OPENING OF MARHWAQA ACCESS ROAD, MT AYLIFF, EASTERN CAPE

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, 15 October 1999

The Minister of Public Works, Stella Sigcau officially opened the Marhwaqa access road at Mt Ayliff today (Friday, 15 October 1999).

In her address she stressed Government's commitment to rural development since 1994. The continued poverty plight has focussed programme implementation on improved service delivery in the rural areas, following a business-like approach, she said.

She explained Government's initiatives to coordinate rural development, starting with Cabinet Clusters at Ministerial level. Within Government's Special Employment Programmes, Programmes such as the Community Based Public Works Programme (CBPWP) are active ly working with communities, traditional leaders and local authorities or regional councils to address the most dire development needs in rural areas. The CBPWP strategy targets areas and population groups of great need and vulnerability, prioritising the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province, while youth, women and people with disabilities are special employment target groups.

The Department of Public Works, driving the CBPWP through an integrated development and partnership approach, has invested, in the current financial year only, an amount of R168,6 million in the Eastern Cape. Types of infrastructure created include:

• Directly productive assets such as community gardens
• Access to trade and services by access roads
• Labour saving facilities such as créches
• Social cohesion facilities such as community centres
• Environmental protection structures addressing for example erosion. An additional R103 million has been allocated from the Job Creation Fund for the implementation of the roads linked to the Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs).

Minister Sigcau called on communities to involve themselves in the sustained operation of assets created, ensuring that capacity building takes place to effectively operate, manage and maintain the created infrastructure, realising the economic opportuniti es that have been unlocked. She assured them that Government is prepared and ready to walk with communities every step of the way.

ISSUED BY COMMUNICATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, Pretoria

14 October 1999

ENQUIRIES: Bongani More, Chief Director:Community Based Public Works Programme, Department of Public Works, tel: 012-3372338 or 082 902 7923

MEDIA LIAISON: Mariétte Ebersöhn, tel: 082 573 3262