Opening address by Mr Khabisi Mosunkutu, Gauteng MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment at a public meeting to discuss development of social and economic infrastructure and government's complementary environmental policies

Programme Director: Mr Sipho Thanjekwayo
Senior government officials
Environmental activists, developers and representatives of various constituencies present
Invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a pleasure to again have an opportunity to share with you our government's policy positions on development of sustainable social and economic infrastructure and the complementary tools that are at our disposal.

I wish to, from the onset, share with you my expectations of this meeting. I certainly expect that we all are going to engage on robust but disciplined discussions. I also expect that these robust discussions will culminate in a better understanding of the various positions that we hold in relation to the development of our socio-economic infrastructure and our concerns for environmental issues.

I must say that the essence of our discussions is likely to generate heated debates, especially considering what may easily amount to deeply contradictory positions that are held by our various stakeholders. Some developers may hold views that are not always complementary to environmental activists, environmental scientists and environmental practitioners.

There are formations and individuals who hold almost fanatic views on environmental issues and these views may be inimical to the genuine aspirations of poor communities who depend so much on the services offered by the environment for their basic survival.

Whatever may be the nature of our differing values, I do hope that we all shall emerge from this meeting better informed and with more rational approaches to biodiversity. I also pray that we all should have empathy with the imperative that confronts us - the imperative to build a better life for all our people. Naturally, the source to build this better life is our ecosystem. I also wish that we should emerge from this gathering with views that will not unnecessarily jeopardise the future of those yet to be born.

Introducing the National Environmental Management Second Amendment Act, during March 2006, I made an appeal to the business community in particular. This specific plea was aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs to conduct their business in a sustainable manner a manner that will not focus exclusively on profit maximisation to the detriment of the wellbeing of all our communities and our biodiversity.

In this meeting I want to also appeal to those who hold what may easily amount to fundamentalist views on environmental issues. Those who adhere to such fanatical posturing should bear in mind the unambiguous constitutional obligation which co-joins us to place the interests of all our people first.

I further appeal that all of us must bear in mind some of the objective conditions which steer our environmental management decisions. Among these objective realities is the fact that Gauteng, at 16 548 Km2, is the smallest of all the provinces of South Africa, occupying a mere 1, 4 percent of the total land mass of the Republic.

Gauteng has a recorded population of over 10 million. This is projected to rise to 13 million people by 2014. This will surpass KwaZulu-Natal's population density. KwaZulu Natal which has a larger land surface of 94 361 Km2, will soon come second to Gauteng in terms of population density.

Gauteng also boasts a high number of biodiversity species relative to its size. The province is home to an estimated 3 303 plant, 125 mammal, 326 bird, 25 amphibian and 53 reptile species. A total of 41 plant species are red/orange listed while 44 bird species, two reptiles,22 mammals, seven invertebrates and one amphibian are also red data listed with varying degrees of threat.

At least one plant species is already extinct. Part of the provincial ecosystem is constituted by approximately 580 wetlands. A number of these wetlands are in various stages of functionality and decay, with four very severely damaged and five completely destroyed.

Gauteng, being the economic hub of the country, is expected and does continue to be the highest contributor to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Whilst the province is the major contributor to the country's GDP, we, however, are confronted with a 22, 6 percent rate of unemployment. Partly due to intra-country migration, we are faced with serious objective challenges of housing more and more people. We are also obliged to contribute to the provincial strategic objectives of stimulating faster economic growth and to drastically reduce unemployment.

These are the realities that compel us to always seek to strike a fine balance between protecting and promoting our ecological systems with the demands of our present generation. In pursuit of these goals, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process has become an effective tool. Out of the total EIA applications received, 585 or 41 percent were applications related to economic development, whilst 463 or 33 percent were for residential development with 188 being for low-cost housing. Other 26 percent of the applications were for social development purposes.

In highlighting the contribution of EIA processes to our strategic objective to drastically reduce unemployment, we could note the high rate of economic development that has resulted in the creation of hundreds or thousands of jobs. Knowing that each employed person feeds 3, 5 persons, you well could imagine the strategic importance of EIA's in relation to our provincial strategic objectives.

This said, I must emphasise that the provincial strategic objectives of building sustainable communities always remains our beacon and this is where the EIA processes and applicable rules, regulations and laws come in.

Officials from my department will elaborate on these rules and policies.

In conclusion, I wish to appeal to all our stakeholders, entrepreneurs in particular, to approach our offices for assistance in relation to their EIA requirements. I must also re-iterate our legal and moral obligation to ensure that we utilise the environment always bearing in mind our communities' right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being. We also have an obligation to protect the environment for the future generation.

Thank you for listening to me and wish you fruitful discussions.

Issued by: department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Guateng Provincial Government
8 May 2008