 
SPEECH BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL MINISTER OF TRANSPORT MR S’BU NDEBELE DURING THE SOD-TURNING CEREMONY OF MONDLO ACCESS ROAD IN VRYHEIDRESTORING HOPE FOR THE PEOPLE OF VRYHEID: FROM ISANDLWANA TO 2004 15 March 2004
As I was driving here today I remembered the battles fought on the plains of Isandlwana and realised that the will to fight, from the days starting from 1879, has not been lost. And the zest for a better life still continues to be the pillar for the people’s struggles here. To the people in Mondlo, I salute you and congratulate you today for your new victory. I greet you all Ladies and Gentlemen and thank you very much for attending this function. Today is a great day for the people of Mondlo and the whole of Vryheid. You will recall that the results of our Community Access Roads Needs Study highlighted that 60% of our gravel roads were in a poor condition. The study also established that rural road users are the most severely affected with unacceptably high vehicle operating costs that amount to more than R1.29 billion per annum. This is even worse for people in rural areas where there are no industrial zones that can address needs such as the ones I have outlined. Since 1994 the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport Department has been gradually unlocking these economic shackles by means of innovative programmes that sought to address rural poverty. Our efforts in trying to push back the frontiers of poverty have not been going unnoticed. The KwaZulu-Natal department of Transport’s innovative programmes have been well received and highly appreciated by the leadership of this country who continue to heap accolades for the good work done by the Department. This explains why I am extremely delighted to be part of the sod-turning ceremony of Mondlo Road . Mondlo was established in 1956 in the so-called Kwazulu homeland (area reserved for the Zulus), about thirty kilometres southeast of Vryheid. The idea behind it was to remove black people from white farms or towns and to move them to their respective homelands, i.e. areas set aside by the government exclusively for Blacks. Your struggle against oppression will slowly be rewarded and with the new dispensation we will remove all obstacles in your way. In the face of the challenges you face, we have stepped in. If the road network fails, our provincial economy will collapse. The challenge for us is to remedy road network inequalities that arose during apartheid, and even before. We needed to grow our rural economies and serve our rural populations. Mondlo had a population of about five thousand in 1965. The number of people who settled in Mondlo grew rapidly in the next twenty years. The infrastructure originally provided for the town was not at all adequate to cope with the influx of people. As a result, a large section of Mondlo consists of informal, squatter type housing without water, electricity and proper roads. The total population of Mondlo was estimated at about fifty to sixty thousand in 1990 yet the previous government never constructed a proper road infrastructure for the people. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport regards the provision of roads infrastructure as a fundamental component of economic reconstruction not only for our Province but also for the entire country. Very few, if any, governments in history have had the challenge of tackling manifold challenges such as we do in South Africa. The combined oppression of Colonialism, tribalism, and Apartheid left our communities on the verge of disintegration. Our rural communities, in particular, were in crises in spite of their potential in terms of agriculture and tourism. Therefore, when the democratic government took over in 1994, the challenge was not only to address historical imbalances but also to face new challenges imposed externally by globalisation, challenges such as trans-national crime, AIDS – which is trans-national and poverty which became exacerbated by the tyranny of the unforgiving market forces. It is in this context that we set our self a goal of achieving a better life for all. A well-maintained road network is of critical importance in social reconstruction, especially in areas like here at Mondlo. I do not like to conclude without unpacking how this road will benefit the surrounding communities.
In the final analysis, I want to state that President Thabo Mbeki’s vision of African Renaissance is beginning to see the light of the day. Recently our very own Mark Shuttleworth from Cape Town, South Africa, conquered the challenge to step on the moon. Everyday we in the department look for ways to meet new challenges: we have made it easier for women and children to reach schools and clinics. This alone is the true meaning of what DEMOCRACY is all about – ACCESS, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE. We have connected people from across the province and made them realise that every place can be open to them. You have survived 1879 and now in 2004 you have something else to celebrate about. Congratulations. And enjoy the fruits of your struggle. Thank you.
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