15 May 2009 - Media Invitation
- Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism - FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2009: The annual
Urban Environmental Management Programme
(UEMP) conference will take place in Somerset
West, Western Cape on 20 and 21 May 2009.
The two day conference
features presentations and discussions on
amongst others energy and climate change
smart projects, waste management and air
quality. The conference intends to enhance
dialogue and collaborative efforts through
reflection, sharing of experiences and facilitation
of linkages and cooperation between the
different project implementers of the programme.
The UEM Programme, funded
by Denmark, is a partnership between eleven
government partner institutions of South
Africa from all three spheres of government
- national, provincial as well as municipal.
The Programme emphasizes
improved capacity of service delivery, strategic
management and collaboration between the
different spheres of government. The environmental
focus is on air quality, sustainable energy
management, environmental health, sustainable
planning and waste management.
The UEMP started in
2006 and facilitates five year collaboration
between the South African government partners
and Denmark. It aims of to alleviate poverty
through improved service delivery within
the environmental management of urban areas.
UEMP partners include,
Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism (DEAT), the Department of Health
(DoH), Province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Province
of the Western Cape and Province of Gauteng
and Ekurhuleni, eThekwini and Cape Town
Metros and Sedibeng District Municipality.
The conference will
be opened by Ms Joanne Yawitch, Deputy Director
- General of Environmental Quality and Protection
at DEAT as well as UEMP Chairperson. Danish
Ambassador, Dan Frederiksen will deliver
the key note address.
For further information on the UEMP visit
www.uemp.org.za
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Reconstitution of Government
11 May 2009 - Media
Statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism - MONDAY, 11 MAY 2009:
Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma on Sunday
announced several changes to the structure
of government and his executive.
However, he said civil
servants will not lose their jobs as a result
of the changes.
“Civil servants will
not lose their jobs as a result of these
changes. This is a matter of principle in
terms of the country’s labour relations
dispensation.
“I however want to stress
to our public servants that the era of hard
work has begun. Public servants who do their
work diligently and efficiently have nothing
to worry about,” he said at the Union Buildings
on Sunday.
The new President reiterated
however that laziness and incompetence will
not be tolerated, while the emphasis will
be on excellence and achievement from the
Cabinet and the public service.
Delivering his inaugural speech on Saturday,
Mr Zuma was clear that delivery by his administration
would be a priority.
“We are now called upon
to implement our Manifesto. The dreams and
hopes of all the people of our country must
be fulfilled. There is no place for complacency,
no place for cynicism, no place for excuses.
“Everything we do must
contribute in a direct and meaningful way
to the improvement of the lives of our people,”
he said.
Speaking about the many
changes to structure and faces in his administration,
Mr Zuma said it was made very clear by the
African National Congress that the party
wanted “an efficient, caring and effective
administration, which will be accessible
and responsive to the needs of the people.”
“With these objectives
in mind, I am confident that the new structure
of government will enable the state machinery
to speed up service delivery,” he said.
The most notable change
in the new structure is the advent of the
National Planning Commission (NPC).
The NPC will be responsible
for strategic planning for the country to
ensure one National Plan to which all spheres
of government would adhere.
Other changes include,
the Department of Minerals and Energy will
be split into two separate departments of
Mining and of Energy, each with a Minister.
The Department of Education
will be split into separate Ministries,
one for Basic Education and the other for
Higher Education and Training.
The Department of Housing
will be called the Department of Human Settlements
to take on a more holistic focus.
Mr Zuma said there will
be a new department of Rural Development
and Land Affairs which are part of government’s
key priorities for the next five years.
The Department of Water
affairs and Forestry becomes the Department
of Water and Environmental Affairs.
A new Department of
Economic Development has been established
to focus on economic policymaking. The implementation
functions will remain with the Department
of Trade and Industry.
A new department of
Tourism has been created.
Agriculture becomes
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The Department of Provincial
and Local Government becomes Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs.
A new Ministry has been
created for Women, Youth, Children and People
with Disability, to emphasise the need for
equity and access to development opportunities
for the vulnerable groups in society. -
BuaNews
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Boundless Southern Africa
(BSA) Expedition Departs From the National
Tourism Indaba
11 May 2009 - Media
Statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism - MONDAY, 11 MAY 2009:
Today, 11 May, the Boundless Southern Africa
Expedition aimed at maximizing awareness
of the seven Transfrontier Conservation
Areas (TFCA) as tourist and investment destinations
departed from the National Tourism Indaba
in Durban, KwaZulu -Natal province. The
four month long expedition, led by Kingsley
Holgate of National Geographic Travel will
cut across nine SADC countries, seven TFCAs,
two oceans, thirty national parks and nature
reserves.
In 2005 the Ministers
of Tourism of the nine SADC Countries of
Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia,
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe
endorsed a TFCA Development Strategy for
2010 and beyond. The strategy’s main objective
is to increase the tourism potential of
Southern Africa by consolidating marketing,
infrastructure development and investment
promotion efforts of the Transfrontier Conservation
Areas (TFCA) initiatives.
The seven TFCAs are /Ai/Ais/Richtersveld,
Kgalagadi, Kavango-Zambezi, Limpopo-Shashe,
Great Limpopo, Lubombo and Maloti-Drakensberg.
The first leg of the
expedition will begin at the Maloti - Drakensberg
TFCA, which South Africa shares with Lesotho.
The expedition will also be characterized
by the following humanitarian activities:
One Net One Life, campaign”,
which is the distribution of mosquito nets
in malaria prevalent TFCAs to
pregnant mothers and children under five.
Teaching on the Edge “project which focuses
on the donation of mobile libraries to rural
schools around the
Transfrontier Parks.
Right to Sight” Campaign where reading glasses
will be distributed to the poor sighted.
Upgrading of Soccer fields and distributing
soccer balls
Community days in each TFCA will be observed
through soccer matches amongst other things
to raise awareness about the 2010 Soccer
World Cup.
The expedition will end on 19 August at
the mouth of the Orange River at the /Ai/Ais
Richtersveld TFCA.
The team will travel by Land Rovers and
where roads are inaccessible other forms
of transport including ponies in Lesotho
will be used. Boundless Southern Africa
is the consolidated marketing brand that
was launched in May 2008 to raise the profile
of the seven TFCAs.
The secretariat for
BSA was appointed in 2007 and is hosted
by the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism (DEAT) in South Africa and is
one of the legacy programmes for the 2010
Local Organising Committee. The hosting
of the 2010 Soccer World Cup by South Africa
is based on the premise that the World Cup
event will not only benefit South Africans
but Southern Africa and Africa as a whole.
TFCAs provide the mechanisms for sharing
the tourism benefits of the 2010 event to
the region.
A pipeline of 51 bankable
investment opportunities has been developed
under Boundless Southern Africa.
They range from small and medium type lodges
to multi million rand developments such
as the Kavango-Zambezi Waterfront Development.
Investment promotion efforts are underway,
however procurement processes in some of
the countries to develop accommodation establishments
within the different TFCAs are in progress.
Two key events will
also take place during the expedition:
18 June - Ministerial event to rename the
Limpopo Shashe Transfrontier Conservation
area which South Africa
shares with Botswana and Zimbabwe.
29 June - Presidential event at Kasane,
at the Kavango Zambezi TFCA, shared by Angola,
Botswana,
Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Expedition leader, Kingsley Holgate and
Miss South Africa, Tatum Kheshwar cut the
ribbon today to mark the launch of the expedition.
More information can be accessed on www.boundlesssa.com
Media Enquiries can be directed to:
Leonore Beukes
GOVERNMENT RE-ORGANISES THE ENVIRONMENTAL
AND TOURISM PORTFOLIOS TO IMPROVE SERVICE
DELIVERY
Following on the announcement
of President Jacob Zuma on 10 May 2009,
that the structure of government will be
the re-organised to make the state machinery
more efficient and more service-delivery
oriented, the process of transfer of responsibilities
between the various affected departments
and the constitution of the relevant departments
has begun.
As a result of this
re-organisation, the environmental affairs
portfolio of the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism is to be placed under
a newly created Department of Water and
Environmental Affairs under Minister Buyelwa
Sonjica and Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabhudafhasi.
It was also announced
that marine and coastal management functions
will be moved to the new Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries under Minister Tina
Jumat Peterson and Deputy Minister Pieter
Mulder.
The announcement by the President also creates
a separate Department of Tourism under Minister
Marthinus van Schalkwyk and Deputy Minister
Thokozile Xasa.
All the above line functions,
responsibilities and services will continue
to be rendered from the existing offices
until further notice
Issued by Communications
