opening of the Multi Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni
Metro
23 February 2007
Introduction
Programme Director
Executive Mayor of the Metropolitan Council, Councillor Duma Nkosi
Community Leaders
Abantu ba se Vosloorus, young and old, women and men gathered here
Officials of Government from various departments
Friends
Access to public service for all
* Today, we further extend access to government services through the launch
of this Multi Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) in Vosloorus.
* Since 1999, government has rolled-out a total of 95 MPCCs as a means to bring
convenient access to services for people.
* For many years, the majority of South Africans have had to travel long
distances to cities and towns in order to access government services that were
essential to them. In most instances, these people are not able to pay
transportation costs.
* Our intention as government is to ensure that by the end of 2014, we shall
have opened an MPCC in each of the 282 municipalities, including metro
councils.
Leaving our past behind, a new emphasis on service delivery as an important
characteristic of democratic South Africa
* The people of this region, in particular, have had their communities
ravaged and destroyed by years of low intensity conflict during the
1990s.
* They need to be commended for the progress that has been made in finding
lasting and peaceful solutions to problems and to uphold the spirit of good
neighbourhood and co-existence.
* The world at large has learned a lot from our experiences in finding peaceful
solutions and forgiveness, largely because of what has happened here.
* Not only did our people here experience an ugly past of violence, but also a
painful past of neglect by an Apartheid government that was indifferent to
their suffering.
* It is for this reason that as we continue to build a united nation that lives
in peace with itself, we should also place issues of service delivery on our
highest of priorities.
* We do this because access to basic services offered by government is directed
by our Constitution that we passed together in 1996.
* The provision of these rights in our Constitution are as a result of our
understanding that in order to fight poverty, to ensure that no one goes home
hungry, that no one dies of diseases that can be cured, that all have access to
education, then we should change the way government used to service people,
particularly those who are poor and grossly disadvantaged.
Services at the MPCC
* These MPCCs that are being opened throughout the country, have a capacity
to bring you six government departments at one point in one building.
* The centre will serve as a point where you interact with all levels of
government, local, provincial, national and other government agencies.
* It will be a point for information sharing and education. Together with your
constituency offices, it will serve as the link through which your needs can be
brought to the attention of government.
* We will equip it with information and other material so that it can also
serve as an extension of libraries.
* I am aware that an average black high school pupil in a township has at his
or her disposal, a text book, only a text book, to go through his lessons and
pass matric with flying colours like children from affluent communities. He has
no access to internet, library or information resource centre. This MPCC should
be able to serve and be of benefit to such a child.
* It will be your property and it will be run by you. There is therefore a need
to protect and take care of this centre. I urge you to guard it
jealously.
* For those of you, who will work here to run this centre, always remember that
these centres are now called the Batho Pele Service Centres and that at all
times, people come first in everything we do in this centre.
Department of Home Affairs
* We have taken a decision as the Department of Home Affairs, that due to
the serious shortfall we have on office infrastructure, we shall use certain
identified MPCCs where our services can be provided.
* Like all our offices, our services at this centre will also be provided on an
extended hours basis, closing late during the week and opening in the mornings
on Saturdays.
* This centre will also be supported by a number of mobile units deployed in
this province to render further services until the roll out of our office
expansion plan.
* Our plan is to open district offices for every community on the basis of
population densities, and that we cannot continue to have situations where at
times more than a million people have to share one office, resulting in poor
service conditions at these offices. The new offices of our department will not
serve any more than 80 000 people per office.
* Once again, we should repeat the call that all parents should register their
children at birth in order to ensure that as South Africans, they too can share
in the benefits of government services.
* We urge all South Africans to take good care of all enabling documents and to
immediately report them to us and to the police if they are lost or stolen to
assist us in curbing identity fraud.
Taking advantage of government services
* Since 1994, government has made a lot of progress in ensuring that a wide
range of programmes are available to improve the lives of our people. The
biggest problem is that not all our people are aware of these.
* We are particularly worried about the extent to which communities are making
full use of the facilities at the MPCCs and I want to particularly encourage
the youth and women to take advantage of the benefits of this facility.
* Through this facility, we shall also have information on other government
programmes such as, school bursaries, the Community Development Workers
programme, Extended Public Works Programme, skills development initiatives and
many more.
* All these programmes are aimed at further improving the lives of all South
Africans and, in the words of the President, to transform our society into a
society where we can all enjoy the happiness that comes with freedom.
* It now gives me great pleasure to declare this MPCC officially opened and
ready to serve you.
I thank you all
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
23 February 2007
