Address by Minister of Public Works, Jeff Radebe, at the Launch of the Community Based Public Works Programme
Bushbuckridge, 20 May 1999
Ceremonial Greetings
We are here today to join you in celebrating the fruits of our hard-earned democracy here in the Great North. We are celebrating because we know that the battle against poverty that is bedevilling the Northern Province is being won with each passing day. We realise that this battle is uphill and that the task of uprooting poverty is not easy. The greatest source of our inspiration and strength is the determination that ordinary women and men demonstrate every day in the face of hardship and suffering. There is however a glimmer of hope on the horizon that each new project brings with it many opportunities for further growth and development. There is a new confidence amongst rural communities through the length and breadth of this province that the impact of our government's programmes is beginning to reach into every corner.
The first five years of our ANC led democratic government has seen the gradual improvement in the delivery of basic services to our communities. Government's task in the next five years under Mbeki is to accelerate that change and work towards building a winning nation.
Ladies and Gentlemen: In order to accelerate change it is vital that we improve and strengthen the relationship between all spheres of government. I want to take this opportunity to thank and pay tribute to the Provincial and Local Government for their outstanding co-operation and contribution in making the Community Based Public Works Programme(CBPWP) an overwhelming success.
I want to re-iterate my appreciation and admiration for the women, men and youth that through their sweat and toil are reshaping and rebuilding South Africa's rural landscape. I am impressed by the high quality of workmanship and dedication that goes into each and every project.
I am pleased to inform you that following on the R21 million that we allocated to the Northern Province from the R85million Poverty Alleviation Fund, we are now allocating a further R63, 7 million from the R274million allocation. This demonstrates the serious commitment that our government has towards eradicating poverty and creating opportunities for sustainable economic activity.
This R63,7 million will be directed towards projects in 8 cluster areas spread over four regions. These four regions are under the Northern District Council (NDC);
Lowveld Region:
Southern Region
Central Region
Moletjie-Matlala TLC
Northern Region
Tshipise-Nzhelele TLC targeting Mamvuka, Mapila, Tshikuwi and Manyii.
The following projects are underway in each of the 8 clusters areas:
Number of Projects Location Project Type
8 Champagne
Number of Projects Location Project Type
5 Orinoco
Number of Projects Location Project Type
08 Solani Rhulani Julesburg Hoveni
Number of Projects Location Project Type
09 Phusulang Malaka Phatantswane
Number of Projects Location Project Type
09 Champagne
Number of Projects Location Project Type
07 Rietfontein
Number of Projects Location Project Type
10 Uitkyk 1,2,3 Ka-Kgoroshi Bayswater
Number of Projects Location Project Type
11
Mamvuka Manyii Mapila
Within the Bushbuckridge area, the Programme has two clusters viz. Bushbuckridge North and Midlands In the Bushbuckridge Midlands Cluster there 7 projects valued at R7,6 M. This includes:
In the Bushbuckridge North Cluster R7.6 M has been allocated. This includes:
- Access Road and Transport facilities - Sports Facilities - Multi-purpose Factory Units, - Chicken Broiler and Irrigation, - Champagne Water and Electricity supply (linked to the entire cluster infrastructure), - Preschool - Workshops and Market Stalls
These projects that I have mentioned will no doubt create a great deal of excitement here at Bushbuckridge as well as the other areas. They are a product of your efforts to continue working with the government that you elected in 1994. Let us continue this partnership after the 2nd of June 1999. I want to urge all of you that have registered to go to the polls and strengthen the democratic process by voting for a better life for all our people.
Through working together on this Rural Anti-Poverty Programme(RAPP) we have demonstrated our resolve not to waver in our commitment to uproot poverty and address the plight of rural communities caused by decades of Apartheid rule and centuries of colonialism. We have held high the proud tradition of this great nation, to persist and persevere in our struggle until victory dawns.
Today we celebrate another victory. The victory of hope over despair. We will not stop here at Bushbuckridge, we will not rest until hunger, suffering, deprivation and abject poverty is wiped from every corner of this province. Every school that we have built is a lesson in the triumph of hope over despair. Every bridge that we have built leads us to new opportunities; opportunities for rebuilding our communities, restoring the historic ties that bind us together as a nation. Every sports field that has been developed provides a new training ground for our youth to play together, to grow together, to triumph together over the many challenges that face young people in the difficult times in which we live. We will triumph over despair because we have taken destiny into our own hands. Every plant that grows in the community gardens that we have cultivated feeds and nourishes the spirit of our nation. It restores the pride and dignity that will give birth to many generations of nation-builders.
History provides us with the confidence that integrated rural development based on sustainable programmes and projects can make a difference to the plight of our people. My Department of Public Works has introduced programmes that re- instils people's sense of self-worth, dignity and self-reliance. We believe that this is vital to the very success of our development endeavours. These programmes encourage partnerships between different spheres of government, partnerships between communities and government and partnerships between local communities and business to develop the potential of local economic development nodes.
I also want to address a special word of appreciation to the district councils and tribal authorities for their excellent and outstanding efforts in the implementation of these projects. Your hardwork, dedication and commitment is indeed a shining example and inspiration to other local and tribal authorities throughout South Africa.
The ordinary men and women who have shaped and built these projects with their bare hands bear testimony that the greatest strength and wealth of our nation is our people. You have demonstrated that each and every South African can make a difference in shaping the destiny of our beloved country. I want to pay tribute to the spirit of co-operative governance with which you have given living expression to our vision of building together in the spirit of Masakhane.
Collectively we are sending a clear message that the future of this country can only be built on the solid foundations of genuine partnerships. We are also saying seeing the growing importance of developing partnerships in ways that enhance the sense of social responsibility of every woman and man, young and old, abled and disabled, black and white and urban and rural South African. Each one of us can and must make a difference.
I want to pay a special tribute to the partnership that has developed between National, Provincial and local governments, communities and traditional leaders in securing the delivery of these projects. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that communities take ownership of these assets and utilise them to the optimum. Let us also through this partnership ensure that these community assets are cared for. It is only through committing ourselves to this process that we can reverse the horrible legacy of skewed development and social dysfunction that has ravaged the social and moral fabric of our society.
The Department of Public Works through its Community Based Public Works Programme has championed one of government's key RDP initiatives in combating poverty. This programme is aimed at sustainable poverty alleviation in rural areas through the delivery of critical infrastructure within the framework of integrated rural development. I believe that the major achievement of this approach has been the participation of communities in the processes of planning and identification of projects. I am also pleased that there is increased co- operation between the various government departments at various levels in project planning and delivery. Most important of all is that you have all participated in ensuring that our valuable resources are allocated according to the development priorities that we are confronted with.
Through the process of delivering these projects, many women and men who are participating in the projects have a valuable opportunity to acquire new skills and training. This development of our human capital is a cornerstone of our government's Reconstruction and Development Programme. I am especially happy that so many single-women headed households are benefiting from this programme. I can assure you that it is only through the participation of every able person in our communities that we can enhance the social and economic equity and make a serious impact on poverty in our rural areas.
Steadily we are winning the battle to ensure that the political victory attained in 1994 is also translated into a socio-economic victory. Amongst the most fundamental elements of this socio-economic victory is ensuring social security for all our people through adequate provision of poverty alleviation mechanisms and the creation of opportunities for gainful economic activity. Given the enormous disparities that we have inherited, the challenge of uprooting poverty and creating jobs is by no means an easy task. It is nevertheless a task to which we all have committed ourselves and we will pursue it to its ultimate end.
I want to assure you that Public Works programmes as one of the key poverty alleviation and job creation instruments of government will continue to play the critical role of providing a social safety net for the most vulnerable and the poorest of the poor. It will simultaneously continue to create the infrastructure required for sustainable development.
The Community Based Public Works Programme(CBPWP) is succeeding because rural communities here at Bushbuckridge in the Northern Province, in Nseleni in Kwazulu Natal, and Vidgiesville in the Eastern Cape are exercising their hard- earned democratic right. They make critical decisions that have a bearing on the success or failure of plans and developments on the local level.
I want to pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of this community. Without you these projects will never have succeeded. Your commitment further encourages our government to intensify the fight to uproot the scourge of poverty. We will continue to accelerate delivery to ensure that the quality of your lives is improved. Together, we are fighting poverty. Together, we are fighting to break the shackles that hamper this province from reaching its potential. Together, we are building a new future and new hope for all the people of the Great North and our beloved country as a whole. Vote for a better life! Vote for a better future.
Viva Bushbuckridge Viva!
I thank you !