Date: 19/10/2003
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: PIARC World Road Congress
ADDRESS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE 22nd PIARC WORLD ROAD CONGRESS, Durban, 19 October 2003
The President of the PIARC, Mr Michaud,
His Excellency the Vice Prime Minister of Madagascar, Mr Zaza
South African Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar,
Minister of Transport in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, S'bu Ndebele,
All MECs and Members of Parliament present,
His Worship the Mayor of Ethekwini Municipality, Councillor Obed Mlaba,
Distinguished delegates from all over the world,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to welcome our visitors to South Africa and to this beautiful port city.
We are truly privileged to be hosting the first PIARC World Road Congress of the new millennium, and hope this will add the necessary boost to the drive for infrastructure development not only in this country, but the whole continent.
The congress takes place as our continent moves aggressively to mainstream itself and become an integral part of the international economic community, not as recipients of development aid, but as development partners with the rest of the world.
The development of transport infrastructure will greatly enhance Africa's development objectives. We are therefore pleased, ladies and gentlemen, that this congress is held on this continent, since the development of productive infrastructure, such as road and transport assets, is one of our key priorities.
By investing in assets such as roads, bridges and others, nations can best structure and enhance development and facilitate better economic activity.
From this perspective, a country's transport and road infrastructure becomes an enabling industry, one that rises to meet both economic and social demands such as improved access to employment opportunities and increased social integration. In totality, these factors result in increased trade and socio-economic growth.
Our continent faces a formidable task in attempting to achieve sustainable development and to improve access to basic needs. In Africa, 340 million people, or half the population, live on less than one US dollar a day. The mortality rate of children under five years of age is 140 per 1000. Only 58% of the population has access to safe water and the rate of illiteracy for people over 15 years of age is 41%.
The impoverishment of the African continent was of course accentuated by the legacy of colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, wars and conflicts. We must also acknowledge the role of policies pursued by many countries in the post-independence era.
Due to a number of reasons the world was divided with a vigorous cold war between the two sides, and countries in the world including African countries were subjected to this situation. Certainly this situation contributed to many of the challenges we face today.
The African Union (AU) and its socio-economic programme, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), constitute some of the ways and means we have chosen in order to tackle the development challenges we find ourselves in.
NEPAD provides the direction for us to move decisively towards sustainable growth and development, and at the same time opens up an opportunity for the continent to participate actively in the world economy and body politic.
The policy framework of NEPAD has two major pillars - one is internally focussed whilst the other is focussed on partnership with the rest of the world. The internal focus includes the consolidation of democracy and good governance, adoption of successful developmental practices and the strengthening of intra-African economic integration.
The external focus is aimed at addressing the inequitable international world order that continues to undermine Africa's developmental effort.
The recent events at the World Trade Organisation in Cancun, Mexico, are a stark reminder of this reality and the need for countries, both in the developed and developing worlds, to stand together to change this state of affairs.
Africa, in an effort to organise itself to implement ideas contained in NEPAD, has seen its regions as an important vehicle. The Regional Economic Communities of Africa constitute the development blocks of the AU. These are the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of West African States, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Economic Community of Central African States and the Arab Maghreb Union. It is through the usage of these blocks that the objectives of NEPAD will be implemented.
NEPAD has a set of important priorities, one of which is in the area of infrastructure development, which I hope delegates at this conference will take time to study and find areas of participation. The NEPAD Infrastructure Short-Term Action Plan, developed in conjunction with the African Development Bank, the World Bank and European Commission, amongst others, indicates the seriousness with which we regard infrastructure development.
The plan focuses on trans-border infrastructure projects pertaining to energy, transport, water and sanitation, and information and communication technology, which could enhance regional integration in Africa.
We could mention, for example, the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline, the West Africa gas pipeline, a hydroelectric power plant in Mozambique, the Nigeria-Benin-Togo-Ghana and the DRC-Angola-Namibia electricity inter-connection project and the container terminal expansion in Dakar, Senegal.
Regarding transport and road rehabilitation, we could mention the road corridor from Djibouti to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and the Trans-Sahelian road from Bamako in Mali, to Dakar in Senegal, to mention but a few.
As another development tool, there is also the Spatial Development Initiative methodology, developed in South Africa in 1996 as an integrated planning tool aimed at promoting investment in regions of the countries that were underdeveloped but had potential for growth. It has also been used in integrating projects in countries of the regions.
Examples are the North-South Transport Corridor which seeks to connect Zambia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi through a rail network and the Eco-tourism Spatial Development Initiative seeks to connect Rwanda and Tanzania as well as the DRC and Uganda's tourism potential into one project.
All these projects are being undertaken in order to speed up the development process within the continent.
Africa is indeed a continent at work for a better life as these projects indicate. Within our own country, several projects are also in progress, all aimed at improving the lives of the people. Our ultimate objective is to ensure that each village has a road infrastructure.
We are working to ensure that our rural population, particularly women, who make up the majority, do not have to walk long distances, navigating dangerous pathways from the bus stop to their homes. Our school children need to travel to school in clear pathways, crossing rivers in rural villages through proper bridges. That is our vision of a better life for all South Africans.
It is a vision of an improvement of life in all spheres, which has driven us since April 1994 when this country was liberated from apartheid, ushering in a new democratic order. As we move towards the 10th year anniversary of our freedom in April 2004, we will be celebrating many of our achievements, including the development of infrastructure in many areas.
We will then rededicate ourselves as a nation to working even harder, in the next decade of freedom, to make our vision of a better life come true for each woman, child and man in our country.
Distinguished delegates, the challenges we face are so enormous that governments alone cannot make a difference. We need the support of all sectors. The enormity of the work has necessitated a new approach to funding and delivery of public services, the public-private partnerships.
These partnerships have emerged as one of the ways to harness additional resources to foster development. We applaud and encourage such partnerships, as they will continue to take the African development process further.
Ladies and gentlemen, the success of this 22nd World Road Congress is very important for all of us. We therefore wish you very fruitful deliberations and know that we will all be wiser from the resolutions of this congress, which will give us fresh inputs and ideas on infrastructure development as a tool of economic development.
I wish you all the best in your discussions.
It is my great pleasure to declare this congress officially open.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
19 October 2003
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: PIARC World Road Congress
ADDRESS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE 22nd PIARC WORLD ROAD CONGRESS, Durban, 19 October 2003
The President of the PIARC, Mr Michaud,
His Excellency the Vice Prime Minister of Madagascar, Mr Zaza
South African Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar,
Minister of Transport in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, S'bu Ndebele,
All MECs and Members of Parliament present,
His Worship the Mayor of Ethekwini Municipality, Councillor Obed Mlaba,
Distinguished delegates from all over the world,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to welcome our visitors to South Africa and to this beautiful port city.
We are truly privileged to be hosting the first PIARC World Road Congress of the new millennium, and hope this will add the necessary boost to the drive for infrastructure development not only in this country, but the whole continent.
The congress takes place as our continent moves aggressively to mainstream itself and become an integral part of the international economic community, not as recipients of development aid, but as development partners with the rest of the world.
The development of transport infrastructure will greatly enhance Africa's development objectives. We are therefore pleased, ladies and gentlemen, that this congress is held on this continent, since the development of productive infrastructure, such as road and transport assets, is one of our key priorities.
By investing in assets such as roads, bridges and others, nations can best structure and enhance development and facilitate better economic activity.
From this perspective, a country's transport and road infrastructure becomes an enabling industry, one that rises to meet both economic and social demands such as improved access to employment opportunities and increased social integration. In totality, these factors result in increased trade and socio-economic growth.
Our continent faces a formidable task in attempting to achieve sustainable development and to improve access to basic needs. In Africa, 340 million people, or half the population, live on less than one US dollar a day. The mortality rate of children under five years of age is 140 per 1000. Only 58% of the population has access to safe water and the rate of illiteracy for people over 15 years of age is 41%.
The impoverishment of the African continent was of course accentuated by the legacy of colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, wars and conflicts. We must also acknowledge the role of policies pursued by many countries in the post-independence era.
Due to a number of reasons the world was divided with a vigorous cold war between the two sides, and countries in the world including African countries were subjected to this situation. Certainly this situation contributed to many of the challenges we face today.
The African Union (AU) and its socio-economic programme, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), constitute some of the ways and means we have chosen in order to tackle the development challenges we find ourselves in.
NEPAD provides the direction for us to move decisively towards sustainable growth and development, and at the same time opens up an opportunity for the continent to participate actively in the world economy and body politic.
The policy framework of NEPAD has two major pillars - one is internally focussed whilst the other is focussed on partnership with the rest of the world. The internal focus includes the consolidation of democracy and good governance, adoption of successful developmental practices and the strengthening of intra-African economic integration.
The external focus is aimed at addressing the inequitable international world order that continues to undermine Africa's developmental effort.
The recent events at the World Trade Organisation in Cancun, Mexico, are a stark reminder of this reality and the need for countries, both in the developed and developing worlds, to stand together to change this state of affairs.
Africa, in an effort to organise itself to implement ideas contained in NEPAD, has seen its regions as an important vehicle. The Regional Economic Communities of Africa constitute the development blocks of the AU. These are the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of West African States, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Economic Community of Central African States and the Arab Maghreb Union. It is through the usage of these blocks that the objectives of NEPAD will be implemented.
NEPAD has a set of important priorities, one of which is in the area of infrastructure development, which I hope delegates at this conference will take time to study and find areas of participation. The NEPAD Infrastructure Short-Term Action Plan, developed in conjunction with the African Development Bank, the World Bank and European Commission, amongst others, indicates the seriousness with which we regard infrastructure development.
The plan focuses on trans-border infrastructure projects pertaining to energy, transport, water and sanitation, and information and communication technology, which could enhance regional integration in Africa.
We could mention, for example, the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline, the West Africa gas pipeline, a hydroelectric power plant in Mozambique, the Nigeria-Benin-Togo-Ghana and the DRC-Angola-Namibia electricity inter-connection project and the container terminal expansion in Dakar, Senegal.
Regarding transport and road rehabilitation, we could mention the road corridor from Djibouti to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and the Trans-Sahelian road from Bamako in Mali, to Dakar in Senegal, to mention but a few.
As another development tool, there is also the Spatial Development Initiative methodology, developed in South Africa in 1996 as an integrated planning tool aimed at promoting investment in regions of the countries that were underdeveloped but had potential for growth. It has also been used in integrating projects in countries of the regions.
Examples are the North-South Transport Corridor which seeks to connect Zambia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi through a rail network and the Eco-tourism Spatial Development Initiative seeks to connect Rwanda and Tanzania as well as the DRC and Uganda's tourism potential into one project.
All these projects are being undertaken in order to speed up the development process within the continent.
Africa is indeed a continent at work for a better life as these projects indicate. Within our own country, several projects are also in progress, all aimed at improving the lives of the people. Our ultimate objective is to ensure that each village has a road infrastructure.
We are working to ensure that our rural population, particularly women, who make up the majority, do not have to walk long distances, navigating dangerous pathways from the bus stop to their homes. Our school children need to travel to school in clear pathways, crossing rivers in rural villages through proper bridges. That is our vision of a better life for all South Africans.
It is a vision of an improvement of life in all spheres, which has driven us since April 1994 when this country was liberated from apartheid, ushering in a new democratic order. As we move towards the 10th year anniversary of our freedom in April 2004, we will be celebrating many of our achievements, including the development of infrastructure in many areas.
We will then rededicate ourselves as a nation to working even harder, in the next decade of freedom, to make our vision of a better life come true for each woman, child and man in our country.
Distinguished delegates, the challenges we face are so enormous that governments alone cannot make a difference. We need the support of all sectors. The enormity of the work has necessitated a new approach to funding and delivery of public services, the public-private partnerships.
These partnerships have emerged as one of the ways to harness additional resources to foster development. We applaud and encourage such partnerships, as they will continue to take the African development process further.
Ladies and gentlemen, the success of this 22nd World Road Congress is very important for all of us. We therefore wish you very fruitful deliberations and know that we will all be wiser from the resolutions of this congress, which will give us fresh inputs and ideas on infrastructure development as a tool of economic development.
I wish you all the best in your discussions.
It is my great pleasure to declare this congress officially open.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
19 October 2003
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