Today we are making history in this part of our province as we are officially presenting a lasting solution to the challenges of underdevelopment and poverty that have consistently ravaged this area for many decades. This forms part of government’s offensive that seek to intensify the struggle against poverty through building a people’s contract to create work. It marks the advancement towards the realisation of our provincial growth and development plan target of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014.
It is in line with the priorities of government in this new term, which include amongst others:
* speeding up growth and transforming the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods
* building social and economic infrastructure
* rural development
Our approach is informed by the fact that none of the great social problems we have to solve is capable of resolution outside the context of the creation of jobs and the alleviation of poverty. Massive employment programmes have historically proven to provide cost effective and high quality solutions to the challenge of creating infrastructure in developing countries.
In fact, infrastructure development has been identified as one of the mitigating factors in dealing with the impact of global economic downturn.
In the recent past, the provincial government has made visible and decisive interventions in ensuring that we rescue our people from poverty and underdevelopment. Since 2006, the Eastern Cape Department of Transport has been championing the involvement of communities in the reconstruction and development of our Province through our Sakha Isizwe Community Based Transportation programme.
The aim of the programme is to institutionalise and guarantee a more balanced transportation system throughout the Eastern Cape province, and at the same time to create new work and business opportunities for the disadvantaged communities in line with the principles of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
This has been realised through ensuring delivery of accessible roads and transportation services through integrated, socially just, developmental and empowering processes in order to improve the quality of life of communities within the Province by way of community based development programmes.
Since 2009, the department has been trailblasing on EPWP. In this new term of government, we have a target of creating 4.5 million short and ongoing work opportunities for poor and unemployed people. In the Eastern Cape EPWP the target is 258 742 work opportunities, (108 866 full time equivalents) so as to contribute to halving unemployment by 2014, through the delivery of public infrastructure and community services.
In line with the provincial strategic framework (PSF) the premier of the Eastern Cape in her State of the Province Address (SOPA) for 2009 announced that 60 000 work opportunities will be created across all departments and local government for the 2009/10 financial year. This was informed by the pressing need to create sustainable livelihoods through job creation for the poorest of the poor in our province.
Out of this 60 000, the Department of Transport had to create work opportunities to the tune of 27 200 or 7 805 full time equivalents (with one full time equivalent to 230 days of work). In the State of the Province Address, Premier Noxolo Kiviet announced that the province created 78 000 work opportunities, well in excess of the 60 000 target.
These have largely been created through our department’s flagship Household Contractor programme.
As at the end of the third quarter of the 2009/10 financial year, the department created an impressive 21 451 work opportunities. Over 60 percent of these work opportunities involve women, thus making the department a major contributor to the upliftment of women through EPWP. This is indeed remarkable performance as it has catapulted the department into a leading position in terms of job creation in the infrastructure sector in the province.
Our Cacadu district has been a shining example in the implementation of our EPWP projects with 3 352 job opportunities that have been created. These beneficiaries included 2300 women and 1052 men, of which 1540 were youth.
In this district, we have the undertaken various labour intensive projects, which included the 1700m sidewalk construction in Makana (R1.2 million), Junior Traffic Training Centre construction in Makana (R800 000), Addo Road pedestrian bridge in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Metro with a total cost is R15 million and we are contributing R3 mlillon.
In Kouga and Baviaans municipalities, we have a road rehabilitation project which goes through a world heritage site (R332) at a cost of R15 million over three years starting last year. We have a Household Contractor programme within Ndlambe municipality with 486 household contractors that have been appointed. These are poor households that did not have an income, but today they are out of the poverty trap. These household contractors are concentrated in areas such as Alexandria (154), Boesmansriver (56), Nelson Mandela in this local area (104), Kenton-on-Sear (94) and Port Alfred (78).
Today, we are here to open three access roads in this township, namely Winnie Madikizela, TC Bethe and Gwashu Streets. The total length of these roads is 1 500 metres. These roads were gravel and were upgraded to surfaced standards and 40 people were employed over a period of six months and 30 of them were trained on surfacing, which was accredited by the Construction and Education Training Authority.
The project was implemented using labour intensive methods of construction, as a result, most of the money was spent within Ndlambe. The total cost of this project was R2 million.
Again today, we are officially launching our Road Rangers programme pilot project. Four local people have been employed and will earn R3 000 a month. Their role is to monitor stray animals and other incidents on the Bokness Road and R72.
In conclusion
I would like to call upon the people of Ndlambe municipality to continue to work together with us to ensure that with realise our priority of: Working together we can do more!
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
12 March 2010
Source: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
(http://www.ectransport.gov.za/)
