Department of Human Settlements receives a much needed technical boost
The arrival of another group of Cubans is set to improve quality of services
19 December 2011
The delivery of quality and sustainable
integrated human settlements in Mpumalanga is set to drastically improve
following the arrival of another set of technical officials from Cuba.
Department of Human Settlements’ MEC Siphosezwe Masango welcomed a set of
10 technical personnel as part of the bilateral agreement between the
governments of South Africa and Cuba. The agreement was entered into between the
two countries in 2004 on the Employment of Technical Advisors in the relevant
South African Provincial Departments of Human Settlements.
The programme started in Gauteng in 2001
and later extended to include other Provinces wherein a total of 53 Cuban
Technical Advisors (CTA’s) were recruited from Cuba to assist Provincial
Departments of Human Settlements in terms of filling capacity needs within the
People’s Housing Process (PHP) projects and other technical work required to
enhance service delivery. The programme is now at its third phase where a total
of 40 CTA’s are employed in various provinces through this co-operation in the
field of human settlements.
The agreement was valid for three years
and was extended for a further three years in 2007 and again extended in 2011
through an Exchange of Notes to 2013 between Minister Tokyo Sexwale and his
counterpart, Minister of Construction, Mr Rene Mesa. In welcoming them, MEC
Masango indicated that Cuba has invested greatly in its people where they
produce doctors, engineers etc. “Where we are going to settle
people, we must first undermine the apartheid spatial planning, and all races
must be brought together with all the social amenities made available” he
quipped. The Agreement seeks to realise the following:
- Technical support to hasten the
execution of People’s Housing Programme (PHP) Projects,
- Refinement of the curriculum for
Engineers and Architects in Human Settlements, and
- Promotion of community
participation based on the Cuban experience.
Contact: Freddy Ngobe
Cell: 082 859 4630
Tel: 013 766 6014
