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8 August 2008

Programme Director
Honourable Governor Bois of the Karas Region
Members of Executive Council present
Honourable Mayor of Mier Municipality
Councillors
Distinguished guests
Members of the community
Ladies and gentlemen.

I am indeed delighted to be with you in Mier today to open the Grootmier Rietfontein road. My delight, ladies and gentlemen, is twofold. Firstly, I am delighted because the opening of this road is a culmination of the commitments we made to the community of this area; the construction of this road was officially announced by the Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Transport, Roads and Public Works as a priority in his previous three budget vote speeches.

Secondly, I am delighted because the opening of this road opens up various opportunities for the Northern Cape province to strengthen its links with the Karas region of Namibia.

In my 2007 state of the province address I said "Through our agreement with the Karas region in Namibia, exchanges in terms of culture, language, education and trade will be realised in the forthcoming period. Our work towards improving infrastructure for social and economic development is continuing".

Certainly, the opening of this road is the culmination of that commitment. Honourable Governor, the Northern Cape is a beautiful province that has immense opportunities that are waiting to be explored.

Irrefutably, our linkage with the Karas Region through the opening of this road will make this possible. The drive by New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) to improve inter regional trade will inevitably result in closer trade links with Namibia and other countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

The Karas region has a remarkably comprehensive and well maintained road network, accounting for approximately 18% of the Namibian road network. Almost all roads in this region are paved, providing connection between all major towns in the region and also to neighbouring countries. In fact, Namibia's tarred road network is rated the fourth best in the world, with 16 kilometres of road for every citizen. It is indeed an honour and a privilege for our province to initiate trade relations with the Karas region.

Honourable Governor, equally, the Northern Cape province has an extensive and well maintained road network with a number of national roads running through the province linking it to other major South African centres of population and economic activity.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the spirit of Business Unusual, the Northern Cape Provincial Government has made distinctive strides and is indeed on deck in achieving its objectives of improving the lives of our people. The construction of the road that we are opening today has created job opportunities for people who were in dire need of employment.

As government, we are immensely troubled by the low levels of unemployment and the slow growth of the economy in our province. Therefore, not only did this road provide job opportunities for the community of Mier, but it also equipped them with skills that they can utilise in the future. Indeed, our commitment to improve the lives of our people is driven by the unwavering trust and loyalty that our people have in us.

The construction of this road created job opportunities for at least 169 people, this includes 29 women, 140 males and 74 young people. Also, various emerging contractors, in the form of joint ventures, were utilised in this project.

Admittedly, the construction of our roads has been met with challenges. According to an article published by the Kimberley based daily newspaper, the Diamond Field Advertiser, dated 13 June 2008, the Northern Cape currently faces provincial roads maintenance backlogs.

Indeed, the huge financial implications in constructing a road are truly a matter that cannot be overlooked. The total costs in the construction of this road amounted to R67 million.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are all acutely aware that the Northern Cape province has its own peculiarities when it comes to long distance travelling. With a gravel road network of more than 22 000 kilometres and 3 025 kilometres of paved road in the province, the Department of Transport, Roads and Public Works, the provincial department responsible for the maintenance of roads, has a fundamental task of ensuring that road users travel safely and that the province’s roads are improved.

Acknowledging all of these challenges, the department has developed a Road Maintenance Strategy with the key intention of transferring skills and creating work opportunities for local communities by developing small medium and micro enterprises in the province to do the maintenance of roads.

The department is also working on this road maintenance strategy to assess the effectiveness of service level agreements that it signed with the district municipalities of the province. Indeed, the provision and maintenance of an integrated road infrastructure ensures safe road usage for road users and it also facilitates socio economic development in the province.

Earlier, I mentioned that emerging contractors, in the form of joint ventures, were used in the construction of this road. The Northern Cape Government, programme director, encourages our young people and women to continue establishing these joint ventures.

Last week, the province was showcasing National Construction Week, during this week, we encouraged the active participation of our people in the construction industry and also we celebrated the excellence of emerging contractors and their contribution to the promotion of growth, development and transformation of the construction industry.

Through programmes such as the Accelerated and Shared growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA)and the Joint Initiative of Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), the Northern Cape Provincial Government and its socio economic partners intend to use various interventions to bridge the gap between the first and second economy and also to be fully involved and participate in these programmes, to ensure that they play a meaningful role in growing our economy and improving the lives of our people.

Ladies and gentlemen, Apex Priority eight and nine, as articulated by President Thabo Mbeki in his state of the nation address this year, seek to fight the war against poverty and also encourage self employment interventions in the Second Economy.

Cabinet had a mid year Lekgotla from 22 to 24 July; at this Lekgotla, the key aim was to conduct a mid year review of the implementation of government's Programme of Action and to also adopt a Medium Term Strategic Framework.

Among other factors, the Lekgotla noted that government is on track towards achieving the medium term goals of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014, even though many challenges still need to be addressed. Attaining high and sustained economic growth is, and will continue to be, a key part of our strategy for achieving these goals.

The Lekgotla also decided that South Africa should focus on advancing SADC regional economic integration and intensifying efforts towards infrastructure development. Indeed, what we are witnessing today is an indication of government's key objectives.

Lastly, in line with the Northern Cape Government's theme for Women's Month this year, "Business Unusual All power to women", I salute the mothers and women of Mier in their sterling commitment and contribution in uplifting this community.

We will also depart shortly for Namakwa where we will launch an Expanded Public Works Programme project for the beautification of the Northern Cape coastal line.

By opening this road we want to say, we have heard your voices and we have heard your voices and we have honoured our mandate, we have fulfilled our promise to you.

I thank you.

Issued by: Northern Cape Provincial Government
8 August 2008