Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabathe says the provincial government is working hard to improve service delivery.
Delivering the State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Lebowakgomo on Friday, Premier Mathabathe said all their efforts are to ensure that the entire provincial population enjoys access to opportunities and basic services such as potable drinking water, decent sanitation, houses and electricity.
“Our work in this regard includes addressing the challenges of financial management, infrastructure delivery, institutional capacity, public participation and good governance in all our municipalities.
“Our government is continuing with the programme to provide decent housing for the needy and the poor,” he said.
According to the Premier, their focus will be on improving capacity so more houses can be built.
“We can no longer afford to return allocated budget while our people continue to be homeless. In this regard, I have directed the MEC of [Human Settlements] to develop and implement a turnaround plan to ensure that our capacity to deliver even more houses is enhanced,” Premier Mathabathe said.
Water consumption
Turning to the prevailing drought in many parts of the country, Premier Mathabathe said the culture of reckless consumption and wastage of water must come to an end.
“The fact of the matter is that ours is a water scarce country. If we, as Limpopo, do not review our water consumption patterns, we will wake up tomorrow to find ourselves without water,” the Premier said.
Currently, a number of dams in the province are below the 60% mark. These include Luphephe, Nzhelele, Middle-Letaba, Nsami, Tzaneen, Modjadji, Glen Alphine and Flag Boshielo dam.
Limpopo communities to get libraries
The Premier announced plans to build more libraries for local communities.
“It is said that a reading nation is a winning nation. It is for this reason that we have channelled our efforts and resources towards providing our communities with access to library services,” he said.
During the year under review, the Limpopo government provided the communities of Eldorado, Rooiberg and Ramokgopa with brand new libraries.
“We are currently in the process of finalising the construction of libraries for Phokwane, Maphalle, Zamani and Mahlabathini villages,” the Premier said.
Premier Mathabathe said over 90% of libraries are well equipped with ICT infrastructure to enhance the reading and learning experience. In the next financial year, we plan to commence with the construction of new libraries in Mavalani, Seleteng, Runnymede and Dumela villages.
“We will also equip seven more libraries with ICT connection,” the Premier said. – SAnews.gov.za
