Chairperson, my new Minister, Minister Sonjica, and also Minister Van Schalkwyk and Deputy Ministers, section 24 of the Constitution of South Africa states that everyone has a right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or wellbeing.
Let me take this opportunity and reflect on where we come from as a nation. Conservation, biodiversity and protected areas in apartheid South Africa, before 1994, strongly reflected the fortress conservation policy of the 1960s and the 1970s. Fortress conservation is a natural resources management practice that aims to preserve natural resources such as fisheries, forests and wildlife, through forcible exclusions of rural communities that traditionally depend on these resources for their livelihood. It was the most dominant conservation philosophy of the 20th century, and it involved the barring of rural communities from protected areas.
Restrictions included denial of access rights that rural communities had enjoyed in the areas designated as conservation reserves. "Keep out or you suffer", as approach was based on command and control. A law enforcement approach was the main precept of fortress conservation which was applied to keep local people out or to prevent their effect on protected areas.
It is noteworthy that the effects of the fortress conservation policy in South Africa were magnified by consequences of the apartheid framework and the political and economic philosophy. For example, South Africa's natural parks were for the enjoyment of the then minority white population. Non- white South Africans were limited to specific areas established under the unpopular Group Areas Act, No 41 of 1950, where there are, even today, problems of overcrowding and land degradation.
Ukuze siphole isilonda, kunyanzelekile sibuyele emva sijonge imvelaphi yethu, ukuze siqonde kakuhle ukuba siyaphi na. [For reconciliation to prevail, it is a must that we reflect on our past in order to understand very well where we are heading.]
In fact, there was environmental racism in South Africa. However, today the political landscape of conservation in South Africa has changed for the benefit of all South Africans, and this is emphasised in the Constitution of the Republic. The Bill of Rights in the second chapter of the Constitution provides rights to equality, a healthy and well-protected environment, property, and protection against unfair discrimination, amongst other things.
Yiyo loo nto namhlanje ngenxa yoku kusingqongileyo sizifumana sinento esiyibiza okanye esinokuyifanisa neThird World, oko kukuthi ilokishi, apho abantu bethu bahlala khona. Okusingqongileyo akufani nokwezinye iindawo apho kuhlala khona abanye abantu nanamhlanje. Oku kusingqongileyo nolu phuhliso beluyinto yakwamkhozi mandulo phaya. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Today, as a result of our environment, that is the reason we find ourselves in what we call, or rather what we can compare to, the Third World, meaning the location where our people live. Up to this day, our environment is different from where other people live. In the past, this environment and its development was a mystery - something that was shied away from.]
The unhealthy bucket system came as a result of discrimination because people were removed from ...
... apho kwakukho khona uphuhliso basiwa kwindawo apho bekungekho luphuhliso khona, baphila phantsi kwaloo meko yokubangqongileyo. [... areas where there was development to underdeveloped areas, and they lived under such environmental conditions.]
Today, the need for the people to participate in environmental governance has influenced the way in which the budget is allocated. This is evident in the 2009-10 budget allocation to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, where the focus has been on those activities that promote job creation in the process of environmental management. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism expenditure is expected to maintain a steady growth over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, having increased from R3,2 billion in the 2008-09 financial year to R3,4 billion in the 2009-10 financial year.
This shows a nominal increase of 8,5% and an increase of 3,2% in real terms. It should be noted that the budget allocation for the 2009-10 financial year was done according to the five key strategic priorities of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Those key strategic priorities, amongst others, encompass the following: to create conditions for sustainable tourism growth and development for the benefit of all South Africans; to enhance economic growth and poverty alleviation; and to protect and improve the quality and safety of the environment for those who use it.
The department's 2009-10 budget allocations support and meet both the departmental key strategic priorities identified in the 2008-11 strategic plan, as well as the government priorities articulated in the 2009 state of the nation address. South Africa's natural resources represent rich and diverse national assets, providing important economic and social opportunities for the human population which in turn developed a strong reliance on these resources for commercial opportunity gains, food and recreation. These resources have facilitated job creation and general economic upliftment in the country.
In conclusion, let me borrow the words of the President of the country, President Zuma, in his 2009 state of the nation address when he said:
Laat ons mekaar se hande vat en saam oplossings vind in die gees van 'n Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap. Die tyd het gekom om harder te werk. Ons regering gaan vorentoe kyk, nie agtertoe nie. [Let us take one another's hands and together find solutions in the spirit of one South African community. The time has come to work harder. Our government is going to look forward, not backward.]
The ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]