President Jacob Zuma will from this week continue with activities aimed at implementing the programme of action outlined in the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The President announced that the year 2011 is one of job creation and that every government department, every entity regardless of size should focus on this imperative. It was said as well that provinces and municipalities would need to work with national government to ensure the implementation of the programme of action.
A few weeks ago the president officially launched the state owned mining company, the African Exploration, Mining and Finance Corporation in Ogies in Mpumalanga. A commitment had been made during the SONA to establish a State Owned Mining Company(SOMCO) that will undertake the mining of minerals of strategic significance.
A commitment was made to fight substance abuse, especially the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. President Zuma will on Tuesday, 15 March, officially open the second Biennial Summit on Substance Abuse. The conference will focus on the role that government and other sectors of society can play in the fight against substance abuse. The Summit will take place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.
The importance of Chapter 9 institutions was highlighted in the SONA. The president will tomorrow afternoon, 15 March, join the Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela in the launch of the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. The event helps to promote the work of Ombudspersons/Public Protectors in the continent. The president will use the opportunity to re-emphasise the importance of all Chapter 9 institutions as part of machinery that strengthens democracy in the country.
The president emphasised in the SONA that government will need to work with business, labour and the community sector to achieve the goal of making 2011 a year of job creation in our country. To discuss how the business and government will work together, the president will host the President’s Summit on Job Creation on 18 March at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria. The Labour Summit will be held on the 19 April.
The president will address a Nursing Summit on 5 April, also as undertaken in the SONA.
In his reply to the debate on the SONA the President emphasised that all spheres of government have a role to play in achieving the job creation roles. He added that the President’s Coordinating Council, (PCC), the meeting of the president with premiers and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), will also focus on job creation, especially to ensure coordination amongst the three spheres of government. The first PCC for this year will meet on 29 March at the Union Buildings.
To further discuss Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment initiatives, the president’s BBEE Advisory Council will meet on the 1 April. It is expected to deliberate on the role of BBEE in job creation amongst other issues which are already on the agenda of the Council.
On 29 April the president will launch the drive to register children under the age of 18 for the Child Support Grant in Upington in the Northern Cape. The president announced in the SONA that the grant would be extended to an additional two million children with the registration of children under the age of 18. Grants are one of government’s most effective poverty alleviation mechanisms.
The president will also meet cluster chairpersons regularly while outcomes coordinating Ministers will represent quarterly reports to Cabinet, as part of ensuring continuous monitoring of progress so that challenges can be identified and resolved speedily.
The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation is designing a programme of site visits to be undertaken by the president after the elections, so that he can personally conduct inspections. The sites will fall within the ambit of the five priorities education, health, the fight against crime, rural development and land reform and creating decent work.
Enquiries:
Zizi Kodwa
Cell: 082 330 4910.
Source: The Presidency
