Limpopo Government on EXCO meeting of 12 July 2017

Post Exco Media Statement

The Limpopo Provincial Executive Council met yesterday,  Wednesday  12  July  2017  at  the Office of the Premier, Executive Council boardroom, Polokwane and the following issues were discussed:

Illegal Mining

Provincial Government is concerned about occurrence of illegal mine in Sekhukhune. The magnitude of this illegal mining is a concern and as government we are working on this as a matter of agency. We support the intervention by the South African Police Services in dealing with the problem of illegal mining.

The Provincial Government will approach both the University of Venda and Limpopo to conduct a research on the socio economic impact.

Abuse of Women and children

The Provincial Government is  concerned  about spate of abuse  of women  and children. The EXCO has directed departments to adopt the Crime Prevention Clusters falling within their Constituencies and participate in some of the crime prevention initiatives as per the Crime Prevention against Women and Children Events Calendar. We are appealing to all stakeholders to join hands to ensure that this culture comes to an end.

National Women’s Month Programme 2017

The  Executive  Council  took  a  decision  to  host  the  national  women’s  month  programme  as follows:

1. The National Women’s Day celebration of 2017 marks the 61st anniversary of 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings and in remembrance to the heroines who fought for democracy in the Country;
2. The objectives of commemorating the Women’s Month programme will be to celebrate the struggle of women who were against the pass laws in 1956 as well as to create an awareness environment on the role  played  by  women  in  the emancipation of South Africa;
3. The theme of the Women’s Month Programme 2017 is “Year of O.R. Tambo - Advancing Women Empowerment”;
4. The Women’s Month programme will include the  Gender  Empowerment  Summits which will be facilitated and coordinated in all Districts and the theme of the summits will centre on the abuse of women including the scourge of abduction of women and children;
5. The launch of the Women’s Month Programme is envisaged to take place on the 1st of August 2017 at Leboeng Village within the LIM 476 (Fetakgom-Greater Tubatse) Municipality in the Sekhukhune District;

6. The  National  Women’s  Day  Celebration  is  envisaged  to  take  place  on  the  9th  of August  2017  at  Mushi  Village  (Barcelona  sports  ground)  within  the  Mogalakwena Municipality in the Waterberg District; and

7. The awareness march on “No Violence against Women and Children” is proposed to be held on the 25th of August 2017 at the Government Complex Legislature Chamber within Thulamela Municipality in the Vhembe District.

EPWP Turnaround Plan /EPWP 2016/17 4th  Quarter Report

The  Executive  Council  noted  the  development  of  the  Turn-around  Strategy  made  by  the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure.

LTSM Procurement and Delivery

The delivery of Learning and Teaching Support Material for the current academic year (2017) and procurement for the next academic year (2018) highlighted the following:

1. The Department has developed a new strategy (Ten Point Plan on LTSM) to ensure timeous delivery of LTSM for the next academic year (2018);
2. The Department is currently negotiating with the South African Post Office (SAPO) and Publishers on future utilisation of District Warehouses  for  the  distribution  of LTSM to schools;
3. The Provincial LTSM Delivery Plan is being implemented and enforced as follows:
   1. Ordering: May & June 2017;
   2. Delivery to Warehouses: July – Aug 2017; and
   3. Delivery to schools: Sept – Oct 2017;

Shiluvana Frail Care Centre

Executive Council noted the report in progress of the Shiluvana Frail Care Center take over.

1. The Department of Social Development  has  constituted  a  Task  Team  consisting  of both officials from the Departments of Health and Social Development to work around the takeover of Shiluvana Frail Care Centre after the termination of the  contract  in March 2018;
2. A feasibility study was conducted where Zanele Mbeki Frail Care facility managed by government in Gauteng was visited by the Task Team, whereupon comparisons between the government funded and private funded facilities was made, as well as the cost-benefit analysis to determine the cost of taking over the facility;
3. Through benchmarking with Zanele Mbeki Frail Care facility, the department has developed and costed the organizational structure which will be aligned to the government norms and standards. Upon finalising the service package, the team will make final inputs for the structure to be submitted to Office of the Premier for consultation;
4. The costing of taking over the facility will also need additional funding to ensure that the norms and standards governing the frail care centres are complied with  and currently as outsourced it is costing the Department R26 834 000 and with the insourcing it will cost R52 494 000 per annum; and