The Integrated Greening Programme (IGP) was placed second at the National Public Service Excellence Awards (Batho Pele) last night, the 14th of November, in the category of “Best Public Service Programme/ Project of the year.”
The Kwa-Zulu Natal Integrated Greening Programme integrates all spheres of government and the Private Sector through the Wildlands Conservation Trust.
This Public-Private-Partnership, which was launched by the Premier of the Province in 2011 brings together government, civil society and the corporate community and assists local communities to propagate and plant indigenous trees (Tree-preneurs), collect and barter recyclable waste (Waste-preneurs) for livelihood support items and protect and restore community conservation areas throughout the Province. It has become a flagship Public-Private-Partnership in the environmental sector and has to date achieved amazing results and transformed the lives of thousands of destitute people. A significant impact of this programme has also been the amount of additional funds that Wildlands has been able to leverage from other donors to further support the work piloted through the Integrated Greening Programme.
The category of “Best Public Service Programme or Project” recognises the programme or project that has impacted positively on service delivery and resulted in vast improvements in the workflow, cost savings, and thus impacting positively in the lives of the citizens. This category recognises programmes or projects that are transformational and developmental in nature resulting in visible socio-economic impact.
The criteria the Programme or Project had to meet as per the judging process were as follows:
a) Beneficial to the citizens and contributes towards the strategic objectives of the
institution.
b) Programme must be cost-effective driven.
c) Programme and project that is implementable with a purpose to change lives of
the citizenry.
d) Demonstrable e socio-economic impact.
e) The programme/project was the first of its own kind (breaking new grounds and
sustainable)
f) The programme/project is sustainable.
g) Environmentally compliant
KZN IGP enables the participation of rural community members in the green economy by creating a platform for them:
1. to barter indigenous trees (Tree-preneurs) and
2. recyclable waste (Waste-preneurs) for livelihood support goods such as food, building materials, bicycles (Bike-preneurs), solar panels and rain water harvesting tanks.
Through this model, community ecosystems are restored and alternative modes of transport and energy have been introduced into communities.
The purpose of the National Batho Pele Excellence Awards is to recognize, reward, acknowledge and encourage excellence in the public service arena and make sure it matures to greater heights.
“An acknowledgement of this nature is not only testimony to the vision of the KZN government led by the Premier, but a true celebration of the partnership between government, civil society and the private sector,” said Dr Roelie Kloppers, a Director at Wildlands. “Our country faces complex environmental and developmental issues that require innovative responses. The Integrated Greening Programme is the perfect example of innovation and partnership. Underlying this is a true commitment to improve peoples’ lives and to look after our natural environment. A reward like this serves as confirmation that we are on the right track towards a more sustainable future that underlines service delivery and commitment to helping one another. This would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the Office of the Premier, the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affair and the Department of Public Works,” concludes Kloppers.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)