Premier's Remarks to the launch of the heritage, greening Mpumalanga and tourism flagship
Songimvelo Game Reserve
02 December 2008
Members of the Executive Council,
Honourable Members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
The Executive Mayor of the Gert Sibande District Municipality
Honourable mayors, councillors and representatives of local
government
Representatives of national government departments including the
Department of Environment and Tourism (DEAT)
The Acting Director General of the Province and Heads of
Departments,
The CEO’s of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Board and the
Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism Flagship
Our social partners, including the business community, labour
and broader civil society
Our distinguished guests from all spheres of public endeavour,
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
When we
announced the establishment of the Flagships in 2007 we were
quite confident of the huge improvements they would make in
providing the much needed capacity for accelerated development
in our province.
However, no one could have prepared us for-ever expanding
horizons and possibilities, our apex priorities, represented by
the big five flagships of the province, have led us into. The
opportunities to radically alter life in our province are
boundless.
It is indeed fitting and appropriate that we have chosen
Songimvelo Nature Reserve for the occasion of the launch of the
Heritage Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism Flagship. The name of
this Nature Reserve and what it represents, including the
cultural items on display today, is but a mirror image of the
central objectives of the Flagship and its emphasis on an
integrated multi-pronged approach to the celebration of culture
and history, environmental conservation and tourism promotion.
We are who we are because of our primary endowment, the land. It
is from our land where we draw our identity, culture and
character.
As we launch this flagship, we wish to commend the achievements
registered in the planting of trees, across the province
covering all the districts; Gert Sibande, Nkangala and
Ehlanzeni. This modest initiative will go a long way in
addressing climate change whilst improving quality of life and
contributing to the development of sustainable human settlements
by giving low-income communities trees to plant at their homes,
as well as providing training, employment and environmental
awareness”.
The spirit of partnership reflected in this work, must be
eumulated by all of us. We welcome efforts made in working
together with local authorities and non-governmental
institutions, such as Food Trees for Africa (FTFA), in order to
ensure the successful rollout of the project.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The launch of this Flagship attests to the Province’s commitment
to sustainable development and the protection of the environment
in line with the global agenda as outlined, in the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD), movement.
Important objectives set out in the Flagship include:
-
To ensure
a clean and healthy environment to the people living in and
visiting the Mpumalanga province
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And conducting spatial planning and management of the
natural environment through the greening programme.
I am proud to also note that the recent Provincial Growth and
Development Summit (PGDS) affirmed our commitment as a province
to utilize our natural resources and ecosystems in a sustainable
manner. Mindful of the many environmental problems that our
country faces, we declared that a sustainable development path
for the province is a non-negotiable.
As a result, of the recent reports about the contamination and
pollution of our water resources, is a cause for concern.
These environmental problems, as noted in our country’s State of
the Environment Report are serious, and include:
-
loss of biodiversity
-
air pollution, storm water, sewage, and waste disposal which continue to have substantial adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
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Climate change
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Current levels of use of inland water resources
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Our per capita carbon dioxide emissions which are estimated as being almost twice the global average
In launching the Heritage Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism
Flagship we seek to enjoin all of us in the province to embark
on a journey towards a successful partnership that celebrates
our shared heritage and conserves our natural environmental
endowments in a manner that contributes to a better life for
all.
We are convinced that government cannot do all that needs to be
done, without effective partnerships with other role players.
This Flagship embodies a paradigm shift in calling for us to
move away from a separation of culture/history, the environment
and tourism promotion in the province.
The 'Water for All', Accelerated Capacity Building, Heritage,
Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism, and Maputo Development Corridor
flagship programmes have
all appointed programme heads (CEO’s) and established programme
management units that are seized with the implementation of
programmes that have been discussed and refined in various
Makgotla and appropriate governance forums of the province. The
Moloto Corridor Flagship will soon also have a CEO to coordinate
all stakeholders and direct its action plan.
I thank you.