10 February 2001
Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Peter Maluleka;
Chief Magistrate of Pretoria, Mr. Heinrich Wilhelm Moldenhouer;
Exceutive Mayor of Pretoria, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa;
Councillors;
Distinguished Guests;
People of Tshwane,
The first time I came to Pretoria, some 40 years ago, was when I came to attend the treason trial of our leaders in Pretoria. I arrived by train very early in the morning. I nearly turned back after having walked through the streets of Pretoria because I did not see one black face. It seemed like the streets were reserved for whites. Older people among you may remember that there was a street in the city known as "kaffir street" because that was the place where you could see black people around. But the streets I was walking in that day were definitely not "kaffir street". But today we are not in "kaffir street". It is good that Oom Paul is here with us today because black and white together we must build the new South Africa.
We meet here today to welcome our new councillors of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, the members of the mayoral executive committee, and especially to welcome the new mayor of Tshwane, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa.
I am confident that we have in Father Mkhatshwa a leader who is deeply committed to a system of local government that is a servant of the people, one who is willing to devote all his time to the promotion of the welfare of the people of Tshwane.
As we gather here for the inauguration of the new mayor, we are also celebrating our homecoming as the people of this city. Through the establishment of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, we can begin to grow towards becoming one people of one city. We are taking our first steps towards integrated development, to promote the goals of a people-centred society and a caring community.
Today, a new era begins for the people of Pretoria.
Together we should vow to unite all our people, so that they are no longer divided by the apartheid barriers of the past, which prevented our people, both black and white, from becoming one. Our new system of local government comes about through an integrated approach to governance not simply at local level, but also through the integration of the three tiers of our system of co-operative governance, so that all our representatives work together at local, provincial and national levels for the benefit of the people.
It is only in this way that we can speed up the delivery of services and improve the quality of life of all our people to ensure that sustainable development takes place, so that, for instance, matters of health, of education, of economic development are not regarded as separate issues, but as integral parts of a whole, all of which are necessary for the genuine empowerment and true progress of the people of this city.
We are hoping that through the hard work of the new council in partnership with the people of this city, Tshwane will make the necessary progress.
The provision of free basic amounts of electricity and water to our people will alleviate the plight of the poorest among us while plans for the stimulation of the local economy should lead to the creation of new jobs and the reduction of poverty.
True to the idea that the people shall govern, the people of Tshwane will have to strengthen their own involvement in all matters of local governance, ensuring that they are in regular contact with their local representatives.
In turn, our elected representatives will have to make every effort to maintain close contact with their constituencies and that they act in a manner focused on serving the people they represent. The establishment of ward committees will open a continuous dialogue between the government and the people, so that the needs of the people become the determining factor in how service delivery happens.
The effective functioning of our new municipal council will also depend on effective management and administrative competence as well as a collective will within the council to work for progressive change.
The challenge facing all our councillors is how to provide a better life for the people of this city within the broader context of growth and development.
In this way, we are also asking of our councillors to be new persons with unwavering commitment and to act together to be a conscious force of transformation. We call on them to be very firm in the commitment to fight corruption so that Tshwane should occupy pride of place as the cleanest and most honest municipality in our country.
This is very important because it is the capital city and the seat of our government. We do not ever want it said that the capital city is associated with corruption. As we said yesterday, some of the outgoing councils are to be investigated where there have been reports of corruption and if these are found to be true, we will arrest those people.
Our council must be able to deal with the issues at hand, to ensure that the disadvantaged areas are declared priorities and receive major attention as a result.
The success of this council will depend upon every individual commitment and our collective contribution in modernising and humanising our environment and in creating a healthy climate in which all our children can develop and mature into responsible citizens in this modern world.
Together, we will also have to work hard to end the crime in the city which denies the people their safety and security. The South African Police service and the provincial and national governments are determined to work with the Metropolitan Council to ensure that we are no longer terrorised by the criminals.
Some of the crime being seen in Pretoria over the last few weeks is not just crime. It is being perpetrated by people who seek to discredit our democracy. The police are working very hard to catch them and when they do, many will be surprised to discover who is involved.
We must ask ourselves what it means to be a citizen of this city and what does it mean to be a child in this city, in this country, in a competitive and globalised world. How should we ensure that the youth of this city acquire the necessary skills that enable them to progress in a new reality.
How do we go about instilling pride in what we do and how we carry out our tasks, so that we have a proud, confident people with civic pride. All of us must take responsibility. We should not allow people to throw dirt in the streets. When we see people throwing plastic bags or any other rubbish in the street, we should tell them to pick it up and throw it in the dustbin.
Let this city be an expression of our creativity.
Let this city be the place where we construct our dreams, a beacon of hope.
Together, let us work, so that this city begins to express our hopes, dreams and the new joys that we will experience as a new people.
As we turn our backs on the apartheid past, we look forward with confidence to this future of hope, good health and happiness for all the people of Tshwane.
We congratulate Father Mkhatshwa and wish him and all his colleagues on the Metropolitan Council success in their work of building a new, non-racial, peaceful and prosperous City of Tshwane.
I thank you.