The Free State Provincial Government, through the Office of the Government Spokesperson, received a media enquiry on the official visit to Cuba on 26 January 2015.
We would like to take this opportunity to respond to this media enquiry by setting the record straight on some of the insinuations that are politically motivated. As it is, the Volksblad disclosed that their media enquiry and their interest on international work of the Free State Provincial Government are based on a statement by the DA that was issued on the same day.
The Free State Provincial Government has declared since 2009, when it unveiled Operation Hlasela, that it would ensure that it upscales service delivery to ensure that best practices are effected in the implementation of service delivery whose primary purpose is to ensure that the dignity of the people of the land (Black and White) is restored, and that they equally received uninterrupted access to social amenities and economic opportunities.
The key issue that is being pursued by the Free State Provincial Government is to ensure that as per the electoral mandate of 7 May 2014, there is visible, radical economic transformation which means the creation of economic opportunities, jobs to fight unemployment and social amenities to confront and defeat the scourge of poverty and disease.
The Free State Provincial Government has committed itself to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that we deliver on education and the improvement of the skills profile of our province in order to compete and contribute to the up scaling and diversification of national production and the creation of international markets for our production.
We have committed ourselves to ensuring that we implement best practices in the fight against the burden of diseases by ensuring that we have enough medical practitioners in the form of Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Medical Technologists and many others in this and related professions.
Agriculture, Engineering, International Trade, are amongst the scarce skills that the province is recruiting for and building capacity on, to ensure that the rural outposts of our province has people that are committed and understand the terrain that can be trained and enlisted to serve there.
This is hence the massive investment on education that has focused on students from the rural towns of our province who are committed to learning and returning to their rural towns to practice there as professionals.
Everyone is a witness that the Premier of the Free State, MECs and Business Persons have visited other countries to establish and rekindle relations for the benefit of the Free State. We have been open about it and the corresponding results of some of these trips have been return visits by business delegations from these countries with the aim of further exploring of business environment for potential investment.
Ours has concretely been opportunities created for our students to study the scarce skills in these countries. Obviously, the benefit of these trips may not immediately be seen as it takes protracted negotiations on the specifics and satisfaction of terms of investment from prospective investors.
The questions from the Volksblad were as follows:
- Can you confirm this trip?
The trip to Cuba is scheduled for 23 January 2015 as per the Exco resolution. It is an extra-ordinary measure of this media enquiry that we have to now publicise the overseas trip that involves the Premier against our security precautions. In the past we have reported on the trips of the Premier upon his return to avert breach of security.
- What is the reason for the visit?
The Free State Provincial Government has long standing relations with Cuban Province of Matanzas dating back from 2001. Through this cooperation with Matanzas province, we have enjoyed a special relationship that saw us benefitting as the Free State Province from the Engineers and Doctors that have been sent to South Africa by Cuba.
Whilst in Cuba, the Free State Delegation will take advantage of the recently lifted embargo on Cuba by the US, thus enabling us to facilitate trade and investment opportunities. Cuba is a country in good standing with respect to the Free State learning on issues of social cohesion and nation building, our delegation will therefore explore an opportunity of such exchange programmes being mooted for the benefit of our province.
Furthermore, a massive investment has been made on 197 students that are studying medicine there. It is important for the Provincial Government to visit them, to motivate them and encourage them to return to the Free State upon completion of their studies to ensure that we continue to derive benefit from this investment.
As part of the itinerary of delegation, there will be specific talks on recruitment of Engineers that are earmarked to assist the Department of Human Settlements.
- What is the total cost of the visit? The mayor and the city manager of the Masilonyana Municipality have to pay R300 000 for the two of them?
The total cost of the visit may not be determined at this stage of the media enquiry as the payment for the trip was done through various channels at different times by the institutions and individuals that are participating in the trip.
The trip is facilitated through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. Indeed, it is confirmed that the Mayor of Masilonyana is being paid for by the Municipality through an appropriately approved Council Resolution of its Ordinary Sitting on Friday, 23 January 2015 that was meant to discuss amongst other things the Mid-term Adjustment Budget, Mid-term Performance Assessment Report and the Draft Annual Report.
It is the understanding of the Provincial Government that each participating stakeholder in the Cuba trip will be paying for their own accommodation, travel, laundry and incidental expenses as per the protocols governing international trips.
The money that the Provincial Government is using for the trip is not in contrast to the Cost Containment Measures scheduled by the National Treasury. The Free State long instituted Cost Containment Measures and saved for appropriate budgeting of the previous, the current and future international visits.
This is because of the appreciation of the Free State Provincial Government that the burden of the legacy of the past and our ability to contributing towards changing the fortunes of our country is not dependent on our abilities alone as a country, but a consequence of smart partnerships that must be forged with the national and international partners across the world.
We have to ensure that we learn from others, we borrow expertise and best practices from others and we create opportunities for our innovations to be bought by others in exchange for what is best practice out there in the fields of international trade, medicine, engineering, arts and culture, water and sanitation, electricity, solar power and many other spheres of life.
The Water Situation in Masilonyana
The Provincial Government held a meeting with the then Minister of Water Affairs, Honourable Edna Molewa on Saturday, 13 July 2013. During this meeting, it was emphasized that the water situation of many municipalities required urgent attention.
Out of that meeting, various schedules were set to ensure that the Free State Province is able to ameliorate the desperate condition that some municipalities would find themselves in, if they were not immediately attended to. Masilonyana Municipality was one of those earmarked for intervention.
Since then, and under the tutelage of the current Minister of Water and Sanitation, Honourable Nomvula Mokonyane, the Province has determined that extra and urgent support must be afforded to Masilonyana Municipality.
This is whilst Bloem Water would be making immediate interventions to attend to the challenge of provision of clean drinking water in the period before medium to long term solutions are found.
- During October and November 2014, the team of Bloem Water, the Provincial Government and Provincial Office of the Department of Water Affairs embarked on a cleaning campaign that was meant for optimisation of the water systems by cleaning of reservoirs and pipelines, unblocking pipelines and establishment of dedicated team that would monitor the water situation there from time to time. This has been happening and reports are generated for the attention of the Provincial Executive Council and the Minister of Water and Sanitation.
- Upgrading of Water Treatment Works for R15 063 590.16 in Soutpan – project is under construction and is 70% complete.
- Construction of Bulk Raw Water Pipeline from Sandvet Canal to Brandfort for R82 785 382.13 – the project is currently under construction. 60 jobs created and 4 SMMEs subcontracted.
- Construction of Bulk Raw Water Pipeline from Erfenis to Winburg (construction of pipeline and the upgrading of the treatment plant) for R90 million – an advert for the appointment of a consultant was issued and a briefing session was held in December 2014.
- Upgrading of Waste Water Treatment Works in Winburg for R14 584 500.00 – project is 95% complete.
- Upgrading of Water Treatment Works in Theunissen for R 6 546 122.00 – the project has been completed
- Refurbishment of Brandfort Water Treatment Works for R1 800 000.00 – the project is still under construction.
- Refurbishment of Brandfort Sewer Treatment works and two Sewer Pumps for R4 571 618.00 – projects were completed.
- Refurbishment of Theunissen Sewer Treatment Works for R2 811 808.46 – project is complete.
- Free State Provincial Government’s intervention – Rapid Bucket Eradication Program (RBEP) for Theunissen and Winburg: Sewer networking and Construction of 549 toilets in Tshepong – Theunissen for a total of R54 516 681.33 – these projects are under construction.
The detailed account of the interventions is a demonstration that this democratic government is committed to ensuring that a lasting solution is found to the persistent problems that were created by the structural defects of previous apartheid governments that did not plan for the expansion of populations.
Further details on the achievements of the Free State Provincial Government’s International Missions and the advancements we have made in resolving the water situations of many Free State Municipalities is reserved for the State of the Province Address 2015.
Enquiries:
Mondli Mvambi
Cell: 082 043 3744
E-mail: mondli.mvambi@fspremier.gov.za or mmvambi@gmail.com
