Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will later this month officially launch a programme, in Port Elizabeth, which seeks to train about 15 000 artisans and plumbers in the country.
The President said 3 000 trainees have made the list of first intakes recruited this financial year, who will fix leaking taps in their communities.
He briefed media on Tuesday on the progress made in implementing government’s Programme of Action since his 2015 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February.
The recruitment process will be done through the Department of Water and Sanitation. The President said this would stop the leaking of water which costs the country R7 billion a year.
“Government has identified water as a critical resource for economic development and work continues to implement the five point plan for water and sanitation,” he said.
The Plan entails:
- Maintain and upgrade existing water and sanitation infrastructure;
- Build new dams and develop ground water;
- Improve water quality;
- Develop SMART technologies for water and sanitation information management; and
- Ensure an enhanced and integrated regulatory regime, for example water use licensing.
“A review of both the Water Services and National Water Acts will be undertaken,” he said.
Education and health
Meanwhile, President Zuma said the implementation of the Mathematics, Science and Technology Strategy will be strengthened in all schools.
This following the 2014 Annual National Assessments (ANA) results which indicated that Grade 3 targets in both literacy and numeracy have been exceeded, including Grade 6 Home Language, but performance in Grade 6 and 9 Maths and First Additional Language was below par.
“We welcome these positive developments and thank parents for cooperation which enables us to register progress as government,” said the President.
He said government will also ensure improved teacher supply, training and development.
“The improvement of the qualifications of Grade R practitioners is also ongoing as part of the long term investments in quality education,” said the President.
On the health front, President Zuma said South Africa has been praised by the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS) for its successful response to HIV and Aids.
“Among the achievements, access to anti-retroviral treatment for people living with HIV and Aids was expanded. To date, 3.1 million people are receiving treatment. This has exceeded the 2014/15 target of 3 million.
“The screening for Tuberculosis has been expanded, with 15.2 million people reached, which exceeded the target of 6 million.
“We thank all South Africans for their cooperation which is enabling the country to achieve a turnaround on HIV and Aids and to improve our response to TB,” the President said. - SAnews.gov.za
