PREMIER THABANG MAKWETLA’S WEEKLY ITINERARY
03 NOVEMBER 2005 - PROVINCIAL YOUTH AWARDS
Premier Thabang Makwetla will deliver the keynote address during the Mpumalanga Provincial Youth Excellence
Awards.
Venue: Witbank Civic Centre
Time: 19h00
04 NOVEMBER 2005 - PRESIDENTIAL MUNICIPAL IMBIZO
The Premier will accompany Deputy President Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as part of District Municipal Izimbizo.
Venue: Nkangala District Municipality (Witbank Council Chamber)
Time: 9h00
Enquiries: Ntime Skhosana 084 673 0415 / (013) 766 2055
Issued by: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Office of the Premier
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A SMALL COMMUNITY LEADS IN AGRICULTURE.
Their initiative gets commended at this year’s World Food Day Celebration.
Mamaneng: The Honourable Premier of Mpumalanga, Mr Thabang Makwetla has commended the Bareki Tribal Authority and its people in taking an initiative of being involved in agricultural activities. The rural smallholder farmers’ community played host to this year’s Provincial World Food Day Celebration. The Premier accompanied by Agriculture and Land Administration, MEC Madala Masuku, Head of Department, Ms Maureen Sithole and authorities from the Greater Marble Hall Municipality started by visiting projects at the village before addressing the community.
The initiative taken by the community to be engaged in agricultural activities for survival pleased Premier Makwetla to an extent that he highlighted that if most communities in the province can follow their example, poverty can be defeated. Most of the speakers of the day submitted that the correct utilization of land could go a big way in fighting poverty and generating wealth. The Premier was quick to put it before the locals that poverty is a global problem, hence a need to be vigorously engaged in what they have started.
The global theme for this year’s event was - Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue – which is aimed at recalling contributions made by civilisation and different cultural heritage in the development of agriculture and promotion of food security.
After visiting a vegetable and a livestock projects in the area, Premier Makwetla asked MEC Masuku to look at ways to assist and support them with various programmes the department has. He also urged the local municipality to support the hard-trying community through infrastructure provisioning.
As for MEC Masuku, he highlighted to the community programmes like Masibuyel emasimini, the formal training, bursary schemes the department provides to communities. “The tomato project which we visited I am told generates two thousand rands in two months, and if that can be doubled, it can assist many families", said MEC Masuku. People can be involved in farming, agro-processing, marketing and training within the agricultural industry – to become successful farmers, continued MEC Masuku.
The event also highlighted the role of indigenous crops, livestock and agricultural practices in addressing food security and poverty. The Mamaneng Community is made up of smallholder farmers. More than 150 countries worldwide celebrated this day themed "Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue". The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has adopted this theme because "throughout history, the intercultural movement of crops and livestock breeds has revolutionised diets and reduced poverty".
With agriculture, intercultural dialogue takes place at meetings as well as trade negotiations and every time an expert from one culture shows another something new in the laboratory or field, says the FAO. It adds that forums such as the South-South cooperation in the form of sharing expertise and technologies has resulted in the transfer of many solutions suited to local conditions. The FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the organization was founded in 1945. The World Food Day celebration at Mamaneng also formed part of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Issued by the Communications Directorate
Department of Agriculture and Land Administration
Contact: Freddy Ngobe – 013 766 6086 / 082 821 4148
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PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI TO ATTEND A MUNICIPAL IMBIZO IN GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT, MPUMALANGA
President Thabo Mbeki accompanied by Cabinet Ministers, Premier Thabang Makwetla and MECs will visit the Gert Sibande District Municipality as part of the country-wide Municipal Imbizo programme intended to strengthen municipal capacity to deliver on their mandate. The Imbizo will take place at Secunda in the Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga on Saturday, 29 October 2005.
This drive is part of a number of initiatives within Government's Programme of Action, to support local government in delivering on among others, the Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and Local Economic Development (LED). It also intends to enhance public participation in the areas where communities live, including measures to ensure that Ward Committees function.
The Imbizo will directly seek to engage communities and stakeholders in the implementation of Project Consolidate, ( a hands-on local government support and engagement programme ), as a practical, appropriate and national programme to deal with challenges some of which will be raised during the interactive sessions with Councillors, municipal officials and Ward Committees.
Details of Imbizo:
VENUE: Gert Sibande Council Chamber, Secunda
DATE: Saturday, 29 October 2005
TIME: 09H00
Media is requested to confirm by Thursday, 27 October 2005
Confirmations / Enquiries to :
Lebona Mosia 0825616465 or Sydwell Thumbathi on 0825649257 or Simphiwe Kunene on 082 4133931
Issued by The Presidency, Government Communication and Information System (gcis) and Department of Provincial and Local Government (dplg) |
