Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Mnquma Municipality
Councillors
CEOs and Heads of Institutions
Members of the Community
Members of the media
It is indeed a great honour for me to be here today, to handover the Mnquma Buyisela / Eco2 town project. The handover forms part of my Public Participation Programme which started in Limpopo in August . As you all know that as Ministers we are obliged to do Public Participation Programme which was known as Izimbizo. Public Participation Programme is a platform to engage directly with communities and get better understanding of service delivery challenges which affect our departments, we will also get an opportunity to share information regarding planned and implemented projects.
We are faced with the challenge of environmental degradation and yet environment is pivotal to economic and social development. Failure to conserve environment will exacerbates the existing challenges such as poverty and we will not achieve the set government targets. Thus the conceptualisation of the Buyisela / Eco-towns project. During municipal indaba held last year we committed that we will pilot the Buyisela/ Eco-towns. Mnquma is one of the ten municipalities prioritised for this project.
The project aims to address environmental problems and challenges faced by local municipalities such as waste management, biodiversity loss, water quality management, water conservation, air pollution, climate change, inadequate community participation and ownership.
The project is being implemented since July this year, it will be completed by 2012. We have allocated R41 Million for Mnquma. The department has appointed Indalo Yethu as an Implementing agent in collaboration with the municipality. This project entails street cleaning and provision of street cleaning equipment and dust bins, development of integrated waste management plan, pavement upgrade, market street for hawkers, food gardens for communities and schools and composting, education and awareness, tree planting and street furniture. Through this project we will address the degradation of environment, reduce poverty as people will be encouraged to do food gardens, conserve water, local economic growth and will create job opportunities.
Two hundred and eighty three (283) jobs have been created and all employees are undergoing training. The implementation of the Eco-Town or Buyisela project here in Mnquma is already visible in some parts and we hope this will engender a sense of pride to all residents. The residents and business should embrace the positive changes the Buyisela project is already making in this area. We all know that Butterworth was always in the media due to poor waste management.
Mnquma will extract value from by-products, thus reducing volumes of in-coming consumables and outgoing wastes and therefore serves as model for resource efficiency.
The project will be completed by 2012, Mnquma would look transformed and the benefits will be felt by all.
I hope I speak for everyone here when I say nobody wants to live in a filthy and untidy place. I would like to appeal to the municipality and the community to maintain the infrastructure and jealously guard against vandalism.
It is important to inform you that United Nations has declared 2010 an International Year of Biodiversity and our department has held a plethora of events for the benefit of environmental protection and awareness. Globally we are campaigning Green Revolution for change of attitudes towards sustainable living.
I am challenging the Mnquma community to come on board as ambassadors of Green Revolution.
As government we are not going to rest until our environment is conserved.
Thank you
