The Premier said: By making development decision-making more predictable and by reducing the zone or discretion for decision-makers, the PSDF will help us overcome the legacy of corruption with which we are saddled. We must minimise the instances in which such decisions are disputed and the foul stench of corruption that is left behind after many decisions.
There is not a great moral onus only on politicians and government officials to be clean. This moral and legal responsibility belongs also to developers. We cannot have a benign attitude to corrupt developers and expect that it has to be in their nature to exceed legal boundaries in the pursuit of development opportunities.
In this vein I want to put all politicians and officials at provincial and local government level on notice that we are aware of those who seeking to enrich themselves through back-door deals with unscrupulous developers. This will not be tolerated now and will be rooted out once the PSDF achieves regulatory status.
The PSDF as a methodology and priority intervention stems from the leadership of the Presidency that developed the National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP) in 2002. The PSDF seeks to rigorously implement the principles of the NSDP.
The PSDF is an instrument to appropriately remember history, understand the present, and reach towards the future with a sense of purpose. It is also an antidote to amnesia, providing us with a unique perspective to see the cumulative effects of centuries of dispossession, exploitation and segregation, which were linked to a ferocious industrialisation programme that has left us with significant economic infrastructure and a shameful environmental legacy.
The PSDF offers tools to address the legacies of the past and plot out way towards a more sustainable future. It is an expression of our commitment to sustainable development, particularly in our province with its sensitive natural and built environments and reinforces the importance of partnerships between all social partners and the public at large. It is a vital building block towards the full realisation of iKapa Elihlumayo, the emergent Provincial Growth and Development Strategy.
The PSDF proves that as a government we are no longer willing to be victims of history or the vagaries of the market. On the contrary, we will mobilise all our resources and power as a Developmental State and facilitate appropriate and socially just development patterns. This creative challenge, we believe, lies at the heart of achieving both vigorous economic growth and social cohesion. The PSDF provides us with the checklist to make sure that our actions as government, the private sector and ordinary citizens at a household level add up to a more sustainable and inclusive future: our dream of A Home for All.
Please contact either Redi Direko (082 805 9119) for any further queries.
