18 August 2006
Premier Mbhazima Shilowa has urged municipalities to keep the community
informed of the progress made by government to improve service delivery in the
province.
He said this during a visit to Sinqobile in Mogale City on Wednesday as part
of the Women's Imbizo undertaken by the provincial government.
Members of the executive also paid visits to various communities in Gauteng
to inform and interact with residents on what the provincial government has
done and continues to do to empower women.
Shilowa told Sinqobile residents that discussions should be held with the
provincial housing department to finish the houses that had taken long to
complete. Women at the imbizo expressed their concern over the slow delivery of
low-cost houses and the lack of streetlights. Shilowa said his office would
investigate the possibility of establishing a multi-purpose community centre
(MPCC) in the area.
"At the MPCC you will receive information on government programmes such as
Bana Pele. This programme allows children receiving a state care grant to
access a package of relief measures from government, which include exemption
from school fees, free access to healthcare and free uniforms for children
attending the poorest schools in the province," Shilowa explained.
In the light of women and children abuse, the police expressed concern that
women withdrew cases of domestic abuse against their respective partners.
Police often had to address domestic cases, stretching their resources and
negatively affecting their ability to fight crime.
In Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg, Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Paul
Mashatile and local councillors listened to the concerns of women. Applicants,
whose low-cost housing subsidies were approved, were anxious to know when they
would be getting their homes.
MEC Mashatile assured the community, who are currently living in an informal
settlement, that deserving members would be relocated to the newly built Legae
low-income settlement.
"We are proud to say that 600 of the 8 000 low cost houses and a school,
which were planned to be built over a two-year period, have been built in
Legae. Residents have to be patient because the houses are currently being
inspected for quality assurance purposes," Mashatile said.
The relocation will also offer job opportunities as local labour and local
contractors will be used. Reassuring the community, MEC Mashatile pledged that
the municipality and provincial government would work on their concerns raised
during the imbizo.
The Women's Imbizo is part of month-long activities to celebrate women's
month in August, including the 50th anniversary of the heroic women's anti-pass
march in 1956 on 9 August. The imbizo gives women an opportunity to directly
influence government programmes and contribute to the mainstreaming of gender
issues. They complement the regional women's dialogues that are taking place in
various metros and districts.
Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
18 August 2006
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gpg.gov.za)
