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
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.”
Riaan Aucamp (Minister's
Spokesperson)
