Issued by Office of the Deputy President
Ponto Do Ouro Border 11 November 2000
Ministers and delegates from Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa
Amakhosi
Honoured Guests
I am very proud to be a part of this significant occasion today - the final stages of a very significant project in our quest to provide a better life for all South Africans.
I have been a part of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative from the beginning. I was present at the very first ministerial meetings that took place between our three countries, when we set out to change the future of this region.
Former President Mandela and the Minister of Home Affairs, Umntwana wakwaPhindangene, were indeed here some three years ago to mark the construction of the first phase of this road.
Since then, President Mbeki has been in the region several times, and I want to assure you that you will continue to see our leadership working hard to deliver on the promises we made.
When we started the Lubombo SDI, very few people believed that what we intended for this region would be achieved.
But we have worked hard, and today we can point to significant achievements, that are bound to change the quality of life of the
people of this region for the better.
Through the Lubombo SDI process, we have promoted a number of integrated interventions designed to improve the investment climate in this region and bring development to our people.
Maputaland is not only a place of great beauty that should be conserved for transmission to future generations - it is also a place of poverty and underdevelopment, where decades of neglect have stunted the great potential of its people.
It is this co-existence of beauty and poverty - that has been the case for decades - that constitutes the greatest challenge of Maputaland: to use its natural beauty to bring reconstruction and development to the people of the region.
The Lubombo SDI has become a leading example of government's commitment to changing that paradox using an integrated rural development strategy that is committed to rapid delivery.
It is based on clear and co-ordinated national and provincial strategies that aim to develop the area as a major international tourism destination. As part of this approach, the LSDI identified key factors constraining tourism development in the Lubombo region.
Together with relevant provincial and national agencies, the LSDI is implementing a systematic programme that is removing the major factors that are blocking the emergence of the region as a world-class tourism destination.
One of the determinants of tourism growth is the availability of transport and other key infrastructure. This is starkly illustrated by the fact that more than 85% of northern KwaZulu-Natal's existing tourism beds are within 10km of a tarred road, mainly the N2.
The acute shortage of basic infrastructure in the region has been a serious barrier to the expansion of the region's tourism economy. Maputaland has one of the biggest infrastructure backlogs in the province.
The road we are opening today, therefore, marks a new era of delivery and the beginning of meaningful regional integration.
This was the challenge presented to the National Roads Agency (NRA) in an area where no major road construction had taken place for years and local capacity had to be developed immediately due to the urgent nature of the programme.
The total value of the Lubombo road is R234 million, which marks the most significant investment in this region by government in the last 20 years.
The first 44km of the road from Hluhluwe to Lower Mkuze, valued at R60 million, is complete. The second 41km section from
Lower Mkuze past Mbazwana town to Mseleni Hospital is well under construction.
The final 42km phase that we are launching today is valued at R45million with 65% of the contract being carried out by SMME's. Over R1 million has been spent on training and 48 SMME's have taken part in the construction of the completed phases.
This project has succeeded to fulfill the government's policy of empowering emerging entrepreneurs in the area of construction.
One can only hope that there were no rent-a-black companies involved.
This road is significant in that it does not end here at this border, as it links us with our neighbours. Of the 120km from here to Maputo, only 50kms remain untarred. Our Mozambican colleagues have assured us that despite the floods, construction is imminent.
Projects that dynamically link the three countries involved in this initiative are imperative. We hope therefore that they would be implemented sooner as they would be of direct benefit to people living along the borders of all three countries.
In this way we would avoid lopsided development and, to an extent, deal with the issue of people crossing our border to find employment in South Africa.
However, this road is not about figures but about people and improving their lives. Today we are on the threshold of a new era where Durban and Maputo will be 5 hours apart by car. Northern Maputaland, which was once remote and unreachable, will be linked to the major centres of southern Africa.
This further enhances government's efforts towards regional integration and ensures that the ties that have existed between our two countries for ages, between families and friends, are not separated by a border fence.
Ladies and gentlemen, you all know that the key focus of this government is to provide a better life for all. Completion of this road is set to provide, in this area, 22% more people, access to healthcare, 160% more to police services, and 70% of people living in high risk malaria areas, within 5km of all weather access.
Government has committed significant amounts of money for the implementation of this network of community investment and access roads -several of which are currently under construction.
The LSDI has also prioritised the redevelopment of a major under-utilised asset the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. Until now, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park has been made up of numerous fragmented pieces of land owned by various state agencies and managed in terms of various proclamations.
The problems associated with fragmentation are exacerbated by land uses in key areas of the park that is incompatible with conservation and tourism development.
While the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park has the potential to offer a world-class combination of land, fresh water and marine activities, its fragmented ownership and management have meant that it has remained severely underdeveloped.
What should be one of the world's great destinations, combining the Big Five with beaches, lakes, forests and coral reefs, has remained an underperforming patchwork suffering from a lack of infrastructure and co-ordinated development.
This is now set to change as the Park has been consolidated and a special Authority established to manage and develop it. The Authority is charged with balancing responsible environmental management with optimal tourism and local economic development.
Tourism has been identified as one of the areas of the South African economy with the biggest potential for job creation.
While, on the one hand we want to ensure the preservation of the beauty of our country, we cannot justifiably do this at the expense of poverty stricken South Africans. Therefore this balance that we talk about is a crucial element of development in this region.
The Authority will also enable the establishment of a competitive tourism destination, the execution of South Africa's obligations under the World Heritage Convention, and the continued conservation of the area.
I must however raise a word of caution: I do not want us to pretend that the Authority will be a magical institution that will make all existing problems disappear overnight. The economic and social problems of this area are complex and severe and, the Authority is a first major step towards overcoming them.
It has real powers to take decisions about development and conservation in the Park and, when it is fully established, it will have the necessary clout to turn its decisions into reality.
The redevelopment of Greater St Lucia Wetland Park will add more than 7 000-tourist beds to the region over the first ten years, by the end of which it will generate R850 million annually in foreign exchange earnings and boost gross geographic product by almost R4 billion. It will create approximately 3500 direct new permanent jobs. Simply put, this is 9 times the current annual tourism revenue and jobs created by the park today.
To kickstart this process, our government through the Lubombo
SDI, is launching tourism investment opportunities of a scale and grandeur unparalleled in Africa.
At this first stage, reputable developers and operators in the tourism sector will be offered exclusive opportunities in all three countries involved in this project, at the Lubombo SDI investment launch to be held at the Sandton convention centre on the 30th of November this year.
This will be followed by national seminars in KZN, Swaziland and Mozambique to ensure maximum participation to local business and stakeholders.
In conclusion, I would like to stress government's commitment to the success of this programme. Our pledge is not hollow.
It is backed by almost R630-million in government spending. At the end of the month, when I invite investors to consider investment opportunities in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, I will do so with the knowledge that we have a proud track record of delivery in this region. The completion of this road stands as a concrete sign that our words are not empty.
Our commitment is here for all to see. We are serious about realising our vision of a better future for Maputaland and the economic upliftment of our people.
The development in this area and the was used, will go a long way to enhance and inform work done in other areas, as part of our integrated rural development strategy.
I thank you.