Jacoline Prinsloo

President Jacob Zuma

l “The constitution is South Africa’s fundamental vision statement, which guides our policies and actions. We reaffirm our commitment to advance the ideals of our country’s constitution at all times.”

l “(The) triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality persists, despite the progress made. Africans, women and the youth continue to suffer most from this challenge.”

l “As a developmental state that is located at the centre of a mixed economy, we see our role as being to lead and guide the economy and to intervene in the interests of the poor, given the history of our country.”

l “We declared 2011 the year of job creation and mobilised our social partners, namely, business, labour and the community sector, to work with us in implementing the New Growth Path. The results are encouraging, although we are not out of the woods yet, given the global economic situation.”

l “Government alone cannot solve the challenges faced by the country, but working together, solutions are possible.”

l “The massive investment in infrastructure must leave more than just power stations, rail lines, dams and roads. It must industrialise the country, generate skills and boost much-needed job creation.”

l “For the next two years, until the Medupi and Kusile power stations come into operation, the electricity system will be very tight. We should all play our part in order to avoid load-shedding.”

l “We are pleased that the matric percentage pass is on an upward trend. We congratulate the teachers, learners, parents and the communities for their efforts. We will continue to invest in producing more teachers who can teach mathematics, science and African languages.”

l “On economic transformation, we are amending the BBBEE Act. The amendments, among other things, establish a statutory commission that will deal with non-compliance and circumvention. The proposed law will also criminalise fronting and other forms of empowerment misrepresentation.”

l “Government seeks to eliminate all forms of abusive practices inherent in labour broking, in order to strengthen the protection of vulnerable workers. We trust that common ground will be found this year on this matter.”

l “The crime statistics for the period 2010/2011 indicate that our country witnessed a decline of 5 percent in the number of reported serious crimes, compared to the previous year. We will, however, not become complacent. We are continuing to implement our programmes of making South Africans feel safe and to be safe.”

l “We will also continue to improve the performance of the state in various ways, including the fight against corruption ... Initiatives include the vetting of supply-chain personnel in government departments.”

l “As we get back to work tomorrow, let us internalise the words of ANC Women’s League founding president, Charlotte Maxeke: ‘This work is not for yourselves – kill that spirit of self, and do not live above your people, but live with them. If you can rise, bring someone with you.’ “