Government, working with communities and social partners countrywide, is set to host the Annual Thusong Service Centre Week from 18 - 22 September 2023.
This year’s Thusong Service Centre Week will be held under the theme, “Building a Professional Public Service for Quality Service Delivery".
The Thusong Service Centre Week, which forms part of the Integrated Public Service Month, aims at promoting the value of Thusong Service Centres which continue to offer communities access to services and information about opportunities.
The Thusong Service Centre Programme was initiated in 1999 to widen the reach of government services in an integrated manner.
The Annual Thusong Service Centre Week was piloted in September 2014. The campaign, which is in its ninth year, seeks to demonstrate and share how these centres continue to better the lives of communities.
During this year’s campaign, government will consult communities on how the centres can be improved although government and various partners are making solid advances in tackling some of the operational challenges centres have faced.
The activities of the Thusong Service Week will profile the work of public servants particularly front line officials based at Thusong Service Centres and their contribution to the envisioned efficient Public Service, which is putting people first.
The opening event will be held on the 18 September 2023 in the Western Cape Province, Breed Valley Local Municipality at Unobuntu Thusong Service Centre, through a food security dialogue with a focus on the promotion of backyard gardens, sustainability and integration into the local economy.
The dialogue will be led by the University of the Western Cape through their study conducted within the Municipality on food security.
The Unobuntu Thusong Service Centre already benefits communities through a Food Security and Poverty alleviation programme.
Zwelethemba community has more than 60% of the population living below the breadline. As part of its efforts towards alleviating poverty, the centre forged partnerships with community groups, wherein a community soup kitchen was established. The program provides disadvantaged families with nutritious meals daily.
During this year’s Thusong Service Centre week, mobile outreach activities have been planned to provide access to services and information closer to citizens.
Partnerships have been forged with different organizations and the private sector to better communicate and share available opportunities to the citizens.
After that, out of the 88 activities planned, 26 will focus on cleaning and food security campaigns with an emphasis on backyard gardens.
“The aim is to encourage citizen’s participation in cleaning our communities as part of persevering the environment and establishing of backyard gardens as another way of combating poverty in communities,” Government said in a statement.
The closing event will take place on 22 September 2023, in the Northern Cape Province at Loeriesfontein Hub, to bring services and information closer to the community of Loeriesfontein to spare them the 100Kms they have to travel to Calvinia to access Government services.
The closing event will further promote food security, with a bias to the profiling of food gardens at the centres as well as planting of trees.
“During this week we celebrate Public Servants who are at the forefront of providing services to communities. We call on communities to take charge of cleaning and greening the environment,” said GCIS Acting Director-General, Nomonde Mnukwa.
“We endorse private partnership engagements for the implementation of projects and programs to benefit communities, while we also encourage communities to use Thusong Service Centres to take charge of producing safe and nutritious food, promoting economic stability, long-term health and empowerment in communities,“ Mnukwa said.
Thusong Service Centres have made it easier for citizens to access ID documents, birth and marriage certificates, computer training, health services and UIF applications.
All citizens are invited to visit www.gcis.gov.za to locate the centre closest to them.
South Africans are encouraged to visit their nearest Thusong Service Centre to explore the array of services offered at their local centres.
Thusong Service Centres are one-stop service points which bring government information and services closer to people. All activities that will be taking place during the week can be accessed on www.gov.za – SAnews.gov.za
