Environment Khabisi Mosunkutu at the 2007 Bontle Ke Batho Awards Ceremony
3 December 2007
Programme director, Mr Benny Makgoga
Members of Mayoral Committees and Councillors present
Head of Department, Dr Steven Cornelius
Chief Executive Officer of the Blue IQ, Dr Trish Hanekom
Government officials present
Representatives of the private sector
Participants and prize winners
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is indeed my pleasure to be here with you to celebrate the fifth
anniversary of the Bontle Ke Botho Clean and Green programme and to partake in
its prize giving ceremony in honour our stakeholders in the environmental
field.
I wish, from the onset to thank all of the environmental champions that have
contributed to making Bontle Ke Botho one of the largest and most successful
environmental campaigns in South Africa. Called upon to account on what has
been done to implement resolutions of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD), which was held in Gauteng during 2002, I am certain that we
would be able to proudly say, together, we have co-ordinated our activities, we
have produced results and we are meeting some of our country's imperatives. It
is important to note that the greatest success of the campaign has been to move
environmental issues from the margin to the center of our people's
consciousness.
It is gratifying and uplifting that we are celebrating five years of
intensive environmental action that has significantly contributed to poverty
alleviation and job creation, thus coupling the need to ensure sustainable
environmental development with vital socio-economic interventions. This has
been made possible by the broad-based support that the campaign has enjoyed
from municipalities, communities, the education sector, the businesses and
non-governmental organisations and community based organisations. It is
appropriate that I use this opportunity to commend you for your genuine
commitment to environmental protection and community upliftment. You all have
contributed significantly to the success of the campaign.
BKB's social mobilisation orientated approach has enabled the campaign to
become one of the premier sustainable environmental campaigns in the Southern
African region since the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. I am
proud to announce that during this five-year period we have witnessed
significant growth of the campaign in terms of support, participation and a
number of sustainable action projects of the highest quality.
Apart from the collaborative management of the campaign, the quality of
environmental projects undertaken has been enhanced. The projects initiated
range from natural resource management to environmentally friendly
infrastructure development. Of great importance is the fact that some of these
projects have directly created jobs for the marginalised sector of society,
including woman and the youth across the Gauteng province. At school level, the
projects, whether infrastructural or natural resource management orientated,
have enriched the teaching and learning experience. Another noteworthy factor
is that the infrastructure development projects in schools, such as the
building of classrooms, have provided shelter and vital facilities to create an
environment conducive to leaning.
During this five-year period, a total of R16 million was distributed in
prize money. A staggering 222 schools, 315 wards and eight municipalities have
been the beneficiaries of this sum. This money has been ploughed into the
initiation of environmental projects helping to ensure sustainability and
creating a worthy environmental legacy for BKB. I wish to thank the executive
mayors in all municipalities across the Gauteng province for their continued
reaffirmation and commitment to supporting the campaign. This saw the majority
of municipalities aligning their environmental management sector plans within
their Integrated Development Plans to accommodate the BKB campaign.
It is undeniable that the achievements of BKB during this five-year period
have been no less than phenomenal. This poses an even bigger challenge to us
and all stakeholders concerned to maintain and continuously improve the good
work around the campaign. To achieve this, we will need to continuously
investigate and explore various innovative and alternative options aimed at
expanding the themes of the campaign.
Thus far, we have strengthened the litter and waste management theme with
the launch of the Litter-Free Gauteng Campaign. A further boost to BKB is the
waste management youth trolley project, the buyisa eBag, which is in the
pipeline. In partnership, through this project my department seeks to deepen
the participation of unemployed youth in the recycling industry, therein
initiating a sustainable option to waste management and also contributing to
the development of the beneficiaries' entrepreneurial skills. This will lead to
a cleaner Gauteng province by the year 2010 and ensure a sustainable
environmental legacy for the World Cup and beyond.
Allow me to elaborate on some of BKB's highlights:
The campaign provided momentum for the WSSD and the Johannesburg plan of
implementation to be translated into meaningful action. This is evident in the
number of schools that have established and continue to sustain vegetable
gardens, in municipalities and wards where open spaces have been transformed
into areas of cultural significance, play areas and parks. The project has also
helped to emphasise the inter-connectedness of the environmental, economic and
social spheres therein contributing to a holistic understanding amongst
stakeholders of the environment.
As the Gauteng environmental "brand", the project has meaningfully
contributing to sustainable environmental management. Children of all ages are
considered central in broadening the environmental, economic and social goals
of transformation. BKB therefore targets both primary and secondary schools.
The campaign is promoted as a learning activity within the principals of
outcomes based education.
Through the programme, schools have instigated environmental action across
all the themes, including through retrofitting school light fixtures, replacing
non-energy efficient irrigation systems and the harvesting of rainwater. The
campaign has also facilitated community development and empowerment in schools,
wards and municipalities. In the Ekurhuleni Metro, as an example, community
members involved in the garden services project were given basic training on
servicing of lawnmowers. In another instance, members of the Siyathuthuka
Project, located in Soweto, received training on paving and started footpaths
paving projects.
BKB has focused on achieving increased community participation providing
support to municipal wards, schools and community-based organisations. The
campaign has achieved synergy through partnerships in all spheres of
government. This has extended to various organisations such as Collect-A-Can,
Eskom and South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). A "BKB family" has
developed with regard to the pooling of expertise.
These impacts, although tangible, are dwarfed by what I believe to be the
most significant impact of BKB over the past five years; it is the mammoth
shift in the intention and behaviour of participants from a competition focus
to sincere environmental concern spurring deliberate action aimed at sustaining
our environment. It is only through individuals taking collective action that
we can achieve sustainable environmental management and development.
In conclusion, I wish to congratulate all the present and past winners of
BKB, may you inspire all those not involved in the campaign to heed the call
for action, the time for inaction has drawn to a close, for the future of our
environment lies squarely in our hands. I thank you for listening to my
message. I also wish to thank the organisers of this function for a job well
done.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Gauteng
Provincial Government
3 December 2007
