Municipality
28 June 2006
The Executive Council held its fortnightly meeting on Wednesday, 28 June
2006, at Bushbuckridge Municipality in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality.
This was their first historic meeting in the area since the incorporation of
Bushbuckridge into Mpumalanga Province.
Premier Thabang Makwetla briefed the Executive Council about the productive
visit he recently undertook to North Rhine Westphalia province in Germany,
where he led a delegation consisting of Nomsa Mtsweni, MEC for Culture, Sport
and Recreation, MEC for Econmic Development and Planning, William Lubisi and
the Director General, Khaya Ngema. The Executive Council resolved that the
management of the preparations for the Football International Federation
Association (FIFA) 2010 World Cup must intensify its preparations.
Timelines must be put in place for the implementation plans. These include
the legacy infrastructure plans that must be developed that go beyond Mbombela
Municipality. Other areas that focus must be put on include the hospitality and
entertainment industries.
Another important resolution of Cabinet was to send two delegations
consisting of members of the Executive Council and mayors to Alberta in Canada
in July and August 2006 to explore best practices in the area of environmental
management.
Canada was chosen because of its excellent environmental and water resources
management systems. These facilities were observed during a visit to Alberta by
Premier Makwetla last year and they constitute part of the memorandum of
understanding signed between the two provinces.
The members of the Executive Council also discussed developments in the
provision of uncompleted houses. The Department of Local Government and Housing
intends to continue with the programme of completing the remaining uncompleted
houses.
The department also briefed the Executive Council that all municipalities
have finalised and adopted their credible integrated development plans (IDP�s).
The department is to organise an IDP handover and credibility certification
session very soon.
The Executive Council took note of the recommendations of the Rural Safety
Summit that was recently hosted by the Department of Safety and Security in
Nelspruit. Amongst the recommendations are; the fast tracking of the
replacement commandos by sector policing; fast tracking transformation of the
justice system; conduct campaigns on rights and responsibilities of farmers and
farm dwellers and the improvement of access to farms. There is an Executive
Council Committee that reports to Cabinet quarterly to ensure that the
recommendations of the Summit are implemented.
The Executive Council expressed appreciation to the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism for the nomination of Mpumalanga Province as
the host venue for the National Conference on Women and the Environment that is
to be held on the 7 to 8 August 2006 in Nelspruit. The objective of the
conference is to highlight the sustainable development challenges facing women
in the country and to create a platform for them to discuss and share their
common challenges as well as learning from their global counterparts.
The Cabinet discussed the provincial annual Female Farmer of the Year
competition for 2006. It will take place on the 17 August 2006 in Witbank. It
was initiated in 1999 with the objective of encouraging women to be involved in
agriculture and to reward those who have excelled in one of the five
categories. These are; top producer for export markets; top producer for
national markets; top producer for informal markets; top producer for household
use and the aspiring young producer. The winners will represent the province at
the National Female Farmer of the Year competition that will be held on the 26
August 2006 in Durban.
The Executive Council also approved the following senior management
appointments:
* Mr Julius Mashapu to the post of Senior Manager (Director): planning and
programme management in the Office of the Premier.
* Mr Simphiwe Kunene to the post of Director Communication in the Department of
Local Government and Housing
Enquiries:
George Mokope Mohlamonyane
Tel: (013) 766 2288
Fax: (013) 766 2495
Cell: 082 802 8460
E-mail: mokope@nel.mpu.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
28 June 2006
