speech by Mrs Lindiwe Hendricks, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry at
Mammutla Primary School, Mammutla Village, Taung, North West
22 September 2006
Programme Director
Honourable MEC and Members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable Mayors
Councillors
Principals
Educators and learners
Ladies and gentlemen
Dumelang!
1. Introduction
It is an honour to be here today to celebrate the achievements of our youth
and to recognise how far we have come as a country in just a few years of
democracy. This year we commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the 1976
uprising and thereby recognise the important role of youth at the forefront of
change in society.
In 1976, the youth of this country took to the streets in protest against
Bantu Educationâ an education system that denied black people quality education
and was established to limit the potential of our people. As a young person
becoming active in politics during those turbulent times, I refused to allow
the Apartheid State to hold me back, and limit my potential.
Gallant fighters lay down their lives in order for us to enjoy the fruits of
democracy, and it is important for us to remind the youth of today of the
struggle for democracy.
Today the challenges for the youth are different it is no longer about the
poor education system, because with democracy in 1994, the African National
Congress (ANC) government recognised the importance of education as a means to
give the youth a better future; rather the struggle for the youth today is
about the reconstruction of our society and creating a better life for all.
Ladies and gentlemen, just because we have a democracy and a government that
cares for its people does not mean that we will be able to overcome the
injustices of the past in such a short period. We need the contribution of all
our citizens, but especially the youth, in changing our society. Our education
system today creates the opportunities for the youth to again be at the
forefront of change in South Africa and to use their skills and knowledge to
improve our country. They need to seize these opportunities.
âHalala Youth, Halalaâ
2. Youth in Water
Programme Director, there are different ways for people to contribute
towards the positive transformation of our country and my department, the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has recognised that by increasing the
involvement of youth in water and sanitation issues we are able to make an
impact not only in improving the lives of young people but also their
communities.
We have as a result embarked on a youth development programme, which we are
calling the 2020 Vision Programme. This programme targets youth in schools and
exposes learners to practical projects that will enable them to identify water
and sanitation problems in their schools and communities and to embark on
action to solve them. Through this programme we are educating both learners and
the broader community about water and sanitation so they are able to help
manage this scarce resource and can learn more about the benefits of
hygiene.
As part of this programme we run the Youth Water prize and this years
winners competed in Sweden against 27 other nations. I was impressed with the
project of our national team, which comprised three young girls from a school
in rural KwaZulu-Natal. They used their knowledge of water and science to find
useful ways of turning the household wastewater (grey water) into productive
water that could be used to effectively grow plants and vegetables.
Our collaboration with the Department of Education on these projects has
been excellent and we look forward to growing this relationship and for us to
provide resource materials to educators that will enable them to teach water
and sanitation activities in the classroom. The benefits of this 2020 Vision
Programme is that from an early age our children will learn the values of
natural resource management and water management and given the waste we see, a
lesson many adults still have not learnt.
One of the projects of our 2020 Vision Programme is the Baswa le Meetse
Awards, the reason we are here today. Baswa le Meetse links water and
sanitation, with arts and culture by encouraging students to showcase our
cultural heritage while respecting our natural resources. The grade 6 learners
convey health and hygiene messages through drama, music, poetry, praise singing
and poster development. Their projects are guided by the theme "Washing of
Hands, Caring of Sanitation Facilities for Healthy Life."
By using arts and culture I believe we are preserving one of the traditions
that make us a great nation. The awards take us to the roots of our heritage in
the performing arts. This month we are celebrating Heritage Day on the 24th
September, a public holiday created for us to recognise the different aspects
of our heritage and culture such as our creative expression, our historical
inheritance, our languages, the food we eat as well as the land in which we
live. Indeed by celebrating the different aspects of our heritage we are able
to build a nation that is united and is able to move forward in creating a
better South Africa.
We are renowned praise singers, storytellers, actors and performers. Our
abilities have been demonstrated in the physical renditions of choral music and
stage plays. Our nation is hitting the world stage and today we see as the
seeds of our strength displayed by our youth. And I look forward to being
entertained through spectacular performances with captivating and educating
messages by aspirant actors, poets and artists of our country.
3. Benefits of the programme
Ladies and gentlemen, through these youth projects and the increased
awareness that is being created we are hoping that there is greater
participation by the community members and the youth in water resource
management, in hygiene programmes, in water conservation, in our initiatives to
reallocate water and in the identification of water and sanitation related
problems in schools and communities.
Furthermore we hope to stimulate the interest of youth in water resource
management careers as there are a number of opportunities in this field and it
is an area that has been identified as having scarce skills especially as many
of the existing professionals are nearing retirement age. I would therefore
like to see greater numbers of girls studying science and mathematics so that
they too have the opportunity to enter this exciting field by becoming
engineers and scientists.
My department is looking at encouraging youth to take up science and
mathematics by showing them the opportunities that exist in these fields but
also by providing schools with resources such as laboratories and computers. In
addition my department has made a commitment to supporting learners that wish
to pursue careers in water, sanitation and forestry and we will track
successful learners from grade 6 so that by the time they enter higher
education, they can be awarded bursaries if they qualify.
4. Sustainable water resources
Ladies and gentlemen, the reality is that our country is a water-scarce
country, and as the government department responsible for our water resources
we need to create awareness about the problems of inefficient uses of water and
the damage done to our water resources as a result of pollution.
The vision of sustaining our resources will be realised only if our society
is empowered with knowledge and skills that will enable them to use water
efficiently; to protect it; to practise good hygiene for healthy lives and to
be aware of alien invasive plants and trees that consume too much water. As
government, we are committed to the democratisation of the management of water
resources, and the participation of our communities as stakeholders is very
crucial.
5. Conclusion
To conclude ladies and gentlemen, I see the youth who have participated in
Baswa le Meetse as our ambassadors who will assist us in taking forward very
important messages to their communities.
We have also been fortunate that private sector companies, such as Mobile
Telephone Network (MTN), have been collaborating with us and have provided
resources such as laboratories, computers to schools and have committed
themselves to sponsoring media classrooms for the lifespan of the Baswa le
Meetse Award project. These media classrooms will enable learners from both
rural and urban schools to access information, conduct research and interact
with other learners internationally. It will give learners the opportunity to
excel in their studies and become the leaders of tomorrow.
This partnership between different spheres of government, the private sector
and communities shows what it takes to become a winning nation. I challenge
others to follow this good example.
From what we have seen today, you can see the benefits of your support and
how greatly it is valued by the many young people who have had an opportunity
to display their talents and are finding recognition and acknowledgement from
their peers and from us. These contributions will ensure that our nation
develops; that our youth are empowered to achieve their potential and that our
environment is preserved for both present and future generations.
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the organisers and
participants in Baswa Le Meetse and organisers of todayâs event the staff of
the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and MTN. I appreciate the hard
work they have put in. I would also like to thank the other partners in this
project the principals, teachers, parents and community members that supported
these learners.
I ask you to give them a round of applause.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you for attending this event and for
joining us from across the country, as we hand over the media classrooms to
this yearâs national Baswa le Meetse Award winners. These winners were
announced by the Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and my
predecessor, Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, earlier this year and they are from
schools in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and North West. The winners are the
national champions and they carry their titles with pride. "Umntwana libhongo
neqhayiya lesizwe, isizwe esisiso sibonwa ngokuvuyisana nempumelelo
yabantwana."
I thank you! Ke a leboga.
Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
22 September 2006
