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Speech by Premier at the Official opening of the FHIG building
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 EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
SPEECH BY PREMIER STOFILE:
 ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE NEW FHIG BUILDING
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE  BISHO CAMPUS
ON 8 DECEMBER 2000



Theme: Training for Success: Empowerment for Excellence

The Vice Chancellor, Prof Derrick Swartz
 MECs present here
 Dr Wim Hoppers from the Royal Netherlands Embassy
 Members of the University Community
 Members representing the institutions of Higher Learning
 Honourable guests
 Ladies and Gentlemen

I greet you all as we usher in the dawn of our developmental and democratic local government. You have already been welcome to the 
University but I have to welcome you to our Capital.Also a warm welcome for those coming from outside the beautiful Province of the Eastern 
Cape.

This official opening occurs just after we have had a success local government election to complete the transformation and democratisation 
of the State in South Africa. You will all remember that until these elections we had a transitional arrangement at the local sphere of 
government.

Our president has repeatedly emphasised that the time for making policy and the time for endless planning is over. He has challenged us all 
to be sensitized to the priority of delivering the services to those who need them. We have a mandate from the people who elected this 
government to office to deliver services such as housing, water and sanitation, better health care facilities, schools, roads and 
employment creation, to name a few. The ushering in of the democratic local government opens the door for that implementation and for the 
acceleration of change and development. We have consistently said that Local Government in the cutting edge of service delivery to our 
people. This institution has a big role to play in that.

The principle of world class public service delivery espoused in Batho Pele requires a pool of public service cadres who are committed to 
the values of transformation, good governance, democracy and quality service delivery. Yet, these ebullient and congenial terms become 
meaningless if they are not fully understood and are not well integrated into the knowledge base of the public sector personnel. This is 
why the role of those charged with updating and enhancing the skills of the public servants becomes critical. The trainers of public sector 
personnel need not only understand, but should espouse this political mandate. The capacity to deliver hinges on requisite skills in all 
the spheres of government.

Because of the legacy of apartheid, public service employees in our country bring with them an uneven range of skills. Our people are faced 
with serving the public and delivering on a diverse range of government policies, while their formal training and experiential learning 
lack the ethos of genuine involvement in decision-making processes. In other words, most public service employees often lack the empowering 
training that is the norm in developed countries.

This places a challenge on FHIG and all institutions of higher learning as they have to fully address such immense inequities resulting 
from apartheid education. Their challenge is to address problems of capacity in a manner that is objective-oriented and well integrated. As 
we go through the process of determining the shapes and sizes of these institutions we have to bear that in mind.

Let me share with you what I consider to be priorities for educators of public servants in terms of the political mandate, the contents of 
the training and the impact of training on transformation, good governance and effective service delivery:

These are:

1.Firstly, the ability of training departments to search out, and nurture Strategic Leaders in the Public service

The role of trainers, be they in government or representing the institutions of higher learning, is to understand and fully appreciate the 
role of leadership in our fledgling democracy. While the public sector employs thousands of personnel in responsible managerial positions, 
it has to be accepted that not all these managers can develop to be strategic leaders. By strategic leaders, ladies and gentlemen, I mean 
visionaries, the people who are able to guide and influence the function and impact of government by the decisions they take and by the way 
they lead those under their supervision. It is important to understand in this regard that these visionaries should not only be located in 
senior management echelons or in central national government. These people are at different levels of the public sector, in national 
government departments as well as in provincial administrations and the local sphere of government. They have very critical roles to play 
in Provincial and other spheres of government whose central role is to translate national government policies into realizable, 
implementable goals. The training institutions should work hand-in-hand with management in different spheres of government in identifying 
and capacitating these world class leaders in the public service.

The national Minister for Public Service and Administration and the President have repeatedly emphasised the importance of strategic 
leadership development in the achievement of our national objectives.

Strategic leaders have been described as those leaders in the public service who are able:

* to recognise macro-issues and are able to integrate these in the implementation of their departmental plans
* to ensure that strategy is translated into action
* to manage resources effectively
* to inspire their colleagues with the vision of our government of achieving world class public service standards
* and more, importantly to uphold the public service ethics

If training can achieve most of the above, we will well be on our way to the realisation of our fundamental goal, the betterment of the 
quality of life for all.

2.Secondly, Sensitization of the Public Sector Employees to the Values of Efficient Service Delivery for advancing the human rights 
entailed in our constitution. This is what ladies and gentlemen, I would regard as training for empowerment. All of us, throughout our 
schooling lives and in a variety of work situations, have been exposed to a range of training and capacity-building initiatives. Needless 
to say, not all of these experiences of learning have stayed with us. Only a few of these are etched in our psyches in a way that is 
profound and life-changing. We want to encourage, and even challenge, the training divisions and schools of governance and public 
management to come up with packages for human capital development which impact powerfully on our public sector employees. Training should 
impact fundamentally to their view of public service duties and the way in which they serve. It should continuously remind them that public 
service entails public trust, and they should therefore offer a service which says to the members of the public: we are your servants, we 
understand your needs, we are here to serve you, your satisfaction is important to our government.

3.Thirdly, training should Prioritise Local Government and other Delivery Sectors as agents of our democracy that are closer to the people. 
Local Government as you all know, is the cornerstone of good governance and popular participation in our country. It is important that this 
sphere of government is strengthened to harness those delivery sectors such as welfare, education, and health to serve their communities. 
To a member of the public, it does not matter whether those they deal with are the elected members of government or are public sector 
officials. To them what is critical is the service that is friendly, efficient and accessible. I urge you all to think creatively about the 
impact of good service delivery to the lives of ordinary people, especially the rural poor, women, the disabled and other often 
marginalised sectors of our communities to whom that ONE contact with the servant of government may mean a difference between hopelessness 
in our system of government and a positive feeling about the future of our country.

Fourthly, the Prioritisation of training and support needs of women in the public sector. Our government prides itself for its evident and 
deliberate efforts of promoting gender equality within the public service. But we still have a long way to go. We have a long way to go 
both in terms of actual representation in numbers, as well as with regards to creating conditions for women civil servants to thrive within 
the service and to increasingly take up challenges and positions which are still largely occupied by men. It is a great tribute to the 
women of our country that so many of them are making headways and are having a real impact in the positions which they occupy. We should 
not, however, be blind to the pressures at work and in their homes and communities, which your women colleagues bring to the jobs and often 
do their best to push aside for the sake of performing to the highest standards required of them. I challenge the Institute to think 
creatively and honestly about ways of empowering women civil servants to take bolder steps in seizing opportunities which our democracy has 
put within their reach.

5.Finally, the Fort Hare Institute of Government should realise the critical role they have in promoting the proper Code of Conduct for 
public service employees. Ingrained and built into all training and other human resource development initiatives should be a continuous 
sensitization of employees to the values of equanimity and transparency in public service. All training should emphasise that employees 
live and practice the values espoused in the Code of Conduct for public servants, these are as follows:

* maintenance of professional decorum in their dealings with the Legislature and the Executive
* impartiality, fairness and respect in their dealings with the public
* cooperation, mutual help and integrity in their relationships with one another
* integrity in the performance of their duties, evidenced by their honesty, efficiency, accountability, transparency and a willingness to 
fight corruption
* to uphold the principles and values related to personal conduct and private interests. In this respect they should be given guidelines to 
deal with bribery and fraudulent practices they encounter in the performance of their duties.

STRATEGIES AND PARTNERSHIPS

It is important for all institutions of higher learning and FHIG in particular to realise their obligation to work in partnerships to 
achieve the above so that they can deliver innovative, well-coordinated human resource development packages. The following are useful to 
consider:

* First, it is crucial to understand and work in unison with development cooperation agencies based in our provinces for purposes both of 
sustainability and knowledge transfer.
* Second, the areas of expertise of different institutions of higher learning in our country should be sought and harnessed. You all have a 
responsibility of engaging policy, conducting research and training. I challenge you to make strides and contribute visibly to the 
direction of our government.
* Third, the business sector of our country has indicated their willingness to work alongside government in promoting the goals of good 
governance and service delivery. They should put their money where their mouths are. They have a stake in the sustenance and survival of 
democracy. As institutions you have a responsibility of bringing them on board.
* Finally, the non-governmental organisations are central at the level of delivery because they are in touch with the needs of people. 
Where possible we should join hands with them so that we are in tune with the needs of the people, particularly the rural poor.

THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT (SDA)

The extension of this institution comes at a critical time when the managers of training have real opportunities and resources to realise 
their goals. Training has often been sidelined by departments who seemingly have other important pressures on their annual budgets. 
However, this new Act enjoins departments to budget carefully and deliberately for skills development of their personnel. The realisation 
of the intentions of this legislation, however, depends very much on your willingness and ability to seize opportunities and access these 
resources to enhance the skills base of our employees.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion may I remind you that excellence cannot be divorced from exemplary, visionary and decisive leadership. Let this be a guiding 
principle for all training, and indeed, a way of doing things for all of us charged with the trust of serving the public. It was not by 
accident that FHIG was placed next to the headquarters of the government of the Eastern Cape. It was aimed at ensuring that you are of 
service to the civil service. This official opening is a culmination of a process we have been directly involved in. The extension to 
buildings should be accompanied by an extension to the services you render and an improvement in the quality thereof in order to achieve 
the excellence we dream of.

I congratulate you on this development and appreciate the contribution made by our partner countries like the Netherlands. I wish you all 
success in your future ventures.

May we all have a Happy Christmas and prosperous beginning to the millenium.Arrive Alive!

I thank you.

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