All protocol observed!
I am overwhelmed by the nature of this occasion. The Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) is a singular government project that is not about numbers. It is directly about our people, and what they struggled for. Our people's struggle was never only about political democracy. It was and is about equity, about access to resources, about decent work opportunities.
It is about wiping away the hunger and the fear on children's faces. It is about lifting the despair of poverty from a parent's shoulders. It is about reaching out to the grandmother so as to ease the years of pain and humiliation etched into her face. It is about eliminating the hopelessness and despair of being jobless. It is indeed, about our families and our communities and the safety and well-being of our society.
Today is indeed a joyous occasion when this government celebrates a milestone in job creation. As a coordinating department, the Department of Transport has exceeded its target for job creation in the first quarter of 2009. I want to pay a special tribute to my predecessor, now National Police Commissioner, Mr Bheki Cele for having steered the ship of job creation in the right direction. All men and women in the Department of Transport can indeed pat themselves on the back for having been true to the tenet of this government that is to serve our people, and in the process restoring their dignity through creation of decent work opportunities.
I am indeed proud of all staff members of two of the Department of Transport and other civil servants in our province for their hard work. Indeed, Together, We can do more. I want to assure the Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize, and our esteemed National Minister Geoff Doidge that we will again exceed the targets. This is a race against time. Our people have waited for far too long, now is the opportune time to accelerate delivery through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
We will use the R19 million incentives wisely. We will plough it back into creating more work opportunities for our people. However, we want to go further, and in creating these job opportunities, we want to invest in emerging contractors. They have become victims of a recession and budget cuts in our province.
In engaging the emerging contractors, we will also address one area in our infrastructure programme that is often sacrificed that is road maintenance. I can assure our people that some potholes will indeed be repaired. We will use our windfall incentive funding within the legal prescripts. We will not allow any cent of this funding to be used for any other function except creating decent job opportunities through investing in small businesses and maintaining our roads.
There will be no corruption, no inefficiencies, no mismanagement, and no maladministration. We will not fail. We dare not fail. Our people deserve better. And, we reaffirm our unshakeable belief that we shall overcome the legacy of our past, and indeed contribute to meeting the presidential target of 500 000 jobs by the end of this year.
Issued by: Department of Transport, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 August 2009
Source: Department of Transport, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kzntransport.gov.za)
