Address by the President of South Africa His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma at the official opening of the De Hoop Dam, Sekhukhune district
The Premier of Limpopo province, Mr Stan Mathabatha,
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa,
MECs, Mayors and Councillors
Chairpersons and CEOs of State Owned Enterprises
Traditional Leaders,
Religious Leaders,
Ladies and gentlemen
Thobela, dumelang, molweni.
We greet you all and thank you for joining us to celebrate this important occasion.
We meet during Human Rights Month, during which we honour those who laid down their lives in the struggle for liberation, and the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
It is also an important period as we mark 20 years of freedom and democracy this year.
We were able to destroy apartheid and on its ashes, built a thriving constitutional democracy.
As we look back on the road travelled since 1994, we are proud to say that we have a good story to tell.
South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994, due to the hard work of all South Africans to build a new society.
The opening of this dam confirms the good story of our country, the story of development and progress that our country has achieved since 1994.
Early this month, we launched a document that outlines all the work that has been done to rebuild South Africa since 1994, the 20 year review document.
The Review states unequivocally that millions of our people have been lifted out of poverty. Millions now have access to water, health care, education, housing and many other basic needs which they did not have before 1994.
There has been a further expansion of these services since 2009.
In this regard, the opening of De Hoop Dam is a day of celebration as it takes development forward in Limpopo, especially in this region of Sekhukhune, and it is also a celebration of socio-economic rights that are mentioned in the Constitution.
De Hoop is the 13th largest dam in the country and government has spent more than R3 billion in its construction. More than one thousand jobs have been created during the construction period.
We thank all stakeholders and the community for support during the construction of the dam.
De Hoop Dam is one of the key projects that fall under the umbrella of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordination Commission which was established in 2012 to coordinate and fast-track infrastructure projects, under the leadership of the President.
Infrastructure development has taken centre stage in the current administration.
We have introduced central coordination of the work of national, provincial and local government to take forward major projects such as dams, bridges, schools, hospitals, roads, power stations, universities, further education and training colleges and a host of other project that improve the quality of life and boost economic growth.
Infrastructure is changing the lives of our people positively and in a most meaningful way, like this dam that we are opening today.
The people of Sekhukhune were excluded from access to basic needs like water under apartheid regimes, like many rural communities.
Coupled with the fact that the area itself is naturally water stressed, government identified the need for serious infrastructure investment in this region.
In the 2003 State of the Nation Address, it was announced that a dam would be constructed in the Olifants River system to unlock the rich mineral deposits in the Limpopo province.
The sod turning ceremony followed in 2007 and the construction began, leading ultimately to completion and our gathering here today, to open this major project.
The Dam will be used for two primary purposes.
The first is to supply water to the towns, industries and poorly serviced rural communities in Sekhukhune, Waterberg, and Capricorn Districts of the Limpopo province.
Secondly, the Dam will supply water to the mines in order to help unlock vast mineral deposits, mainly in the form of platinum group metals found in the region.
The dam will therefore be a catalyst for both social and economic development for this region.
When we talk about this area being water stressed, we are talking about the plight of many people such as the unacceptable conditions of the people of GaMashabela near Jane Furse who struggle to access clean drinking water.
People still have to walk through thick and thorny bushes to reach the wells of Ntsoaneng GaKgari Mountains in order to access fresh water. Some of the residents still rely on borehole water which is insufficient to meet the demand of these communities.
I have been assured that the pipeline from Jane Furse to Lobethal which covers the villages of Ga-Mashabela, Diphagane, Ga-Phahla,Ga-Marishane, Tisane and Mamone is 70% complete.
I have also been informed that a pipeline from Mooihoek to Tubatse is 100% complete, just awaiting off take agreement.
This pipeline will provide water to the following villages - Mandagshoek, Mashabela, Ntsoaneng, Driekop and River Cross.
The bulk distribution system connected to the dam will ensure that over a period of time, all the people of this area will be served with an uninterrupted water supply, which is the ultimate goal of government.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As said earlier, today we mark 20 years of freedom and democracy and it is a year for us to tell the good story of how our country has been transformed from a pariah state to a free, thriving democracy where all of us have basic human rights and equal citizenship.
To mark this milestone, we need to spare a moment to reflect on the work that has been done in the past few years to change the lives of our people.
Amongst the key achievements of government in the past 20 years and the past five years, has been in the area of alleviating poverty for millions of our people.
While strides have been made to change lives, we are aware that poverty, unemployment and inequality still persist.
Government responds to this challenge by instituting programmes to assist the poor, while continuing to implement sustainable socio-economic development programmes.
One of the key instruments of alleviating poverty has been our social grants programme, which has grown from around two million people in 1994 to about 16 million people currently.
The beneficiaries are primarily older persons who receive the old age pension, orphans and vulnerable children, people with disabilities and veterans.
These grants have protected many families from extreme poverty and hunger.
Another poverty and unemployment alleviation mechanism that has been very successful is the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Phase 2 of the EPWP was launched in April 2009. Between April 2009 and September 2013, we had created 3,7 million work opportunities through the programme around the country.
Programmes such as Working for Water, Working with Fire and Working for Wetlands have proven highly successful in protecting the environment while providing work opportunities.
The public works programme also includes home based care and early childhood development services among other avenues for job opportunities in the Expanded Public Works Programme.
The Expanded Public Works programme has reached 54 percent women and 50 percent of youth.
We are also pleased that more municipalities are implementing the public works programme. To date, 277 out of 278 municipalities have signed protocol agreements, committing them to achieve their targets. This includes municipalities here in the Limpopo province.
To further build on the success of the public works programme, we have set a target of six million work opportunities over the five-year period from 2014 to 2019. Many of these opportunities will be of a long duration and will benefit more young people.
Other key achievements of freedom and democracy, is our investment in children to ensure a brighter future for our country.
For example, enrolment in Grade R (pre-school year at primary school) has more than doubled, increasing from 300 000 to close to 800 000 children.
By 2012, about 87 percent of learners in Grade 1 in government schools had attended Grade R. This is a remarkable achievement which demonstrates South Africa’s investment in the foundation phase of education.
Our intention is to make Grade R compulsory in the next five years.
Another very good story is that the ANC government has opened the doors of learning through providing no fee schools for children from poor households.
By 2012, more than 8 million learners from poor households were attending school without paying school fees.
This is to ensure that children are not denied an education just because their parents are poor and cannot pay school fees.
In addition, government’s National School Nutrition Programme feeds about 9 million children in more than 20 000 primary and secondary schools.
This has contributed to regular and punctual attendance by learners and enabled them to attend school without being hungry which contributes to their attentiveness and performance.
Indeed, this country has a good story to tell.
We have a good story to tell in the area of health care as well.
The country’s HIV and AIDS turnaround programme since 2009 has extended Anti-retroviral drug treatment to thousands of people.
More importantly, the transmission of HIV from mother to child has dropped by 66 percent, saving thousands of babies who would otherwise have been infected by the virus if we did not accelerate the prevention programme.
We are proud of the fact that South Africans are now living longer and are now healthier.
We thank you for support and for cooperation as we implement these programmes. Working together we have definitely done more!
We have scored achievements in many other areas as well.
Crime levels are down, although we must still work harder to fight violence and abuse directed at women and children.
We have made progress in promoting rural development as well as agriculture and food security.
We have made progress in higher education. Student enrolments in universities and Further Education and Training Colleges has expanded due to the availability of loans and bursaries for students.
We are building 12 more FET colleges and have opened two brand new universities this year, in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
Indeed, South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994. But there is still a lot of work to be done to fight poverty, unemployment and inequality.
That is why work is continuing to boost economic growth, so that the economy can create much-needed jobs.
Already 15 million South Africans are employed due to policies that have promoted a conducive climate, the highest figure ever in the history of the country.
In the next five years, we will focus on implementing the National Development Plan, our socio-economic road map that outlines what our country should be like by the year 2030.
We have a clear programme of action, to take forward the good work and achievements scored in the past 20 years in general, and the past five years in particular.
We are on the right track as the country.
Each day, we work harder to improve the quality of life, and to reverse the horrible legacy of apartheid colonialism.
The opening of this dam is yet another contribution to that drive of building a better South Africa through improving access to basic services and socio-economic infrastructure.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This dam has received several engineering awards.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the team of engineers and construction workers for these unprecedented achievements.
You have done very well!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Fellow South Africans,
Let me remind you that on the 7th of May our country goes to the polls again to choose the fifth democratic administration to run this country for another five years.
I urge you to go out in your millions to vote on that day. We must utilise this right that we gained through a long protracted struggle, and for which many laid down their lives.
Let me emphasise that we are really happy to be with you here today.
It is my honour and privilege to officially open De Hoop Dam!
I thank you.
