A memorandum to all South Africans and friends of South African from Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP regarding the Building Champions of the Environment (22 October 1999)
The transformation process that was agreed on as a panacea for our troubled past society imposes a responsibility on each one of us to do our duty by making our optimal contribution to its intensification and acceleration for the common good of South Africa.
The consensus on this transformation that was reached on the negotiation table is the reason that the legislative thrust during the last five years has been the formulation and enactment of policies and fine-tuning of procedures to facilitate the process. This has been a collective effort by all South Africans who share this vision and transcended party political lines.
Environment was identified as one of the key terrains in which transformation should take place for the obvious reason that it is on its protection and preservation that the human and other species will survive. So much importance has been placed on the development of environmental policies and strategies that it is now driven by a new legislation which attempts to place environmental concerns on a pedestal comparable to that of the rest of the developed world.
Consensus has been reached on all environmental principles. Our collective responsibility is to vigorously take the challenge and implement the policies that have been agreed on. This entails broadening the knowledge, and awareness of environmental issues and commitment to its protection and development to encompass the groundswell that have previously been conditioned to shrug off issues of environment as an elitist pastiche and preoccupation of the esoteric idle rich. It must be made known to all our people that the promotion of environmental concerns and strategies is geared towards the improvement of the quality of lives of all our people without exception.
The previously privileged classes were equally handicapped by international ostracism and isolation, which denied them advanced environmental technology. South Africa lags far behind the developed international community in this regard.
It is my earnest appeal that this subject be divorced from party politics and ideological sophistry and be accorded its deserved all embrasiveness, as we have demonstrated during the environmental policy formulation.
This memorandum is an invitation to discuss the accompanying draft. Constructive inputs will surely take the process forward and realise our objective of building a cadre of champions of the environment.
The situation warrants that we invest in the young, especially scholars who must be encouraged to debate environmental issues. Oratory competitions should be arranged so that they internalise these issues. Bursaries must be established to train environmental scientists, journalists and other specialists in the field.
Go to the draft discussion document on the Champions of the Environment
Enquiries:
Bantu Holomisa
e-mail: bholomisa@dev.udm.org.za
Tel: 012-321-0010
Fax: 087-941-9053