Pretoria - Government has called on communities to participate in the Imbizo Focus Week activities.
“Government calls on all citizens to attend imbizo activities, which will be happening in their respective communities and participate in the dialogues and jointly play a role in achieving the objectives outlined in the National Development Plan,” Acting Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said on Wednesday.
From Monday, government has been participating in National Imbizo Focus Week, which will run until 10 April, under the theme ‘Together we move South Africa forward’.
Izimbizo are two-way, unmediated and interactive information sharing platforms. It is a dialogue between government and people aimed at instilling confidence in robust, participatory democracy. Members of national, provincial and local government interact with communities across the country through door-to-door household visits, project visits and through community radio stations.
Their focus, according to Williams, is to “advance awareness and understanding of the Nine-Point Plan, which supports the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) and is intended to ignite and propel economic growth and job creation”.
Since Monday, eight izimbizo have already taken place. These include the official opening of the week by the Acting Minister of Communications, Mosebenzi Zwane, in Ga-Seleka Community Hall in Lephalale on Monday.
On Wednesday, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Des Van Rooyen, was in Mogalakwena Local Municipality, Limpopo, meeting with traditional leaders and community members.
The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Enver Surty, visited Sophakama Primary School in Dunoon, Cape Town, to monitor the progress made since the handover of the R40 million state-of-the-art school facility in June 2015. The Deputy Minister also handed out 2 000 food parcels to learners at the school.
On Thursday, Minister Zwane will host an imbizo at Umzumbe Municipality, Ndumakude Community Hall, Ward 13, to engage with communities on mining developments in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Hlengiwe Mkhize, will be in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Tsakane Community Library to engage the youth and community members on the creation of Smart City Connectivity.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mzwandile Masina, will visit Modder River Richview to officially open the GWK Food Processing Factory in Kimberly, Northern Cape.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, will on Friday hold an imbizo in Mdantsane, in East London, where she will be interacting with the community on issues around attacks on foreign nationals.
For updates during Imbizo Focus Week, follow at @GCISMedia, @SAGovNews and @GovernmentZA. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #ImbizoWeek or #9PointPlan.
The full programme can be found on the government website www.gov.za. – SAnews.gov.za
