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SPEECH BY KWAZULU-NATAL MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, MR S’BU NDEBELE AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR DURBAN METRORAIL23 June 2001
Master of Ceremonies Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for allowing me to join in celebrating your achievements today. I first of all wish to congratulate the recipients of ABET Certificates, Durban Metrorail and the Department of Education for their efforts towards making this day a success. This is indeed a great day not only for Metrorail and the Education department but also for the Department of Transport and other Departments. As the Transport Minister, I am responsible for road safety, including road safety education. This explains why I am so excited whenever the name ABET is mentioned. In fact as part of our efforts aimed at saving lives in this province we have the well known Asiphephe Project of which education plays a very significant part. Education and literacy therefore are very important for us in that they together ensure that we have the public that can read, write and be able to identify road signs and signals and can save their own lives including those of others. This graduation ceremony therefore means a lot to us as the Department of Transport because it means we have more literate people now who can interpret road signs and thereby save their own lives and those of others. On 21 March this year President Thabo Mbeki gave a very prophetic warning to our nation during the launch of South African Democracy Education Trust when he said "The danger of ignorance and forgetfulness is greatest now that we have won our liberation struggle". It becomes very encouraging therefore to witness with my own eyes that Metrorail has heeded this warning and that learners too have taken this opportunity thereby confirming the saying that "knowledge is power". Our forefathers have long identified education as a very important factor in the development of an individual or nation. King Shaka realized this as early as the 19th century when he sent some of his military commanders to go and study the military tactics used by the British Empire. Not long ago the Zulu King Solomon, grandfather to His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini, always emphasised the importance of education. Our King Goodwill Zwelithini always emphasizes that message as well. Education makes one to be independent. It exposes one to opportunities that would have otherwise not been available. A learned nation is a victorious nation. These are some of the reasons why Adult Basic Education (ABET) is so important:
ABET is an important vehicle in the social, political and economic development of the workers. It enables learners to make informed judgements and decisions to ensure a democratic workplace, province and ultimately a democratic South Africa. Through it learners begin to enjoy a certain degree of independence and can learn how to apply for such facilities like telephones, ID, pension, licence and be able to read a menu in a restaurant. It will be remembered that during the days of Apartheid workers, especially Black and African, were treated as slaves and denied opportunities to upgrade their education levels. Fanagalo assumed the status of an official language during any encounter with Africans. When the democratic Government took over in 1994 one of the key challenges it had to address was the low literacy levels among the previously disadvantaged groups, especially African workers. Accomplishing this task could not be done overnight and needed a lot effort in terms of establishing mechanisms to address this problem. Moreover, this task could not be done by the Government working alone but had to include all institutions both private and public. Today’s graduation therefore is part of harvesting the fruits of efforts by the Government and Metrorail in this specific case. I therefore want to congratulate both Metrorail and the Education Department because today’s graduation ceremony is an outcome, which meets the deadline as identified by the Tirisano Implementation Plan for 2001-2002. Project 5 of this implementation plan focuses on learner achievement whose objective is to ensure improved learner performance and attainment. This graduation therefore is a cause for celebration because it is a testimony of meaningful empowerment within Metrorail. I have heard good success stories from within Metrorail’s ABET programme where some workers have moved from being train cleaners to ticket examiners. This alone bears evidence to the fact that men and women can do wonders when given opportunities. Apartheid left huge economic and educational gaps among South Africans. As a developing country we have channelled our resources into teaching our fellow South Africans how to read and write while wealthy nations have far outdistanced us. For them illiteracy is an extinct animal which explains why they use their resources into trying to predict the next solar eclipse. The KZN Department of Transport has a multi-faced ABET programme. In terms of the skills development Act No 97 of 1998, all employees in South Africa must have a literacy qualification of at least STD 3 or Grade 5 by the year 2005. As early as 1997 the KZN Department of Transport did a survey to establish the number of employees who would like to partake in the programme. In-house tutors were recruited and trained and teaching commenced in Pietermaritzburg as a pilot project. This project paid special attention to rural regions of our Department. All students wrote the Independent Examination Board (IEB) Exams resulting in 253 graduates since 1999 to date on various English Literacy Levels. One of our greatest achievements in this programme was in 1998 when three of our newly literate staff members at our Head Office moved out of their messenger positions to clerical posts with a significant increase in salary and viable career path. In one instance a messenger became a trained cashier within the Motor Licensing Bureau. In another instance, a man who had been a messenger obtained his matric certificate and today he is a qualified traffic officer. Currently the Department of Transport has 23 officials registered to write the IEB exams in June for English. There are 108 officials who will graduate in August this year and this is only for Pietermaritzburg and Durban Regions only. The KZN Department of Transport is committed to skills development of its staff especially the previously disadvantaged groups within our staff. Moreover, with these positive developments currently unfolding within our Department like the partnerships we have with the civil society, the demand for literate staff members is going to grow and we have mechanisms in place to meet that challenge. When the State President formulated the Millenium African recovery Plan, the the focus of his attention was on those sectors of our society that have been previously neglected. The idea of African Renaissance is not to empower the already empowered. It is certainly not to empower the so-called African elite as some will want the world to believe, but it is to engage in the renewal of all sectors of our society through multifaceted plans and programmes including raising the literacy levels of our staff members. Obviously we will not reap fruits overnight but we are working as if African renaissance is an imminent possibility. As the Minister of Transport in this Province it is important to emphasize also that the success of ABET must also mean that people can read traffic signs correctly and obey the rules since they can now read and write them. Join me in saving lives in this Province and indeed in the entire country. In congratulating recipients of ABET certificates I want to remind all and sundry about the wisdom found in our Zulu proverb which says "Imfundo Ayikhulelwa". This literally means that there is no age restriction in education and that you learn until you die. Now that you have got your ABET certificates, you will see how convenient life will be for you and your friends and relatives. You will begin to be independent and have confidence in yourselves, which is so necessary at workplace. The journey however, does not end there. Working within the transport sector it is important for you to participate in rail and road safety programmes that are currently in place. I have myself read shocking stories of people who have been knocked down by trains, especially those residing in areas adjacent to railways. As you further your studies you will have to be involved in educating other people about rail and road safety. Congratulations! I thank you.
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