IFP launches growth plan
2004-03-29 14:16
Durban - The Inkatha Freedom Party has unveiled a growth and development plan for KwaZulu-Natal which it will implement if it wins the provincial election.
The plan concentrates on the economy, education, HIV/Aids, agriculture and poverty.
Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi told reporters in Durban on Monday the plan was made up of "IFP common sense proposals" that would put the province on the road to success and prosperity.
Under the plan, towns such as Pietermaritzburg, Ulundi, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Vryheid, Pongola and Port Shepstone are to be industrial development nodes.
Durban and Richards Bay harbours are to be developed, and the construction of King Shaka International Airport will be fast-tracked.
A "bold and exciting tourist market strategy" will be developed and small and medium sized enterprises will be championed as the sector with the greatest potential for growth.
On HIV/Aids, the IFP plans to extend the programme to provide antiretroviral drugs to infected mothers and all those living with the infection.
The province will also identify abandoned, orphaned and mistreated children and place them in foster homes or put them up for adoption.
The province's safety and security department will prioritise the development of a crime-busting strategy which will include the establishment of "urban and rural crime watches" to enable the community to safeguard each others' and their own property more effectively. The role of community policing forums will also be extended.
The province's public works department will be transformed into an instrument that will "spearhead rural development and job creation."
Under a new administration the department will work with other departments to create a rural development programme, including a provincial food security campaign and the development of the province as the nation's bread basket by developing a non-land intensive, labour-intensive and high value-added crop agronomic industry.
On education, KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali said the IFP would ensure a sufficient budgetary allocation to increase bursaries and subsidies particularly in the areas of science and technology.
The office of the premier would also establish learnerships for students with student loans to work in provincial government departments and programmes to pay back their loans.
Mtshali said the people of the province deserve a government that was characterised by unity of purpose, clarity of vision and an uncluttered approach to good governance.
"The IFP, as you can see, from our growth and development plan, offers that unity of purpose, clarity of vision and life affording excellence."
- SAPA