Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has re-affirmed her government’s commitment to deliver on the key priorities of creating decent work and building a growing and inclusive economy, promoting quality education and skills development, providing better healthcare for all, stimulating rural development and food security; intensifying the fight against crime and corruption, building cohesive and sustainable communities and strengthening the developmental state and good governance.
Addressing a gathering of about 5 000 public servants who are on the coal-face of service delivery, among them community development workers, community liaison officers, care givers, community health workers operating in respective wards in the province, Mokonyane said:
“Education is our priority number one. We must ensure that schools start on time, teachers are in class teaching and learners are learning. We must also protect and conserve the school buildings and ensure that we take education seriously by assisting our children from lower grades.
“We must check whether our children in lower grades are well prepared for grade 12, not only to check whether their names in are in the newspapers when the results are released. We must have building blocks before our children reach Grade 12. We must all ensure that school starts on time and that all schools perform well,” she said.
The premier singled out Kelokitso High School in Meadowlands zone nine as one of the schools which needed special attention as it has denigrated.
“It is sad that the school that used to perform so well is now among the worst performing schools. This is because there is a shebeen (tavern) operating opposite the school, teachers, among them shop-stewards of the unions, and children come to school (under the influence) of drugs. The community has vandalised the school and now it has no roof and there are no doors. We understand that teachers must be unionised, but when they do their union work for days, during school hours, they show that they don’t take education seriously,” she said to a thunderous applause.
Accompanied by the MEC for Local Government and Housing, Kgaogelo Lekgoro, MEC for Health and Social Development Qedani Mahlangu and their respective heads of department, Mokonyane told the gathering that during the Presidential State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma has declared “that this is a year of action.”
“Our second priority is health. We have prioritised it because we must live healthy life styles. We must raise awareness of issues like washing one’s hands after using the toilet and what to do when a child has diarrhoea. We have prioritised primary healthcare to ensure that we deal with health education, like during our school days. We must go back to basics and ensure that our health institutions are indeed health institutions.
“We are committed to building a respective and response government. Community clinics cannot operate like Coca-Cola or the South African Breweries, we cannot operate like the private sector where we open and close when people need services. We joined the public service because we want to serve our people and to make a difference,” she said.
The premier cited an example of one nurse who used to arrive at the clinic early to ensure that she takes care of her patients.
“Unlike nurses who arrive after patients have arrived (and mostly leave early). We want to ensure that our community health facilities operate 24 hours a week, seven days a week, not where health practitioners arrive and leave at the same time. We have started with a pilot project. We want to work and serve our people waya waya (non-stop),” she said.
Turning to service delivery protests, Mokonyane said government was committed to reducing the incidents of such violent protests by engaging with communities on regular basis and ensuring that the first points of contact are community development workers, community liaison officers, care givers and community health workers.
“It is strange that the media picks up the issues of service delivery protests before us. We hear that there are protests through the media in areas such as Mamelodi, Soshanguve, Orange Farm and Sedibeng district instead of hearing from our foot soldiers first and address the issues before they turn violent.
In some instances people barricade roads, burn tyres and march on the newly constructed roads but they complain about service delivery, yet we don’t show that we have delivered a road in which they are marching on.
“You are the eyes and ears of government and your role is to bridge the communication gap between government and communities and ensure you unblock service delivery challenges in communities. Serving our people is our business and when they (communities) have a problem is our responsibility to assist in addressing them.
You have joined the public service because you want to be part of change, you want to be part of transformation and you are not in the waiting room to get a senior government post. You have responded to a call to serve our people and be in partnership with government,” Mokonyane said.
Mongezi Mnyani, acting Head of Department for Local Government and Housing Department, presented on the progress made and challenges faced by community development workers. He told the meeting that the community development workers’ programme was under review in order to address the challenges that had been identified since the start of the programme in 2003.
In conclusion, the premier said it was important to integrate the work done by all foot soldiers deployed in various wards in the province to ensure synergy in delivering services and responding to the needs of communities. She made an undertaking that the provincial leadership will brief them on regular basis on government plans and priorities. She urged mayors and municipal managers do so in order to accelerate service delivery and making real the slogan “Kuyasheshwa, Gauteng working better”.
For more information contact:
Thabo Masebe
Cell: 082 410 8087
Themba Sepotokele
Cell: 082 490 9869
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
9 March 2010
