Standerton - Residents of Standerton, which was the scene of violent service delivery protests two years ago, will get an opportunity to interact with their provincial government leaders for a week on Monday.
Premier David Mabuza will lead the provincial executive council to the Sakhile township near Standerton, where public hearings will be held from Monday to Friday.
"The residents will interact with the premier and MEC's from the Mpumalanga legislature. This will be done in view of increasing public participation, involvement and to intensify oversight on service delivery," said provincial legislature spokeswoman, Tsholofelo Moreosele, on Friday.
Moreosele said the residents will be able to ask questions and receive oral response on day-to-day service delivery matters that concern them. She said the face-to-face interaction with politicians was expected to inspire public confidence and involvement in government's programmes.
"The objectives of the programme are to do intensified oversight on government projects, to improve public education and involvement in legislature processes and also trigger a healthy dialogue between role players on service delivery issues. In so doing, the legislature will be informed on the effectiveness of government programmes," said Moreosele.
The event will kick-off in Sakhile stadium on Monday, where the premier will interact with the community.
On Tuesday, some MECs will visit service centres and hold a debate on the State of the Province Address, which was delivered on Friday in Mbombela.
On Wednesday, joint social cluster transformation committees will answer questions from the public on programmes related to local government and human settlement. The committees will also visit the Siyazenzela farm project in Sakhile before proceeding to Khunjuliwe Secondary School and Sakhile police station to do oversight work.
On Thursday, the committees will hold public hearings on education, health and the maintenance of buildings at Hlobisa Primary School. They will also hold public hearings on agriculture, farm settlement and the relationship between farmers and farm dwellers.
On Friday, Cabinet will wrap up and hold a debate on questions for oral reply by the MECs.
"Inputs and comments made during the initiative will be directed to the relevant departments for implementation," said Moreosele.
In September 2009, protests erupted in Sakhile after the Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs released a report implicating Lekwa municipal officials in fraud, maladministration and corruption. Several properties, including a councillor's house, municipal administration block, a community hall and a library were set alight.
Residents demanded that all councillors resign. Police arrested more than hundred protestors and charged them with public violence and malicious damage to property.
