Speech by Minister Jeff Radebe, Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, on the occasion of the release of the 2016 Community Survey Report by Statistics South Africa, 30 June 2016, Presidential Guest House, Pretoria
Today marks an important occasion in the continued evolution of our constitutional democracy. National transformation is an express mandate flowing from our constitution, which enjoins us to heal the divisions of the past. Undoubtedly, the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality have their roots in the history of our protracted struggle which was aimed at negating apartheid oppression and ultimately ushered in democracy in 1994.
Today in 2016, South Africa is much a better place than it was in 1994. We know this because statistics say so. We have achieved various development goals in providing houses, electricity, water, infrastructure such as roads, social grants for the indigent, accessible primary, secondary and post school education and a host of other issues, in order to further our national transformation agenda. This can be confirmed by statistics as elaborated amongst others in the 20 Year Review Report and other departmental Annual Performance Reports.
However, we are the first as government to acknowledge that much is as yet to be done to reverse the over 300 years colonialism and four decades of conceited apartheid misrule. Again we know this because statistics say so. In 1994, we adopted the RDP as our blue print to confront many of the developmental challenges occasioned by apartheid. Over the past two decades of political freedom, we have further buttressed our constitutional democracy with institutional and policy frameworks as legal basis for all our transformation programmes. Amongst this was the consolidation of Statistics South Africa as a competent, world class and independent statistics gathering machinery.
The highlight of where we are today and where we must go into the future is spelt out through the National Development Plan Vision 2030, which is the plan of the people by the people. Government has embraced this plan, which was crafted by the best minds from society and from across the length and breadth of our beautiful land. As government we are steaming ahead with the implementation of the NDP Vision 2030. Integral to this plan is the policy framework to develop young people so that we tap into the demographic dividend of an increasingly young but potentially economically active population.
Statistics in general, and the 2016 Community Survey in particular as here presented by the Statistician-General Dr Pali Lehohla today, is like a compass on the myriad of policy decisions we must make. Our national transformation must be quantified and qualified, and these statistics will help us to achieve exactly that end.
The statistics being released here today, are not only for government, but like the NDP itself, they too are for the whole people of South Africa. Like the conceptualization of the NDP, the Community Survey is not produced by government but an independent institution, Statistics South Africa. It is for this reason that we could truly say these statistics are a true mirror reflection of the reality of our country. We expect these statistics to point out where we are lagging behind with regards national transformation through relevant implementation of policies and also to point out where we are making positive strides.
These statistics are therefore the compass on the interventions we must make to accelerate national transformation as enjoined by our constitution, and for us as government as further spelt out in our elections manifesto. On areas of education, health and life expectancy, property relations, food security, job creation, entrepreneurship, safety and security, and a lot more, these statistics will help us to pinpoint where we need urgent and decisive action to accelerate change.
Thus from a Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation point of view as broad scope of government work, we welcome the 2016 Community Survey as a very crucial addition and to enable better understanding of our work, both in the public and private sectors. It is our emphasis that our work must be evidenced based, and these statistics do exactly that. As Amilcar Cabral famously declared, we too on this occasion and as always, do concur that we must “tell no lies and claim no easy victories!”
Statistics that have been scientifically gathered do not lie and thus this occasion is a moment of truth on what we must do to accelerate meeting the various needs of our people. And very importantly, this Community Survey must also enable every citizen to understand what become their roles, both with regards public and private discourse in furthering the goals of a better South Africa that is antithetical to the apartheid thesis that we inherited in 1994.
The National Development Plan scopes the broad spectrum as the mandate to lead government, the private sector, NGO’s, all and sundry; towards building a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. To do so, we need a guiding star which not even government can exert undue pressure over.
The independence of Stats SA in the remit of official statistics remains supreme in our pursuit of facts that inform the nation. Our role as policy makers is to define what needs to be done. Once we have done so, we leave the methods of how things get measured to the independent confines of our national statisticians. That way, we allow Stats SA a free hand to tell us where we are making progress with our policies and programs as well as where progress is lacking. Stats SA does not have to tell us what we want to hear, but what we need to know. This principle is very important on the role of Stats SA within the array of public and private policy work.
Stats SA thus becomes a critical asset through which government, the private sector, labour and civil society interact together as a nation. We can all say with empirical authority why and how things happen the way they do. No nation can function without a census or other scientific surveys to highlight where and how its citizens live, nor can any nation function without knowing the economic interactions amongst its people, businesses and institutions. No other agency is as empowered to do so than Stats SA. Our decision to move our national statistics office to the Ministry of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation has always been guided by the notion of placing the agency at the centre of policy formulation and implementation.
Without much ado, allow me to thank Statistics South Africa led by the Statistician-General, Dr Pali Lehohla, as well as the Statistics Council chaired by Mr Ben Mphahlele, for continuously giving us an objective view of where we are with regards to all areas of development and thus assist us in knowing where we must go into the future.
I thank you!
