Mpumalanga Provincial Government cabinet resumed its business for 2009
29 January 2009
Mpumalanga cabinet resumed its business for 2009 this morning by noting the sad developments that befell the province following the death of two prominent members of the community. Former Mbombela Municipality speaker, Councillor Jimmy Mohlala and former South African Football Association National Executive Committee member, Reuben Mahlalela was laid to rest earlier this year.
Cabinet, on behalf of the community, reiterated its word of sympathy and expressed condolences to their families. Cabinet described their passing on as regrettable and very sad, particularly with regard to their areas of work as assets in the preparations for the 2010 soccer competition.
With regard to the murder of Councillor Jimmy Mohlala, cabinet urged the law enforcement agencies to move with speed to bring about conclusion in the investigation of the matter so that the perpetrators of this cowardly act may face the full text of the law.
Mpumalanga launches anti-poverty war room
A first batch of more than 32 families who are facing daily challenges of having to go to bed without food because of poverty stand to benefit when the Mpumalanga provincial government launches its "anti poverty war room". The anti poverty war room campaign will be gradually expanded to cover all poverty stricken areas of the province. The "anti poverty war room" is a new initiative launched countrywide with its objective being to provide a cushion for families living in hardships and having no gainful means employment. Seven provinces have already launched their "anti poverty war rooms" and Mpumalanga will be launching on Friday, 30 January 2009, at Sikhwahlane ward 17, Nkomazi Municipality.
The launch will start with a door to door in the morning 09h00 and later a rally will be held at the Sikhwahlane sports field starting at 13h00.
The anti poverty war room will be co-coordinated by the provincial department of social development and the following municipalities will serve as priority areas for the roll out of the programme, viz Nkomazi, Dr J S Moroka, Thembisile, Mkhonto, Bushbuckridge and Albert Luthuli municipalities. Community profiles of the identified areas have been compiled by the Department of Social Development working in collaboration with community workers trained by Statistics South Africa.
During the launch, Mpumalanga Premier Thabang Makwetla will be accompanied by the Minister in the Presidency, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Mr Sicelo Shiceka and all MECs. They are expected to conduct door to door family visits in order to interact with members of the community and assess the poverty profiles of identified families and also mobilise some form of support for the affected families. Based on the needs analysis done, the profiled households require support ranging from school uniforms, support grants, food parcels, housing and healthcare.
According to the provincial growth and development strategy, 62% of Mpumalanga population is trapped in a high poverty band in comparison with a national average of 54% and poverty remains concentrated among African, female headed and rural households.
Cabinet receives update on cholera
The provincial cabinet received an update report on the effects of a cholera outbreak from the Mpumalanga Joint Operational Committee (MJOCC). The spread of the disease was first reported in the first week of January following an increase in patients presenting symptoms of diarrhoea in the Mariti area of Bushbuckridge.
Cholera is an acute disease that can easily spread where water supply, sanitation, food safety and hygiene are inadequate. Sampling of rivers, wells and boreholes was undertaken and the results later confirmed water contamination from vibro cholera. More cases were reported in Mbombela, Thaba Chweu, uMjindi and Nkomazi. The origin of the outbreak was reportedly due to water sources being contaminated and also contact between people. The municipalities affected have communities without access to proper sanitation facilities.
To date, 3 216 patients have visited hospitals and 22 deaths reported as confirmed cholera cases. A national and provincial outbreak response plan has been developed and communicated to all health facilities.
A provincial joint operational committee consisting of the Department of Local Government, health, water affairs and forestry, Ehlanzeni district, South African National Defence Force (SANDF), South African Red Cross and all affected municipalities has been activated to monitor and mitigate the impact of the disease.
The provincial government has put all public hospitals on a high alert and enhancing case management and surveillance whilst at the same time urging the community to immediately report at the nearest health facility any form of cholera symptoms like vomiting and watery diarrhoea.
The provincial health department has embarked on an intensive public education drive by distributing leaflets and involving ward councillors ward committees and Community Development Workers (CDW) in door to door campaigns.
In addition, communities are encouraged to observe hygienic guidelines that include:
* washing hands before handling food
* washing fruit and vegetables before use
* boiling water for 3 minutes before consumption
* parents discouraging kids from playing in water streams and rivers
* adding a teaspoon of bleach in every 25 litres of water As part of efforts to develop a province wide response plan, Premier Makwetla has convened an extra ordinary meeting of the Premier's Co-ordinating Forum (PCF) is an intergovernmental forum wherein the premier regularly interacts with all the executive mayors in the province) today 29 January 2009 in order to discuss how municipalities and the province can collaborate more in order to develop immediate and lasting interventions in the fight against the outbreak.
Mpumalanga economy poised for expansion
Plans by the Mpumalanga provincial government to establish a provincial growth fund are nearing completion. This became evident when it was announced that two prominent individuals were appointed to serve as the provincial government's trustees of the Mpumalanga Growth Fund (MGF). Mr Lot Ndlovu, CEO of NEDCOR and Mr Lumkile Mondi, vice President of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) were confirmed as trustees of the soon to be launched Mpumalanga Growth Fund. Additional three Trustees will be appointed to represent private sector funders.
The purpose of the fund is to, among others, avail funds for use in areas with potential for economic growth. It is a focused government intervention to unlock growth in sectors such as tourism, agro business, bio fuel, transportation and logistics, bulk water and sanitation infrastructure etc. The fund will also mobilise substantial private sector co-investments in order to enable economically viable projects to access commercial finance.
The provincial government has pledged a seed capital of R200 million for the fund and a minimum loan size will be R20 million.
Mpumalanga 2008 matric performance
The provincial department of education briefed cabinet about the overall performance of the 2008 matriculants. So far, 10 096 pupils have been resulted and 5 720 candidates passed. The overall pass rate of the province currently stands at 52%. As on the 27 January 2009, 595 candidates still have outstanding results.
The provincial government expressed concern over the delay in releasing the results and called on the responsible authorities to speed up the process of validating the results.
The provincial government also expressed concern about the low pass rate and the socio economic impact it has on communities. As a result, the province will embark on a turnaround strategy to improve the performance of the 2009 matriculants. A five pillar strategy was endorsed and it includes
* eliminating structural sources of perennial underperformance
* rewarding performing schools
* strengthen curriculum management capacity at school level
* strengthen circuit offices
* enhancing 2009 learner attainment strategy.
There will also be a concerted effort to improve the performance of school principals with regard to basic management of the school environment. Among others, the key difference between high performing schools and poor performing centre in the province is the culture and management style of incumbent principals.
Cabinet further approved that nine CDWs will undertake a trip to India to form part of trainees in areas of renewable energy, entrepreneurship and promotion of micro-enterprise. The training will also explore the potential use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to enhance the effectiveness of CDWs to assist communities in addressing service delivery challenges.
In overall, the exchange programme will expose the trainees to different initiatives undertaken by community practitioners in India on how practitioners interface with government institutions, non governmental organisation and other stakeholders.
Issued by: Office of the Premier