Programme Director, Ms Khari Manotwane
MMC Tessa Williams from Tshwane
MMC HAM Khan from Metsweding
Councillor Hilda Mokoena from the City of Johannesburg
Head of Department, Dr Steven Cornelius
Senior managers from the department
Non-governmental organisations and community based organisations project members
Educators and learners from Pfundzo ndi Tshedza Primary School
Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the media
Programme director, it is an incredible honour and fulfilling experience for me to be part of the very important Mma Tshepo Khumbane awards. Equally vital to acknowledge is the active contribution and participation of stakeholders in this programme, especially the learners. Their participation demonstrates our belief that our young people are active and hopeful, not the “lost generation” that some doomsayers claim. The calibre of the young people that are here today dispels that notion and proves to the country and the world that Gauteng’s young people are constructively working to build their country into a vibrant, harmonious and prosperous place, a place that will make us all proud.
Future leaders, entrepreneurs, thinkers, innovators and creators who must ensure the prosperity of our country and the improved quality of life of our people stand before us today. As we celebrate their achievements, we are also conscious about the selfless role played by men and women, and educators and learners from different schools. You have heeded a clarion call made by both Premier Nomvula Mokonyane and President Jacob Zuma for the nation and the country “to work together” for a better life for all. You have done this by transferring your knowledge and energy to create jobs and reduce levels of poverty. You did this without any reservations and I commend you for that.
Programme director, this is proof enough for us that it is only through partnership between government and the citizens we serve as stakeholders that we will succeed in meeting the millennium development goal of halving poverty by 2015. We have no doubt in the slightest that the MMA Tshepo Khumbane (MTK) awards we proffer today will foster a sense of patriotism and nation building and galvanise you into becoming warriors of reconstruction and development. We strongly believe in the indispensable role of communities and stakeholders in building the kind of society for which their fore bearers sacrificed everything, including their own lives, to realise.
Programme director, ladies and gentleman, the sustainable resource management component’s key task is to implement the environmental Expanded Public Works Programme and LandCare and community based natural resource management projects across the province. This focus on the important interface between people and the environment, and our efforts to improve the wellbeing and livelihoods of Gauteng’s citizens remains a driving priority. Job opportunities targeting woman, the youth and people with disabilities have been created in this regard
Today’s event is mainly to acknowledge, reward and highlight modest initiatives in Gauteng of which the main objectives are:
* to promote sustainable use of natural resources
* to encourage communities in their duty to care for the natural resource base
* to promote income generation activities using natural resources adequately
* to encourage community initiatives and innovations on best natural resource management practices and
* to share technologies and experiences on natural resource management.
This awards ceremony today also demonstrates the results of positive values, a sense of responsibility, sound behaviour, and the discipline which is so important in our communities. We all know that natural resources are under pressure in Gauteng: soil degradation through bad land use practices or soil sterilisation through pollution and development pressure, water wastage and contamination, wetland degradation and loss, alien invasive vegetation and weeds and biodiversity damage are some of the challenges.
If land use practices are not modified to enhance rather than denude these resources, we will destroy the resources that sustain all life in the worst case, and in the best case we will be ensuring a declining standard of living for all residents and a loss of natural and cultural heritage for future generations. As is most often the case, the poor and vulnerable feel this impact the most.
For this reason, the department has introduced the Mma-Tshepo Khumbane (MTK) Awards in natural resource management in 2007. The Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Awards recognise excellence and innovation of individuals, community groups and civil society organisations, in the sustainable management of natural resources in Gauteng.
This year marks the second session of these awards and I am proud to announce that the awards, since their inception in 2007, have grown bigger and more exciting. The spirit and skills displayed by all the entrants is inspiring. Mma Tshepo Khumbane, who is amongst us today, is a grassroots activist from the rural areas of Gauteng, and the founder of the ‘Water for Food Movement’. This movement has supported many people in productive small-scale agriculture on their homesteads, and has empowered them to improve their own self-esteem and self-confidence. Her practical knowledge and inspiring leadership has led to us naming these awards after her, so that we particularly emphasise sustainable resource management for livelihoods and safe and secure communities.
The department commends your efforts in taking the initiative to start projects that contribute to poverty alleviation, job creation and building sustainable livelihoods. Some of you started these projects with very limited, if any, financial resources. The passion that you display in making something for yourselves, by using natural resources in a responsible and productive manner is why we are together today.
We believe that the Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Awards will make the Gauteng community aware that, irrespective of age, gender and the conditions we live under, we need to make natural resources management and protection an integral part of our lives.
The Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Award have been launched to coincide with the national Land Care Awards to provide a process from which school and civil society projects involved in LandCare and sustainable natural resource management can be nominated by Gauteng. Of the six 2007 Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Awards winners which were nominated for the national awards, and by the way that ceremony took place in July 2009, three of our nominees won trophies as follows:
* Vukuzenzele Women’s Food Garden Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Award in 2007, third prize in the sustainable farmer category
* Daveyton Youth Council Art from Waste Project Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Award in 2007, second prize in the junior LandCare out of school category and
* Ukuvuna Urban Farming MTK Award in 2007 – First Prize in the LandCare Champions category and also won a laptop.
The overall winners of the 2009 Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Awards will be recommended for the national LandCare Awards again. And let me take this opportunity to wish all the nominees the best of luck.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you all for the wonderful response to these 2009 Mma-Tshepo Khumbane Awards and for participating in so many exciting, innovative and inspiring projects.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Gauteng Provincial Government
15 October 2009
Source: Department of Agriculture, Gauteng Provincial Government
(http://www.gdard.gpg.gov.za/)
