Executive Council Media Statement
15 September 2016
- The Executive Council held its sitting yesterday, Wednesday the 10 of August 2016 in Mbombela.
Statistician-General Report
- The Executive Council received a mini-community survey report from the Statistician-General, who during his presentation recommended the Mpumalanga Provincial Government for the significant progress it has achieved in changing the lives of the people for the better.
- In the sector of health, the Mpumalanga Provincial Government has made serious strides, which have contributed significantly in the decline of infant mortality and increased life expectancy. People have access to many health facilities built by the provincial government and the continued health education is bearing fruits as life expectancy is now at 62 years, which is just above the country.
- Access to education has considerably improved. The provincial government has ensured that there are no learners studying under the trees, and the new state of the art boarding schools warrant that even the learners from the farming communities get access to quality education. The provincial government is also paying more focus on the early childhood education as an effort to prepare learners for their future.
- The evidence provided by the Statistician-General acknowledges that more investment on education is necessary as it is the driver for social change.
- The provincial government has also extremely done well in the eradication of shacks, which has declined from 14.5percent in 2006 to 10.9 percent in 2016. This has been achieved through the government’s integrated human settlements programmes.
- The provincial government has been commended by the Statistician-General for its efforts to deliver quality water to the citizens, as most municipalities are almost 100 percent with its distribution. More efforts are still being made to deliver bulk water to various communities in the province.
- All these interventions by the provincial government have in one way or the other indirectly contributed to the decline of infant mortality and increase in life expectancy.
- In his report, the Statistician-General emphasized amongst others the need to invest more in education as means to fight poverty and unemployment, thereby improving the quality of life for the people.
- The executive council expressed satisfaction to the Statistician-General’s report, and acknowledged that more work still needs to be done. The Executive Council has further expressed an interest in checking the level of satisfaction of the citizens through a survey as the local government elections results suggests that the citizens are content with the work of the ANC-led government in the province.
Briefing on the 2015/16 PFMA Audit Outcomes
- The Executive Council received a briefing on the performance of the provincial government departments from the Auditor-General for the 2015/16 financial year and congratulated five departments that received clean audits outcomes.
- The five departments that received clean audits clean audits are Social Department, Economic Development Environmental and Tourism, provincial Treasury, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and Gambling Board.
- The Executive Council commended the departments of Social Development, as well as Economic Development Environmental and Tourism for improving their audit outcomes from unqualified with findings, to unqualified with no findings.
- There was an appreciation that although there is great improvement in the performance of the provincial departments with regards to the audit outcomes, there is still a lot to be done.
Report on Victor Khanye Municipality Disasters
- The Executive Council noted the report on the interventions provided by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Victor Khanye Municipality after it was hit by heavy storm that damaged 125 RDP houses’ roofs and windows as they were blown off in July this year.
- The Executive Council was briefed that COGTA, Nkangala District Municipality, SASSA, Eskom and Exxaro Mine provided relief shortly after the disaster in the form of food parcels, blankets, tarpaulins, transport, building material, tents, gel stoves and other supplies.
Women’s Month
- The Executive Council approved the following activities for the Women’s Month;
- Appointments
18.1 Mr Peter Nyoni, appointed Head of Department:
[Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs]
18.2 Mr Thami Ngwenya, appointed Deputy Director-General: Macro Policy and Planning Branch [Office of the Premier]
18.3 Ms Catherine Churchill, appointed Chief Director: Policy Analysis and Research [Office of the Premier]
18.4 Ms Lindiwe Mabaso, appointed Chief Director: Cluster Management [Office of the Premier]
18.5 Ms Hazel Zitha, appointed Chief Director: Rental and Property Management [Department of Human Settlements]
18.6 Mr Stanley Nkosi, appointed Chief Director: Integrated Human Settlements Planning and Policy [Department of Human Settlements]
18.7 Mr Mokgema Mongane, appointed Chief Director: Engineering Services and Quality Assurance [Department of Human Settlements
18.8 Mr Mafunda Mhlanga, appointed Chief Director: Corporate Services [Department of Human Settlements]
18.9 Ms Lusanda Mayakaza, appointed Chief Director: Chief Construction Project Manager Grade A for Nkangala [Department of Human Settlements]
18.10 Mr Sibusiso Brown, appointed Chief Director: Chief Construction Project Manager Grade A for Gert Sibande [Department of Human Settlements]
Issued by Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Enquiries:
Spokesperson: Mpumalanga Premier
Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Office of the Premier
Zibonele Mncwango
Tel: (013) 766 2453
Mobile: 079 491 0163
E-mail: zmncwango@mpg.gov.za OR mncwangoz@prem.mpg.gov.za