19 NOVEMBER 2007

THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

The Executive Council held its fortnightly meeting at Nelspruit in the Mbombela Local Municipality.

Memorandum on Organization for Persons with Disabilities
The Executive Council discussed and approved the response report to the Memorandum submitted to the Premier by the Organization for Persons with Disabilities earlier this year. The memorandum highlighted lack of educational resources and facilities; few economic and skills development opportunities; widespread poverty; inadequate access to social grants and recreational services and marginalization of persons with disabilities in the employment of both private and public sectors among other issues mentioned for attention by the provincial government.

In response to the memorandum, the Provincial Government did a quick evaluation of the work that was being done by government departments and prepared a report that has revealed that government was seized with this challenge, through a number of initiatives, such as:

· Adaptation of government buildings and facilities to facilitate the access by people with disabilities.
· Addressing skills and access to economic opportunities through such initiatives as building a quota for people with disabilities that resulted in 3 contractors with disabilities being included in the Department of Public Works’ Sakh’abakhi Project.
· The Department of Health and Social Sciences ensuring that 2% of all funded poverty alleviation benefits people with disabilities.
· The initiating of New Business Finance Programme that is meant to also assist young entrepreneurs including people with disabilities by the Department of Economic Development and Planning.
· The Department of Agriculture and Land Administration has employed 149 people with disabilities out of a total of 2730 in the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) projects

The Executive council welcomed the report, but felt that more still need to be done in partnership with the various organizations of people with disabilities in the province.

Concern on Service Delivery by Public Servants
The Executive Council discussed at length the rate at which service delivery is being implemented in the province. In the centre of this was the laxity of officials with regard to how public servants approach their work. The executive council felt that stringent controls and performance monitoring and evaluation must be put in place in order to put this tendency to an end. It must no longer be business as usual and that henceforth, there must be disciplinary action and severe measures taken against officials who fail to perform in their respective duties.

The Delmas diarrhea outbreak
The Department of Health and Social services presented a report to the Executive Council on the status quo at Delmas where as of Monday more than 840 patients had been treated for diarrhea related illnesses. The increase in diarrhea cases was noticed during the weekly survey starting from the end of October 2007. A Joint Operational centre has been established where daily surveillance reviews are being conducted. All clinics have been alerted of the outbreak.

Stool samples from all patients presenting with diarrhea are collected and analyzed. Water samples for microbiological testing has been daily collected and analyzed and have not indicated any abnormalities.

Premier Thabang Makwetla has visited the Delmas municipality on Thursday 15 November. He assessed the situation and later on addressed the media on the issue of the outbreak of diarrhea and the possible causes of it. He was accompanied by the MEC for Health and Social Services- Mr. William Lubisi, MEC for Local Government and Housing- Ms Candith Mashego - Dlamini, MEC for Agriculture and Land Administration –Ms. Dina Pule, and MEC for Public Works- Mr. Madala Masuku

The Executive Council resolved that the construction of a purification water plant and the pipeline linking the Delmas municipality and Rand Water Board must be prioritized to ensure that a permanent solution is found to clean drinking water to the community.

Branding
The Executive Council discussed and approved a presentation of the new brand positioning of the province. The new logo and payoff line of Mpumalanga province will officially be launched on November 28 2007 in Nelspruit.

MpumalangaRoads Bill, 2007
The Executive Council discussed and approved the publication of the Mpumalanga Roads Bill, 2007 for public comment. The Bill seeks to provide for the transformation, restructuring, establishment and control of the Mpumalanga provincial road network; to develop and implement provincial road policy, norms and standards; to provide for optimum road safety standards; efficient and cost effective management of the provincial road network; the maintenance of provincial road assets and the provision and development of equitable road access to all communities within the province. The public is hereby called upon to make their inputs to strengthen the bill before it is presented to the legislature to be passed into an act.

The Executive Council also discussed and noted the response of the Youth Commission to a memorandum sent to the Premier by ANC Youth League in June 2007. In relation to the issue of the two economies the Youth Commission states that it has revamped the National Youth Service and has lobbied all departments and municipalities to commit themselves to the programme so that it is used as one of the interventions in the scenario of addressing the challenge of the two economies.

In relation to the skills development government is rolling out a learnership programme with effect from February 2005. For instance the Department of Local Government and Housing has recruited 60 young people into its programme from 2005. Furthermore the Extended Public works Programme (EPWP) has recruited 436 young people through the Department of Public Works.

Issued by the Communication Chief Directorate, Office of the Premier, NELSPRUIT
Contact Lebona Mosia at 082 5616465/+27 13 7662244 Email:LMosia@mpg.gov.za