Speech Delivered by the Mec for Finance

SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE MEC FOR FINANCE

MAUREEN MODISELLE

AT THE GRADUATION OF THE DEPARTMENTAL LEARNERSHIP PROGRAMME

MMABATHO CIVIC CENTRE

10 OCTOBER 2008 AT 10H00

Senior Managers

Pgrogramme Managers

Sectional Managers

Staff of the Department

Ladies and Gentlemen

Parents, family, friends, and dear graduates of 2007/2008

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century.

As a Christian apologist he is widely admired throughout many religious denominations, as well as by many non-Christians. As a political thinker, he cast aspersions on both liberalism and conservatism saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

My message to you today comes from a famous quote from this man who said “Angels fly because they take themselves lightly” We should not become too proud of our achievements that we fail to achieve in future. We should rather remain humble and strive to achieve our goals as a team in the future for as long as we are able to breathe.

I say this because life is about inches, whatever you do, the margin for error is so small. One half step too late or too early could mean that you don’t quite make it or if you compare it with most sports, one half second too early or too late could mean that you don’t kick or catch the ball.

The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in good administration or as we call it, BathoPele Principles, or in every break in any game of sport. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone around us to pieces for that inch. We do whatever it takes for that inch.

Because we know that, when we add up all those inches, it will make the difference between making this Department fail or great. Ultimately it adds up to making this Province fail or making this Province great and subsequently it adds up to making our Country fail or making our Country great. In sports, those inches are simply the difference between winning orlosing.

If you look around you, you will see many people who are prepared to sacrifice their time and efforts for that inch.Some of them are given credit here today and some of them will receive credit at a later date, but credit is due to TEAM FINANCE today, and it is my privilege as the MEC for Finance to bestow that credit upon all of you who have struggled for that inch here today.

I Thank you for what you have done for this Department, Province and our Country and I trust that you will be motivated by what I have said today, to find more inches together as a team, which would make this Department and this Province and our beloved Country great in years to come.

In Conclusion

I must urge you to continue with the work you are doing – don’t ever give up!

Success comes to those who keep on keeping on. We must take courage from the great artists of the past, Leonardo da Vinci, the illegitimate child of a peasant girl was poor, hungry, and homeless, yet he became one of the greatest artists in the World. Creating a masterpiece painting to doing the work that we do every day is very similar.

It requires;

the same dedication,the same integrity,the same enthusiasm, andthe same creativity.

So let’s get on with it!

I thank you

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