VOTE OF THANKS BY THE SPEAKER OF THE KZN PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE MR T.W.

MCHUNU DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LEGISLATURE VENUE: ROYAL SHOWGROUNDS DATE: 13 FEBRUARY 2007 Honourable Members Allow me this opportunity to extend a vote of thanks to His Majesty the King for taking time to be with us to officially open the Legislature. Indeed we always feel honoured to have His Majesty in this house. As we look forward to the year ahead of us, we will continuously reflect on the words of wisdom you have shared with us. In the same breath, I want to extend a vote of thanks to our distinguished guests and members of the public for joining us on this august occasion. Your presence here is no coincidence since you carry the views and aspirations of people in our province. Representative democracy calls upon us to always act in a manner that serves to common good of all our people. It is a peoples contract. As you will recall the theme for this years opening and subsequent months is Masijule Ngengxoxo Mzansi, which means, Lets deepen the debate South Africa. Masijule Ngengxoxo Mzansi is the theme adopted by the National Parliament in its resolve to rejuvenate the most important institution in our land. We have decided to adopt this theme as the KZN Legislature because it talks directly to our key programme Taking the Legislature to the People. We are saying to the people of KwaZulu-Natal; Let us deepen the debate about issues that are pertinent to the governance of KwaZulu-Natal.

As part of our contribution to the theme of deepening the debate, the KZN Legislature is to launch a programme of public debates on issues relevant to the needs of people of KwaZulu-Natal. These debates are not just public hearings or public education, but, debates on issues that are of public benefit or concerns. Today is also a very important day in the history of the legislature, as we officially launch the new website of the legislature. The new website will be a one-stop shop for anyone looking for information and programmes of the legislature. I encourage all of you to visit our website at: http://www.kznlegislature.gov.za. We recommit ourselves to continue to transform the functioning of this Legislature through various programmes, in partnership with the civil society and the business community. I want to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to Standard Bank for donating R300 000 to cover part of the cost of the official opening. I also want to thank the Royal Netherlands Embassy for partnering with Africa Ignite and KZN Education Department to champion rural entrepreneurship initiative aimed at alleviating poverty in communities ravaged by HIV/Aids. I will be failing in my duties if I do not acknowledge private companies like Xerox, Nashua and Telkom who have made various donations towards the Speakers Social Responsibility Programme. We are humbled by your selfless dedication to the needy people in our province. I also want to extend invitation to other private companies who may want to play a role towards this noble cause, to liaise with the Office of the Speaker for more information. I thank you