17/06/2007

MPUMALANGA CABINET MEDIA STATEMENT

The Mpumalanga Executive Council (cabinet) held its routine meeting on the 16 th of May 2007 at Mbombela Municipality Chamber, where it deliberated on the number of issues of public importance.

Amongst the issues deliberated above was the process of taking forward the implementation of flagship projects. Cabinet decided that a private company must be appointed to manage the implementation of the Flagship projects. When delivering his annual state of the province address, Premier Makwetla announced five key programs that the provincial government will henceforth focus its resources on and deploy high level capacity on because they carry the potential of growing our regional economy, and more importantly, they can assist us move closer to the attainment of millennium development goals. The “Big 5”, as the flagship projects are commonly referred to, include:

Maputo Development Corridor

  • Moloto Rail Development Corridor
  • Accelerated Capacity Building
  • Water for all
  • Tourism, Heritage and Conversation

The provincial cabinet also discussed progress report with regard to the coal haulage Business plan. Eskom had already done some work on this subject, especially in the relation to routes that are used to carry coal to collieries. ESKOM presented the report, which includes a study that covers the impact that the coal haulage is having on the road infrastructure in the Gert Sibande area and what needs to be done to alleviate the extent of damage. After intense deliberations, it was agreed that Eskom and the provincial department of roads and transport must finalise the business plan on how to turn around the adverse impact on the roads network in the Gert Sibande district.

More importantly, cabinet welcomed the recent bestowing of the “Order of Ikhamanga” to the late Gert Sibande during the (Presidential) national award ceremony held at the Union Building this month. Gert Sibande, affectionately known as the “Lion of the East,” was nominated by the province in recognition of his leadership he demonstrated during the struggle for democracy, especially with regard to fighting for the plight of the poor and the farm workers in South Africa and specifically in the areas of Bethal.

During the 1950`s, the late Gert Sibande, mobilised media, particularly the Drum Magazine, to help expose and highlight the plight of potatoe farm workers who were subjected to gruesome labour slavery. As part of profiling and preserving our heritage, the former Eastern Highveld region of Mpumalanga was renamed after as the Gert Sibande District Municipality .

Furthermore, in honour and recognition of his role, the provincial cabinet has therefore agreed that the Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation investigate further work that can be done to honour this hero, including the possibility of erecting a monument.

NTIME SKHOSANA

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