Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will visit uMsinga Municipality in the Mzinyathi District in the KwaZulu-Natal province on Saturday, 10 April 2011, to evaluate progress in the Anti Poverty programme which seeks to lift communities out of poverty.
The War On Poverty Campaign is part of government's efforts to fast-track the delivery of social and municipal services to improve the lives of the people. The campaign targets the poorest areas (Wards) with the aid of data obtained from Statistics South Africa. The campaign promotes coordination among national, provincial and local spheres of government in poverty alleviation efforts.
Deputy President Motlanthe will then interact with members of the communities at a community meeting to further highlight and enhance the work of government in the fight against poverty. Various services will be offered to members of the communities by departments such as Home Affairs, Human Settlement, Social Development, Health, Agriculture, Education and the National Development Agency.
The Deputy President, will be supported by KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Zweli Mkhize, Ministers and senior government officials. Members of the media are invited as follows:
Media programme for planning purposes
Day one: Umzinyathi District - Saturday, 9 April 2011
Venue: Bambata High School - uMsinga
08h00 - 09h00: Arrival and briefings
09h00 - 11h30: Anti-Poverty door-to-door visit: Deputy President accompanied by Premier, Ministers and MECs to visit different households
Door stop interview with the Deputy President and Premier
13h00-15h00: Community meeting
Day two: Uthungulu District - Sunday, 10 April 2011
Venue: Catherine Booth Hospital Mandeni Municipality
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will on Sunday, 10 April 2011, officially unveil dedicated wards for tuberculosis (TB) patients constructed at Catherine Booth Hospital in the Mandeni Municipality of the Uthungulu District, KwaZulu-Natal province.
The unveiling ceremony is held to highlight government commitment in dealing with the backlog of insufficient infrastructure to cope with the ongoing tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.
Infrastructure constraints in existing hospital buildings for TB patients remain a challenge with spatial planning in many buildings impeding the implementation of airborne infection control of diseases such as TB.
The facility will help health professionals in isolating suspected or confirmed TB patients with extensive drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) emerging on top of the rise in multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB).
The CSIR is assisting seven provincial Departments of Health with the roll-out of patient accommodation at existing drug-resistant MDR and XDR TB hospitals. More than R92 million has been set aside from the International Global Fund for this project as part of its drive to strengthen national and provincial capacity in South Africa for the prevention, care and treatment of HIV and TB. The provinces where such facilities are being constructed have committed to contributing a total of more than R170 million towards such wards.
Furthermore, the Department of Health has identified areas that require such services, where existing TB facilities had to be extended or converted, as well as where the establishment of new patient accommodation is crucial. Construction at the first hospital site started in 2009, and other projects began from April 2010.
The new Catherine Booth Hospital wards for TB patients includes an administration block, consulting rooms, wards with 30 beds that includes single and double wards.
Deputy President Motlanthe will be accompanied by the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Zweli Mkhize and other senior government officials.
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Date: Sunday, 10 April 2011
Time: 08h00
Venue: Catherine Booth Hospital, Mandeni Municipality, Uthungulu District
Members of the media are invited to cover the event and are requested to RSVP for access to all sessions with Sam Matome Bopape on 082 318 5251 or Shadi Baloyi on 076 9467 136.
For all media transport arrangements from Durban to uMsinga and Mandeni please contact Mahlathi Tembe on 082 377 6787.
