Programme Director,
DG of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Nosipho Ngcaba,
Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Hon Rejoice Mabudafhasi,
MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs in KZN, Hon Dr Meshack Radebe.
MEC for Environment and Nature Conservation in Northern Cape, Hon Patrick Mabilo,
Hon Nosilivere Magadla, House Chairperson in the NCOP, representing the Chairperson of the NCOP,
Fellow panellist,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Honoured guests.
As a personal contribution to waste management I am going to start by not wasting time.
The theme of this Khoro is absolutely on point, because if anything needs a collective effort to be effectively managed it is waste.
The bottom line is that although waste is everybody’s business, waste management is a particular concern of municipalities. Municipalities are most directly confronted with waste; they have to manage waste, and they are the ones we in Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) work hand in hand with, on a daily basis.
In terms of section 25 of the Municipal Systems Act, municipal councils must adopt a single, inclusive and strategic Integrated Development Plan – or IDP - for the municipality, and this IDP is required to include an Integrated Waste Management Plan. All municipalities are required to set the required funding aside to realize this plan, and it is the role of CoGTA to ensure that sectors have included their plans into the IDPs of municipalities.
That is the system in theory. But in practice, things are not quite as straightforward.
Effective waste management depends on public awareness – of both producers and consumers of waste.
Public awareness must not only be raised but also established as a national norm.
We must put an end to littering - it impacts on our national brand. As our hosts here in eThekwini know, tourism is one of our greatest potential sources of job creation. But this potential will be undermined if our streets and other sites and littered with trash.
Of course there are major challenges to confront - lack of skilled capacity, pressures of funding, inadequate equipment. However, there are also reasons for optimism – we are seeing the emergence of a national awareness and commitment to deal with these issues. South Africans are realising that it is wasteful to live with waste.
It is national policy to provide Basic Refuse Removal Service to indigent households and for municipalities to provide this service to households in their districts. And whilst it is clear from the 2011 Census that there is still a considerable backlog, it is also clear that the service is being extended to more and more indigent households.
At the same time, demand for these services is growing ever more rapidly, especially in urban areas, fueled by population growth, increases in income, and rises in consumer spending, with a consequent growth in demand for refuse storage and refuse removal further stretching the resources of municipalities.
To some extent this is a manifestation of success – a clear demonstration of the fact that now, in 2013, things are very much better than they were in 1994. However it will require of municipalities to become increasingly inventive, devising fresh ways of dealing with their waste management responsibilities and demonstrating creative and innovative solutions in managing waste.
Another positive factor has been the introduction of standards, as in the National Domestic Waste Collection Standards, which was introduced and published in 2010 and follows international waste management standards and good practices in both developed and developing countries.
These standards dictate that equitable waste collection services must be provided to all households within the jurisdiction of a municipality. In areas where travelling distances and the resulting costs may render regular waste collection services impractical, the municipality, through by-laws, must allow for more feasible alternative ways of waste handling, such as on-site disposal.
It is a collective approach, and part of its potential lies in the involvement of communities themselves – it follows that those responsible for generating waste should have an interest in its disposal; and, in many cases, the important question of recycling. Work opportunities exist in sorting through discarded items and separating glass, paper and metal objects from the rest of the litter. A lot of waste is not waste at all.
One of the interventions by CoGTA has been through the Community Work Programme (CWP) that has created work opportunities for poor communities through waste management.
This programme has contributed to waste management by encouraging communities to do clean-up campaigns to keep their environment clean and also by promoting environmental education, so that our communities do not litter.
The programme also promotes waste management through recycling which has created jobs by recycling glass, paper and other waste. The programme has reduced waste and contributed to extending the life of landfill sites. The CWP programme works with municipalities to collect waste especially from poor communities. Where there are un-serviced areas the Clean Cities and Towns Project will assist municipalities to provide service in those areas.
Recently the Department of Cooperative Governance released a discussion document on an Integrated Urban Development Framework. This document aims to lay the basis for a comprehensive and integrated urban development framework. Issues related to waste management are important for urban development and we look forward the inputs of those participating in this Waste Management Khoro.
This Khoro has become an important annual event. The challenges and the tasks on your agenda are not easy ones. But our national well-being and progress depends on it, and on making the management of waste a collective effort.
But difficult as these challenges are we can draw inspiration from the progress we have made as a nation over the past twenty years, and the fact that South Africa is a much better place than it was 20 years ago in 1994.
Last night I looked at the ANC National Election Manifesto for the 1994 elections. In that manifesto, under the heading: housing and services for all!, we said a roof over one’s head and reasonable living conditions were not a privilege but a basic right for every human being. We said that within five years, the new government could build one million houses! Was that done?
In fact more was done, because by 2002, 1, 4 million houses had been built. By last year, 3,38 million houses had been built. We said we would provide running water and flush-toilets to over a million families. Was that done?
In fact, more was done because in 1994, 11 million households had access to water. Last year, 13,3 million, i.e. 95% households had access to water. In 2003, 8,1 million households had access to sanitation; and in 2011 to 2012, 11,47 million had access to sanitation.
We said in that manifesto, that we would electrify 2, 5 million rural and urban homes. By last year, 76% of households were electrified. We said health care for all the people. We said the aim of the ANC’s health plan was primary and affordable health care to ensure that all South Africans were guaranteed basic treatment.
We said that we would promote safe motherhood and play a major role in caring for the nation’s children through programmes like immunisation, nutrition and free health care for children under five years of age. Was that done?
In fact, more was done, because in 2000, immunisation stood at 75%; and by 2011 that stood at 90, 8%. Life expectancy has risen from 55,7 years in 2001 to 57 years in 2012. The infant and child mortality rate was 52 deaths per 1 000 infants in 2001; this had come down to 33 deaths per 1 000 in 2012.
On welfare and pensions, we said in that manifesto, that pensions and grants due to people would be assured and allocated through post offices, banks, building societies and other outlets which are easy for rural people to use. By 2004 a total of 6, 47 million people received pensions and social assistance. By 2012 that number had risen to 15, 52 million.
We are a government and a people who say what we mean and mean what we say. When we work together we can do more - and we have done more. But we know we need to do even more. And certainly in the field of waste management we need to do more. That is why waste management must be a collective effort.
We must take seriously the motto of our host province, KwaZulu-Natal: Masisukume sakhe! (Let us rise and build!).
Therefore we want to assure you that in this collective, collaborative and cooperative effort you can depend on the full support of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
It is a pleasure to ask my colleague and comrade, Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi to address you on making waste management a collective effort.
Thank you!
