In today’s deliberations on the Annual Report for the Department of Environment Affairs and Development Planning, it was detailed that the Department achieved 96% of its targets in the 2020/21 Financial Year and another clean audit report, the eighth unqualified report in ten years.
For the past 8 years, the Department has implemented the Regional-Socio Economic Projects (RSEP) Programme. By using grant funding, municipalities are capacitated in order to implement spatial upliftment projects to address the segregated nature of many communities. This includes infrastructure projects which lead to the provision of facilities to tackle social challenges and other needs, for example, economic development through trading hubs and recreational areas like sports fields. Owing to the importance of the work being done, the programme will continue throughout the 2021-2024 MTEF period.
At this time, there are 19 towns in 12 municipalities which benefit from this initiative. The broad-based nature of the RSEP Programme is seen by it being implemented in all five districts of the province. In addition to the Department maintaining its funding arrangement with Provincial Treasury, a toolkit – the RSEP Reconstruction Framework – was developed for municipalities in the financial year to improve general effectiveness and output. Local governments will now be better equipped to determine areas for spatial and socio-economic integration as well as transformation.
Through the Department’s implementing entity, CapeNature, much progress and success was also achieved in the year under review. With a vision of conserving nature for resilience and sustainability, CapeNature exceeded its target for new areas under conservation by 43%. This was seen obtaining a total area of 7 156 ha instead of the initial 5 000 ha targeted. Furthermore, the entity contributed to job creation as a result of its various initiatives:
- 1 212 work opportunities were created through its environmental programmes;
- 17 learners were appointed in learnerships and other sectoral initiatives; and
- 662 employment opportunities via the Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP).
MPP Van der Westhuizen says: “We welcome the Department’s commitment to achieving its targets, especially considering the broad nature of its mandate and in the context of a global pandemic. The progress made towards transformation of our communities is promising, as 40% of the province’s municipalities benefit from the RSEP programme. In the coming financial year, we look forward to the advances the Department will make in safeguarding our environment.”