Spokesperson for the Ministry in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli has encouraged young people to comment on the Lanseria Smart City draft framework.
In his hybrid State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the draft masterplan for the city, which will become home to between 350 000 to 500 000 people within the next decade – was completed in November 2020 and is now out for public comment.
This project forms part of government’s Reconstruction and Recovery Plan for the South African economy aimed at stimulating equitable and inclusive growth on a massive rollout of infrastructure throughout the country.
The infrastructure programme is expected to boost aggregate demand, assist in reviving the construction industry and contribute to employment creation.
Mhlauli said some issues that young people can raise regarding the draft masterplan were about opportunities for young people in the project in terms of construction, access to finance, job creation and Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).
“That becomes our way of engaging positively and making a contribution, so that whatever ultimately becomes the developmental project of South Africa it is one that we have had an input in,” she said on Thursday.
The spokesperson was addressing a Youth Imbizo webinar, hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), for young people to engage on the contents of SONA and reflect on how it relates to them as the future of South Africa.
Justice and Correctional Services Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri welcomed the interventions outlined by the President to tackle corruption.
Ramaphosa last Thursday announced the appointment of a National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council to oversee the initial implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
“The President’s solution to tackling corruption is quite pioneering. He outlined that we have an Anti-Corruption Strategy and to roll out this strategy, he has an interim council that reports to Parliament.
“That is instructive because you have an interim structure which is wholly independent and goes to one of the highest accounting bodies in the country, which is Parliament, to explain to the nation what is being done about corruption,” Phiri said.
He emphasised the importance of having a council that is multi-dimensional with the private sector, civil society and government to deal with corruption in different spaces in society.
“The speech also provided feedback on what has been done to combat corruption thus far and what the results are,” Phiri said. These achievements include the filling of critical leadership positions within law enforcement with capable, experienced and trustworthy professionals.
The President noted the improved cooperation and sharing of resources between the respective law enforcement agencies, enabling a more integrated approach to investigations and prosecutions.
When allegations of fraud and corruption in the procurement of COVID-related goods and services surfaced last year, government acted decisively to put a stop to these practices.
A fusion centre, which brings together key law enforcement agencies to share information and resources, was established. The fusion centre has brought many cases to trial and preserved or recovered millions of rands in public funds.
In addition, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was authorised to investigate allegations of unlawful conduct with respect to COVID procurement by all state bodies during the National State of Disaster.
The SIU has finalised investigations into 164 contracts with a total value of R3.5 billion. – SAnews.gov.za
