KwaZulu-Natal Business 2016-17 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
municipalities to transform rural economies," said
Zuma. An initial funding of R2-billion was made available
for the agri-park initiative, while the country’s
agro-processing exports are attracting positive interest
in new markets through Africa and China for the
export of South African maize and apples to China.
Apple exports alone are projected to yield R500-
million in foreign exchange over the next three years.
Infrastructure
The National Infrastructure Development programme
continues to be a key job driver and catalyst
for economic growth. Major projects include the
Umzimvubu Water Project in the Eastern Cape, Jozini
Dam in Umkhanyakude in KwaZulu-Natal and projects
in Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga and phase
one of the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation
in Limpopo.
Progress to improve the water supply to areas
affected by shortages are underway, but the
war against water losses (which costs the country
R7-billion a year) is being waged through the
Department of Water and Sanitation’s plan to train
15 000 artisans and plumbers who will fix leaking
taps in their local communities.
Internal affairs
Cabinet has adopted vigorous and integrated interventions
to combat the vicious rhino poaching in the
country, including continuous joint operations with
key neighbouring countries, improved intelligence
gathering as well as enhancing protection in parks
and provincial reserves where rhino are present.
Government has also made substantial progress in
establishing a border management agency to manage
all ports of entry and improve security.
To further improve access to identity documents,
citizens will now be able to apply for the new Smart
ID Card at their local bank due to a partnership between
the Department of Home Affairs and some
banks in the country.
In December 2014, Cabinet released the draft
National Disability Rights Policy for public comment.
'Local government is everybody’s business. We
have to make it work. We have launched the "Back
to Basics" programme to promote good governance
and effective administration through cutting
wastage, spending public funds prudently, hiring
competent staff, and to ensure transparency and
accountability in municipalities,' said Zuma.
History
One of South Africa’s premier museums and tourist
attractions is The Cradle of Humankind, an ancient
destination that celebrates the fact that present-day
South Africa has been home to the human species
for thousands of years.
Early on 2015 a team of archeologists, led by
Professor Lee Berger of the University of the
Witwatersrand, made a discovery that would pose
new and vital questions about the origins of the human
species and shake up our understanding of the
progress of human evolution. Two years after they
were tipped off by cavers plumbing the depths of
the limestone tunnels in the Rising Star Cave outside
Johannesburg, Berger and his team discovered
what they say is a new addition to our family tree.
The team is calling this new species of human relative
"Homo naledi," and they believe that part of
their tribal culture was the practice of burying their
dead – a behaviour scientists previously thought
was limited to humans.
The team believes that the chamber, located
30 metres underground in the Cradle of Humanity
World Heritage Site, was a burial ground - and that
Homo naledi could have used fire for light. The
discovery was poignant considering South Africa’s
energy crisis, but it was also cause for celebration
of South Africa’s position in the story of mankind,
starting from the birthplace of man to the evolution
of one of the greatest stories of democracy ever told.
What lies ahead is an exciting period of growth as
the country strives to realise its potential to be the
gateway to Africa and, in so doing, helping to unlock
the enormous economic and social potential within
the continent.
Sources: SouthAfricaInfo, BrandSA, Media Club
South Africa, State of the Nation Address.
57 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2016/17