report
11 March 2009
Late last year, Limpopo Provincial Government appointed a team of external
experts to help assess and evaluate its work over the past 15 years of freedom
and democracy. The report has been finalised and adopted by the executive
council Lekgotla in February this year. We have invited the people of Limpopo
to this meeting in order to present this report to them.
The review is based on the growth and development strategies that have put
in place to guide the provincial government in carrying out its constitutional
mandate during the period in question. The current provincial growth and
development strategy has got as its key objectives the improvement of quality
of lives of the people, the building of institutional efficiency and
effectiveness, the growth and development of the economy, the fostering of
socio-economic regional integration and, above all, a focused attention on the
special programmes like human efficiency Virus (HIV) / Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE),
people with disability, women, youth and other vulnerable groups in the
society.
The report indicates that the provincial government has truly asserted a
sense of self being amongst the people of Limpopo. The peopleâs satisfaction
level about their government and service delivery has increased from 29% to 58%
over the past seven years.
In terms of the improvement of the quality of lives of the people, there are
a lot of positive spin offs in many respects. The 2007 statistics South Africa
survey and provincial 15 years review reports indicate that 81.2% of the people
of Limpopo have access to electricity, exceeding the national average. These
reports further indicate that no less than 83.6% of the households have access
to piped water. This is in addition to 64.5% of households that have access to
sanitation, by far exceeding 23.7% national average. We have just been declared
the best performing province in terms of provision of housing in the country.
In this regard our provincial Department of Local Government and Housing won
the Govan Mbeki award and an amount of R3 million.
As the report notes, a focused investment in the human capital has been the
centre-piece of the provincial government over the period under review. In 2007
alone, the provincial government departments spent R85 million compared to R6.4
million spent by private sector in bursaries for students in tertiary learning
institutions. The provincial government has significantly reduced classroom
backlog from about 35 000 in 1994/95 financial year to about 1000 in 20007/08
financial year.
Limpopo continues to distinguish itself as the best performing province in
the area of maths and science. The curriculum content in further education and
training (FET) colleges , has also been restructured and developed. This puts
Limpopo in a better position to produce the required skills for the growth and
development of its economy. Another noticeable milestone achievement is the
increment in the enrolment of people at Adult Basic Education and Training
(ABET) centres. This has undoubtedly contributed to the decrease in the levels
of illiteracy amongst the adult population of the province over the last six
years.
The report also shows that Limpopo has registered significant progress in
its efforts to attain policy objective of universal access to primary health
care. To date, new 114 clinics at the cost of R154 million have been built,
whilst 196 clinics at the cost of R337 million have been upgraded. It is
further reported that the people of Limpopo, particularly those in the
villages, have benefited from many hospitals and Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) stations that have and continue to be revitalised and upgraded. With the
aggressive implementation of the Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care, Treatment and
Management Programme, especially the increment of the Anti-Retroviral treatment
sites to 47 health centres, we seen the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the
province decreasing from 23.5% to 18.5% over the past four years. This has
consistently put Limpopo the third lowest amongst all nine provinces, and also
lower than the national average.
The legislations, policies and systems that affirm women and people with
disabilities as equal citizens in the land of their birth are not only
functional but operational. Although there are still challenges in
municipalities, Limpopo provincial administration boasts 50% of female Heads of
Departments, and 1.5% of people with disabilities in its employ. Through the
National Youth Service programme, Umsombovu Youth Fund, Expanded Public Works
Programme, learnerships and internships, young people have begun to occupy
their rightful position in the mainstream economy. Some of these young people
have become entrepreneurs in their own right. They are job creators as opposed
to job seekers.
The South Africa by the South African Institute of Race Relations declared
Limpopo the most peaceful province in South Africa in past two consecutive
years. This represents milestone achievement in our fight against crime.
The economy of Limpopo province continues to grow at an annual average
growth rate of 4.2%. Nevertheless, the report notes, as a challenge, the
insufficient labour absorption capacity of this growing economy. Although the
unemployment rate has been reduced from 35.6% to 32.4% over the past four
years, more descent and sustainable jobs still need to be created. The report
also notes a significant improvement in terms of income levels of many
households through social security net such as pension, foster care and child
support grants. We should however move swiftly to develop provincial economic
stimulus packages to respond to the current global economic meltdown which has
the potential to undermine and reverse our gains.
The dams that were built, those under construction and the ones for which we
have completed feasibility studies will bring a further boom and development of
agriculture and mining industries in the province. These dams include Nandoni
in Vhembe district, De Hoop and Flag Boshielo in Sekhukhune district, Nwamitwa
in Mopani district and Mokolo in Waterberg district. These water sources will
definitely come in handy in our continued efforts to provide portable water for
domestic use by our people. They will, indeed, add value to our cause of
fighting the scourge of cholera and other communicable diseases like
malaria.
Above all, the capacity of the provincial government to deliver services has
significantly improved. This is attributed the gradual shaping up of the
internal control systems such as internal audit, financial management, contract
management, risk management and integrated planning.
It is however worth noting, as the report acknowledges, that a lot more
still needs to be done in order to improve the lives of the majority of people
who are still living in the informal settlements, vast farmlands and far-flung
villages of Limpopo.
Contact:
Mogale Nchabeleng
Limpopo Provincial Government Spokesperson
Cell: 072 632 8983
Tel: 015 287 6151
Issued by: Ministry, Limpopo Provincial Government
11 March 2009
Source: Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.limpopo.gov.za)
