Cape
23 August 2007
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will from 27 August to 30 August
2007 visit the Limpopo and Northern Cape to follow up on issues that were
raised by the people during its programme of 'Taking Parliament to the People'
in 2005 and 2006. The visit is aimed at providing feedback to communities on
the progress made in addressing the challenges which the public had raised
during the initial visits where government was expected to act.
The four-day programme will entail visits to various sites that were visited
in 2005 and 2006 such as schools, health centres, farms and Expanded Public
Works Programme (EPWP), meetings with provincial leaders and public
meetings.
The visit is in line with the strategic objectives of Parliament of building
an oversight process that ensures a quality process of scrutinising and
overseeing government�s action and that is driven by the ideal of realising a
better quality of life for all the people of South Africa. The NCOP, in
particular, is entrusted with the role of representing provinces in the
national sphere of government.
The 'Taking Parliament to the People' is a bold initiative of the NCOP that
is aimed at affording rural communities who would find it difficult to access
Parliament with an opportunity to raise their concerns without having to travel
to Parliament. It further alerts the NCOP about the achievements and challenges
faced by the people.
In Limpopo the programme was held on the week of 31 October to 4 November
2005 whilst in Northern Cape it took place from 27 to 31 March 2006. The visit
will focus on those issues that the NCOP had identified as critical and where
action is expected to have been taken. The following are the observations and
recommendations that were made on the issues that were raised by the
communities:
Limpopo province
* It was observed that pupils and teachers of Malwandla Primary School used
the nearby bush for ablutions. Toilets could not be utilised because of lack of
water. It was recommended that 'dry' toilets be constructed as a matter of
urgency.
* Machinery was extensively used in the construction of both Petanenge and
Lefara Projects. Contractors used machinery to cut down labour costs and
increase profit margin. This is clearly contrary to the objectives of the EPWP
programme, which is to create jobs through labour intensive construction
methods.
* It was noted that there were no budget for allocated for the maintenance of
the constructed roads. The roads constructed were of a poor quality and poorly
constructed.
* Questions were raised by the delegation with regard to the manner in which
funds were allocated to projects. It seems the municipality was hurriedly
allocating funds to projects to under-spending.
* The delegation recommended that an increase on the R30 per task rate be
increased in accordance with EPWP guidelines.
* It was recommended that the provincial government engage local municipalities
to develop maintenance plans for the constructed roads. The road from
Koop-Letsitele should be given priority in the next financial year.
* The Delegation recommended that follow-up be made on matters pertaining to
the tender committee terms of reference, whether the municipality received the
funds on time and the rational of the 1.5% deduction by the municipality from
the contractors.
Northern Cape
Education visit to Itlotleng Commercial High School
* The Department of Education has to fast track the replacement of the English
teacher.
* The school governing body (SGB) should be given financial reports
quarterly.
* Inclusion of Science subjects in the Curriculum to broaden the bursary
opportunities for the learners.
* Interventions should be made by the department to ensure installation of
water within the school premises.
* Kimberley nursing college should refer their student nurses to the Centre for
practical training.
* Implementation of the supervision mechanisms between the personnel of the
Health Centre and the Northern Cape Department of Health to enable effective
coordination and fast-track service delivery.
Visit to health centres
* Kimberley nursing college should refer their student nurses to the Centre
for practical training.
* Implementation of the supervision mechanisms between the personnel of the
Health Centre and the Northern Cape Department of Health to enable effective
coordination and fast-track service delivery (rest of recommendations are
contained in the attached report)
The feedback from these follow-up visits will be shared with people in the
two provinces at public meetings scheduled to take place on the last day of the
visit.
Members of the media who wish to attend the follow-up visits are required to
confirm their attendance with the people mentioned below, by no later than
Friday 24 August 2007 at 15h00.
For further information, please contact the following media liaison
officers:
Nolizwi Magwagwa
Parliament of RSA
Tel: 021 403 2465
Cell: 083 313 1323
E-mail: nmagwagwa@parliament.gov.za
Kenny Mathivha
Limpopo Legislature
Tel: 015 633 86 55
Cell: 082 450 1331
E-mail: mathivhak@limpopoleg.gov.za
Lebogang Mokoto
Northern Cape Legislature
Tel: 053 839 8145
Cell: 083 632 3336
E-mail: lebogang@leg.ncape.gov.za
Issued by: Parliament of the Republic of South Africa
23 August 2007
