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Madam Speaker and
Honourable Members

The principal challenge of this democratic government in the present term is intensify the fight against poverty, create jobs and promote sustainable development and growth. Our collective assessment as a country since 1994 points to crucial areas where we have made impressive progress in addressing these challenges. The orientation of government and the Department of Provincial and Local Government must be to deepen these gains and to decisively address those stubborn challenges that continue to plague the socio-economic development landscape and fabric of our society.

In 2001, President Mbeki announced the identification of 13 rural development and 8 urban renewal nodes, which in many ways represented the underbelly of the apartheid regime. The 10 million people in these nodes bore a disproportionate share of the most vicious aspects of apartheid exclusion, domination and underdevelopment. These areas were and still are characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty, poor access to basic services and amenities, and under-investment by the public and private sector in social and economic capital.

The Department of Provincial and Local Government was tasked with coordinating the assault on underdevelopment in these nodes in partnership with national and provincial government. Three and half years later we can report on specific areas where we have made good progress.

Through the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme we are concentrating our efforts on 177 anchor projects in the rural nodes. These projects span all critical sectors from social development to infrastructure investment and local economic development. The actual investment by national departments in the rural nodes is R5, 9 billion. We can also report that more than half of all the anchor projects in the rural nodes have been completed.

Through the Urban Renewal Programme, the 8 urban nodes are focusing on 98 anchor projects. The bulk of these projects span the infrastructure, economic development and social development sectors in descending order. Just over a third of these projects are now complete. The investment by national government departments in the urban nodes is in the order of R4, 2 billion.

Since 2001, we have seen the quality of identified anchor projects improve and also seen increasing levels of investment from national and provincial government departments. The role of designated national, a provincial and local political champion has also steadily increased, having a positive impact on both the urban and rural nodes. Government has also commenced the roll-out of the Community Development Workers programme in Gauteng, North West, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Limpopo Province.

Our brief experience in coordinating government's urban and rural development programmes has highlighted a number of challenges that we still need to attend to in the short-term. These will be addressed through various parallel actions. A financing protocol for the nodes will be presented to Cabinet in the next few weeks. This protocol will serve to give greater predictability to the manner in which national and provincial government departments and various public entities allocate funding and resources to the nodes.

The Expanded Public Works Programme is a key initiative of government aimed at stimulating productive economic activity throughout the country, but in the nodes in particular. This will be done whilst at the same time alleviating poverty through the creation of short-term job opportunities. The Department of Provincial and Local Government will work closely with the Department of Public Works to ensure that the EPWP is launched in all nodes in the forthcoming months.

Given the inauguration of a new national Cabinet and the constitution of new provincial Executive Committees, it will also be necessary to reconfirm the political champions at a national and provincial level. This will be done within the next 2 months.

Madam Speaker

The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programmes sit at the centre of government's efforts to tackle poverty and address the challenges of the second economy.

In this regard, the identification and registration of the indigent in the 21 nodes will be a priority in 2004. It will assist with better targeting in the roll-out of Free Basic Services in the nodes and will also facilitate the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme. Skills development will also receive particular attention in the nodes. This will be implemented through both the EPWP, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant and complementary initiatives of the Department of Labour in the nodes.

Our interventions in the 21nodes go beyond poverty alleviation and extending the social safety net. In the next few years, we will increasingly seek to build a sustainable social and economic productive base in these nodes.

Esteemed Members

Our focus on areas of rural and urban exclusion, through the two programmes, has also led us to examine more closely the role of our large and secondary cities and small towns in the development path that we have chosen. Informed by our own assessment and reinforced by the 2001 Census findings, it is clear that we need a better appreciation of the role that our cities and urban areas can play in the tackling poverty and contributing to national economic growth and development.

Presently, 58% of the country's population live in urban areas. Furthermore, by 2030, it is estimated that 64% of people will reside in urban areas. We also now know that three South African cities, that is, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, account for 30% of the country's population.

From an economic perspective, 20% of urban areas in the country generate 82% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the six metropolitan areas produce 56% of the GDP.

These demographic and economic characteristics and trends of our urban areas must be taken into account as we define and refine the path of sustainable development for urban and rural South Africa. Soon we will be presenting to Cabinet the results of this urban study with key recommendations that should reinforce our efforts at fighting poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment in both urban and rural areas.

An important component of our approach to sustainable development is that of building partnerships at all levels of government around key development priorities. In the 21 nodes we need to see the private sector begin to match the commitments of the public sector. Pre-1994, the nodes bore the negative impact of both public and private under-investment.

At the Growth and Development Summit in June 2003, all the major partners pledged various commitments based on their differential roles and capabilities. We must hold our partners to the agreements that they made at this Summit. Government, labour, business and civil society endorsed a vision aimed at making South Africa:

• A destination of first choice for investors,
  
• A productive economy;
  
• A society in which there are economic opportunities for all;
  
• A society where our people are given the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential; and
  
• A society that promotes values of social equity and human dignity in the global economy.

The next decade must go down in the annals of South African history as one where we can point to unprecedented levels of investment by the private sector in both areas of potential and areas that have been neglected by apartheid design. It is high time that the private sector began coming to the party and put money where its mouth is. Government has kept its fair share of the bargain and will continue doing so for as long as there is a need.

Madam Speaker

The Department of Provincial and Local Government will play a special role in creating the enabling conditions for local democracy to flourish. This is a necessary condition for us to meet our development targets. Strengthening these institutions and instruments of local governance will not only entrench our local government system, but also have direct benefits for the development programmes of our partners.

In establishing our system of developmental local government we made provision for the role of Ward Committees as the centrepiece for local community participation in matters of governance and development. In 2004, we will gazette guidelines on the operations and functioning of Ward Committees and also give dedicated attention to the strengthening of these structures in the municipalities of our 21 development nodes. Building fully functional Ward Committees in all 284 municipalities will be a top priority in 2004 and 2005.

In 2003, we passed framework legislation on the Institution of Traditional Leadership. Through this legislation we affirmed the place of this institution in our system of governance across all spheres of government. In 2004 and 2005 we will give attention to the implementation of this Act. We will work closely with provinces to ensure that they have provincial-specific legislation on Traditional Leadership in place by early 2005. By the end of 2005 we will have made significant progress in establishing Local Houses of Traditional Leadership and the national Commission on Claims and Disputes on Traditional Leadership.

Finally, in 2003 we made tremendous progress in contributing to fostering social cohesion and nation-building in this country. Based on legislation passed by this House, we established a national Commission for the Promotion and Protection for the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. By the end of 2004, the 18 appointed commissioners, with the support of the Ministry and the Department, will give effect to this legislation and convene a national Conference that will promote nation-building and social cohesion, through greater appreciation of the rich cultural, religious and linguistic tapestry of our society.

Madam Speaker

The focus of the Ministry and Department of Provincial and Local Government in 2004 will be only implementing key responsibilities in the areas of coordinating government's actions in the urban and rural nodes, implementing key pieces of legislation that we passed in the 2003 and ensuring that our system of participatory governance is well positioned to contribute to nation-building and sustainable development.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Provincial and Local Government
21 June 2004