The Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA): In June 2009, the Honourable Premier, Ms Noxolo Kiviet outlined the vision for an Eastern Cape Rural Development Strategy (RDS-Ilima Labantu) as seeking to ‘unleash the socio-economic development potential of the Eastern Cape, by addressing decisively the historical neglect of rural areas; to reverse the legacy of inequitable access to basic services; to reverse spatial imbalances which have continued to dog the economy; to improve the coordination and integration of service delivery across government, and to foster sustainable partnerships.’ Ilima Labantu is a long-term intervention, which responds directly to the urgent need to undo the legacy of neglect which is characterised by the loss of assets, such as land and livestock, and simultaneously the denial of opportunities to develop these assets through limiting access to markets, infrastructure and education. Accordingly, in its first term of implementation, Ilima Labantu will focus on five plus one central pillars, namely, land reform, agrarian transformation and food security, non-farm rural economy, infrastructure, social and human development, as well as enabling environment. The Province is convinced that results will include the narrowing of the rural and urban divide, as well as the emergence of sustainable and lively rural communities with universal access to services, infrastructure and development. As articulated in the Agrarian Transformation White Paper, rural development refers to the process of achieving a better quality of life for people living in rural areas. Development does not simply represent to economic growth, but encompasses equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom, richer cultural life, independence, self esteem and freedom from ignorance, human misery and servitude. <\/p>\n
To promote, support and facilitate rural development in the Province by: <\/p>\n