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For Africa
Environmental News |
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Extracts From a Speech
by the Minister Of Environmental Affairs and Tourism,
Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, Addressing the Kwazulu-Natal
Chamber of Business, Annual Gala Dinner, International
Convention Center, Durban
On 27 October 2006
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EMBARGO: 20h00 on Friday 27 October 2006
KwaZulu-Natal - Tourism Growth and EIA Action Plan
FRIDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2006: "South Africa's growth in
international arrivals at
10.3% was well ahead of the global growth rate of 5.5%
last year. However,
KwaZulu-Natal has performed better than the rest of the
country and the rest
of the world - achieving a growth rate of 15% in the
past year," said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, addressing the Annual
KZN Chamber of Business Gala Dinner, in Durban on Friday
evening.
Further addressing the importance of tourism in KwaZulu-Natal,
the Minister
noted that the province hosted approximately 1.5 million
international visitors last year, which brought R8.3
billion into the province. Domestic tourists injected a
further R6.28 billion into the provincial economy. The
tourism industry directly provides 77 000 jobs in the
province, but, through all its related industries,
actually sustained 154 000 jobs last year.
Turning to Black Economic Empowerment the Minister said
that "although we
still have a long way to go in terms of black economic
empowerment, we must
recognise the impressive strides made by industry. In a
Financial Mail/Empowerdex survey conducted earlier this
year, two of the top five
companies with the highest BEE ratings were in the
tourism industry: The Don
Group and Sun International."
Linking tourism and sustainable development, the
Minister commented on the
value of our national parks, saying, "It is with great
pride that I can point to a place on a map, just two
hours from here, where we have translated the principles
of sustainable development into action. In and around
the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park we are creating new
tourism products, and enhancing game viewing and
biodiversity. Malaria has been all but eradicated and
new jobs have been generated. All of this has been done
in a way that positions local people as active players
in the global economy Since 2000 there has been a 59%
increase in the number of tourism facilities and job
creation has surpassed that of dune mining. The town of
St Lucia now boasts some 3500 tourist beds."
Turning his attention to the issue of environmental
impact assessments
(EIAs), the Minister remarked that, "KwaZulu-Natal as a
province had the
third largest backlog (874) of pending applications for
environmental impact
assessments (EIAs) in March 2006. In total the national
backlog was around
5271. Tremendous strides have been made since then and
the backlog for the
province now stands at 296. This reflects the dedication
of our department
to resolving this issue."
The Minister outlined the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism's
action plans for fighting the substantial backlogs,
which included "putting
a more streamlined system in place without compromising
environmental
integrity. In addition to containing hard deadlines for
processing applications, the new system is better
aligned to our much-evolved environmental management
law. The facts bear us out on this issue - there is not
a single backlog in the country on applications
submitted since the new system has been in place."
Shedding more light on further plans, the Minister
stated, "The tender for
assistance to the province of KwaZulu-Natal closes in
two weeks time, and we
expect additional capacity for EIA processing to be in
place by the end of
November."
Expressing his concern about the quality of EIAs and the
dearth of expert
assessors, the Minister informed the gathering that,
"Our department has
taken steps to speed up the process with regard to the
certification of EIA
practitioners. Last month, we gave the interim board of
Environmental Assessment Practitioners until the end of
November to formalise their structure and action plan,
failing which we will be forced to legislate on this
matter.
Emphasising the role that business can play, the
Minister pointed out that
it was time for a new look at the importance of EIAs:
"The broader point is
that EIAs should not be seen as restricting development.
They should be
recognised as a tool for obtaining a better
understanding of the implications of business decisions.
They set the stage for sustainable development by
providing a base from which businesses, communities and
other stakeholders can engage constructively with each
other. EIAs can play a critical role in ensuring that we
mitigate the risks and optimise the opportunities
associated with the way we approach development. EIAs
should accordingly not become a convenient scapegoat for
hold-ups in project delivery. With the new framework in
place, it is possible to plan well in advance, for
development that protects one of our greatest national
assets - the environment."
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For more information contact:
Riaan Aucamp (Minister's Spokesperson) Mobile:
083-778-9923
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