On 3 September 2010 the national Minister for Social Development, Ms Edna Molewa and the nine MECs responsible for Social Development visited Warrenton and Windsorton as part of the MINMEC Outreach programme.
MINMEC as the name denotes, is a forum consisting of the national minister and the Members of the Executive Council (MECs) responsible for Social Development.
The national minister presides over the forum, which is also attended by the director-general, the heads of provincial departments and national entities such as the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency (NDA) who reports to the Department of Social Development.
The main purpose of this forum is to ensure consultation and coordination in implementing the national priorities and achieving national goals. The forum is held on a rotation basis and involves site visits to developmental projects funded by the department at either national or provincial level or by the entities.
At Warrenton, the minister visited the house of Mr Jacob Seekoei, an old man of 77 years whose house shack was burnt down twice and living alone in a shack.
During March 2010 the MEC for Social Development, Mr Alvin Botes visited Ikhutseng in Warrenton to distribute school uniform to the needy children an initiative taken by the Youth of Magareng.
During his visit, the councillor responsible for Social Development in the Frances Baard district municipality, Ms Khadi Moloi, approached the MEC and raised a request for a sponsor or donor to build a house for the old man.
The department then approached Kesmok constructions which agreed to build a house for Mr Seekoei. During the visit, the minister and the nine MECs all laid a branded brick at the house.
She then visited the Tshwaraganang hydroponics project in Windsorton. The project is a joint partnership between the National Development Agency and the Department of Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture funded the greenhouse infrastructure while the National Development Agency funded the operational costs and some operational capital expenditure (capex) items.
This joined partnership between the NDA and the department together with Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural Plant Products (ASNAPP) (project mentor) laid the foundation for the current successful production programme.
The project is considered as a "flagship" project in the province. The project is not just highly considered because of its successful production process but it is an example of a cooperative governance partnership that has really put this project on a sustainable growth path.
The project is on contract to supply about 7 000 cucumbers per week to Freshmark. They have largely achieved this output and they actually over achieved this during the height of the summer season in 2008 when production output ran at 10 000 cucumbers per week.
However, the project together with its mentor has adjusted its production programme in order to produce more consistent volumes but with improved quality.
As a result, they are presently producing 7 000 cucumbers per week during summer and about 3 500 cucumbers per week during the winter production cycle.
The MINMEC proceedings were then ended off with a community meeting in Windsorton where about 1 500 community members attended the meeting.
Contact:
Conrad Fortune
Tel: 053 831 4041
Cell: 079 873 0679
E-mail: cfortune@ncpg.gov.za
Province
