19 October 2007
The tenth national Imbizo week is scheduled to take place from 22 to 28
October 2007, the week will be characterised by heightened interaction between
leaders from the three spheres of government, Ministers, Deputy Ministers,
Premiers, MECs and councillors with communities across the country.
Under the theme 'Social mobilisation for growth and development' the month
will focus on strengthening partnerships and extending platforms for
communities to access programmes of government aimed at reducing poverty and
growing a shared economy. The week will also profile achievements of government
while acknowledging the challenges we still face.
It will include, among others, the strengthening of partnerships in local
economic development, the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and assess the
effectiveness of the local government development strategies and progress on
their implementation. This direct communication is central to participatory
democracy and is the most effective catalyst in ensuring that government is
held accountable on its implementation plans aimed at uplifting
communities.
The week will see politicians participating in over 300 events across the
country. Amongst these will be a visit by Gauteng MEC for Local Government
Qedani Mahlangu to sites in the province showing progress on the eradication of
bucket toilets, this will include a visit to Alra Park, where the province has
managed to replace all identified buckets with VIP toilets, as part of meeting
the December 2007 deadline to eradicate all bucket systems in settlements that
were identified.
During this week the regional office of the Government Communication and
Information System will host a youth Imbizo where Umsombovu, Mpumalanga
Regional Training Trust (MRTT), Department of Labour and the Department of
Economic Development and Planning will expose the youth to different economic
opportunities that they can access through these departments.
The Imbizo week is an important platform for mobilising communities to
partner with government in order to accelerate service delivery and ensure the
achievement of government's Programme of Action.
The draft Imbizo Week programme is available on the government website
https://www.gov.za. The final programme will be
available on the website on Sunday.
Enquiries:
Bongani Mlangeni
Cell: 078 402 1016
E-mail: bongani@gcis.gov.za
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
19 October 2007
