North West Premier Thandi Modise has urged the residents of Majakaneng, near Brits, to give government a chance to implement its R2 billion provincial water plan before staging protests.

In a statement on Thursday, the premier called on residents to give the provincial government the space needed to give effect to the intervention which it is rolling out.

She condemned the violent protest in Majakaneng, which saw the torching of a cement truck and urged communities to exercise their constitutional right to protest responsibly and not destroy properties.

The provincial government has committed to engaging with stakeholders and community representatives from those communities who are faced with water challenges to outline the water projects plan, she said in a statement on Thursday.

“There is therefore no need for communities to be misled into participating in illegal marches,” said Modise.

In January, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa and Modise announced a Project Implementation Plan to ease water shortages in municipalities in the North West.

The plan allocates money for bulk infrastructure upgrades and borehole refurbishments. The upgrades will provide various local municipalities with the capacity to meet the basic demand of 60 litres of water per person per day.

Kgwele said the projects laid out in the plan included the development of a groundwater scheme in Mankwe and Madikwe and the replacement of old asbestos cement pipes that frequently burst, among other things. – SAnews.gov.za

The roll out of the HIV/Aids and TB programme in the Free State is on track, with 11 804 patients, including 584 children, having started the fixed-dose ARV regime from 1 April last year.

Presenting a status report at a briefing on the progress made in some of the priority programmes of his department, Free State Health MEC Dr Benny Malakoane said the provincial TB screening programme, which is currently focusing on high risk groups, has also been intensified in children under five years of age.

“The Maternal, Child and Women’s Health Programme has grown in leaps and bounds. Some of its achievement include the establishment of 20 maternity waiting homes in the province; the availability of Kangaroo Mother Care at all hospitals, and the establishment of breast milk banks at Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli and Bongani Regional Hospitals, amongst others.

“The Male Medical Circumcision Programme is progressing well, with 8 435 males being circumcised,” Malakoane said on Wednesday.

Since he took office in March 2013, Malakoane has done intensive consultations with healthcare workers across the board to ensure that the department’s vision for ‘A Healthy and Long Life for All’ is embraced by all its staff.

These consultations gave Malakoane first-hand knowledge of the quality of service at health facilities, as well as insight on how to address the challenges.

“We have been to district and regional hospitals, the two academic hospitals, emergency medical services stations, the Free State Forensic Pathology Mortuary in Bloemfontein and the Medical Depot.

“During these visits, I found that these facilities had challenges with the maintenance of equipment, management of medicine and consumables, infrastructure deficiencies, telecommunication and connectivity, staff shortages etc.,” said Malakoane.

Upgrading health infrastructure

On infrastructure development, Malakoane said a variety of infrastructure development projects were underway at 12 different hospitals and six primary healthcare clinics. Three community health centres are also in various stages of completion.

The hospitals include Boitumelo Regional Hospital in Kroonstad, Pelonomi Hospital, Trompsburg, Senorita Ntlabathi District Hospital in Ladybrand, Dihlabeng Hospital in Bethlehem, the Fezi Ngubentombi District Hospital in Sasolburg, Elizabeth Ross Hospital in QwaQwa, and the new Mangaung District Hospital in Bloemfontein.

To improve the Primary Healthcare Re-engineering Programme, Malakoane said three streams - including school health services, family health and ward-based teams - were implemented.

“For the current financial year, we have increased the ward-based outreach teams from 42 to 70, and on an incremental basis, it will be increased eventually to 325.

“Some of the achievements of the integrated School Health Programme include the allocation of three mobile units meant for eye care services, oral health and primary healthcare to the Thabo Mofutsanyana district,” the MEC said.

The School Health Programme focuses on quintile 1 and 2 schools and 929 schools in the province fall in this category, with 114 814 learners involved.

HR matters

The department has appointed and strengthened district specialist teams in order to boost capacity.

It is also monitoring Remunerative Work outside the Public Sector (RWOPS) in all institutions in the province.

“HR issues such as the appointment of critical categories of health staff, disciplinary procedures, human resource development and the strengthening of the nursing schools and College of Emergency Care are receiving attention,” Malakoane said.

The MEC admitted that budgetary constraints were a very real issue. In September last year, he called on all managers to curb expenditure.

“We have consolidated shared services, implemented zero-based budgeting and recently I outlined my intention to meet with all the various programmes of the department to reprioritise the budget so that we stay within the allocated amount,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

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Efforts to move South Africa forward continue, with state owned companies contributing to job creation and the development of the country, says Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba.

“State owned companies have acted as catalysts for additional investment in the economy,” Gigaba said on Monday.

Speaking at an SABC-TNA breakfast briefing on infrastructure and its impact on the economy, Gigaba said job creation will not happen by itself, as it requires a concerted effort by all role players.

Infrastructure development was a critical stimulant, he said.

Eskom will be investing over R500 billion in the economy over the next five years, while Transnet will invest over R300 billion over a seven year period.

Three years ago, state owned companies falling under the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) invested R53 billion into the economy. “In the current financial year, we are investing over R113 billion -- an increase of over 100%,” said the minister.

With the infrastructure build programme, state owned companies that employ many South Africans will have the capacity to employ even more people.

“Our infrastructure state owned companies are already key providers of employment and with the additional infrastructure capacity that will be built, [they] will become even more important sources of employment,” he said.

By 2017, Transnet will support the direct and indirect employment of 30 000 people, while in 2013 Eskom employed 290 000 people with a focus on youth.

“State owned companies are playing a leading role in skills development and will be investing over R2.8 billion in the current financial year. Over the last year, more than 16 000 leaners were trained in scarce and critical learning programmes within state owned companies of the DPE,” said the minister.

Transnet has secured R175 million from the Department of Higher Education and Training to train an additional 1 000 learners on maritime engineering, who are being recruited across the country.

“All efforts have been and must continue to be guided by the notion to improve the lives of all South Africans to create a better life for all by creating sustainable, decent jobs, fighting poverty and inequality,” said Gigaba. - SAnews.gov.za

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In order to effectively address the plight of the African continent, a major shift and transformation in traditional mining is required, says Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu.

“This should entail a shift from the exporting of largely raw material to ensuring that minerals serve as a catalyst for accelerated industrialisation through mineral value-addition.

“This will also require development corridors that are a subject of multi-purpose infrastructure development,” Shabangu said.

Speaking during the opening of the 2nd Annual Mining Indaba Ministerial Symposium held in Cape Town on Monday, Shabangu noted that financing for the multi-purpose infrastructure development must not be a burden of one stakeholder at the expense of another, as it has been the case in the past.

“It requires clear goals and objectives to be outlined, infrastructure requirements delineated and costed, and partners in development to agree on a creative win-win formula for financing of such infrastructure that will deliver ‘Africa’s Promise’ and enable the emergence of a resilient African continent.”

She further stressed the importance for African mining development to be integrated and interlinked with its infrastructure development initiatives, such as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa adopted by the African Union Heads of State.

The programme, which is led by the African Union and chaired by President Jacob Zuma, seeks to integrate regional and continental infrastructure networks and services to improve intra-trade and promote socio-economic development in the continent.

She pointed out that mineral resources generally occur in remote areas, often characterised by high levels of poverty, marginalisation of host indigenous communities, lack of infrastructure and absence of both physical and social infrastructure.

Shabangu also highlighted the need to establish enduring partnerships between Africa and mining development partners to achieve mutual development priorities, based on respective strengths.

However, she said it is important that the Mining Vision be driven and led by Africans, who must ensure that Africa’s mineral resources are exploited in an equitable and optimal manner that underpins a broad-based sustainable inclusive growth and socio-economic development.

“The exploitation of these resources should be undertaken in a manner that addresses environmental concerns, especially on water and biodiversity and other related mining pollution,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

The Minister in the Presidency responsible for National Planning, Trevor Manuel, says an active citizenry is vital if the country is to meet the goals set out in the National Development Plan (NDP).

In a lecture to students, academics and members of the public at the Attie van Wijk Hall at Stellenbosch University on the role of the NDP, Manuel said it was not only up to those in Parliament to meet the country’s needs, but South Africans also had an important role to play in making Vision 2030 a reality.

Through the NDP, South Africa aims to ensure that all citizens attain a decent standard of living through the elimination of poverty and reduction of inequality by 2030.

Manuel called on South Africans to work together to fight against social ills such as rape and abuse to ensure that women can walk in the streets at any time of the day.

South Africans must also ask how they can reverse the effects of the Group Areas Act and ensure that towns and suburbs become more racially mixed, Manuel said.

“[The NDP] is not a [just] plan for government… it’s a plan for all of us in South Africa,” he said.

He said although the country’s social compact was damaged, it wasn’t beyond repair and this could be addressed through strengthened leadership.

Manuel said the kind of society envisaged in the Constitution was entirely attainable, but that it required South Africans to lead by example.

He said South Africans needed to take responsibility for making the country a better place. – SAnews.gov.za

Vulnerable workers in the farms sector will get an upward wage adjustment effective from 1 March 2014, the Department of Labour has announced.

“In terms of sectoral determination for farm workers, the minimum wages will be adjusted upwards to an hourly rate of R12.41 (previously: R11,66); a weekly rate of R558.60 (from R525), and monthly minimum wages of R2 420.41 (R2 274.82),” the department said.

Sectoral determination covers the protection of workers in vulnerable sectors/areas of work. The determination sets minimum working hours, minimum wages, number of leave days and termination rules.

The determination is reviewed annually by Labour Minister. The new determination will be effective until the end of February 2015. – SAnews.gov.za