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Rural Development becomes the main agenda item for the EC government
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Premier's Office

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MEDIA RELEASE
 FOR IMMEDIATE USE
 5 OCTOBER 2000

RURAL DEVELOPMENT BECOMES THE MAIN AGENDA ITEM FOR EC GOVERNMENT

The Eastern Cape Provincial government showed renewed commitment to the advancement of people in rural areas when the entire executive 
council attended the Rural Development Summit that was held in Umtata on the 5th of October 2000.

The primarily aims of the summit was to address concerns that have been raised through various forums that urban development seems to be 
taking precedence over rural development, especially in the Eastern Cape where 60 percent of the population live in rural areas.

Opening the summit, Eastern Cape Provincial Government Director-General, Dr Mvuyo Tom said the summit should not be just a talk shop but 
must come up with a clear implementable programme with timeframes.He said largely policies and frameworks for rural development already 
exist, but challenges remain with regard to integration and sustainability of the development programmes.He said largely policies and 
frameworks for rural development already exist, but challenges remain with regard to integration and sustainability of the development 
programmes.We need to move from policies to actual implementation, he added.

Eastern Cape Premier, Rev. Makhenkesi Stofile, reiterated that people should guard against engaging in endless debates.He said they should 
look towards building cohesion between government and other organizations involved in rural development.He said it has always been known 
that the province is poor and statistics only confirmed that.

It is a well know fact that we are prominently rural and people live in poverty, he said.On top of being poor, the Eastern Cape is 
further affected by historical imbalances between the western and eastern parts of the province.The west (that comprise areas like Port 
Elizabeth and East London) has a well-developed infrastructure whereas the eastern part (mainly the former Transkei) was humiliatingly 
underdeveloped.These disparities according to Rev. Stofile should be taken into consideration when dealing with rural development in the 
province.

Representing the Office of the Deputy President, Dr Bongani Khumalo said the central government was building a database and a system to 
assist in monitoring the performance of various spheres of government and progress made in developing the countrys rural areas.

Also addressing the summit was the Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, Mr Mcebisi Jonas who said rural 
underdevelopment was characterized by under utilization of available resources such as land and human resources.He cited the fact that the 
majority of over 6000 farms owned by the state remained fallow.

Issued:Communications Division - Office of the Premier
 Inquiries:Manelisi Wolela 082 414 7768

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