Chair, recently, a South African group, Harrison & White Investments, together with China's Ming Yang Wind Power, ventured into a partnership with Lesotho to develop a R110 billion wind and hydroelectric energy project. It is regarded as the largest renewable energy project in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Such efforts also confirm the government's commitment to diversifying energy sources away from coal to renewable energy.
Lesotho, as the main beneficiary, will gain a lot through the establishment of a wind turbine manufacturing industry, and about 25 000 jobs will be created. About 1 500 engineers and technicians will be employed permanently. Both South Africa and Lesotho will gain manufacturing capacity to produce wind turbine components as early as next year.
It is therefore expected that 6 000 megawatts of wind and 4 000 megawatts of pumped-storage hydroelectricity will be produced. Given its energy hunger, I emphasise that South Africa will gain a lot from this additional supply of clean energy.
In 2007, at Polokwane, the ANC committed itself to ensuring that the ANC- led government escalates our national efforts towards the realisation of a greater contribution towards renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, as part of an ambitious renewable energy target. Once again, Polokwane committed the ANC government to engage in the struggle against poverty and underdevelopment, especially in Africa, guided by the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, programmes. Without doubt, this project bolsters Nepad in the region, and the ANC applauds this initiative and calls not only on all South Africans, but the whole of Africa and the whole world to support it. Thank you very much. [Applause.]