Chair; hon Minister, Ms Edna Molewa; chairperson of the portfolio committee, Mr Jackson Mthembu; members of the portfolio committee; Members of Parliament; our entities that are here with us; our guests; and ladies and gentlemen ...
... angibonge Sihlalo. Sihlalo, ngoba ngizoshaya ngolukaMageba, sengathi laba abasihumushelayo bangazibamba ziqine.
Lo Mnyango wethu wezeMvelo uye ubukeke sengathi uwumnyango okhetha iphela emasini. Kuyaphoqeka ukuba siqonde ukuthi lo mnyango usidinga sonke ngoba usithinta sonke. Konke okusizungezile kumayelana nalo mnyango: kungaba umhlaba esiphila kuwo, umoya, amanzi, inhlabathi uqobo, yilanga, izitshalo, izihlahla, utshani, umkhathi, amahlathi, izilwane, ulwandle, imifula, ekugcineni abantu uqobo.
Kubalulekile-ke ukuthi siqaphele ukuthi singazitholi sesicekela phansi wona umhlaba sibe siphila kuwo. Uma siwucekela phansi pho siyophila kuphi, futhi siyozinza kuphi? Bengithi angindlalele ngiphinde ngiqwashise.
Lolu suku lwanamuhla usuku lwethu singuMnyango wezeMvelo lapho sihlahla khona indlela esizohamba ngayo, ngamanye amazwi umkhombandlela. Ukusebenza kwethu kubandakanya ohulumeni bezifundazwe kanye nohulumeni basekhaya. Sinethemba ukuthi siyosebenzisana ngobuqotho ngoba phela inhloso yethu yinye, "ukududula izwekazi lethu liye phambili". Asisenakuphazamiseka ngoba abantu bangakithi, siyibonile imiphumela yokhetho. Sebekusho konke bakwenza konke, uKhongolose wanqenqeza phambili.
UNgqongqoshe uluthintile udaba olubalulekile kwlokhu esithi: i- biodiversity. Yiyo phela abantu abasemakhaya abazikhusela ngayo. Bayazingela, bayadoba, bayatshala, bamba amakhubalo okuziphilisa, batheza izinkuni zokubasa nezokwakha izindawo zokufihla amakhanda. Kundingeka sikhumbule ukuthi abantu basemakhaya basadla imbuya ngothi, kodwa sithi kulabo esingakafiki kubo siyeza sizofika qathatha njengokufa. Bangalilahli ithemba.
Ake ngithinte kafuphi kwezolwandle. Lokhu obekushiwo nguNgqongqoshe wami ngesiNguni sizothi yi-Operation Shesha. Ulwandle lungezinye zezibusiso esigidlabezwe ngalo ngumdali. Yebo, ulwandle luhle, luyabukeka kodwa lo hulumeni uthi asingalibali ukubuka lo buhle kuphela. Lolu lwandle luphethe umnotho ongasukuma phansi. Thina nozakwethu besilibele ubuhle bolwandle, kanti onkabi bayavuna, bazitika bodwana.
Siyonithinta uma sezidumela ngasemantsumpeni ukuze nani nivune efeni laleli zwe njengoba sisho ku-Freedom Charter. Ngoba ulwandle lubalulekile, masiwanakekele amanzi alo, singawangcolisi. Izinga lokuhlanzeka kwalo libaluleke kakhulu. Siyakuqonda ukuthi lo mnotho wasolwandle esikhuluma ngawo ungahle uphakame noma uvuse izinsiba kwabanye abantu. Asazi-ke ngoba konke lokhu engikhulumayo kuzokwenzeka kuwona lo hulumeni oholwa "uMaphuma ephethe". Sithi ulwandle luphethe okungaphezulu kokulibuka "umnotho" phela.
Sihlalo, ngike ngaba nethuba lokuvakashela umkhumbi i-SA Agulhas II. Lona isikhondlakhondla somkhumbi esenza ucwaningo lwezesayensi olwandle, mina nawe ngehlo lemvelo esingeke sikwazi ukulwenza. Impela ngifunde engingakaze ngikucabange, lokhu kungenze ngakholwa ukuthi ngempela lo hulumeni kukhulu osukwenzile futhi kukhulu kuyeza. Sizinikele ukuthi sidlulele ngaphandle kwalokhu esithi I-exclusive economic zone.
Impela nakuba izwe lwethu kuyizwe elisathuthuka, kodwa hhayi linamandla kakhulu. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[... thank you, Chairperson. Chairperson, since I am going to use my mother tongue, our interpreters must please prepare themselves.
Our Department of Environmental Affairs seems like one that does not cater for everyone. We all have to understand that the department needs all of us, because the work that it does affects us all. Everything around us is under the control of this department: the land we occupy, air, water, the soil, the sun, plants, trees, grass, space, forests, animals, oceans, rivers and, lastly, the people themselves.
We must therefore guard against destroying our own environment. If we destroy it, then where will we live and settle? That was just my introduction and my attempt to create some environmental awareness amongst ourselves.
This is our day as the Department of Environmental Affairs to show the way, in other words, to provide some guidelines. Our work involves provincial and local government. I hope that we are all going to dedicate ourselves to our work since we all have the same goal, "to improve the living conditions in our continent". Nothing can make us deviate from our path now since the people have spoken; we have all seen the results of our election. Our people have said it all and done it all; the ANC has won the elections.
The Minister has mentioned something very important: biodiversity. That is how rural communities earn a living. They hunt, fish, cultivate the land, harvest herbal remedies that they sell in order to earn a living and collect firewood and timber to build shelter for themselves. We must not forget that some rural communities are still very poor, but we promise them that we have not forgotten about them. We will most certainly visit them in their communities. They must never lose hope.
Let me talk about issues pertaining to our oceans. What my Minister talked about in Nguni is called Operation Shesha. Our oceans are some of the blessings that God has given us. Yes, they are beautiful and good to look at, but this government reminds us that we must not only admire them for their beauty. Our oceans are a great source of wealth. We and some other people like me were so busy admiring the beauty of our oceans while other people were solely benefiting from them.
We will let you know when the time is right so that you will also benefit from the wealth of this country as the Freedom Charter promises. Since our oceans are so important, we should conserve their waters and not pollute them. It is very important to keep our oceans clean. We understand that talking about our oceans' wealth might upset some of us. This government we have that is led by "The Elusive Party" is going to make that happen. We must always remember that our oceans have more to offer to us than just admiring their beauty: they are a great source of wealth.
Chairperson, I have had the opportunity to visit the SA Agulhas II. This is a big ship that is used for scientific research in the oceans, which cannot be conducted by any of us with the naked eye. What I learned there was more than I could have imagined, which made me realise that this government has achieved a great deal, and greater things are still to come. We are determined to go beyond the exclusive economic zone.
Our country is very powerful despite the fact that it is still a developing country.] Our commitment to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica is evidenced by the commissioning of the Sanae IV base in Antarctica in 1997 and the new Marion Island and Prince Edward Island bases in 2011 by this very government. These bases are serviced by our state-of-the-art polar research and supply vessel, the SA Agulhas II, dedicated to Miriam Makeba ... [Applause.] ... and commissioned by this government in 2012. Our presence in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica enables us to better understand, among others, the process and impacts of climate change.
Ngiyathemba ukuthi umhlonishwa uMngxitama ungilalele kahle. [I hope that the hon Mngxitama is listening very carefully.]
This is a huge achievement by this government.
Umthethosisekelo waleli zwe lethu uyagcizelela ukuthi kubalulekile ukuthi siyihloniphe imvelo, ukuze thina nesizukulwane sethu sikwazi ukuzuza inthuthuko ezimele, eqhubekayo nezinzile. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Our Constitution puts some special emphasis on conserving our natural resources so that we and our future generations can enjoy economic development that is independent and sustainable.]
As far as the wildlife economy is concerned, we have more than 10 000 game farms across the country. The wildlife economy is currently valued at R8 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 20,3% in turnover. The wildlife industry attracts a large number of international visitors each year and creates more than 100 000 jobs across the country.
Nakhona la kule ngxenye yomnotho abantu bethu basahambela kude, kumele sibasondeze. [Even in this sector of the economy most of our citizens are still not involved and it is our duty to make them aware of it.]
Another interesting programme is the Working for Wetlands programme. This programme was set up in the year 2000 to champion the protection, rehabilitation and sustainable use of South Africa's wetlands through co- operative governance and partnership. This programme has a strong involvement with civil society. It is labour-intensive and contributes to skills development, which contributes to the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Nakhona la ngiyacabanga ukuthi umhlonishwa uMngxitama ungilalele ukuthi ngithini. [I hope the hon Mngxitama is still listening to me carefully.]
There are about ... [Interjections.]