Programme Director;
Honourable Premier of the Free State Province, Mr Ace Magashule;
Honourable MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, Mr Msebenzi Zwane;
Your Worship the Executive Mayor of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Cllr Thabo Manyoni;
Members of the Mayoral Committee;
Officials from various departments, municipalities and other institutions;
Members of the community;
Members of the media;
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dumelang!
It gives me great pleasure to be back in this beautiful province, the heart of South Africa.
Sadly, I come back here to the centre of our democratic emancipation at a time where the freedom of women and children is under attack from inhumane activities perpetrated by the criminals who are bent on reversing the gains of our freedom.
I come here at a time when the whole country is watching with bated breath the recovery of a child from your neighbouring province, the Northern Cape, who was a victim of merciless and barbaric behaviour of a certain citizen of this very beautiful country.
We therefore come here to add a brick in building what we have always aspired for: Building Safer and Sustainable Communities. It is also fitting that we come here during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. This is a time dedicated by our government for everyone to say no to women and child abuse. Don’t look away when you see abuse being meted out against a woman or a child or any human being for that matter.
Today I am here to celebrate one of the achievements of our government in general and our department in particular. I can boldly claim that we are able to do all of the things that we do as this current government because we believe in the people of South Africa. We would want to see the people of Batho waking up every day and have a place where they can go to relax and engage in recreational activities.
Honourable MEC, Executive Mayor & Friends, today is a culmination of the hard work of the people of Batho supported by our government.
This is a government that listens. The park we launch today is a park that was requested by the Free State provincial government, and our national government responded. This is indeed, one of the ways through which our government converts the illegal dumping sites and hideouts of criminals into safe spaces in line with our vision of Building Safer and Sustainable Communities.
MEC, when we got that request from you about three years ago we knew that all you were asking for was our support in Building Safer and Sustainable Communities.
To us in the department, as I said in Mdantsane last year, “there is no question about the need for development, but all we are saying, is that such development must be sustainable. Our view is that it was not by chance that when we adopted the constitution of the country in 1996 we made provision for the preservation of the environment for future generations.
This was a deliberate attempt to say, chasing short term gratification at the expense of our mother earth will have devastating effects not only on the current but to the generations to come”.
As part of the Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Programme (EPIP) of the department we made available R35 million for this project. Such money has been spent, over the past two years, in this project to undertake activities such as park establishment, park furniture, installation of bins, tree planting, park lights & shade structures, pedestrian walkways, ablutions, electrical installations; general street cleaning (Batho Township); removal of alien plants; maintenance of the park, gateways & signage; fencing of the park; pedestrian Bridge, Pavilions and parking area.
MEC & Executive Mayor, this is a continuation of our effort to build safer and sustainable communities and we continue to seek your partnership in this regard. As we say, we also want to implore you to continue to provide support to the assets created though this programme, including the very park that we launch today. The last thing we want is to come back here in two years and find a dumpling site with dilapidated infrastructure instead of this very beautiful park.
As we continue with the programme of Building Safer and Sustainable Communities we are well aware that unemployment remains one of the key challenges facing our country today. As a result, I must add that in the implementation of these projects we always strive to employ as many people as we can.
For instance, during the construction phase of this project we had 400 local people who worked full-time for no less than 24 months. Out of these people 60% of them were women, 55% were youth and 2% were people with disabilities.
Throughout the construction phase of this project we ensured that there is a comprehensive skills development to assist the workers with the necessary skills so as to access the job market.
To this end we have facilitated various non-accredited training interventions.
We have also ensured that workers are trained on accredited programmes such as Nature Site Guide, Construction Painting, Construction Masonry, Construction Tiling, Plant Production, Cultural Site Guide, Waste Management, Conservation General Assistant, Assistant Chef, Public Area Cleaner.
During the construction of this park all the skills accumulated from these training interventions were put to use and we have no doubt that the investment into the people of Batho has not gone to waste.
To the people who made this project a reality, the workers, I would like to thank you sincerely, you have indeed put your brick in the Building of Safer and Sustainable Communities. Your hard work has really paid off and thanks for your resilience throughout the construction phase and we hope that the skills accumulated as well as the work ethic demonstrated will take your further.
MEC and Executive Mayor you would know that earlier on in the year we engaged with the municipalities and the provinces with a view to solicit new projects for funding through EPIP.
The projects implemented within this programme are classified under Working on Waste, People & Parks, Greening & Open Space Management, Working for Land and Wildlife Economy, inline with the mandate of the department.
I must also add that applications are open to all citizens of this country and we put a strong emphasis on job creation as some of you may have observed with the project we are launching today.
In this regard I am happy to use this occasion to announce that after following a thorough evaluation process, the department will fund 23 projects over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) (2014/15 to 2016/17) to the value of R248.5 million in Free State only.
Furthermore, I would want to assure you that as this government we would not want to leave behind incomplete projects.
As a result we have been engaging with the Department of Tourism to ensure the completion of the Lekgalong la Mantsopa Project which has experienced some challenges due to cost escalations.
In this regard I can also announce that as the department we have made available R3.5 million for the completion of the work in that area. Furthermore, we will also be resuming completion of the work in the Manyatseng Township in Lady Brand.
Lastly, I would want to reiterate my plea to the MEC and Executive Mayor as well as the Mangaung Metro community to look after these assets as they have always done with all their assets. Let’s continue to work together in Building Safer and Sustainable Communities.
Enjoy your festive season relaxing at this park.
I thank you!
