Pretoria - Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has urged Community Development Workers (CDWs) to be the eyes and ears of government.
Speaking at a meeting of about 5 000 public servants comprising of CDWs, Community Liaison Officers, Care Givers as well as Community Heath Workers (CHWs) on Monday, Mokonyane urged them to work in partnership with government.
She said government was committed to reducing service delivery protests by engaging with communities on a regulator basis.
"It is strange that the media picks up the issues of service delivery protests before us. We hear that there are protests through the media in areas such as Mamelodi, Soshanguve, Orange Farm and Sedibeng District instead of hearing from our foot-soldiers first and address the issues before they turn violent," said Mokonyane.
She told public servants that their role is to bridge the communication gap between government and communities.
"Ensure you unblock service delivery challenges in communities. Serving our people is our business and when they (communities) have a problem, it is our responsibility to assist in addressing them.
"You have joined the public service because you want to be part of change, you want to be part of transformation and you are not in the waiting room to get a senior government post," she said.
The CDW programme is under review in order to address the challenges that had been identified since the start of the programme in 2003.
