Mosunkutu, following State of the Province Address
20 February 2007
It is an honour and a pleasure for me to be able to publicly commit the
department to deliver on another set of measurable goals for the 2007/8
financial year.
As we assign ourselves the task of delivering precise and measurable goals -
goals that are aimed at further making Gauteng a better place to live in for
all our people, our conscience obliges us to briefly reflect on what has been
done in relation to previous commitments - commitments derived from our
strategic objectives.
In relation to fighting poverty and building secure and sustainable
communities:
Contributing to the strategic objective of halving poverty by 2014, the
Department spent more than R39,321 million in establishing 10 994 homestead
food gardens and helped establish 55 community food gardens, benefiting over 54
960 people during the financial years 2003/2004 to 2005/2006.
Contrary to the view that urban agriculture in Gauteng is non-existent, we
now have 750 established black farmers, from approximately 350 in 2004. In
fact, at the beginning of our term of office, agriculture contributed only 0,6%
to the total number of jobs in Gauteng. The sector now contributes 1,9%, a huge
growth of 200%. The Department's Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme
(CASP) and the national Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD)
programme, among others, played a significant role in this development.
Moving ahead, we commit to avail infrastructure grants to 50 farmers during
the 2007/8 financial year. As directed by Premier Shilowa in his 2007 State of
the Province address, we commit to work with Local Government, to establish
three agricultural hubs, as an element of the Gauteng Agricultural Development
Strategy, during the 2006/7 financial year. The first of these hubs will be
built in the Metsweding District.
Informed by the essence of the Premier's broad directives to further grow
the agricultural sector, we shall, during the 2007/8 financial year, also
launch Agricultural Learnership/Internship Programmes and train 1 250 farmers
in financial and marketing skills. Plans to unveil agro-processing and
biotechnology as constituent elements of the Gauteng Agricultural Development
Strategy are also at an advanced stage and these will further contribute to the
growth of the agricultural sector as guided by the Premier's State of the
Province address.
Our Household Food Security Programme will not lag behind. We plan to
establish another 9 000 homestead food gardens that will benefit 45 000 people
during the coming financial year. It is our intention to also launch 32 new
Community Food Gardens. An amount of R25 million is budgeted for these
programmes.
Women's empowerment will not be lost in the development of the agricultural
sector. Whilst we await financial allocation from the national Ministry, we
shall, from our own allocations, set aside resources to inject vibrancy and
delivery of material benefits to beneficiaries of Women in Agriculture and
Rural Development (WARD) and the Micro-Agricultural Finance Schemes of South
Africa (MAFISA).
Of the R19 million earmarked for the Comprehensive Agricultural Support
Programme for the coming financial year, we shall ensure that 10% of this
allocation is committed to the implementation of WARD projects. Another R10
million is earmarked for women empowerment in the provincial agricultural
sector. Of the 6 000 homestead food gardens that we plan to help establish
during the coming financial year, the bias in terms of beneficiaries will also
be towards women.
To help build sustainable communities within an environment that is not
harmful to the health and wellbeing of our communities, we released, during the
2004/5 financial year, a comprehensive State of the Environment Report (SOE).
This report brought to the fore the threats, posed by mismanagement of our
ecosystem, to all our communities. The report examined among others, threats to
the air that we breathe, to the land and to our water resources.
Informed by this report, which is a legacy of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, we initiated a number of measures aimed at countering
and preventing further environmental degradation. Amongst these initiatives, we
produced a second version of the Conservation Plan (C Plan 2). This electronic
geographic map gives us possibilities and better opportunities to sustainably
utilise our ecosystem.
We have managed to convert 50 government vehicles to use Liquid Petroleum
Gas (LPG). We rolled out Air Quality Management plans, including installation
of Air Management Stations. A Waste Management Policy, endorsed by the
Provincial Executive Council, was also developed. Environmental Management
Plans, agreed upon by some of our municipalities, already guide development in
those areas.
Opening the Legislature on 19 February 2007, Premier Shilowa hinted at the
fact that rivers are an important source of recreation. Further recognising the
fact that rivers, as part of our ecosystems, play a significant provisioning
service - giving us drinking water, being a habitat to other living organisms
and being a source for food production, we commit to spend, during the 2007/8
financial year, R4 million on rehabilitating our rivers.
Also as part of building sustainable communities within an environment
conducive to this objective, we commit an amount of R1,5 million, during the
2007/8 financial year to revitalise and boost the Gauteng anti-litter campaign.
This project will be launched on Environment Day in June 2007.
We are aware that proper and effective environmental management counts for
naught to some people, in particular parts of the private sector. This small
section of our community would do well to note that our Environmental
Management Inspectors have set themselves a task of no less than 37 major
operations during the 2007/8 financial year.
In line with increased inter-governmental co-operation and co-ordination, we
plan to conclude six (6) Environmental Management Frameworks with our Local
Municipalities. We will also co-ordinate the establishment of 6
inter-governmental forums with Local Municipalities to conduct joint
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) work.
Stimulating faster economic growth and reducing unemployment:
Reduction of unemployment finds expression in our natural resources
management, specifically through the utilisation of the Extended Public Works
Programme to efficiently manage our natural resources. In the coming financial
year, we will clear 20 000 hectares of land of alien vegetation, build 80
kilometres of firebreaks and distribute 800 trees. In this process we will
create over 300 jobs. Thus far a total of R65 million has been spent in the
development of infrastructure in our nature reserves using labour intensive
methods.
Through our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes, we also
significantly contributed not only towards sustainable use of our natural
resources but also utilised the developmental tool to approve residential
areas. The tools were also utilised to facilitate industrial development and
other essential services.
Our contribution towards developing healthy, skilled and productive
people:
Information available informs us that animal borne diseases affect not only
the economy of the country in terms of inviting, amongst others, restriction of
exportation of animal and animal products. Equally important, if not more
serious, some animal diseases are communicable and can be fatal to humans.
Our pet-care project, launched on 13 February 2007, is an intervention aimed
at minimising the gap between accessibility and affordability of veterinary
services. The project will contribute to the control of rabies, reduction of
populations of stray dogs and cats, which are a cause of nuisance and potential
harm, improvement of the welfare of domestic pets and the associated general
wellness of the owners of these pets. We commit to spend an amount of over R7,8
million in rolling out this project during the 2007/8 financial year.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not my budget vote media briefing. The aim of
this media briefing is to elaborate on the directives given to us by the
Premier. We shall, in due course, avail opportunities to talk at length about
our commitments, for the coming financial year, to the people of Gauteng.
I thank you.
For more information contact
Sizwe Matshikiza
Tel: (011) 355 1316
Cell: 082 778 9996
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Gauteng
Provincial Government
20 February 2007
