Joel Netshitenzhe
Speech: Launch of the Tombo Multi-purpose Community Centre
9 December 1999
During apartheid when we talked about power we were talking about freedom of expression, about resistance and challenging the government of the day. Now we are talking about power to build, about reconstruction and development.
The structure that I come from is called Government Communication and Information System. It operates from the President’s Office, and we bring you the words of congratulations from the government.
The play that we’ve just seen shows the power of information. Information is power, and it can even be a matter of life and death. Information about how to prevent AIDS is a matter of life and death; and this is what this Centre is about.
The Centre is to ensure that the government brings information about its policies, about its actions and about the rights of women, men and youth. The Centre will bring information about job opportunities; about training people how to get protection from diseases, how to get bursaries, how to get pensions, birth certificates, etc.
Without
information even if
we vote in the elections
we’ll remain
outside the process
of government - we
would be like orphans.
But
this Centre is not
only about you receiving
information from government;
it’s also about
you telling government
what it is that you
want. President Thabo
Mbeki wishes to know
what your views are:
whether we are doing
the right thing as
government; and what
the priorities should
be in this province.
You
must also remember
that the people who
will be working in
this Centre are your
servants - not your
bosses. They are being
paid from your money,
from taxes, in order
to serve you.
One
of the principles
of the government
is about people’s
participation. The
process that led to
the building of this
centre reflects that.
Together we joined
hands to select the
location of the centre
and to identify the
services that were
required.
And
together as a community
you put pressure that
telephones should
be delivered, that
electricity should
come soon, and that
many other services
that you need should
be provided. This
is what this Tombo
Government Centre
is also about: to
help speed up the
process of delivering
social services.
Now
we can press the button
and send faxes to
every part of the
world; we can press
buttons for all kinds
of things we need,
including ID’s
and passports. This
is what the Tombo
Centre is about: for
us to use the latest
technology so that
this technology does
not only belong to
people who are in
the big cities or
in countries in Europe
and the Americas.
But
this Centre will succeed
only if we protect
it, if we guard it,
if we secure the equipment
to ensure that thieves
do not steal it.
We
have got in our delegation
some communication
officers from other
provinces like KwaZulu-Natal
and Mpumalanga because
they have come to
learn from you how
centres like this
can be built. Last
week, the Cabinet
agreed that we must
build 55 such centres
in each district of
the country.
These
Government Centres
are an expression
of people’s power;
they are an expression
of people’s government.
And all of us will
learn from your example
- so at the end of
the day, we can say
with confidence:>
Viva
the Tombo Centre Viva.
Joel
Netshitenzhe
CEO, GCIS
Issued by Government
Communication and
Information System
(GCIS)
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