MPUMALANGA TO TACKLE JOBLESSNESS, POVERTY AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT
In line with Premier Makwetla's call for the province to evolve a popular vision, dialogue and plan that entails “growing our provincial economy in order to increase its capacity to provide more people with incomes”, plans are advanced to convene a Provincial Growth and Development Summit at Aventura Badplaas February 2005.
The Provincial Growth and Development Summit (PGDS) will develop a common vision and implementation plan for promoting economic growth, investment, and job creation and community development in the province.
Premier Thabang Makwetla has also emphasised a need to focus on extending the scope of consultative development and empowerment for all our people, including people living in rural areas.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Growth and Development Summit, to be held on 7-8 February 2005, is a culmination of extensive consultations by the provincial government led by Premier Thabang Makwetla, together with its social partners and the private sector.
The consultation processes discussions held by the Premier with various stakeholders and business concerns throughout the province. Among notable business enterprises that the premier had bilaterals with, include SASOL, ESKOM, XTRATA, COLUMBUS STAINLESS STEEL, TSB SUGAR LTD etc.
The consultative processes also included various sectoral Indabas' and workshops held towards the end of last year. These included, among others, the Industrial Summit, the Provincial Roads Indaba, Tourism Summit, Agriculture Consultative Workshop and the Mining Summit that is planned for the 27 th of January this year.
As a consequence, PGDS preparatory plans by the provincial Multistakeholder forum (business, labour and government) have been inclusive and participatory for all sectors of the Province. District and local municipalities were also canvassed in order to align their local Integrated Development Plans (IDP's) to the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy.
At the Summit, representatives of government, business, labour and community organizations will sign a Provincial Growth and Development Summit Agreement. The Summit Agreement will commit social partners to immediate interventions and projects that will encompass the following areas:
Jobs creation
Increasing Investment
Accelerating Equity, Develo ping Skills, Creating Economic opportunities
Local Economic Development
Good governance in public and private entities
HIV/AIDS and other health challenges facing the province
The Environment and nature conservation
NEPAD and international co-operation
Central to the Mpumalanga Provincial Growth and Development Summit will also be the launch of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS), which is a provincial government document that seeks to provide an overarching strategic development framework for the province over the next 10 years.
The strategy will become a guiding document to address key provincial challenges that include joblessness, access to basic services and opportunities, social and economic infrastructural development.
The Summit will take place over two days and will be participatory and interactive in nature. It will comprise of opening and closing plenary meetings and several interactive sessions covering the main themes of the Summit agreements.
National Ministers have been invited to the Summit and will outline their mandate areas, policy priorities and frameworks and how they can assist the Province in its own efforts to create decent work and fight poverty.
The Summit will also be a true reflection of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government's commitment to creating jobs and fighting poverty in ways that mobilize our people through partnerships aimed at positioning the province in the league of prosperity and equal opportunities for all.
Enquiries :
Ntime Skhosana
0846730415 or 0137662055
ISSUED BY:
OFFICE OF THE PREMIER
MPUMALANGA PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT