 
SPEECH BY THE MEC FOR TRANSPORT IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SBU NDEBELE, AT THE TURNING OF THE SOD OF A R60 MILLION ROAD THROUGH INKOSI MPIYEZINTOMBI MZIMELA'S AREA AT NTUBENI, NEXT TO NGOYE FOREST19 July 2001
Master of Ceremonies At the funeral of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alfred Nzo, our President, President Thabo Mbeki, had this to say "No where in the free South Africa stands a stature or monument which speaks to us and says: Once upon a time our country was blessed to have, as its citizens, these who, though dead are brought to life by every day's dawn that portends fulfilment for all the people of our motherland. They too slide into the past as though they never were". And, it is indeed an indictment on us that a heroic struggle like ours has, in its hour triumph, not filled our streets, hills and valleys with songs of celebration. KwaZulu-Natal has all more reasons to celebrate. Not only it has apartheid been defeated but also we have begun a path to heal the wounds we inflicted on each other as compatriots. Why should this province of the brave have no monuments that celebrate our heroes and inspire? And why should posterity remember us as a people who fought one another rather than people who were victims of the elaborate policy of divide and rule and yet who are succeeding to re-unite ourselves? Is this not obvious that if we fail to recognise our strengths and only emphasise our weaknesses that we will never have heroes? How long are we going to have, as heroes only those who have been
sanitised and pasteurised by those who have taken upon themselves
the right to control our thoughts? The cultural performance at Bulawayo Station was like the performance we see in our province. It was Zulu through and through. When it was announced that I was from KwaZulu-Natal there was much excitement with people talking of linking the original Kwabulawayo, which King Shaka built, to its replication in Zimbabwe. However, at the back of my mind I could see a major embarrassment looming. We descendants of a heroic people have allowed our identity to die. If it lives it does so in the humiliating caricature as the one currently been screened on SABC TV called Shaka Zulu in which we are portrayed as blood-thirsty savages incapable of intellectual creativity, scientific discovery or organisational mastery. It is only when we begin to speak for ourselves and take pride in ourselves that we begin to command respect and even take advantage of constitutional guarantees to our pride as a people as enshrined in our Constitution. With this road we will be obscure no more. It is here that the young King Senzangakhona courted Queen Nandi. It is here that the young Shaka experienced his childhood. Kwabulawayo is here where the small Zulu clan emerged as a united, powerful people with a vision of unity based not on the accident of birth but on merit. This was a new basis for the organisation of society. It is here that the science of metallurgy which enabled the tempering of steel to make not only hoes and other agricultural implements but the creation of a new sword with which you could face lion and other predatory animals without fear of it breaking. It is here at Ongoye Forest where King Shaka used to hunt. Esiklebheni, King Shaka's other palace near which is Umthombo Wenkosi, the King's Well, is here. It is here where King Shaka trained his new type of soldier. A soldier that was not a coward. A soldier that was disciplined. A soldier that was not a gossipmonger. Soldiers, which were orderly and did not cause a stampede. Soldiers that did not and could never kill women, children or the weak. Soldiers that were instruments of nation-building. It is here where Queen Nandi lies buried. It is here where OkaMsweli, the mother to King Dinuzulu was born. In building this road we are recreating our selves as a nation. After the necessary consultations we will see the restoration of Kwabulawayo as it was. This will not be the first time that historical sites have been restored. In itself this project is already exciting a flurry of scientific and historical research. Already students of the University of Zululand, University of Natal, Natal Technikon, Mangosuthu Technikon and M L Sultan Technikon are competing to create models of what this place would be like. Huge investments are earmarked to start flowing into this area as centre of eco-tourism. Here we shall discover native technology whose natural development was arrested by the advent of colonialism and apartheid. All this development will happen if there is a road. We in the Department of Transport have never been obstacles to development on the contrary we facilitate development. We therefore have no hesitation to put on an amount of R60 million to build a tarred road to make this possible. This link road from Obanjeni through Umlalazi, Endlovini, Oyemeni, Bhekeshowe to Mlalazi has a very special significance for me. On 16 March 2001 Inkosi Mzimela hosted a site visit to Ongoye for myself and senior officials from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. The purpose of the site visit was to gain a first hand understanding of the appalling condition of critical roads that was preventing the Ongoye community from realising its full potential in tourism and agriculture. The upgrading of this link road will create improved network access through Ongoye Forest and provide direct access to the important urban industrial growth centres of Eshowe and Empangeni. This, in itself, will boost local economic performance by increasing economic efficiency, by the dramatic lowering of transport costs and overheads and by improving access to markets for agricultural products and opportunities for eco and cultural tourism. This sub region of KwaZulu-Natal has several important eco tourist sites. These include:
In addition, the sub region hosts important cultural tourism and historical sites that include:
Furthermore, the Ongoye district is regarded by agricultural scientists as having a high to very high land potential for agricultural development. We are confident therefore that the upgrading of this critical link road will reduce current poverty levels and unlock the development potential of Ongoye. However, in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport we have a policy that says "Roads Are Not Enough". The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has endeavoured to use its roads portfolio to address major social issues that are still part of our apartheid legacy. Increasingly all road and transport sector projects in KwaZulu-Natal are being designed to address issues of: Participatory democracy - this includes recognition of the critical role of Amakhosi in development leadership. Here I am pleased to acknowledge the important roles of Regional Authority representatives on Rural Road Transport Forums, namely Inkosi M.M. Dube, Chairman of the Ongoye RRTF, and Inkosi P. Biyela and Inkosi V.T. Shange of the Eshowe RRTF. Equity in the provision of land transport services. This is well captured in our commitment to One Stop Shops that, in reality, is a commitment to bring our services closer to the most needy communities. Promoting economic growth by unlocking the development potential of isolated communities through the provision of much needed road infrastructure and regulated public transport services. Poverty reduction and job creation as witnessed by our commitment to Zibambele and labour intensive methods of road construction and maintenance. Entrepreneurial development as witnessed by our commitment to Vukuzakhe and the investment in Plant Depots. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is committed to levelling the playing fields in road infrastructure and transport access. This, in itself, is an enormous undertaking. However, in the process of levelling the playing fields we will continue to focus our efforts in reviewing public transport routes and subsidies and promoting the use of non motorised transport especially cargo tricycles, the use of labour based methods in road construction and maintenance, the maximum utilisation of emerging and small scale contractors, community road safety and the participation of beneficiary communities and their leadership in the planning, design and implementation of transport projects and budgets. In closing, I would like to thank Inkosi Mzimela for inviting me to Ongoye and for providing me with the opportunity to review, with him, on site, the best way forward in meeting the road infrastructure and mobility needs of Ongoye. We have jointly submitted a proposal to the Honourable Minister Sidney Mufumadi, Minister of Provincial and Local Government, for additional funds which will speed up the process of upgrading the road from Obanjeni through Umlalazi, Endlovini, Oyemeni, Bekeshowe to Mlalazi to link the community of Ongoye to the important growth centres of Eshowe and Empangeni. To Inkosi Mzimela, abaNtwana baseNdlunkulu, amakhosi and councillors this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership to rebuild and to heal our province. Thank you.
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