Members of the Advisory Board and the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation
Senior Executives of Holcim Limited and Holcim South Africa
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen:  

It is an honor for me to address the first Africa Middle East Award Ceremony for sustainability in construction being hosted by yourselves. I have been made to understand that the event marks the celebration of innovative ideas which are geared towards bringing new approaches in the field of construction for purposes of enabling sustainability. As government we support initiatives such as these which combine sustainable construction with architectural excellence to enhance the quality of life of our people.   

I would also like to applaud the efforts of the Holcim Foundation for establishing a forum for architects and construction professionals to exchange information and work towards the promotion of construction-related solutions to the challenges we face around the globe. I am specifically encouraged by the facilitation of an exchange of experience and knowledge on the factors determining sustainability in building and construction.   

Sustainability is a concept that over the last three decades evolved as a result of concerns about human activities that impact on the natural environment. In the context of international relations this followed in particular the recommendations of the United Nations Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment that convened in 1972; the 1987 Brundtland Commission report including the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development that took place in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. It was however the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 which had brought together 191 governments from around the world, all the major UN agencies, multilateral financial institutions and other major groups including the private sector to assess progress since Rio de Janeiro, that greatly broadened the understanding and the conceptualization of the concept to include the urgent requirement of meeting the basic needs of our people in the fight against poverty. Hence the evocative and profound statement in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation that solemnly read that as the international community:

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected. We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.” 

Over the last few months, with various governments and private institutions, we have as the Department of Housing focused our attention on concretizing the commitments world leaders we made at the World Summit by building an action-oriented partnership with the private sector, community organizations and non-governmental organizations. We concluded a social contract with 46 of our major institutions and companies that included the construction and building industries to help us fast-track housing delivery and ensure quality in this respect. Part of the undertakings that the construction sector made at the signing of the contract was to ensure that houses are delivered at scale to ensure that by 2014 South Africa is free of slums. The industry committed, in addition, to ensuring that jobs are being created and that capacity is built within the small and medium enterprises in particular. Within the contract it was however also possible to agree on the need to maintain quality so as to achieve the goal of sustainability human settlements.  

In addition, because truly, there is no worth in delivering houses to the poor which would not be able to last the lifetime of even a single generation, we have as the African Ministers dealing with housing and urban development considered it necessary to recognise the impact that urbanisation including migration play in sustainable development. In this regard, our conclusion was that urbanisation could be made to contribute positively to the goal of creating sustainable communities if it was well managed with processes to achieve equitable access to land and shelter including basic services by all. Accordingly, we have called for a balanced distribution of human settlements across our cities and towns since we have the conviction that this will allow for the more efficient use of available resources in order to contribute towards sustainable economic development in Africa. In addition, we have recognised the need to promote the private sector which is key in helping us achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. Our focus in this regard would be especially be the construction sector, including small and medium enterprises and the community sectors, that are involved helping eradicate slums. And as I alluded earlier, all the initiatives form part of our strategies in Africa to fight poverty and achieve sustainable development.  

Given the objectives of your Foundation therefore that are focused upon promoting sustainable construction I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to play a role within Africa in the exchange of expertise and best practices as well the technology being used to achieve a rapid delivery of housing and shelter for the poor.  

Our view, as African Ministers, is that sustainable construction is one of the most essential building blocks in the creation of sustainable human settlements. Moreover, you yourselves, have recognized the critical role the industry could play in addressing the challenges posed by rapidly rising populations and mass migration which create pressure on land and other infrastructure. It is therefore our hope that through a partnership with yourselves we will realize the overall goal that binded us all including our respective governments and institutions at the Johannesburg World Summit to achieve sustainable development for the poor.   

I do realize that initiatives such as these will raise the kind of awareness that will inspire professionals and research institutions in the built environment to be more innovative in their area of research and development. The recognition underlines my proposal to you to form part of the social contract we have created. In turn it will enable you to achieve your social responsibility goals that are key to the achievement of your mission as the Foundation.  

On the awards themselves I am informed that in the Africa Middle East Region, a total of 139 entries were received from 34 Countries and that most entries came from South Africa, followed by Morocco and Kenya. I trust that the recipients of the wards represent what we would like to achieve as government in fostering sustainable development.  

  I am sure that all the participants have worked very hard on their entries. I congratulate them on their effort and recognize their good performances. I also hope that this first cycle of awards will inspire and encourage others in the construction industry and built environment professions to participate in the next Award cycle starting in 2007, and that we will continue to see wonderful new ideas to address the challenge of creating sustainable communities and human settlements.  

I look forward to the announcement of the winners, and to viewing the exhibition of their work.   

I thank you.