2001/2002 BUDGET SPEECH BY GAUTENG MEC OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENT AND LAND AFFAIRS

Issued by: Office of the MEC for Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs, Gauteng,

24 May 2001

1. INTRODUCTION

The responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs are primarily concerned with management and sustainable utilisation of our natural resource base. These responsibilities are responsibilities that require the mobilisation and involvement of the public at large; as the future depends upon the way we treat our land, our water, our sources of energy and the air we breathe.

The sustainable utilisation of our natural resources is a prerequisite for the realisation of the constitutional rights creation of a safe and healthy living environment and the meeting of basic needs, inclusive of access to safe and adequate water supplies and nutritious food.

In a densely populated, highly urbanised province, such as Gauteng, these functional responsibilities obviously assume even greater importance. In particular, a responsible commitment to sustainable development is a necessity to achieve the goals of the Gauteng Provincial Government of growth and economic development, in a way that safeguards a better life for future generations.

2. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT

The plans of the department for 2001/2002 are derived from the strategic priorities of the department in its areas of functional responsibility and informed by the constitutional and legal mandate of the department. The strategic priorities are set out below:

• Public support and awareness of the critical importance of sustainable development;
  
• Development of Outcomes Based Education materials for learners; an;
  
• Mass awareness programmes for attitudinal changes on the part of the public.

Agriculture:

• Changing the race and gender patterns of ownership in the agricultural sector;
  
• Full and sustainable use of agricultural land for primary production;
  
• Rehabilitation of degraded land;
  
• Improved levels of food security, particularly at household level;
  
• Increased contribution of agriculture to GGP;
  
• Sustainable employment and labour intensive production methodologies in the agricultural sector; and
  
• Agricultural information systems to support agricultural decision making and best practice.

Veterinary Services:

• The control and prevention of production animal diseases and enhanced animal production;
  
• The control and prevention of public health risks of animal origin; and
  
• The management of food safety for products of animal origin.

Conservation:

• Management of biodiversity threats - development pressure, pollution, muti trade and importation of alien species
  
• Management and development of protected areas at nature based tourism destinations, including the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site and Dinokeng spatial development projects and the development of the Klipriviersberg in collaboration with Johannurg City Parks.
  
• Identification and spatial mapping of sensitive areas to inform decision making on development applications.

Environment:

• Measures to reduce air pollution from industrial, mining, household and transport related sources
  
• Measures to reduce water pollution emanating from storm water runoff, point source discharges and mining sources
  
• Measure to reduce land pollution from industrial, agricultural and household related sources
  
• Reduction, re-utilisation and recycling of waste streams including hazardous waste, medical waste and general waste
  
• Identification and spatial mapping of sensitive areas to inform decision making on development applications

Spatial Development Projects:

• Commencement with implementation of master plans for the development of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and the Dinokeng "All of Africa in One Day" nature based tourism destination.

3. BUDGET TRENDS

The budget voted to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs has increased from an amount of R118 636 million in 2000/2001 to an amount of R149,618 million in 2001/2002. This includes a conditional grant of R40 million for CAPEX spending. It also included an adjustment of R5 million to the baseline allocation of the department for expansion of capacity in the Environment component of the Department.

An annual analysis of the expenditure patterns and output of the department is undertaken and this informs adjustments to the budget allocated to the different functional responsibilities of the department. The adjustments are aimed at achieving allocative efficiency on the one hand, and ensuring maximum impact of the output of the department on the other hand.

After adjustment for inflation the changes to the amounts voted to the different components were as follows:

• Trading Accounts have been opened for the Blue IQ projects managed by the Department, namely the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Project and Dinokeng, formerly known as the North Eastern Gauteng Initiative. An amount of R52,480 million has beeudgeted for the World Heritage Site Project and an amount of R50,366 million has been budgeted for Dinokeng in the 2001/2002 financial year. These amounts will be drawn down from the Blue IQ budget as conditional funding over and above the departmental budget.
• The amount voted to the Environment Programme has been increased by a real amount of R8,482 million. The Environmental Assessment scope of work of the component has continued to increase steadily necessitating an upward adjustment in the amount voted this component and a commensurate downward adjustment in other components
• The operational budget allocation to the Conservation Programme was decreased in real terms by R0,764 million. This downward adjustment was made to provide for the increased allocation to Environment. The operational budget for the Conservation Progra is complemented by a conditional allocation of R40 million for CAPEX programmes at Nature Reserves.
• The allocation to the Agriculture Programme was reduced in real terms by an amount of R6,775 million. This amount was reallocated to the Veterinary Services, Environment and Support Services Programmes in the Department. The reason for the downward adtment is that the National Department of Agriculture partially budgets for Farmer Settlement and for Land Care work previously budgeted for by Provincial Government. In addition, the Agriculture component intends to initiate to major commercial ventures in the 2001/2002 financial year but these ventures will be financed through loan financing via the Agricultural Farming Development Trust.
• The amount voted to the Veterinary Services Programme was increased in real terms by an amount of R0,865 million. The increase is to make provision for slightly expanded scope of work and includes a budgeted amount of R300 000 as contingency funding ihe event of a disease outbreak in view of the outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease and Rabies in the 2000/2001 financial year. This contingency fund will be reallocated in the last quarter of the financial year in the event that there in no disease outbreak.
• The amount voted to the Departmental Management Programme was increased in real terms by an amount of R4,314 million. This adjustment was necessitated by the vastly expanded scope of work of the Department including the management of two new trading aunts and the doubling in the number of filled posts in the department from 256 in the 1997/98 financial year to 516 at the end of the 2000/2001 financial year.
• An amount of R0,57 million, 1% of the salary budget, has been allocated to provide for the skills development levy.
• An amount of R1,14 million, 2% of salaries has been budgeted for human resource development programmes including provision for bursaries (approximately 12.5% of the available budget), ABET training (approximately 25% of the available budget) and costs seminars and conferences. Bursaries are prioritised for officials doing undergraduate studies relevant to their job responsibility in the department. All other human resource development programmes are spread across all levels of the establishment and are aimed at developing the skills base within the Department and career-pathing individual employees.
• An amount of R 1,71 million, 3% of the salary budget, has been allocated as budget for incentives for recognition of performance and productivity of personnel in the department.

These changes are tabulated and illustrated graphically in Annexure A (contact the Department for a copy).

The amounts allocated to each of the departments responsibilities are supported by detailed business plans for implementation of projects derived from the constitutional and legal mandate of the department. All business plans are based on the political objectives of job creation, poverty eradication and quality social services and each business plan spells out the strategic objective and provides race, gender and youth impact statements as well as a socio-economic and sustainability assessments.

4. HIGHLIGHTS OF 2000/2001 AND KEY FOCUS AREAS FOR 2001/2002

The annual report of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs will provide a detailed report of the work of the Department in 2000/2001. The Department substantively achieved its planned objectives in 2000/2001 and in some cases exceeded expectations.

Some highlights of achievements in 2000/2001 and major plans for 2001/2002 include:

• Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site;
• The Department's major undertaking for the 2000/2001 financial year was to appoint permanent staff capacity, carry out the detailed master planning for the development of the 47 000 hectare area and manage stakeholder participation and communication;
• This has been done and the final master planning report will be submitted at the end of June. The master plan entails the establishment of a network of five facilities which will serve as gateways to the Cradle of Humankind site. These gateways will h differing primary purposes, with one site serving as the primary facility, a world-class interpretation centre and associated fossil preparation and education facilities. The primary site will be located on a 100-hectare site which is the process of being donated to government. A public announcement in this regard will be made in the near future. The architectural rationale for the primary site has been developed and work will take place in the current financial year to appoint a team to prepare architectural drawings, design exhibits and plan the operations of the primary facility in order for construction to commence;
• The master plan also refines the zonation of the area, establishes limits of acceptable change in each area, and provides for a specific management plan for each palaeontological site. The requirements for upgrading of roads and the development of bulnfrastructure and telecommunications is set out in the master plan. Implementation of these plans will be initiated in the current financial year. Temporary signage has been erected and will be replaced over time with permanent signage.
• The process of master planning has been done through a thoroughgoing process of public consultation in the area as well as with interested and affected parties in the academic and scientific communities. What is clear is that any development in the arneeds to be particularly careful to safeguard, protect and promote the importance of the site for science. The challenge in the master planning work has therefore been to maintain an adequate balance between access and preservation; between the need to improve the economy of the area through tourism and other initiatives, with the need to preserve the integrity of the site for present and future generations.
• The growth of tourism plant in the area is well underway and already 83 day visitor and overnight destinations are marketed collaboratively as part of the Crocodile Ramble collaborative venture;
• In addition, a scheme for on-site housing development in the area has been developed and will be operationalised in the current financial year. Public works based ecological management programmes have been initiated, including the burning of the road erves to prevent accidental fires as well as the clearing of invasive vegetation. These initiatives will be expanded in the current financial year; and
• Finally, preparations will begin in the current financial year for the hosting of a symbolic event at the World Heritage Site to mark the opening of the World Summit on Sustainable Development which will be taking place in Johannesburg in September 20 Given the global crisis of climate change and environmental degradation there can be no better venue that the birthplace of humanity to bring to the fore the collective responsibility of humankind to ensure that the heritage of future generations is safeguarded and protected.

Dinokeng - All of Africa in One Day:

• Formally known as the North Eastern Gauteng Initiative, rapid progress has been made in the development of Dinokeng as a nature based tourism destination with important historical and cultural features in the North Eastern part of Gauteng.
• Derived from the languages of the SeTswana and baPedi people who inhabit this particular area, "Dinokeng" means 'a place of rivers'. A sacred coming together reflecting the significance of the healing powers of rivers in African culture.
• The Department set out to name and brand the area, appoint a permanent staff complement and initiate the master planning in the 2000/2001 financial year. This has been done and the master planning is underway. An area 100 000 hectares in extent has beidentified as a potential core area for the Big 5, elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard. This area is largely uninhabited and it is envisaged that tourism plant will develop on the periphery of the core area, targeting in particular the conference and business tourist to Gauteng. The master planning underway will test this zonation with landowners and interested and affected parties in the area.

The following seven areas of work are being addressed in the master planning work underway:

As with the World Heritage Site Project, this project has already stimulated supportive ventures and there are at this stage five collaborative conservancies in the area and numerous newly established eco-tourism destinations with individual overnight visitor numbers of up to 3000 per month.

Agriculture and Veterinary Services:

A highlight of the 2000/2001 financial year in support of this constitutional right was a seminar organised by the Department which took place in the Province coinciding with World Food Day in October 2000. The seminar was addressed by the Ambassador of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Mirriam Makeba, the Representative of the FAO in South Africa.

The Bill of Rights of the Constitution states, "Everyone has the right to... sufficient food and water"

A highlight of the 2000/2001 financial year in support of this constitutional right was a seminar organised by the Department which took place in the Province coinciding with World Food Day in October 2000. The seminar was addressed by the Ambassador of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Mirriam Makeba; the Representative of the FAO in South Africa, Dr. Florence Chenoweth; the Chairperson on the Human Rights Commission, Dr. Barney Pityana; Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church; and Mr. Desmond Kekana of the National Institute for Economic Policy. A case study of the outstanding Vukuzenzele Project in Refiloe near Cullinan was presented by Mr Hendrik Mapanga and Mrs Maria Manganyi.

The participants at the seminar, politicians and officials from provincial and local government, church leaders, the corporate sector, NGOs and CBOs committed themselves:

• To achieving the right to sufficient food and water as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution;
• To raising awareness of the fact that it is intolerable to have hunger in the midst of plenty;
• To organise and mobilise society, in order to promote access to and means of procurement, for all people at all times, of adequate, safe and affordable food, in order to lead a healthy and active life;
• To expand, promote and support existing initiatives of government, business, NGOs, CBOs, civil society and religious communities aimed at ending poverty and hunger; and
• To promote learning and the sustainable use of our productive resources to ensure that we contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger.

The significance of this seminar lies in the fact that it laid the basis for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs to work with all spheres of government and civil society, to ensure that policy, legislative instruments and the delivery of services are constantly reviewed to ensure that there is constant progress in meeting the needs of the poor and the hungry.

The Household Food Security Programme run by the Department programme received various national awards during the year 2000. In the current financial year the opportunity will be extended to a further 1 500 beneficiaries to become involved in small-scale production initiatives. The programme serves as a stimulus for the replication of these projects which on a cumulative basis have a significant impact to support livelihoods amongst the most poor and marginalised in the Province.

In the forthcoming financial year, these collaborative efforts will be expanded and in particular, two major commercial agricultural production projects with an agro-processing base, one in the West Rand and one in the Vaal, are planned. Another milestone in the agricultural sector was the completion of the first phase of the Agricultural Resource Audit commissioned from the Agricultural Research Council Institute for Soil, Climate and Water by the Department jointly with the National Department of Agriculture. 1:50000 satellite imagery has been analysed spectrally against 1000 field sites observation points in Gauteng in order to generate stratification, degradation and erosion maps for the whole of Gauteng. The use of this technique is a world first and the statistical modelling of the field results demonstrates 95% accuracy of the mapping exercise within 100 000 m2. This project is only due for completion in July 2002 but the interim results already provide a powerful decision support tool.

The Veterinary Services Directorate continues to carry out its regulatory functions with excellence. The 2000/2001 financial year saw the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. This was the first outbreak of the disease since 1954. Throughout the period of the outbreak, half of the veterinary services staff complement was deployed to KwaZulu-Natal to assist with the management of the outbreak. The economic consequences of this outbreak cannot be understated. The loss of livestock and the fragility of trade in meat and hides has had an economic impact of billions of Rand, farmers are directly affected and there has been a negative impact on consumer prices. Whilst it is a tribute to the veterinary professionals that the outbreaks was contained, it is a reminder that the integrity of the animal health and public health responsibilities of government cannot be compromised. The opening up of international trade since 1994 has increased the animal health and public health risk profiles and therefore the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs will ensure that it is in a state of constant readiness to respond to an outbreak of disease in order to prevent or minimise the negative economic impacts that follow.

Less widely publicised was two outbreaks of rabies in urban areas of Gauteng, namely in Heidelberg and in Kempton Park. Both outbreaks were successfully contained under difficult circumstances.

A challenge for the 2001/2002 financial year is to improve public awareness of animal health and economic and public health implications of animal diseases. To this end, a priority in the continuation of collaboration with the Gauteng Institute for Curriculum Development to develop outcomes based learning materials for use by educators and learners.

Conservation and Environment:

The Bill of Rights in the Constitution states that:

"Everyone has the right -

(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and
(b) to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that -

In the 2000/2001 financial year remarkable work has been done to progressively achieve these rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Highlights include the preparation and submission of the draft Environmental Implementation Plan in terms of the National Environmental Management Act to the Committee for Environmental Co-ordination for consideration. A mining forum involving all key stakeholders has been established in collaboration with the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs and capacity will be built in the Department in the forthcoming financial year to address environmental degradation problems as a result of mining. The number of Environmental Impact Assessment Authorisations and Exemptions for development processed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs was approximately double the projected number for the 2000/2001 financial year. The planned work to put in place a strategy and implementation measures for cost effective and safe sorting, storage, transporting and disposal of health care waste has been completed. A status quo study of air quality management in Gauteng has likewise been completed. In addition, important work has been completed analysing and spatially mapping features of environmental importance such as ridges critically endangered red data species, open space networks and agricultural land use patterns. This information provides the basis for objective decision-making.

The decision making of the department was legally challenged on numerous occasions and it is noteworthy that the courts found in favour of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs without exception in the numerous legal challenges brought by developers in the 2000/2001 financial year.

In the current financial year, the implementation of the Health Care Waste Management Project funded by the Danish Government commences and the Danish Consultants commenced work in the Department with effect from April 2001. Danish consultants will also work with the Department to prepare the project document for air quality management.

A new initiative in the current financial year is the introduction of a pilot project at the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve involving the creation of a buffer area between the reserve and the township which will be used for the cultivation of muti plants. Traditional healers are working closely with the department on this project which will serve the dual purpose of reducing the biodiversity threats on wild populations of muti plants which arises from over harvesting. This initiative is premised on training and collaboration with traditional healers in partnership with their associations.

The importance of this work is and will be underlined in the forthcoming financial year by the decision that Johannesburg will be the host city for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The Gauteng Provincial Government supported the submission on Johannesburg to host the conference which will review Agenda 21, the global plan of action to effect sustainable development, which was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Since 1995, South Africa has actively participated in meetings of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and submits an annual National Country Profile Report on progress made towards sustainable development. At the UN General Assembly Special Session (Rio + 5) in 1997, South Africa committed itself to putting in place a national sustainable development strategy by 2002.

Notwithstanding the work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, environmental degradation is escalating globally and the gap between the world's rich and poor nations continues to grow. The World Summit on Sustainable Development will be an important platform contributing to the critical global objective of sustainable development.

It is estimated that the conference will be attended by 50 000 delegates and that a further 30 000 delegates will attend the parallel NGO conference. The hosting of this conference in the Gauteng Province is an opportunity, in collaboration with all local authorities in Gauteng, to raise awareness and practically implement programmes that safeguard the environmental health and safety of future generations. As part of the lead up to the Summit the Department will play a facilitating role to ensure that practical measures are taken to improve the state of the environment and to identify and showcase best environmental practice. The first milestone in the build up to the Summit will be the hosting of a two day conference on June 5th and 6th to coincide with World Environment Week. The first day will focus on the State of the Environment in Gauteng and the second day will focus more specifically on waste management.

Awareness programmes:

Public interest in and understanding of the importance of sustainable development is limited. Degradation of the non-renewable resource base and the long-term consequences of this is a "people problem" and requires "people solutions".

The World Summit on Sustainable Development provides the opportunity to place environmental best practice at the top of the national agenda and to link the World Summit on Sustainable Development to the Millennium Africa Plan. Environmental degradation is escalating globally and the gap between the world's rich and poor nations continues to grow.

The Department will focus on raising public awareness of sustainable development in the current financial year. Key focus areas will include:

• Waste Avoidance and Minimisation;
  
• Water Conservation;
  
• Energy Management Plan;
  
• Transport Management Plan;
  
• Sustainable development procurement standards; and
  
• Sustainable development standards for the tourism and hospitality industries.

In addition to the sustainable development themes identified above the Department will work with the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism on an Environmental Awards Programme. This will be based on:

• Specification of minimum standards for environmental best practice accreditation; and
  
• Audit and accreditation for environmental best practice.

The Department will also focus on raising awareness and understanding of the biodiversity dilemmas faced by the Province. Although the smallest province in South Africa Gauteng is characterized by a high biodiversity. The province falls within both the savanna and highly threatened grassland biomes that constitute altogether 6 vegetation types. Approximately 83% of the province falls within Highveld Grassland vegetation types, of which a mere 0.8% is currently conserved in South Africa. An estimated 3303 plant species, 125 mammal species, 326 bird species, 25 amphibian and 53 reptile species occur in the province. At least 23 plant species are endemic or "near endemic" to Gauteng, all of them threatened with extinction with at least 70% assigned to either the Critically Endangered or Endangered IUCN Red Data categories. Added to this the province is densely populated (an estimated 365 persons per square km) and highly urbanised. Consequently, biodiversity in the province is threatened by industrialization, mining, agriculture and urbanization. The challenge facing the Province is therefore to identify priority areas where development and habitat transformation and fragmentation should be discouraged and conservation efforts intensified, as well as identifying mitigation measures where development pressures impact negatively on our non-renewable resource base. A biodiversity gap analysis will be undertaken in the current financial year to address this challenge.

This work will complement ongoing work to develop learning materials in collaboration with the Gauteng Institute for Curriculum Development and work to raise general public awareness of and involvement in the protection, conservation and sustainable utilisation of natural resources.

5. SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME

The Department will continue with its programme of quarterly reviews of the work of the department. This is aimed at ensuring that there is ongoing evaluation of the use of resources, human, financial and other to achieve maximum efficiency and effectivity in the department.

In addition to expansion of capacity in the areas of functional responsibility of the department, provision has been made for the upgrading of human resource management, financial management and general administration support services.

Financial Management:

In the 2000/2001 financial year the Department utilised its available operational budget fully. The budget process and the management of the finances of the Department have continuously improved and risks areas are progressively identified and eliminated.

The department has made good progress in complying with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act.

A Chief Financial Officer was appointed with effect from mid-March 2001. The incumbent in this post will work the Accounting Officer and the Financial Management component of the Department to ensure effective, efficient and transparent systems of general control, budgetary control and reporting.

Human Resource Management:

A Skills Facilitation Officer was appointed with effect from April 1st 2001. The incumbent in this post will be responsible for implement of the provisions of the Skills Development Act and implementation of a individualised coaching and mentoring system to support employees thereby enhancing the career growth of employees and improving the quality of work generated by the department.

In order to achieve the aims and objectives of the department great importance is attached to recruiting people with appropriate competencies and capabilities for the various job responsibilities in the department. This has been accompanied by a programme of transformation to ensure that there is representivity in the department.

The breakdown in terms of race and gender as at March 31st 2001 was as follows:

Race and gender: Black
Number: 386
Percentage for the entire organisational establishment: 75%
Percentage for the management echelon: 57%

Race and gender: White
Number: 130
Percentage for the entire organisational establishment: 25%
Percentage for the management echelon: 43%

Race and gender: Male
Number: 326
Percentage for the entire organisational establishment: 63%
Percentage for the management echelon: 64%

Race and gender: Female
Number: 190
Percentage for the entire organisational establishment: 37%
Percentage for the management echelon: 36%

Thank You

Contact: Botshelo Rakate on (011) 355 1316/082 772 7562