of Remembrance by Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister of Transport, Eastern Cape
12 October 2007
Nearly three weeks ago the National Assembly and the Eastern Cape Provincial
Government officially opened the O R Tambo Garden of Remembrance in honour of
the Tambo Family for their contribution in liberating our people.
Our presence here today also signifies an important step in the social and
economic upliftment of the Bizana area. The opening of the access roads today
is our small contribution to ensure accessibility of the OR Tambo Garden. But
it is also to ensure that the people of Bizana are able to access economic
opportunities that were previously out of their reach.
It is not a mistake that our October Transport Month coincides with the
commemoration of the late Oliver Tambo's 90th birthday. For us it is a unique
opportunity to honour his vital role in the struggle against apartheid. O R
Tambo grew up facing the harsh socio-economic realities which moulded him to
become one of the outstanding leaders and the most significant political figure
in the history of our country.
And in one of his many celebrated speeches, O R said that:
"It is our responsibility to breakdown the barriers of division and create a
country where there will be neither whites nor blacks, just South Africans free
and united in diversity."
We realise that from the very essence of this quote, a wise decision was
made to acknowledge the role played by OR Tambo through the construction of a
Garden of Remembrance near his family home. However, it is vital that this
beautiful garden and his original family homestead can be easily accessed by
all South Africans and overseas visitors. This is an excellent example of where
road development can improve the economic prospects of previously disadvantaged
communities. And O R Tambo, with his dedication to development, would be proud
to know that continued road development is assisting us to improve economic
prospects in South Africa, particularly in under-developed areas.
Ladies and gentlemen, the development of road systems involves a delicate
balance of nature between the benefits of improving access, and the protection
of the environment. We have made it our duty to ensure that areas such as this
one are well preserved for future generations, but we also want to ensure that
we are able to pull the local communities out of the endemic poverty of the
region, improve prospects for tourism and provide access to economic
opportunities for this community.
As you all know, this is one of the presidential nodes identified for
prioritised economic development and we are proud to be able to assist local
communities to improve their lives. In this regard a total of 253 local
residents were employed generating an income of more than half a million rand
for the local community. In addition an amount of more than R195 000-00 was
invested in the training of the local residents in Business Skills, Financial
Management, Food and Beverage Management, etcetera in line with the O R Tambo
Nkantolo and Ngele Mountains Development Concept Plan.
I also want to emphasise that these access roads have an important link to
the development which is expected to take place along the Wild Coast. All of
you know that this development has been contentious and the debate over the
Wild Coast Toll Road has delayed the process for several years and the delays
have been at a substantial cost to local communities in terms of their ability
to thrive economically and improve their living standards. The impacts of
tourism in the Eastern Cape will be beneficial, provided that mitigation
measures, such as control of access to environmentally sensitive areas, is
undertaken, through collaboration with conservation authorities and other key
stakeholders. These are issues for investigation during the environmental
impact report process, currently in progress for the Wild Coast Toll
Highway.
The amount of detail into which I have gone is important on this particular
occasion. We are a democracy and the private sector, individuals and
communities can and do lobby government where they are not happy with issues.
There are journalists being hosted here today who have been part of that
lobbying process.
And O R Tambo would have been very proud of this. He fought for liberation
from oppression and acknowledgement of the rights and responsibilities of all
our citizens. He also stood for justice and economic upliftment, and his vision
of the new South Africa included the development and empowerment of all people.
We see some of the results of his vision in this region today.
These two sections of short access roads to his homestead and the garden,
where his parents are buried, are part of a memorial to a humble man who was
small in build, but great in his philosophy and the contribution which he
played in moving towards a free society. We have a responsibility to ensure
that his legacy is remembered, and that we uphold his ethos of advocacy and
conscientious dedication to the task at hand.
I have great pleasure in officially opening these two short sections of
road, and am confident that development in this area will improve the lives of
the local people and allow access to places of historic importance for all
South Africans and overseas visitors.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Transport
12 October 2007
Source: Department of Transport (http://www.dot.gov.za)
