Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi led a WeedBuster awareness campaign as part of the 18th anniversary celebration of the Working for Water Programme in Grahamstown today, Wednesday 16 October.
Mabudafhasi was accompanied by Mrs Louise Asmal, wife of the late and former Minister of Water and Forestry, Professor Kader Asmal under whose watch the Working for Water Programme was initiated. Professor Asmal, the then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, launched the Working for Water Programme by cutting down an invasive alien plant on the banks of the Theewaterskloof Dam for the first time on the 16 October 1995.
WeedBuster campaign is an initiative led by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) supported by various partners and stakeholders. The South African campaign is linked to the invasive plant control initiatives by countries such as Australia and New Zealand, as well as to the broader Global Invasive Species Programme. The WeedBuster initiative is part of the Department’s Working for Water Programme, which is the largest public-funded initiative aimed at managing invasive alien plants in the world. The programme seeks to control the problem of invasive alien species, and create work opportunities for previously unemployed people, especially from marginalised groupings.
The Working for Water Programme is an excellent example of an integration of environmental conservation and poverty eradication objectives. Since its inception in 1995, the Programme has created the equivalent of more than 174 000 person years of employment, and created employment opportunities to an average of 26 000 people per year, with 54% of them being women.
Delivering her key note address, Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi told residents of Grahamstown that the programme has shown an immense value and return on investment for the country through job creation, training and skills development. “This morning we visited breeding ponds for biological control agents against water hyacinth at Rhodes University. Biological control is a crucial aspect of the fight against invasive alien species, introducing the natural enemies of invasive species, and this year South Africa celebrates 100 years of bio-control. It has proven to be a fantastic return on investment, and is one example of where the Working for Water programme has empowered and trained hundreds of young South Africans – most of them previously disadvantaged – in this field of science,” said Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi.
Government, through the DEA, has invested enormous capital for the Working for Water Programme since its inception. The initial, once-off grant of R25 million from the RDP has grown to being part of a R8.4 billion programme over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for the Environmental Programmes, of which Working for Water is the biggest programme.
The department is planning to create an equivalent of more than 34 000 full time jobs during 2013/14 financial year through its Environmental Protection and Infrastructure, and Natural Resource Management Programmes, under which the Working for Water Programme falls.
For media query, contact:
Peter Mbelengwa
Spokesperson for the Deputy Minister
Cell: 082 6111 8197
E-mail: mbelengwap@dwa.gov.za
