godfrey Oliphant, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources
Mr Marius Fransman, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
Mr Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency
Members of the Executive Council
The Executive Mayor of Pixley-Ka-Seme District Municipality, Mr John Lolwana
The Mayor of Siyancuma Local Municipality, Ms Lorraine Oliphant
The Leadership of other Municipalities in the Northern Cape and Councillors
The Director-General of the Northern Cape Provincial Government, Advocate Justice Bekebeke and officials from all three spheres of government
The Community of Douglas
Representatives of Faith Based Organisations
Representatives of Youth Formations
Heads of the Business Community
Members of the Media Fraternity
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen


Good morning, everybody. It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you, officially, to this important and seemingly mini-IGR Meeting. Let me also extend my sincere gratitude to the Deputy President of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, and his entire delegation. We welcome each and every one of you.

Indeed, Mr. Deputy President, it is our genuine belief that your visit will bolster our efforts to enhance service delivery to our communities as well as intensify our collective war against poverty.

We are also confident that the programme, as outlined for the day and the interactions with the community, will have a meaningful impact towards the eradication of poverty and unemployment, thereby bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Ladies and Gentlemen, employment creation and the fight against poverty and inequality continue to be the most pressing development challenges in the country and in our home Province. These challenges require concerted action at all levels if they are to be overcome.

Our country must unite in the war against poverty, hunger, homelessness and under-development, by ensuring that these programmes are sustainable.

Therefore, our most effective weapon in the campaign against poverty is the creation of decent work, and creating work requires faster economic growth.

Addressing unemployment, especially amongst our youth, is central towards attaining social and economic stability, including the attainment of internationally-agreed poverty reduction targets as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals.

Rising unemployment, particularly among young people, has become a focal challenge for many countries across the world, including South Africa. Youth unemployment rates in some countries, particularly some developing countries, are as high as 50 per cent and have risen rapidly in advanced economies such as Spain and Ireland.

We can indeed ask: What is the meaning of South Africa’s economic growth for the young people if such growth is not translated into concrete opportunities in the labour market? Recent events worldwide are an important reminder of why employment and, more importantly, youth employment, should be at the centre of our country’s development agenda.

Together, we can do more to address the challenge of unemployment in general and youth unemployment in particular.

There is much work to be done, so let us put our shoulders to the wheel so that collectively, we can introduce meaningful changes that are both relevant and positive to our times, for the advancement of our country and the greater good of the people of our communities, particularly our children.

I Thank You