Minister
Essop Pahad
Address:
GCIS budget vote, National Assembly
11 May 2001
Madam Speaker;
Honourable Members.
It gives me great pleasure to rise
and present to the house the GCIS Budget Vote. For an organisation,
which was formally launched a mere three years ago, on 18 May 1998,
it has notched up some significant advances. While highlighting
GCIS’ several achievements it is important to bear in mind
the several key challenges faced by this body and some of the areas
it will be attending to in the 2001/2002 financial year.
At the beginning of this year the President
in his State of the Nation Address called on South Africans to unite
in our active commitment to achieving change. Today there can be
no doubt that this country faces several challenges through which
it can either emerge as a united nation or persist in the legacy
of a country of two nations.
In the past year GCIS has been involved
in several initiatives to give expression to this government’s
commitment to achieving national unity. This is in stark contrast
to the divisive and destructive efforts in the communications sphere
by the apartheid regime, which achieved national disunity.
Our recently designed Coat of Arms
is an eloquent manifestation of this democratic approach to communication.
In crafting it we sought not only to dig into the deepest recesses
of this land’s history but also dignified it with elements
from the various tributaries which make up this great nation, South
Africa.
The National Conference on Racism,
where the organising theme was a ‘Nation in Dialogue’,
was aimed at galvanising all sectors of South African society into
a thoughtful conversation on the scourge of racism, which still
stalks our beautiful land.
In mentioning the GCIS’ role in
the international marketing of our country in my address last year
I pointed out that it is a matter of critical importance that we
join hands as South Africans to promote our country abroad. This
is an issue about our self-esteem as a people. It is about our national
identity; it is about our pride as South Africans.
Most of the trends reported in surveys
indicate that there is a growing appreciation of the gains of our
transition to democracy. Furthermore, there is confidence in this
government to bring about a better life for all. But to see this
transition through, to consolidate this fragile democracy, we need
a nation, which has been able to overcome its historic fault-lines.
Ours is not a unique challenge. As
the former Prime Minister of Piedmont remarked after the unification
of Italy:
"We have made Italy; now
we must make Italians."
Now that we have a democratic South
African state, we must all become South Africans, proud citizens
of a South Africa, which revels in its multiplicity of identities
and yet seeks to connect with its African core and destiny. Our
very diversity is our strength.
We want a South Africa in which society
celebrates the unique attributes that it is blessed with; a South
Africa in which the overarching identity of its people derives from
the critical things that together we hold dear. In my view, among
the symbols of our unity should be the institutions that are provided
for in the Constitution, including the bodies of state charged with
the regulation of national affairs.
We expect here not blind loyalty to
government, but a deep commitment to the Constitution of this land
and the terms of the settlement, which helped us, achieve this Constitution.
This government’s vision is a profoundly modern one –
the creation of a modern state on the basis of a common commitment
to build a better life for all.
In essence then, this year has to mark
the strengthening of the millions of threads which make us South
African; the deepening of our democracy through the strengthening
of the political institutions which guarantee our basic rights;
greater commitment to the Constitution which is the foundation stone
of our democracy; and the desire to let our pride as South Africans
shine through for the world to see. The government, the opposition,
the public at large and the media all have important roles to play
in this endeavour.
In our Budget Vote last year we expressed
appreciation of the commitment made by the SA National Editors Forum
(SANEF) to engage the outcome of the Human Rights Commission (HRC)
hearings into racism in the media. The HRC entrusted SANEF and the
managers of media institutions to address these issues as part of
transforming the media into a more professional corps, worthy of
the title of Fourth Estate.
We are pleased to note that SANEF has
already held several workshops with the HRC to take this process
forward. We take note of SANEF’s intentions to revise the guidelines
for the office of the Press Ombudsman. We trust that those who are
to be the primary beneficiaries of such an office – the public
– will be empowered to make better use of it.
As this process gathers momentum, it
should become possible for us to transcend the trappings of innuendo
and sensationalism, and together to blaze a new trail, under conditions
of democracy, towards rational debate, criticism that enriches and
discourse inspired by the central injunction to build a better life
for all.
I am reminded here of a comment made
by the respected American journalist Richard Reeves who, in his
book "What the people know: freedom and the press", said:
"We took down politicians
and politics without pausing to think that maybe we would be
down with them. If we are in decline, it is because we have
fallen into the trap of ignoring what government does and focusing
on what it has done wrong".
South Africa may not yet have reached
those depths: but we must be vigilant; and constantly ask ourselves
the question whether what we do in all areas of endeavour, including
the media, is driven by the desire to provide a public service,
to build a better South Africa!
In this context I express my appreciation
to those eminent African business people and professionals who took
out an advertisement in the Sunday Times of May 6, 2001. Allow me
to quote extracts from that statement.
"So vicious, so underhand
and so sustained have the attacks on him been that even fair-minded
patriotic whites have started asking serious questions about
the motive behind these attacks.
We have full confidence in our
President. He is intelligent, circumspect and passionate about
the condition of our people and our future. We respect his leadership
qualities. Yet he is human and therefore will sometimes behave
as such. Where he stumbles we will hold out a hand. Where he
errs, we will criticize and caution, sometimes publicly and
sometimes privately, always however from a deep love for our
country and people. Under his leadership we have the best government
this country has ever had. He deserves acknowledgement and support."
Madam Speaker;
We raise all these issues in order
to underline the critical challenge for all of us to build national
consensus around issues that really matter. At the centre of GCIS’
mandate is the task of ensuring that South Africans join hands in
changing their lives for the better.
The objective of ensuring that all
our people, including the poor, have access to information that
will make them active participants in the process of change is one
that has inspired our work in the past three years. In this regard,
a number of critical steps have been taken to improve government
communication. But we would be misleading this House if we were
to pretend that we were anywhere near the accomplishment of this
objective.
A government communication system should
have a corps of professional communicators, in all departments and
all spheres, capable of ensuring that the message of government,
the message of fundamental change, reaches all the people and galvanises
them into action. Systems to ensure training and a common methodology
across government have been put in place. But much, much more needs
to be done to ensure professionalism in planning and execution.
A government communication system should
reflect, in its day-to-day operations, integration and consistency
in the content of its messages and creativity of their delivery.
Through inter-departmental and other structures, joint planning
and implementation have started to find concrete expression. But
we would not be true to our profession, if we do not continually
strive for the level of integration that is way ahead of what has
been achieved in the areas of policy planning and implementation.
A government communication system should
make its presence felt in all areas of policy discourse across the
nation – so that the thinking, the decisions and the practical
work of the nation’s elected representatives are fully appreciated
by society as a whole. Strategies and practical programmes in this
regard have improved over the years, creating better possibilities
for pro-active interventions and the necessary rapid response capacities.
But too many of our people are compelled to rely on sensation, innuendo
and sound-bites as a basis of knowledge on critical social issues.
In brief, Honourable Members, we have
started on the journey towards an effective government communication
system – but the road ahead is still long, and negotiating
its torturous bends will require even greater determination and
effort on the part of all communicators.
Central among the tasks we face is
to ensure direct communication between government and the people.
We therefore place a high premium on
the Imbizo campaign – a style of governance that ensures interaction
between members of the Executive and citizens. We have started this
year to organise more and more of such events: be it in the launch
of water projects, in the introduction of the legalisation campaign
for taxis, in the stand of the Housing Department at the Rand Easter
Show or the consultations with the elderly around issues that affect
them.
Just over a week ago, President Thabo
Mbeki paid a visit to the Northern Province for such comprehensive
interaction with the people, as the first of such visits, which
will take him to all the Provinces.
During this visit, the President interacted
with over 25 000 people having had discussions at 9 meetings. He
visited 6 projects and went live on a phone-in programme simulcast
on three radio stations and regional television reaching over one
and a half million people. And as the Sunday Times wrote: "A
sense of history pervaded the visit".
Another critical element of government’s
communication with the public is the initiative to set up Multi-purpose
Community Centres. To date 10 such centres have become fully operational.
And we are striving to ensure that, by the end of the 2002/03 financial
year, at least one such centre should be operational in each district
of the country.
I want to use the opportunity to thank
the Minister of Home Affairs for opening the MPCC in Mpuluzi, as
well as other Ministers who have taken the project to heart. My
thanks also go to the Minister of Public Works for the sterling
efforts made by her department to renovate, and where necessary
construct, new sites for the MPCCs; and the Minister of Public Service
and Administration for the efforts of her Department to integrate
this important endeavour into the shared service delivery programme
of government. My deepest gratitude goes to the various Provincial
Governments who have spared no effort in ensuring that this programme
is successfully implemented.
Direct and effective communication
with the public also means the preparation of products that are
as relevant in their content as they are attractive in their form.
Inasmuch as there may be weaknesses, we are proud of the fact that
examples of good products abound across government. Among these
are the multi-media interventions by GCIS around the State of the
Nation Address by the President, encompassing radio packages, leaflets
and posters, special ministerial briefings, link-up with community
radio stations, and participation by Ministers in radio programmes
in as many of our official languages as possible.
Madame Speaker;
The challenge of ensuring dissemination
of objective information, on balance, within South African society,
is also closely linked to the question of the ownership of the platforms
for the generation of news and analyses.
In the last Budget Vote I dealt extensively
with the steps towards the creation of a Media Development and Diversity
Agency. The government has embarked on the road to an MDDA to assist
in redressing the imbalances around media concentration, which persist
seven years into this democracy.
The GCIS released a Draft Position
Paper in December after a range of meetings with most of the stakeholders
concerned. The process since has been marked by thorough-going consultations,
including the welcome and highly appreciated initiative by the Portfolio
Committee on Communications in March this year. I am glad to report
to this House that that the call I made for greater flexibility
in achieving an objective that we are all committed to has been
warmly received across the board.
Steadily, we should arrive at even
greater degrees of consensus. And this should open the way for the
amendment of the draft Position Paper and, in time, if needed, the
submission to this august House of necessary legislation.
The introspection that has underpinned
the discussion around the MDDA is required in even greater measure
with regard to how we project the reality in our country to the
outside world.
Since the last Budget Vote, the International
Marketing Council (IMC) has been appointed. Government is profoundly
grateful for the single-minded commitment that has been shown by
the eminent leaders from the private sector who have given of their
time and expertise in serving their country in this particular area.
Again, in the IMC, the expression of the power of joint efforts
by citizens inspired by their love for their country stands out
for all to see.
Already, a powerful movement of these
united efforts is starting to gather momentum across the land. Many
private companies have offered their services for this purpose;
and daily, one hears of initiatives being spontaneously taken to
promote the boundless energy and creativity of South Africa Unlimited!
The ‘Proudly South African’
campaign launched by Nedlac, backed by members of that partnership;
the tourism campaign of Satour embodied in the Circle of Sunshine
initiative; the creative efforts to attract even greater investment
by South Africans in their own country – all these and others
are starting to work on the basis of a common approach which highlights
the best that South Africa can offer.
I am confident that this House, in
its various components will give the lead to the nation on this
critical matter; that all of us will encourage our constituencies
to work in the interest of South Africa first; that we will use
the platforms afforded us to advance the objectives of our country,
rather than seek to attract attention to ourselves by undermining
the nation’s institutions and efforts.
Honourable Members;
These then are some of the core tasks
undertaken by the Government Communication and Information System.
They underpin GCIS’ approach to the many campaigns that government
is engaged in: including the challenge of spreading the message
about HIV/AIDS, promotion of the rights and obligations enshrined
in our constitution, entrenching the corporate identity of government,
and specific projects in the areas of economic growth and job creation,
prevention and combating of crime, rural development and urban renewal.
To fulfil all these responsibilities,
GCIS continues to improve itself as a young and vibrant member of
the public service family.
In this regard, I should say that I
am proud to be associated with a department, which in three quick
years has made tremendous strides in building a creative establishment
representative of the South African population. Of the 318 positions
currently filled, Africans make up 68.5%; whites 20.1 %; Coloureds
7.9% and Indians 3.5%.
I am pleased to report that the level
of gender representivity has improved tremendously. Women comprise
48.1% of the entire staff, with women making up 41.7% of senior
management. African, Indian and Coloured women make up almost 30%
of senior management. [Or 7 out of every 10 women in Senior Management
are black]
The percentage of disabled, almost
1%, whilst short of the 2% objective set out for the Public Service,
is an area the management has undertaken to look into – with
a mind to ensure representation in the management echelons.
I wish to express my warm appreciation
for Mr Joel Netshitenzhe, the CEO of GCIS, his deputy Mr Abba Omar
and the senior management and staff of GCIS for their sterling work
and contributions during the past year. May I also thank the Chairperson,
Mr N Kekana and all members of the Portfolio Committee, it remains
a pleasure and a priviledge to work with you.
It is therefore with pride and confidence
that I commend this Budget of the GCIS for your adoption.
I thank you
Minister
in The Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad
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