Benedict
Electrification Switch on and sod turning ceremony held at Nkandla
25 March 2009
Rural development is one of the key priorities of our government.
Electricity supply and connection is one of the main elements of rural
development. Electricity, which is the most affordable source of energy,
transforms lives and leads to a better life for all.
Today is, indeed, an important day for the people of Nkandla and the people
of KwaZulu-Natal. Before 1994 in South Africa, and before 2004 in
KwaZulu-Natal, rural development was a swear-word. Rural life was equated with
backwardness and those who lived in rural areas were, deliberately, made to
feel inferior and lived with an identity of inferiority, through being denied
basic services such as water, electricity, roads and sanitation.
It is worth noting that, by design, these were, almost, always black people.
White farms were always supplied with these essential services.
That was the severity of apartheid. That is the severity of the low road that
we travelled before our liberation. With a delayed liberation in KwaZulu-Natal,
the only time that the provincial government, as whole, really began to address
this discriminatory situation was from
2004.
As a result of the decision, by the people of KwaZulu-Natal in 2004, to
change government in the province, we are assembled here today to open a new
electricity sub station at Nkandla. We are doing so because, as a result of
this government working tirelessly towards a better life for all, through
electrification of households, schools, businesses, hospitals and other
facilities, there has been an over burdening of existing electricity sub
stations at areas such as Nkandla as well as the neighbouring areas of Melmoth,
Ulundi and Eshowe.
This sub station, therefore, is a symbol of the depth of determination of
this government to deliver services to all our citizens and to develop our
rural areas. We will continue to do so after the forthcoming April
elections.
Government has worked, around the clock, to reduce backlogs in service
delivery caused by past governments which were discriminatory, lethargic and
unconcerned about improving the quality of life of the majority of our
country's citizens.
However, we still have backlogs, today, because we are addressing centuries
of targeted under development, at every place, where black people lived.
As at 31 March 2008, the household electricity backlog in KZN was 813,315
out of 2,5 million households. Our province accounts for 24% of the total
national backlog of 3,3 million households.
Our government's mandate is to ensure that all South Africans have access to
electricity by 2014. This is part of the broader programme we have been engaged
in over the past 15 years.
Studies have shown that if more rural households are electrified, we can
jump start employment, particularly for women. Electricity is a facilitator of
job creation. With the installation of electricity, women are immediately
liberated from fetching firewood and are, thus, able to re-direct their
energies to opportunities such as crafts and other forms of cooperatives.
On 22 April 2009 we will go to the polls to cast our vote for the fourth
democratic elections in our country. It was not for the first time, in 2004,
that the people of KwaZulu-Natal voted, but it is for the first time that their
vote has given them so much.
But, working together, we can do more!
We have made significant progress in the provision of housing, water and
electricity to millions. Our economy has grown, jobs have been created and we
have deepened democracy. We have extended social grants to millions in our
province.
Our fight against crime remains a, key, priority to ensure safer and more
secure communities.
Rural infrastructure development and agricultural reforms are at the heart
of our plan to improve our Province's food security.
Investment has increased, as a share of Gross Domestic Product, from
15% in 2002 to 22% in 2008.
KwaZulu-Natal has seen the biggest investment in infrastructure in the
history of this province. These include:
* âthe R2,2 billion Moses Mabhida Stadium
* âthe R6,8 billion Dube Tradeport and King Shaka International Airport to
be
operationalised by the end of this year
* âR259 million was made available for stadia infrastructure development in
four district municipalities and the metro (Amajuba, Ugu, Umgungundlovu,
uThungulu and eThekwini)
*âthe R350 million P700 corridor from Richards Bay to Ulundi, which is under
construction, reduces the distance between Ulundi and Richards Bay
* âthe R300 million P577 from Mtubatuba to Hlabisa and Nongoma
* âthe construction of the R260 million Nsezi Bridge on the John Ross
Highway, near Empangeni, which is 1,2 kilometres long and the longest bridge in
South Africa and is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
As a result of our efforts to improve service delivery, the following has
been achieved in the province in 2009:
* â1,824,143 households (81,6%) have access to water
* â1,992,322 (89,2%) have access to sanitation services
* â1,597,399 (71,5%) households have access to electricity supply as per
Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) standards
Some of the other major road construction programmes, in the Nkandla area
alone, which the provincial government is currently engaged in, total in excess
of R439m. These include:
* âP50/2 (22,6 km) at a cost of R168 million
* âP50/2 (13,5 km) at a cost of R51 million
* âP50/3 (17,5 km) at a cost of R39 million
* âP15 (25 km) at a cost of R140 million
The Department of Education has invested more than R103 million on school
infrastructure in the Nkandla area. These include:
* âAmatshensikazi Primary School
* âGolozela Secondary School
* âHlehlelezi Junior Primary School
* âMatholamnyama Secondary School, to mention but a few.
Given Nkandla's unique position of being a transit point to most of the
province, we must take advantage of this resource.
The under development in the area is, nevertheless, paralleled against its
richness in natural resources and it has great potential for economic growth
through agriculture. Good climate and availability of land makes it a promising
centre in terms of agricultural production. Livestock, timber (Qhudeni and
Nkonisa), tea (Ntingwe), herbs (essential oils), peaches and vegetables are
some of the products of the area.
We are working against impediments in this area such as the shortage of
relevant farming skills, inability to attract and retain high quality skilled
human resources, lack of suitable infrastructure and natural calamities such as
drought, heavy storm, frost, hail and excessive cloudiness which we recently
witnessed.
The people of KwaZulu-Natal want government to deliver even more. They want
the most responsive, and most responsible, government, this province has seen,
to continue along the, already started, path of better education, better health
and better social development.
KwaZulu-Natal will never go back to the doldrums of under development and
foisted poverty.
Together, we can do more.
Masisukume Sakhe!
Thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 March 2009
Source: Sapa
