Govt Imbizo week begins

Monday, October 7, 2013

Pretoria – Government says it will engage the public in its second Imbizo Focus Week.

Today marked the beginning of the national Imbizo Focus Week, which provides a platform for national, provincial and local government executives to engage with the public, and also for citizens to interact face-to-face with them. 

“The izimbizo will also celebrate successes and address the challenges in the implementation of government programmes,” Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said in a statement.  

The focus week, which is taking place until 13 October, will be held under the theme, ‘South Africa is much of a better place than it was in 1994’.

Government representatives will take part in a host of activities that include door-to-door household profiling, walkabout or project visits, stakeholder dialogues and community engagements.

Today, the week will start with an Imbizo by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana, in Balfour, Mpumalanga, to discuss the opening of a new FET college.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Police will meet with the community in Kwa Maphumulo, KwaZulu-Natal and on Saturday, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will be in Victor Khanyile, Mpumalanga.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO): Content Processing and Dissemination at GCIS, Harold Maloka, said Izimbizo have served as preeminent communication platforms, allowing political principals “an opportunity to be at the coalface of service delivery while interacting with communities”.

Government expects that these Izimbizo will mobilise all role players and forge partnerships in the build-up towards celebrating the 20 Years of Freedom and Democracy.

“It is our collective responsibility to actively participate in building our country towards reaching its Vision 2030 as set out in the National Development Plan (NDP),” said Maloka. – SAnews.gov.za