Programme Director,
Representatives of donor and development community,
Captains and leaders of the, private sector,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen, I convey to you warm greetings and sincerest apologies from the Minister of Social Development, Ms Edna Molewa for not being able to be here personally for this event.
I know that she was keenly looking forward to being with us this morning, but could not due to other pressing commitments. It gives me great pleasure to be here for the launch of this new and exciting reality television programme called Kwanda (a nguni word for wealth and growth). Let me hasten to say that we are gathered here not just to launch a television (TV) series programme.
The launch of this project is symbolic of how government demonstrates our commitment to improving the living conditions of poor people in our communities. This is one of the reasons the Kwanda project is so exciting. It promises a new approach to engage communities in development.
As a department we see this as a powerful approach to sustainable development and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Increasingly, government view community mobilisation as an effective approach to addressing local development challenges. The benefits of this approach is that it promotes local ownership of development initiatives while at the same time it addresses community needs and hold the promise of a broad-based impact on development.
Thus, Kwanda which we are launching today is an excellent example of a project where government and its social partners are engaging local communities by getting them to become active participants in projects which aim to their quality of life. Rather than deciding projects for them, we strongly believe that beneficiaries of development projects should be empowered to make their own decisions. We aim to do this by actively encouraging and supporting greater community participation in development initiatives.
As you have seen the sneak previews, the communities are running creative income generating projects and creating a future for themselves, their children and communities. There is no better way to encourage people to realise their own potential, than through a project as Kwanda.
Programme Director,
I am confident that Kwanda will have an important and beneficial impact on the lives of the participating communities. The opportunities this project provides for these communities to become confident and active members of the local community will no doubt become more and more apparent as time passes. I am optimistic that the educational nature of this project and the inspirational stories of these five communities will succeed in boosting the confidence of other communities throughout the country to initiate their own development projects.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The launch of Kwanda project is a result of private-public partnership and provides opportunities to explore the potential for social investment in disadvantaged areas. It offers us an opportunity to see what is possible and what can succeed, in the fight against poverty, unemployment and for sustainable rural development.
For us sustainable development goes beyond government action alone. Rather, it is about working with our social partners and creating an environment in which people can develop their full potentials and lead productive, creative lives in accordance with their legitimate needs, interests and aspirations. We all have a collective responsibility to contribute to the attainment of national priorities.
In this regard, the launch of Kwanda should not be seen as an isolated initiative. Rather, it is part and parcel of our broader development projects in which government is working jointly with the social partners to make a practical contribution to the upliftment of disadvantaged communities.
At the core of Kwanda's approach is to help poor communities to help themselves.
I have no doubt that Kwanda will play a key role in reducing poverty, particularly in rural areas by opening up new frontiers and opportunities for community-driven development initiatives. This is a challenge for all of us, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), business community and government. The problems must be addressed in a joint effort.
Government cannot solve the problems on its own. It is with this in mind that I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the corporate sector and government for their generous contributions to this project. Without their support, we will not be launching this project today.
Programme Director,
A preview of Kwanda television series show that when potential beneficiaries make key project decisions, participation becomes a self-initiated action and entrenched ownership of the projects. You will see communities coming together to tackle wider development issues ranging from food security, HIV and AIDS, crime, child protection, women and youth empowerment, to mention just a few.
As a partner, the Department of Social Development fully supports this project because it affords an opportunity to work closely with our partners and brings us closer to the attainment of our national priorities. We are pleased to be working with Soul City and all other partners on this project and we are very happy with the momentum and the progress of the community projects so far.
I would like to once again to congratulate Soul City and all Kwanda partners for this initiative and I sincerely hope that many other communities throughout the country will be inspired and empowered to initiate their own development projects.
I thank you all.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
26 August 2009
Source: Department of Social Development (http://www.dsd.gov.za)
