 
SPEECH BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL MINISTER OF TRANSPORT MR S’BU NDEBELE DURING THE DEVELOPMENT IMBIZO IN BERGVILLE AT SOMNTSEU PRIMARY SCHOOL18 December 2003
Programme Director A very warm welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen and thank you for coming. Ten years on from democracy the government has not halted the pace of development but have accelerated it. Our objectives have been daunting but we have openly embraced the challenges to accelerate the transformation of KwaZulu Natal society; contributed to the creation of wealth of our province and our country, but particularly within poor communities; redistributed opportunities within the transport sector; and built the capacities of the impoverished communities. As a gateway province to South Africa and our SADC neighbours, as the Department of Transport we have identified strategic development opportunities and to this end redressed some of the inequities which exist. To eradicate poverty, address job creation (KZN’s official unemployment rate is 33.5%) and to provide greater equity in the provision of services we have restored investor confidence in this province, and business opportunities as a whole. Both our Community Access Roads and ARRUP programmes (African Renaissance Road Upgrading Programme) have been used to create a wide range of entrepreneurial (black empowerment) and help poor communities, and also help new market entrants. Our objectives are not utopian: we want a diversified local economy, increased standard of living in rural areas in relation to the standard of living in urban areas, a more competitive transportation market in which the benefits from savings in transport costs are passed, and want to reduce leakage, income and wealth, from rural to urban centres. The opening of the Mnweni River Bridge that we opened here today is an example of the very important tasks we set ourselves to change the lives and develop the resources of the people in this area. The bridge cost the department an amount of R2.8 million, and we are confident that you the people of Northern Natal will benefit from it and have benefited from its construction in one way or the other. Among us here we have the Deputy President, National Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Amakhosi, MEC's, Mayors and Councillors. Their presence signifies the importance we attach to the development of rural communities that have been neglected by the previous government. The whole of South Africa celebrated the National Day of Reconciliation two days ago and for us as the kwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport linking communities through road construction adds practical value to this reconciliation. We also believe that the ultimate measure of true reconciliation lies in concrete and tangible projects that seek to transform the lives of people for the better. That is why we have come together as Minister's from various portfolios, i.e. to ensure that these projects are interlinked for the benefit of the previously neglected communities. As you will notice, today we also have MEC's for Agriculture, Health, Public Works and Transport specifically to join hands in ensuring that we deliver as per our mandate. PortFolio Ministers in KwaZulu-Natal are all expected to perform their core functions to:
In the process of achieving these objectives, we are expected, inter alia, to:
We are also expected to administer our Portfolios to promote co-operative governance. The overall objective of co-operative governance is to harness capacities of the State to make meaningful and sustained impact on the transformation of society through integrated Development Plans. Our being here as Executing authorities from the four Port Folios of Agriculture, Heath, Public Works and Transport is in line with this principle of co-operative governance. This co-operative governance continues to benefit the KwaZulu-Natal communities. For instance, the construction of Mnweni River Bridge will benefit four schools at different levels. It will link the community with eDukuza Magistrate and Gqomu Police Station. Close to a million people will benefit because the road on which this bridge is constructed also links them with Emmaus Hospital and Oloiver'shoek clinic. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport used the services of an emerging contractor in line with our Black Empowerment policy. I think it is necessary at this point to state to all and sundry that reconciliation alone will be meaningless without compensation and empowerment of the people and communities that suffered as a result of Apartheid. That is why we in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport are targeting rural areas in our road construction and empowerment activities. Having said that, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vukuzakhe and Zibambele Contractors for the role they have played in changing the road infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal. Vukuzakhe is the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport's emerging contractor development programme. Vukuzakhe is a staged programme in which contractors receive training, mentorship and other support to assist them to advance through the contract stages, which are designed to prepare them to compete on the open market. Zibambele Programme, on the other hand, is a programme whereby the maintenance of rural roads by labour intensive methods is contracted to the most destitute of the rural households. Women-headed households are specifically targeted. We have issued more than 14 000 Zibambele contracts so far. Zibambele was awarded the prestigious Impumelelo Award for being the most innovative and effective programme dedicated to the upliftment of the poor in South Africa. We have recently launched the Zibambele Savings Clubs, which have become important points of contact for other government departments and programmes that target women and the poor in general. In this way the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has opened the way for co-operative Governance and always expect that we will be working together to serve all the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal to ensure A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL. The challenges that lie ahead, while daunting, is not unachievable. When you asked each one of us to represent you to make your life a better one, we pledged our heart and soul that we would do everything within our power to do that. And we will continue to do that. Thank you.
|
