Infrastructure drive ‘will benefit all’

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15 August 2012

The government’s massive infrastructure development programme will benefit all South Africans, with the government having identified all areas in the country in urgent need of housing, education and access to basic services, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Motlanthe was speaking in Douglas in the Siyancuma Municipality, Northern Cape, where he interacted with the local community, with a special focus on the youth.

Motlanthe visited the area on Sunday to monitor progress made in the government’s War on Poverty campaign and listened to community members’ concerns, which included challenges to accessing government services.

Young people were mostly concerned about the levels of unemployment and lack of service delivery and infrastructure in their communities, such as water, roads, schools and clinics.

Motlanthe assured his audience that the government was urgently attending to problems of housing, education and access to basic services countrywide.

“Government has identified all the places that needed development and all are going benefit from that.”

He urged young people to choose careers that would enable them to find employment and benefit from the infrastructure development plan. This, according to Motlanthe, would also help to address poverty and unemployment.

He called on parents to play an active role in ensuring that their children attend school and to monitor their school work.

Motlanthe added that the government would be increasing the resources required to address the plight of farm workers who were without homes or fixed addresses, and those who were unable to access government services.

Also present during the community interaction was Northern Cape Acting Premier Grizelda Cjiekella, who said the provincial government would continue to assist child-headed families to access government services.

“These young people need urgent attention as they are more vulnerable to abuse.”

Siyacuma Mayor Lorraine Oliphant echoed the acting premier’s sentiments, and called for broader partnerships with the municipality and other social agents to address the challenges faced by the youth.

The War on Poverty campaign encourages intergovernmental co-operation and co-ordination in service delivery to eradicate poverty.

Motlanthe was accompanied by Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane, Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, and Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant.

Source: SANews.gov.za