Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was speaking to the community of uMsinga Local Municipality at uMzinyathi District, during his Anti Poverty Campaign visit to the KwaZulu-Natal province.
The Deputy President was accompanied by the Minister in The Presidency, Mr Collins Chabane, Minister of Social Development, Mr Bathabile Dlamini , Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa, Minister of Human Settlement, Mr Tokyo Sexwale, Minister of Rural Development, Mr Gugile Nkwinti, Minister of Public Works, Ms Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, Minister of Energy, Ms Dipuo Peters and the Deputy Minister of Education, Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of Public Works Henrietta Bogopane Zulu; Deputy Minister of Energy, Ms Barbra Thompson, and senior government officials.
The visit by Deputy President Motlanthe to uMsinga Local Municipality takes place in line with government's commitment to lift communities out of poverty, through integrated government programmes.
Furthermore, the visit helps government achieve the following:
- To ascertain living conditions of the communities through direct door-to-door house visits to enable direct interaction
- To facilitate the identification of specific households for instant interventions where possible
- To communicate directly with relevant implementing agents
- To follow-up on whether previous commitments made by government have been met and
- To monitor and evaluate government's services provision.
During his visit to uMsinga Local Municipality, the Deputy President and delegation visited some households in order to access the implementation of various government intervention programmes geared towards improving the delivery of services to the people.
Steady progress has been achieved in areas such as the provision of housing; supply of water and sanitation. However, there are some challenges such as, access to electricity, lack of job opportunities and inadequate centers for academic development such as FET Colleges that government commit to confront. "We don't want poverty to extend from generation to generation” says Deputy President Motlanthe.
Furthermore, the Deputy President appealed to young women who often abandon their studies, soon after falling pregnant, to go back to school to complete their studies.
Deputy President Motlanthe and delegation promised to work hard, and ensure that the challenges raised by the communities of uMsinga are addressed. The Deputy President proceeds to Matikulu in Mlalazi municipality to launch dedicated MDR/XDR - TB Unit.
For more information please contact:
Thabo Masebe
Cell: 082 410 8087
Source: The Presidency
