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Warm welcome
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Sports, Arts Culture

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MEDIA RELEASE
 FOR IMMEDIATE USE
 17 MAY 2001

WARM WELCOME

MECs for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Ms. Nosimo Balindela as well as Ms Ncumisa Kondlo of Welfare received a warm welcome when they 
paid a visit to Nomkholokoto village in Qumbu yesterday as part of the week-long government outreach programme.

They were received with songs of joy and jubilation by the rural communities, who expressed great appreciation at having senior government 
leadership visiting their remote area. Welcoming the visit Mr. Zandisile Mdewuka said they were happy that the government had decided to 
embark on a very important outreach programme, which helped to close the gap between government and the people, something we did not 
experience before. He said:  we did not invite you to come to our poor communities, but you, yourselves decided to come. This clearly 
shows that you are seriously concerned with our way of living much as we do, and this gives hope that the government we have elected is 
committed to the vision of unity in action for change to a better life for all.

The community told the MECs that their area was underdeveloped with no clinics as those available were over thirty kilometers away with 
very limited medicine and nursing personnel. They also requested the government to deploy doctors in their area. They also outlined a 
dilapidated bridge, school, and the T17 and T36 roads which lead to Live Special School as in great need of reconstruction or renovation. 
Poor communications network, lack of electricity, delays in processing social security grants applications, as well as what they believe to 
be a high rate of defrauding the social grant payments by members of the community and government officials, were some of the issues raised 
by the community as needing speedy government intervention. They said steps are also being taken by the community to address poverty, also 
making an appeal to the government to assist them in developing an identified piece of land for agricultural production.

In response to the issues raised Welfare MEC Ms Kondlo said welcomed the expression of community concerns and also encouraged communities 
to be innovative and come up with proposed solutions to their problems so that government can be responsive to their needs. She also 
informed communities of various departmental programmes that are aimed at eradicating poverty. She said even to deal with the high 
unemployment rate the department of Labour has a training programme for people for people to gain marketable skills.

Regarding fraud in social security grant payments, MEC Kondlo said the government had decided to outsource the grant payments so that 
departmental officials could be relieved to do proper administrative work, and therefore improving the processing of the social grant 
applications.

She also told the crowds that the government was engaged in a campaign to arrest all frauds of public funds. She cited seven officials 
recently arrested who were expelled and arrested for scams that amount to millions of rands. She said: this is only the beginning.

Issued by Department of Sport, Recreation, Art and Culture
 Communications Officer Masiza Mazizi  040  6095870 / 082 378 7847,Fax:040  6350 603

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