President Jacob Zuma undertook a return visit to Siyathemba Township in Balfour, Mpumalanga on Saturday 22 May, to ascertain progress on service delivery since the last visit, and has urged a speedy implementation of the service delivery projects.
President Zuma decided to return to Siyathemba earlier than usual in order to demonstrate to all spheres of government his seriousness about government needing to do things differently to speed up service delivery.
The President has urged departments to speed up the implementation of projects planned following his surprise visit last year. An inter-ministerial team was established last year to work on the Siyathemba community needs project, led by the Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane.
President Zuma has noted that a number of projects are being planned but urged that the implementation should move faster to ensure improvement of people's lives. Some of the pending projects that were reported to the President by the government departments in all three spheres are the following:
Security
The building of a police station has been prioritised in the 2010/14 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. The Police Forum and the Multi Agency Mechanism have been resuscitated and the Independent Complaints Directorate has followed up on the reports of police brutality, visiting the people affected.
Health
A memorandum of agreement has been concluded between the Mpumalanga and Gauteng Health Departments that patients from Balfour should be admitted at Heidelberg Hospital and the community members have been informed.
In this 2010/11 financial year the Siyathemba Health Centre will be upgraded to a bigger model, and a professional doctor and two professional nurses will be deployed on a full-time basis at Dipaleseng.
A 24-hour clinic is currently under construction in Nthorwane, which by this time should be complete because the target date was end of April 2010.
Sports and recreation
Regarding the request for an equipped stadium, hall and library, the Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation has transferred an amount of R200 000.00 for the information and communications technology (ICT) hardware support of four libraries in Siyathemba, Nthorwane, Grootvlei and Balfour, though the Siyathemba library has now been burned. Computer installation is being finalised at other libraries.
A new community hall is being constructed in Nthorwane Ward six by the Gert Sibande District Municipality. Scheduled for completion in December 2010 it has created 27 jobs for local people. In addition, there is a construction underway for the offices of the Department of Social Development, which is planned for completion on 31 October 2010, and has created 16 jobs.
Sanitation
The municipality has recruited 10 youth per ward to work for a period of two months to clean the entire municipal area in order to address the backlog. It was planned that they start in May, and will be paid a stipend.
Economic development
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the province is assisting the municipality with the finalisation of the Local Economic Strategy and various local economic initiatives will be supported. The government also plans to pilot the anti-poverty war room in the next financial year, and projects envisaged include early childhood development and foster care homes.
The Department of Social Development plans to create 124 jobs through projects such as Expanded Public Works Porgramme (EPWP), Crèches, Community Home Based Care Workers and the Masupatsela Youth Programme.
The Municipality in partnership with the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) are working on the establishment of the Industrial Park. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been concluded and MEGA is still sourcing services of service providers for the project.
The Municipality has called for interested parties in the field of local economic development to submit proposals for the establishment of Dipaleseng Local Economic Development Agency. The procurement process is in progress.
The national and provincial Department of Public Works in partnership with the Municipality will be rolling out Food for Waste Project in all the municipal wards. The main objective is to improve environmental cleanliness among local communities and ensuring a safe and healthy environment. The project will commence during the 2010/11 financial year where identified beneficiaries from community members will collect waste which they can exchange for food parcels. Details are being worked out for implementation.
Water supply
With regards to the complaint about the lack of clean water supply, the cleaning of 12 water reservoirs was completed on 31 March 2010, and the water is regularly tested for quality. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has provided three technicians to assist, who also assist Lekwa Municipality.
Water reticulation for 600 households at Grootvlei Extension, Ward five and phase two is planned for completion in June 2010.
Human settlements
The community had complained about unfinished houses and sanitation. In the current financial year 100 units were allocated, but only 51 beneficiaries were approved so far. A further 300 housing units will be allocated the same period. The contractor is currently on site.
Given the intense need for housing, an inter-ministerial task team has been established and has drawn up a plan of action involving all three spheres of government, which includes plans for accelerated human settlements development.
Way forward
Minister Chabane and his department will conduct follow ups and ensure the implementation of these and other projects and keep the President informed.
Enquiries:
Zizi Kodwa
Cell: 082 330 4910
Issued by: The Presidency
23 May 2010
Source: Sapa
