Final Adopted IDP - KZN Development Planning

sustainable energy services. The IeCs act as community hubs located closer to the
community than the urban centres from which they would ordinarily obtain their energy
needs. The IeC is able to purchase products such as illuminated paraffin, liquid
petroleum gas, petrol and diesel direct from oil companies and then sell these products
to the community at more affordable prices. Funding for the development of the IeC is
generally provided by the oil company concerned (it is also likely to set up a forecourt as
part of the development) and the Department of Energy.
The Department of Energy has commenced the process of establishing an IeC within the
Ulundi municipal area – the site for this entity is in the vicinity of the intersection of
the R34 and the R66; the community cooperative for this project has already been
formed and registered. There is no reason why the IeC should not act as a catalyst for
other participants in the SMME sector to participate by offering related products and
services; given the location of this particular IeC it can beneficially be used by the
Municipality as part of its tourism marketing initiatives.
One of the initiatives undertaken by the KZN Department of Arts and Culture is the
development of arts and craft centres. One of these is located on the outskirts of the
town of Ulundi – it provides training in visual arts and fashion design. A total of 20
trainees in each of these creative areas are taken in by the Indonsa Arts and Crafts
Centre every six months – from January to June and from July to December.
Consequently this Centre trains 40 unemployed members of the community with specific
skills annually that they can gainfully employ in their respective futures.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The focus of environmental management within the Ulundi Municipality is that all
development should be sustainable. The best known definition of sustainable
development and most widely used is that of the Bruntland Report which defines
sustainable development as:
“Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on
Environment and Development, 1987)
The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) No 107 of 1998 defines
sustainable development as “the integration of social, economic and environmental
factors into planning, implementation and decision-making so as to ensure that
development serves present and future generations”
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