[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

Emnotweni arena
9 December 2008

Her Excellency, the South African Ambassador to Mozambique, Mrs Thandi Lujabe-Rankoe,
The Governor of the City Province of Maputo, Mrs Rosa Manuel Andrade da Silva and her delegation,
The Consul General of Mozambique, Mr Artur Verissimo,
Members of the Executive Council,
Honourable Members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature,
The Executive Mayor of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Executive Mayors and councillors,
Acting Heads of Departments (HODs) and Heads of Departments and provincial parastatals,
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Maputo Development Corridor Flagship and other Flagships represented here today,
The former Directors-General of the province, Mr Khaya Ngema,
Our social partners, including the business community, labour and broader civil society,
All distinguished guests,
Colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen

We are gathered here this evening to launch yet another 'Flagship' project of the five Mpumalanga Provincial Administration's flagships, bearing testimony to our earnest commitment to accelerated development, the easing of the burden of poverty and underdevelopment on our people, and a forward march of the people of our province and Mozambique in pursuit of the broader goals of regional integration and mutually beneficial economic prosperity.

These flagships, as argued for by the Executive Council in October 2006, include; (i)'Water for All', (ii) Accelerated Capacity Building, (iii) Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism, (iv) Moloto Development Corridor, and, of course, (v) the Maputo Development Corridor Flagship which we are launching today.

We decided as a province to accord the Maputo Development Corridor flagship status because it is only through such focus and dedicated attention that the corridor will live up to its full potential and provide a means to promote integrated economic development based on the cultivation of key large-scale anchor and related upstream and downstream investments.

It is our view that the flagship status accorded to this programme makes it the right tool for configuring, prioritising and promoting inter-related infrastructure and large-scale economic investments in both our countries.

Progress made thus far by the flagship is certainly commendable. The appointment of an energetic Chief Executive Officer, and the allocation of more than R20 million to support the flagship's programme management and administration, outreach and marketing, and seed capital for some of our initial projects, is encouraging.

When our administration came into office in 2004, I expressed my conviction that my predecessors had both laid a foundation from which the province could together work to translate, into a concrete reality for all our people, the vision of a people-centred society characterised by both political freedom and economic progress.

We also articulated a view that we wished to focus our energies single-mindedly on the economic growth path of our region, well aware that an improved development path would constitute an increase in our people's freedoms. We were also mindful that our task was one of accelerating the pace of economic growth and job-creation and to extend the scope of development and empowerment in our province in order to reduce the levels of poverty in our province.

From those early days, the Maputo Development Corridor, which some have described as 'the spine of Mpumalanga's regional identity', has been foremost in our minds.

To us the corridor was not simply about the road infrastructure or N4 in particular. It was also not simply about the rail or the Maputo port. As some analyst have noted, this corridor is probably the single most significant economic development to have taken place in Mpumalanga since the creation of the Kruger National Park. As a result, our expectation was that it would contribute to the generation of sustained developmental impacts and improve the lives of our people both in Mpumalanga and Mozambique.

When it was launched the Maputo Development Corridor had as its key objectives the following to:

* rehabilitate primary infrastructure along the corridor with the participation of the private sector
* maximise investment in both the inherent potential of the corridor area, and in the added opportunities created by the primary transport infrastructure
* ensure that the social development impact of investment is maximised in terms of creating jobs, economic growth and increasing the participation of historically disadvantaged individuals
* ensure environmental sustainability by developing policy, strategies and frameworks which encompass a holistic, participatory and integrated approach to environmental management.

As we launch the flagship today it is perhaps opportune to revisit the history and conceptual thinking behind the Maputo Development Corridor, appreciating that a correct understanding of the rationale can only assist us to move perhaps closer to achieving our original objectives.

When the Maputo Development Corridor was set in motion in August 1995 by the then Transport Ministers of Mozambique and South Africa, Paulo Muxanga and Mac Maharaj respectively, they essentially agreed to revitalise a corridor that had existed for centuries back.

The analysts, Soderbaum and Taylor, in fact point out that the Maputo Development Corridor is in essence an attempt "to reconstruct a cross-border relationship and micro-region that had effectively existed since at least the industrialisation of the area around present-day Johannesburg from the late nineteenth century."

As the shortest link to an export harbour for South Africa's industrial heartland, this corridor rapidly became a major intersection for Southern African linkages with the world economy, such that by the 1970's, 40 percent of exports from the Witwatersrand area went through Maputo. On the other hand, the migration of hundreds of thousands of Mozambican workers to the mines and farms in our country constituted another component of the corridor.

This brief historical note suggests that the corridor did not emerge from nowhere but was already a major transport route until the mid-1970's when it was disrupted by war in Mozambique and the destabilisation activities of the then apartheid regime.

These comments, inspirational as they are, still represent a limited view of the legend of the Maputo Development Corridor, because carefully handled the story of this corridor dates as far back in time as pre-colonial history of our region.

As our two countries rose like a phoenix from the ashes of war and conflict, we were always destined to be the ideal and perfect partners for a new struggle against poverty and destitution.

Given the historical roots and economic significance of the corridor in this part of the world, it was perhaps less of a surprise that at its investment launch in 1996 some 180 project proposals, with a value of 7 billion United States dollars (US $), were presented to investors and promised to create up to 35 000 jobs.

Today, there is little doubt that the Maputo Development Corridor has contributed to economic growth and development in the province. The toll road project created numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities whilst billions of rands were also committed in secondary development along the corridor, and in various sectors including agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing.

Colleagues will perhaps recall that the corridor had a comprehensive investment portfolio that included the Witbank-Maputo N4 Toll Road, the establishment of a public/private company to operate and maintain the southern Mozambique rail network, the Mozambique Aluminium smelter (Mozal), and Pande/Temane Gas, among others.

As a result, the Maputo Development Corridor has certainly been a factor in our region's development over the past ten years including the investments that have flowed in mining, the services sector-including the gaming industry, property development and retail boom, among others.

The benefits were also not limited to Mpumalanga alone. Maputo City constitutes the biggest player in Mozambique's economy and the evidence from analysts suggests that the Maputo Development Corridor contributed to the already high economic growth rate in Maputo Province and city through investments associated with the presence of the corridor.

Nevertheless, despite these notable successes associated with the corridor, the Maputo Development Corridor concept is far from being fully realised, hence the case for the rationale for the Maputo Development Corridor flagship.

Another key objective of the corridor was to maximise investment and its social development impact. This is one area that we have arguably lost sight of whereas its importance for the people of both Mozambique and South Africa cannot be overemphasised.

As earlier indicated, at its launch in 1996, 180 project proposals were tabled which spoke to the creation of new industries along the corridor towns, amounting to US $ 7 billion and creating close to 35 000 jobs. This is the strategy which the flagship we are launching today is intended to advance, the creation of new industries and the crowding of investments in the six towns of Mpumalanga that constitute the Maputo Development Corridor.

The remaining gaps in infrastructure development should be identified and appropriate plans developed. All affected stakeholders, including the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI) should put 'shoulder to the wheel' and such interventions be expedited.

As we have sought to emphasise earlier, the importance of the corridor is not only about infrastructure but is about translating such benefits the infrastructure brings through a reduction in logistics costs, into social outcomes that transform the lives of the people in our two regions. This means that we should promote labour intensive investments whilst at the same time creating opportunities for previously disadvantaged communities to participate as entrepreneurs or co-operatives.

The role of our respective investment promotion and development entities will certainly be important in this regard.

Environmental sustainability is another objective of the corridor which brings to the fore the importance of encouraging investments and an economic growth path that does not deprive future generations of the ability to enjoy our regions historic endowments in flora and fauna and natural resources.

Last week we launched the Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism Flagship at the Songimvelo Nature Reserve. This is a unique flagship that promotes the celebration of our history and culture whilst placing emphasis on the creation of economic opportunities through environmental sustainability.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Maputo Development Corridor is further confirmation of our belief that in the long run sustainable reconstruction and development in South Africa requires sustainable reconstruction in Southern Africa as a whole.

In the spirit of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the recently launched Southern African Development Co-operation Free Trade Area, South Africa and Mozambique have promoted the revival of the Maputo Corridor with bilateral policies and substantial public and private sector investments designed to stimulate sustainable growth and development in the region.

The launch of the Maputo Development Corridor Flagship affords us the opportunity of rejuvenating the grand work of our former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Joachim Chissano.

The spirit of partnership between the various stakeholders from our different countries is also certainly to be welcomed.

In the past we observed that the Maputo Development Corridor initiative suffered where it was highly dependent on the commitment and competence of few individuals.

To avoid this we are happy to note that apart from the establishment of the flagship, the corridor is also firmly recognised as one of the pillars of the province's economic development strategy, as outlined in the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS).

Together with the flagship CEO, the proposed Provincial Development Council (PDC) will be expected to drive further the processes necessary for the attainment of the objectives and goals of the Maputo Development Corridor initiative.

It is further heartening to see that our flagship unit, in co-operation with the appropriate focal point in this province and the rest of Mozambique, has begun packaging appropriate projects, and conceptualised marketing and investor out-reach strategies to ensure that in the next three years the corridor delivers trade and investment led economic growth.

We wish them all the success in their endeavours and look forward to the day when the corridor will play its meaningful role as a development catalyst providing jobs and opportunities for the people of our province and beyond.

It is therefore an honour for me, on behalf of our administration, to declare the Maputo Development Corridor Flagship, as officially launched.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
9 December 2008