 
SPEECH BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL MINISTER OF TRANSPORT MR S’BU NDEBELE DURING THE SOD TURNING CEREMONY OF THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE MAIN ROAD 68 AT HIGHFLATS21 May 2002
Programme Director Today is a historic occasion for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and the Communities of Umzumbe, Izingolweni and Ixopo. Main Road 68 is the forth road to be upgraded under our African Renaissance Roads Upgrading Programme (ARRUP). I would like to use this opportunity to explain what makes the African Renaissance Road Upgrading Programme so different from any other Roads Programme and why we have chosen main road 68 as the project to launch the programme in Southern KwaZulu-Natal. This long road had no gravel before. Before 1994 Amakhosi and all surrounding communities made various efforts to address this unpalatable situation but to no avail. The Department of Transport through the Rural Road Transport Forums responded to the requests by Inkosi Mmeli Dlamini to develop this road. It is also the struggling taxi industry that suffered mostly as a result of this situation. Main road P 68 directly serves seven tribal authorities with more than 15 000 people. Who stand to benefit from its upgrading. Within 5km radius of Main Road 68, there are:
Main Road 68 also accommodates more than 500 vehicles per day of which some 100 are heavy vehicles. Despite the large population, traffic volumes and public facilities serviced by Main Road 68 it remains a rough and dusty gravel road. We calculate that the current gravel road status of Main Road 68 results in excessively high vehicle operating costs of more than R 13 Million per annum. Think on that! R13 Million per annum that road users will save when Main Road 68 is blacktopped.Little wonder therefore that the rural economy of Umzumbe, Izingolweni, Ixopo is stagnant. All this is about to change. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has committed to investing R 113 000 00 towards upgrading of Main Road 68 over a 4 year period. This is the largest investment of its kind within these seven tribal authorities. We propose to construct a 8.5 meter wide surface road which will largely follow the existing road from the commercial centre of Highflats to the Coastal town of Umtentweni, a distance of 82 km’s. However, dangerous sharp bends will be eliminated. Last year our construction units began work to upgrade Main Road 68. Our construction units have now been withdrawn and we plan to continue the project by creating opportunities for Vukuzakhe contractors. These will include labour intensive activities such as block paving of access points, removal of alien vegetation, road beautification and the use of local resources and stores for the supply of materials. All ARRUP projects have been designed to create maximum opportunities including the supply of materials. A great deal of thought has gone into unbundling and rebundling contracts to ensure that the maximum Rand value circulates locally and does not leak out to large urban centres. An investment into this local economy of R 113 million over 4 years – the cost of upgrading Main Road 68 - is a once off opportunity for us all and we dare not let it pass. The programme for this year is to complete the section of road under construction in the immediate vicinity of the ASSISI hospital and clinic. At the same time we will begin construction at the Highflats end of Main Road 68. This will create 33 Vukuzakhe contractual opportunities. I would like to assure you today that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is serious about putting an end to your physical and economic isolation. Through our African Renaissance Road Programme we want to develop important transport corridors that will provide the necessary kick start to realising the full development potential of rural KwaZulu-Natal. Therefore as the department designs and constructs African Renaissance Road Upgrading Projects they do identify other projects that require urgent attention and which can create improved social and economic opportunities. I am pleased to announce therefore that we have also committed funds to re-design and upgrade road D168 to the eNdwebu-Mzumbe Game Reserve, as well as, the access road to INkosi Mdibaniso Comprehensive School. This school has no access road and, as the Department committed to promoting technical skills among our communities, we felt it necessary to deliver roads where they are desperately needed. A fundamental part of African Renaissance Road Upgrading Programme is to advance the principals of participatory democracy and to ensure that all projects are managed in a transparent and accountable manner. Our African Renaissance Road Upgrading Programme is designed to breath new life into our stagnant rural economy. The programme is all about reversing the spatial inequalities that we have inherited from Apartheid. In fact the precondition to any sustainable economic recovery are PEACE, DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT, which for us as the Department of Transport means ACCESS. I am therefore pleased to announce that we have established a Project Liaison Committee for Main Road 68, which is fully representative of all major Stake Holders, including Amakhosi and local government. Project Liaison Committees are formed to assist the Department in its communications with local communities and to contribute through their knowledge to the successful implementation of the project. Here it is important to stress that most ARRUP projects are designed to last at least 3 years. The upgrading of Main Road 68 is designed to last 4 years. In effect this means that for 4 years there will be a concentration of technical personnel and plant in this sub-region that can cost efficiently be used to plan and implement other projects that will benefit the community. I want to assure you today that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is serious about uprooting poverty and we are committed to working co-operatively with District Councils and Local Government to establish a local development agenda. We are committed to working together with all spheres of government to raise investor awareness and to ensure the maximum impact of local economic development initiatives and poverty alleviation strategies. In some ways then the ARRUP projects provide a unique opportunity for all of us in government to work together in the best interest of cost efficient and cost effective service delivery. If we all work together we can achieve what, alone, we can only dream of achieving. The very least that should emerge from any ARRUP investment is the development of new rural settlements (site offices and accommodation for construction workers can act as this nucleus) with a full range of services such as telecommunications, electricity, water and sanitation. Newly established public facilities such as schools, clinics and welfare offices could therefore be equipped with computers and laboratories to bridge the digital divide. Further the creation of earth dams, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, to meet the water needs in road construction, will contribute to reducing the risk associated with dry land garden and market agriculture. The turning of the sod on Main Road 68 today is a symbolic act that brings with it the hope of future prosperity and development to this sub-region. Following the recent tourism Indaba held in our province, we are glad to respond with positive action to the Inkosi’s request to upgrade this main road. My Department will accordingly commence shortly with the design plans leading to proposed Ndwebu Game Reserve. This is in line with the Government’s plans of prioritizing tourism. This is indeed a very happy occasion. Let us use it to rededicate ourselves to working together to ensure a better life for all. This is what our African Renaissance is all about. I thank you.
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