IFP has big plans for KZN if...
2004-03-29 19:09
Durban - The Inkatha Freedom Party needs an outright election win in KwaZulu-Natal to fully carry out its plans for the province, said party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Monday.
His party's provincial coalition with the African National Congress had left it no choice but to compromise on policy.
"The circumstances... in which we have had to work has meant that the IFP was unable to fully implement our programme for government," Buthelezi said in Durban.
"And, of course, compromise is inevitably part and parcel of coalition government. The province needs joined-up - not disjointed - government."
Buthelezi was speaking at the launch of the IFP's growth and development blueprint for KwaZulu-Natal which it will implement if it wins the provincial election on April 14.
Premier's office to take lead role
Buthelezi said the plan was made up of "IFP common-sense proposals" that would put the province on the road to success and prosperity.
The plan concentrated on the economy, education, HIV/Aids, agriculture and poverty.
Under the plan, the office of the premier was to take the lead role in working to make the province an economic powerhouse and a haven for direct foreign investment.
Ways to achieve this included commissioning an "Asian Tiger" study to identify how countries like Singapore and Taiwan had achieved double-digit economic growth.
The IFP provincial government would also ensure its budget was used to stimulate economic growth which would cut through the "structural conditions" that produced large-scale poverty, said Buthelezi.
The government would promote broad-based economic empowerment and ensure it benefited many, not just an enriched elite few.
At present, more than 60% of formal modern economic activity was concentrated in the Durban-Pinetown-Pietermaritzburg corridor, which meant most of the province's economic potential remained untapped, he said.
This would be changed by developing towns such as Pietermartizburg, Ulundi, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Vryheid, Pongola and Port Shepstone as industrial development nodes.
Durban and Richards Bay harbours were to be developed, and the construction of King Shaka International Airport would be fast-tracked.
Tourism a vast source of potential revenue
The government would continue to champion small and medium-sized enterprises, as the sector with the greatest potential for growth.
Buthelezi said the government would develop a tourist marketing strategy as tourism was a vast source of potential revenue and job creation.
Buthelezi said the province's safety and security department would combat crime by establishing urban and rural crime watches.
The IFP government will create incentives for farmers to convert part of their farms to labour-intensive crops.
Education would be improved by strengthening existing and building new township and rural schools and providing textbooks in under-privileged schools.
- SAPA