16 October 2007

Distinguished guests, esteemed businessmen & women, leaders from different government spheres, friends, colleagues and comrades. It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this wonderful occasion, which marks the culmination of what has been a successful mayoral golf day. So good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for being here with us this evening.

Programme director, earlier today, Mogale City had an opportunity to play host to golfers from across the province. They returned to their ancestral home, the City of Human Origin for an opportunity: for some to refine their game, for some to display their awesome talents, for some to take in the moment and enjoy themselves. Most importantly to network.

Programme director, on my way here this evening I was reminded of the story of the former USA president, the resilient Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln ran for mayor and he didn't succeed. He then ran for a seat in the Senate and he didn't succeed either. He again ran for Governor and he didn't succeed. Finally he ran for president of the USA and he succeeded. I'm working on my golf game and encouraged that Abraham Lincoln failed at least three times to get elected into public office but succeeded at running for the highest office in his land – more so when I was in the company, during the day and here this evening, of distinguished golfers like yourselves. I must not lose hope but soldier on. After all perseverance is the mother of success.

We are proud to have hosted this event and have intentions of developing it into a much bigger and better event over the next few years. More so because we know that it is not just golfers we are hosting but important people from across the spectrum of life. This is important to us because we know that to give real meaning and life to the objectives we set for ourselves, requires that we interact with key decision makers and various stakeholders from different walks of life. We thank you therefore for being part of this golf day. You are part of a growing and influential collective of distinguished friends and ambassadors of our beloved city, the City of Human Origin.

In a recent report by the national opinion research centre at the University of Chicago in the US, our country was ranked fourth in the world on issues relating to national pride. The report, released in June, was based on a survey of people in 34 countries. The survey focused on national pride in 10 specific areas of each country, including but not limited to, its democratic system; economic success; arts and literature; fair treatment of all groups in society and history.

We mention this because these are some of the areas, which are a focus of our service delivery effort. We do so because they form the basis of governments' constitutional mandate. As we know, our constitution has as its foundation and backbone, the betterment of all lives in our country. Knowing that we do not possess a magic wand nor do we have the wisdom of Solomon, we have called and continue to call on business, civil society and everyone in our community and beyond to enter into a positive conspiracy with us to accelerate the rate at which we advance in the achievement of success in these and other areas.

A second set of questions tested people's general national pride, asking to what extent they agreed with such statements as: “I would rather be a citizen of my country than any other country in the world”. “Generally speaking, my country is a better country than most countries” and “I would support my country even if it were in the wrong”. We think that these are key questions that we should bear in mind as local government, this sphere of government where tyre hits tar. Because what we do has a direct how the government and its performance is perceived. In turn, this has a bearing on how the country is perceived both at home and abroad.

Looking at the myriad of challenges, which confront us, there is but one logical conclusion that we can arrive at.

Government alone has neither the where with all nor the capacity to deal with all of them. To reach the pinnacle of service delivery success we must forge partnerships with all stakeholders who have the interest of our community at heart. Today we are bear testimony to one of the wonders worked by a partnership. We have been able to raise much needed money, which will fund needy and deserving causes in our city.

Until 2011 when our term expires, we are driven by 5 key strategic focus areas, namely:

• Housing – which remains one of the biggest challenges our country faces
• Rural development – as a way of ensuring that the people in the rural areas are not left behind as the other parts of the city prospers and develop
• Infrastructure – to ensure that as our city grows and we are experiencing rapid growth, the right response is in place, focusing on both development of new infrastructure and the maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure
• LED – to work to create an environment which is fertile and conducive for economic growth, which is riding partly on the rapid expansion of the city and must be harnessed properly for the benefit of our people in the city and
• Public participation – which is to ensure that ultimately, the people of our city are the ones who direct their own destiny. Our role is to encourage civil activism guided by the principle of going beyond the call of duty rather than minimal compliance.

In conclusion, let me once again thank you all for participating in this golf day. We want you to know that we will always be grateful. A special thank you to FNB – our platinum sponsor and the official bankers of Mogale City Local Municipality. I would also like to thank Lefika, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Pro-plan, Faritec, SAP (Afrika), Rent Works Africa and everyone else who made a generous contribution towards the success of this event.

We look forward to seeing you during next year's bigger and better golf day.

As I mentioned earlier the purpose of this function is also to raise funds for charity organisations in the Mogale City area, so I ask you to open your hearts and dig deep into your pockets to contribute to these worthy causes.

I thank you.

Mayoral Golf Day to raise funds for charity