Krugersdorp - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe on Friday called on community members who need help from government to come forward so they can be assisted.
This, according to Motlanthe, includes people from households where there is no income, students seeking bursaries and those who want to be reskilled.
"We are keen to help those who need help. When people are assisted, they must make a meaningful contribution to the economy," said the Deputy President during a visit to War on Poverty projects in Krugersdorp, Gauteng.
He encouraged those who need assistance to seek help at their local municipal offices, saying this showed government's commitment to addressing the challenge of poverty and joblessness. He stressed that government was willing to help by reskilling individuals who had the potential to steer their households out of poverty, calling them "change agents".
The War on Poverty campaign was launched in August 2008 to spearhead the anti-poverty drive to reach communities who have limited or no access to any of the services or programmes offered by government. The campaign is meant to target the most deprived communities. It has since been launched in most parts of the country and in some instances, the projects are creating job opportunities for the unemployed.
War on Poverty projects were established under the campaign as one of government's means of dealing with poverty. The Deputy President visited one of these projects in Krugersdorp, which is a food bank set up by the Gauteng Provincial Government to provide relief to households in distress. The food bank currently supplies food and other essentials to 60 000 individuals.
Motlanthe also visited a small scale farm in Dunkod which produces herbs and a range of vegetables and supplies to various retailers. The Gauteng government officially handed over a pack house to the farm as part of government's programme to assist emerging and small scale farmers.
Motlanthe noted that one of the best ways to win the war on poverty was for people to start growing their own vegetables.
During the Krugersdorp visit, Motlanthe was accompanied by Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, MECs and senior provincial government officials.
Other dignitaries included Ministers of Energy Dipuo Peters, Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti and the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Zou Kota-Frederics.
The Deputy President is expected to visit other War on Poverty projects in other provinces.
To date, War on Poverty projects have been launched in Jacobsdal in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Ga-Kgatla in Limpopo.
