Date: 27/10/2006
Source: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: van Schalkwyk: KwaZulu-Natal Chamber of Business


Extracts from a speech by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, addressing the KwaZulu-Natal Chamber of Business annual gala dinner, International Convention Centre, Durban

KwaZulu-Natal - Tourism Growth and EIA Action Plan

"South Africa's growth in international arrivals at 10,3 percent was well ahead of the global growth rate of 5,5 percent last year. However, KwaZulu-Natal has performed better than the rest of the country and the rest of the world achieving a growth rate of 15 percent in the past year," said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, addressing the annual KwaZulu-Natal Chamber of Business Gala Dinner, in Durban on Friday evening.

Further addressing the importance of tourism in KwaZulu-Natal, the Minister noted that the province hosted approximately 1,5 million international visitors last year which brought R8,3 billion into the province. Domestic tourists injected a further R6,28 billion into the provincial economy. The tourism industry directly provides 77 000 jobs in the province but through all its related industries, actually sustained 154 000 jobs last year.

Turning to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) the Minister said that "although we still have a long way to go in terms of black economic empowerment, we must recognise the impressive strides made by industry. In a Financial Mail/Empowerdex survey conducted earlier this year, two of the top five companies with the highest BEE ratings were in the tourism industry, the Don Group and Sun International".

Linking tourism and sustainable development, the Minister commented on the value of our national parks saying, "It is with great pride that I can point to a place on a map, just two hours from here, where we have translated the principles of sustainable development into action. In and around the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park we are creating new tourism products and enhancing game viewing and biodiversity. Malaria has been all but eradicated and new jobs have been generated. All of this has been done in a way that positions local people as active players in the global economy. Since 2000 there has been a 59 percent increase in the number of tourism facilities and job creation has surpassed that of dune mining. The town of St Lucia now boasts some 3 500 tourist beds."

Turning his attention to the issue of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) the Minister remarked that, "KwaZulu-Natal as a province had the third largest backlog (874) of pending applications for EIAs in March 2006. In total the national backlog was around 5 271. Tremendous strides have been made since then and the backlog for the province now stands at 296. This reflects the dedication of our department to resolving this issue."

The Minister outlined the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism's action plans for fighting the substantial backlogs which included "putting a more streamlined system in place without compromising environmental integrity. In addition to containing hard deadlines for processing applications, the new system is better aligned to our much evolved environmental management law. The facts bear us out on this issue there is not a single backlog in the country on applications submitted since the new system has been in place."

Shedding more light on further plans the Minister stated, "The tender for assistance to the province of KwaZulu-Natal closes in two weeks time and we expect additional capacity for EIA processing to be in place by the end of November."

Expressing his concern about the quality of EIAs and the dearth of expert assessors, the Minister informed the gathering that, "Our Department has taken steps to speed up the process with regard to the certification of EIA practitioners. Last month we gave the interim board of Environmental Assessment Practitioners until the end of November to formalise their structure and action plan, failing which we will be forced to legislate on this matter."

Emphasising the role that business can play, the Minister pointed out that it was time for a new look at the importance of EIAs, "The broader point is that EIAs should not be seen as restricting development. They should be recognised as a tool for obtaining a better understanding of the implications of business decisions. They set the stage for sustainable development by providing a base from which businesses, communities and other stakeholders can engage constructively with each other. EIAs can play a critical role in ensuring that we mitigate the risks and optimise the opportunities associated with the way we approach development. EIAs should accordingly not become a convenient scapegoat for hold-ups in project delivery. With the new framework in place, it is possible to plan well in advance for development that protects one of our greatest national assets the environment."

Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
27 October 2006