12 December 2001
The launch, which is part of the national programme to promote the usage of bicycles in the country, will be held at Mzinti Playground (next to the Community Hall) in Nelspruit. Minister Omar who will be in the company of the Provincial MEC for Transport, Mr Steve Mabona, the Mayor and Councillors of the Nkomazi Municipal Council is expected to address the Mzinti community.
Shova Kalula (or Pedal Easy) is a programme targeted at improving the mobility of South Africans through promoting bicycle transport use. It will target users in our most disadvantaged rural and urban settings who currently have to walk long distances to get to work. Over time it also intends to promote citywide bicycle transport infrastructure networks.
Over the next 2 years the programme will aim to set up bicycle micro-businesses nationwide and to use these to distribute affordable bicycles. Shova Kalula is a partnership between national, local and provincial government.
It comprises low-cost, new and used bicycles and a delivery chain that includes a container-based shop, a cycle repair training course and light engineering modifications to produce load carrying work-cycles. It also incorporates a scholar programme and a women's training programme.
The programme has already improved the lives of people in Witpoort and Bakenberg in Northern Province, Muden and Izingolweni in Kwazulu-Natal, and Temba and Ivory Park in Gauteng and it was recently launch also in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.
Minister Omar said that the support given by AFRIBIKE, an NGO to promote the use of non-motorised transport as a means of supporting low-cost mobility is commendable. He said this programme has a potential to job creation, poverty alleviation, education, sustainable development, and environmental protection.