Address by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms Sylvia Lucas on the occasion of the send-off Gala of Bursary Students in Renewable Energy to Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein 30 January 2014 at the Savoy Hotel in Kimberley.

Programme Director
The Executive Mayor of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Mr KD Molusi
Mr Gradwell, CEO of the EWSETA (Energy & Water)
Prof Vermaak, HOD of Electrical Engineering at CUT
Dr Barnes, Principal of NCUFET College
Mr Sago, Principal of our NCRFET College
Esteemed Guests
Government Officials
Bursary Recipients
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great pleasure for me to be here to offer you a warm send off as you are about to start your new and exciting journey to fulfil  your dreams and aspirations. This bursary provides you with the opportunity to realise your potential and hopefully make a better life for yourself and be able to pay back to the community.

Indeed, we are proud about your dedication and commitment to go and acquire much needed skills and come back to contribute to the development of our province in the renewal energy field.

Ladies and Gentlemen, all of you in receipt of the bursary are true examples of perseverance, devotion, enthusiasm, courage and leadership. Indeed, education is an indispensable part of life. Education is fundamental to how we think, function and make decisions in our lives. Equipping our students with the right skills and knowledge inculcates the desired values. It enables our students to have confidence, grit and determination to succeed.

To the bursary recipients, we extend our congratulations to you for being accepted by the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein for the Higher Certificate in Renewable Energy Technologies. All of you met the minimum entry requirements set by the university. This is a brand new programme and you constitute fifty percent of the first intake. I hope you sense that you are right in the middle of history.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the role-players who have come together to support this groundbreaking initiative which will go a long way to address our skills needs in the province.

Most importantly, we would also like to extend our thanks to the Urban and Rural FET Colleges and the (Energy and Water SETA) EWSETA for supporting this skills development programme.

We would like to particularly thank the (Energy and Water SETA) EWSETA, for the massive investment of R82 188 000.00 for green skills development. This is certainly a milestone development that will bolster the scarce skills for these new industries.

Programme Director, we gather here to witness the first South African group of bursary students to enrol for a full, South African developed and accredited qualification in renewable energy. South Africa requires a lot of skilled people to participate in the development of the economy and this intake will certainly make a major difference.

The Northern Cape is the leader when it comes to developments in renewable energy. It is the largest province in South Africa and offers creative investment opportunities in various thriving industries, including renewable energy. Renewable energy presents numerous exciting investment prospects including massive job creation opportunities. The province is actively investing in alternative sources of energy, specifically centred around solar energy, and is already engaged with Independent Power Producers.

Programme Director, this year marks the twentieth anniversary of our democracy. We know that our Freedom did not come cheaply. Lives were lost, families torn apart, fathers went missing, children were brutalised by the apartheid regime and, most fundamentally, the education of the black child was designed to be inferior so as to ensure he/she will never ascend to the commanding heights of companies, entrepreneurship or the economy. Gone are those days.

Now today, twenty years later, your selection bears testimony that our democracy has delivered. Your celebration of twenty years of freedom will not be hollow – you are the manifestation of a new dawn.

That dawn positions the black child equally in the skills development revolution so that if, and only if, you persevere and long after fulfilment and a better life, that dream can be realised , so that you can take your place at the table of medicine, engineering, actuarial science, finance, renewable energy, mining and entrepreneurship as an equal. But then we ought to work hard if we want to succeed against the odds.

Programme Director, Most of our learners was recruited by the Department of Social Development, through its War on Poverty programme. The programme included, amongst others, the Balilapa Profiling, which sought to map the existence of abject poverty by house, street, ward, township and town.

That study enabled this government to design evidence-based responses to alleviate poverty and unemployment. Once we knew who the poorest of the poor were, it became easier to target the right people for the right opportunities who can turn around the fortunes of entire household.

That person is called a change agent. If you were selected through that programme, your presence here is in no way inferior to that of your fellow students who were recruited differently. You are not receiving a hand-out. On the contrary, your bursary could only be awarded after your acceptance by the university.

I now wish to take this opportunity once again to personally thank the EWSETA for their unmatched investment into the future of the youth of this province. Your commitment will position our youth to exploit the opportunities in their own towns.

To the chairperson of the board, Mr Zokwana, and its CEO here present, Mr. Gradwell, we record in public our indebtedness to you as a province who must now repay your trust by delivering comprehensive and marketable green skills in a short space of time and, equally important, leave no stone unturned in lobbying hard for the placement of all the beneficiaries into sustainable jobs.

I also extend our appreciation to CUT for developing the qualification and thereby responding to government’s call for academia to be responsive to industry needs. We note especially the work by Mr Raath who went the extra mile in assisting with the applications and supporting our endeavour.

I thank the two principals, Dr Barnes and Mr Sago, the two individuals tasked with leading the seamless implementation of this massive project. They, together with their respective officials have thus far made us proud.

In conclusion, dear students, the investment into your future worth R75 000.00 is no small matter which will cover tuition, books transport, accommodation and pocket money.

Your government has delivered. CUT has opened the doors. Help us to come back here next year this time where the difference at the Gala will be the fact that you are dressed in cloaks.

When the temptation comes in Bloemfontein for excessive fun, remember your future is on the line and the fortunes of the people you love and trapped in poverty are at stake.

Go and make us proud.

I Thank You