Speech presented by the Mpumalanga MEC for Economic
Development, Environment and Tourism, Mr J L Mahlangu, MPL, during the official
opening of the Casterbridge Hollow Hotel, White River, Mbombela Local
Municipality
23 March 2010
Programme Director
Messrs Louis van der Merwe and Patrick Siebel of Seasons in Africa group
Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) Board, Mr Sabelo
Mahlalela
Head of Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mr Rabeng
Tshukudu
CEO of MTPA, Mr Charles Ndabeni
Members of the media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
We meet just a day after we celebrated Human Rights Day; a day to
remember all those who perished under apartheid rule, for believing and
exercising their human rights. It was on that fateful day 50 years ago, when 69
people were killed by the enemy for exercising their rights, a right of free
movement within their country of birth. That fateful day, become a defining
moment for our liberation struggle, hence as South Africans we enjoy the
protection of our human rights today. Therefore as much as being able to live
freely and exercise your constitutional rights is a human right, so is living in
a clean environment. As a department we have a mandate to ensure that the
environment is protected and preserved for the benefit of future generations. It
is therefore, our collective responsibility to fulfil this mandate despite the
changing climate conditions we are experiencing. Working together we must ensure
that we change the way we have been doing things, for the sake of our endangered
environment, lest we will be blamed by future generations for having failed
South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, the country and the world over are already
experiencing the effects of climate change. When addressing the 15th Congress of
Parties at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen,
Denmark in December last year, President Jacob Zuma said and I quote, “Climate
change is a practical matter for the developing world, especially Africa. For
countries such as South Africa, weather patterns in coastal provinces are
already wreaking havoc on the lives of our people, which makes this challenge a
reality that we are already confronting. We need an agreement that recognises
the common responsibility of all nations to reduce emissions, while not
retarding the development of developing countries. Developing countries are
ready to play their part in reducing global emissions, but obviously rich
countries have to take the lead. We owe it to current and future generations.”
I am therefore humbled to be part of this green destination initiative
this morning, which is a sign of our commitment towards saving our environment.
The launch of the Casterbridge Hollow Hotel gives us hope that the people of
this province agree that green energy is the future. We all agree that when it
comes to green destinations and innovative designs within South Africa, the
Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre sets the tone for future development.
In less than 80 days, we will play host to the world during the 2010
FIFA World Cup games and what opportune time to introduce this green destination
to the world. Let us show the world that we are already doing our bit to put the
brakes on climate change.
We are proud that within each new Casterbridge project, greater advances are
being made in making products greener and more sustainable. One such applauded
initiative, is the art gallery of the lifestyle centre which was architecturally
designed to maximise available light and to minimise dependency on artificial
lights. The Casterbridge Hollow Hotel itself is the newest development which
supports our initiatives as government, to reduce dependence on coal-generated
energy and promoting the use sustainable and green energy. I am proud to
announce that the hotel is the current leader in using green energy.
This is because:
- Every room in the hotel has a solar geyser
- Every drop of water used in the operations of the hotel is
recycled
- The hotel makes use of bio-mite septic tanks that do not release
harmful waste into the environment
- The hotel is built from locally obtained material and excludes the
use of hardwoods.
We are further encouraged that the hotel management has promised to
continue to look out for other ways which could save our environment, such as
waste recycling and painting of all their rooms and roof with ceramic bead
additive to minimise cooling and heating costs. The tone has been set and we
have been promised that the adjacent loft apartment development in the hotel
complex will be even greener.
Ladies and gentlemen, our efforts and commitment as a country towards
addressing the issues of global change are being recognised the world over. As a
result, we have been afforded the opportunity to serve at the United Nations on
matters of climate change. The Minister of Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk
has been nominated to succeed Mr Yvo de Boer as Head of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change; whilst the Minister in the Presidency responsible
for National Planning, Mr Trevor Manuel has been appointed to serve on the UN’s
Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. We believe that this international
platform would enable us to influence world nations, especially the developed
countries, to agree on a legally binding agreement on the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent below 1990 levels in order to
restrict the global temperature rise to a maximum of two degrees Celsius by
2020.
Since the Copenhagen Conference did not deliver on our expectations, we
hope that moving forward, the 16th Congress of Parties on Climate Change to be
hosted by Mexico in December this year, will live up to our expectations. Our
ultimate stand-point as a country is that there is a need to agree with the rest
of the world on the equitable sharing of the little remaining carbon development
space. We also pin our hopes on COP17 which South Africa will host in 2011.
Once more, we congratulate the management of Casterbridge on their
green destination initiatives. Like President Zuma said, we owe it to current
and future generations to preserve the environment. I leave you with an
inspiring quote from one of our liberation stalwart, Chief Albert Luthuli, who
once said and I quote, “The difficulties may be great, but nothing has beaten
man if he has striven. There is a challenge which you and I must meet. We cannot
dodge it. I believe we all will do our best whatever the difficulties are.”
Working together we can do more to mitigate the effects of climate
change and preserve our environment for future generations. Green energy is the
future.
Ladies and gentlemen, I now have the honour to officially launch the
Casterbridge Hollow Hotel as Mpumalanga’s first green destination.
I thank you!
Issued by: Mpumalanga Department of Economic
Development, Environment and Tourism
