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SPEECH BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, MR S'BU NDEBELE, DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF KLEINFONTEIN BRIDGE AND ROADS P208 AND P18926 November 2001
This morning, three important developments in the lives of the people of Ladysmith are going to be formally recorded as milestones in the history of transport in this area. I will exercise the pleasant duty as the KZN MEC of Transport to officially open the Kleinfontein Bridge, as well as the P208 and P189 roads. In the normal course of events, these achievements would generally pass off as just another stage in the reconstruction and development of our communities who are emerging from the decades of historic deprivations that Blacks in our country faced. The temptation might be to ask: So what if another bridge, or another road for that matter, is being opened? But today's ceremony is a milestone for the very reason that that the opening of this bridge, and the two roads, represent the opening of another window into the world of a community of people who, like many of their compatriots elsewhere in our province and our country, were cut off from the mainstream of public life because of the bad and unjust policies of the past government. Within this scenario of deprivation, the forced isolation of whole communities through the existence of a totally inadequate road network system worsened their plight. The plight was deliberately worsened through poor social and economic development, inadequate and non-existent roads, opportunities for employment, access to the commercial and industrial market places, and human interaction within the outside world. Travelling from one point to another was a routine hazard. Yes, indeed, there were roads and other places of access. But in 1995, it was estimated that there was a 17 000 backlog of rural roads in our province - so much so that if they were strung from end-to-end, they would stretch from Cape Town to Cairo. In his State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2001, President Thabo Mbeki summarised the objectives towards which we, as portfolio ministers, must apply our minds and energies: "The objectives we seek to achieve are moving the economy onto a high growth path, increasing its competitiveness and efficiency, raising employment levels and reducing poverty and persistent inequalities." We are expected, therefore, to improve our competitiveness as a nation by lowering input costs throughout the economy and to tackle poverty by focusing on micro-economic issues and by levelling the playing fields. We are expected to use our budgets on people-centred local economic development projects that are founded in the context of economic growth, redistribution and global competitiveness. Today, therefore, is a very important day for the people of the entire Ladysmith region because we are in effect opening the final product of our efforts in implementing the President's vision. But equally important, we are giving effect to a significant part of our own vision as a province in the sphere of roads development. On 29 March 1999, in my budget report to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, I pointed out that 21% of the poorest people in our country live in KwaZulu-Natal. Of this, 75% of the weakest and most vulnerable live in rural areas. Almost 46% of our economically active rural people were unemployed at that stage. Hence, if we wished to rebuild the fabric of rural society, generate increased revenue to the economic development goals of our province, and boost investor confidence in the rural areas, we had to invest in the rural roads infrastructure. And unless we addressed the backlogs urgently we would effectively be aiding and abetting the cycle of poverty that has been the fate of our rural people. Moreover, we would be depriving rural people of the opportunity of being an integral part of the commercial road network linking industry with agriculture. That imperative marked the beginning of our Community Access Roads Needs Study. The findings of this study were developed into an Implementation Plan for Conserving Road Network. In my budget speech to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature on 20 March this year, against the background of committing my Department to marking 2001 as the Dawn of the African century within the wider vision of the recovery plan set by the national government, I called for our transport system to link all local communities and markets to the regional and national economy in order to guarantee national, provincial and local social and economic integration. These achievements are of particular importance to the social and economic prosperity of the people of Ladysmith, especially the rural people. During the 1980's the Dreifontein, Watersmeet and Kleinfontein areas suffered serious neglect in terms of accessibility. Within the Department of Transport, (then known as Natal Roads Branch) no budget was allocated for road construction in this area and there were no infra-structural development plans for the obvious reason that the apartheid budget was intended to service the old NPA road network. Our roads and transport systems must reflect our economic priorities as a nation, as a province and as local communities like that of Ladysmith. Within the key policy priorities identified for the Medium term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), viz. economic growth, employment creation, and equity and social development, an overwhelming amount of R810 440 000 of the total transport budget of R855 875 000 was set aside for roads development and upgrading. This is a far cry from the "princely" sum of R3 million I was handed when I assumed the responsibility as MEC of Transport in 1994. Yet, it is still too inadequate in terms of the baseline budget of R1 022 million required - i.e. at least another R166 million more than the total transport budget - merely to rehabilitate 7 000 kilometres of blacktop roads; regravel 24 741 of main, district and local roads; upgrade 800 kilometres of community access roads to low standard gravel road using labour intensive methods. Overall, we are underprovided to the sum of at least R378 million per annum - a shortage of 47% - on what should be spent at the bare minimum annually to sustain and grow the KwaZulu-Natal roads infrastructure. During the apartheid era not only were the majority denied road access altogether but what access there was, was in a poor state of repair. This resulted, and still results, in high vehicle operating costs that are borne by the rural poor. It is estimated that in KwaZulu-Natal alone, 20 million kilometres are travelled on our rural road network every day at an estimated road user cost of R7.25 billion per annum. More than R1.29 billion of this can be directly attributed to the poor condition of our road network and to excessive vehicle operating costs. Thus the passing of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Roads Act (Act No.4 of 2001) was a culmination of efforts by the democratic government to address the infra-structural backlog in this province. This Act provides for the maintenance of provincial road assets and the development of equitable road access to all communities within the Province. The Act provides the legal framework to acquire social justice and equity in the provision of road infrastructure and transport services. It repeals all previous laws and ordinances of the former KwaZulu Government and of the former Natal Provincial Administration. It creates provision for a balanced network in the province and recognises rural community access roads as part of the provincial road network. Against the apartheid legacy of the past, a balanced roads network must ensure the social and economic integration of the province in away that secures equitable access within the context of the trade and industry imperatives of a world-class economy. The upgrading of P189 and P208 has been completed at a cost of R 41 million and R30 million respectively while the construction of the Kleinfontein Bridge cost R3 million. Thuthuka and Nkanyezi Construction, both of whom are emerging contractors were involved in these constructions. Local labour was extensively used to construct rock bolsters. Local community involvement in the construction of these roads has ensured that they take these roads as their own. Moreover, the upgrading of these roads will see the formalisation of the commuter route for all weather conditions. It is clear even now that the access that these roads provide, has improved the standard of living for the local community as well as the local economy. Driefontein and its surroundings is an important area especially for Ladysmith whose job-creation programmes depend on it. Therefore, the transport infrastructure and services become crucial in an area like this. Access to and from Driefontein was difficult during the rainy season where roads became impassable, low level causeways became flooded and hence stranding commuters. In a number of cases, school children on their way to school were drowned. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport understands that for the provincial economy to grow, the rural communities must be integrated into all economic activities because they constitute the bulk of our population. In order to achieve these objectives, we have embarked upon programmes aimed at developing a provincial road network linking the various economic zones and nodal points. In this way we want to develop a rural road network linking communities to social amenities and local and regional amenities. Having said that, I think it is necessary at this point to emphasise that the KZN Department of Transport is not building roads haphazardly. We have a vision and a programme in place. During the past six years, we have chipped away inequalities inherited from past governments. We have created a variety of innovative programmes such as Zibambele and the Emerging Contractor Programme that are designed to create new work and business opportunities for those previously denied them. We have systematically restructured our bureaucracy to ensure that our services are provided to those individuals and communities that have the greatest need. Despite the inadequacies in budget provision, we have come a long way from the deprivations that we suffered under apartheid. Funds have now been allocated for the following imperatives:
We have a vision in the form of the African Renaissance Roads Programme under which we are determined to undo the past and confront our challenges rather than wish them away. This is why the opening of the Kleinfontein Bridge and roads P208 and P189 are milestones and not just another event in roads development. I would like to assure you today that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is serious about putting an end to your physical and social isolation. We are serious about uprooting poverty, and we are committed to working in co-operation with our communities, the District Councils and local government to establish a local development agenda that resonates with the Rural Development Strategy framework. Ladies and gentlemen, I think it is very important for me to highlight the role played by women in
all the projects I have thus far mentioned. Women have always been the pillars
of the economy and this is even more so in rural areas. One of the key players
in the upgrading of roads P208 and P189 is Mrs Maphalala of MAP Services. She
not only participated in its upgrading but even went to the extent of employing
local women who were responsible for the spreading of lime. Over the past several years the Roads for Rural Development Programme has performed exceptionally well. Not only has it addressed community access needs, it has, in the process created unparalleled entrepreneurial and job opportunities in rural KwaZulu-Natal. During the past financial year alone, the programme provided:
These statistics, with the exception of Zibambele contractors were independently compiled by the CSIR. We have learnt very important lessons in the process. Our African Renaissance Roads Programme is about the upgrading and blacktopping of major transport corridors throughout the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is about constructing those transport corridors that result in much more cost efficient and cost effective transport systems and this will facilitate trade within the Ladysmith region, our province and indeed nationally. In the final analysis, I wish to remind everybody here today that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is not only on a mission to improve your standard of living. One of our primary objectives is to save lives. The festive season is around the corner and our roads will be teeming with traffic. Tomorrow, on the 27th of November 2001, I will be launching the festive season road safety programme in Mooi River. Everybody must be warned that the KZN Department of Transport, working together with the Departments of Justice and of Safety and Security will be out in full swing to monitor the behaviour of road users. We shall have no mercy to traffic offenders because we take the welfare of our people seriously. May this bridge and the two roads we officially launch today open gateways of opportunity for you and for our province. I thank you.
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