Pretoria - Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Dina Pule, visited the Eastern Cape yesterday as part of her provincial visits to communicate the role of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Department in the Presidency.
Pule met with the Executive Council of the Eastern Cape and paid an unannounced visit to Dibashe Day Care Centre in Mdantsane Township, NU10.
In the third leg of the visits she undertook in March, the Deputy Minister communicated the reporting process to be followed and spoke about the new tool kit to be used for monitoring purposes.
During a media briefing held following the Executive Council meeting, she was asked to explain what her office does with the reports received from communities through the Presidential Hotline.
The Deputy Minister said "We attend to the reports by ensuring that they reach the relevant departments and municipalities. We further visit the communities affected, depending on the nature of the report."
At the July 2010 Cabinet Lekgotla, President Jacob Zuma indicated that he expected the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) to monitor the performance of individual departments and municipalities.
The visit to the Dibashe Day Care Centre was prompted by a letter she received from the owner, Phumla Goje, who had complained that funding for the centre had been reduced by the Department of Social Development, thus affecting the proper running of the centre.
During a discussion it transpired that Goje had initially applied for funding for 60 children and had unlawfully increased the number to 176 in violation of the regulations set by the Department of Social Development.
The Deputy Minister recommended that Social Development arrange a meeting with Goje and the parents to assist them to structure the budget to cover expenses of the centre within the available funds. She also emphasized the importance of having parents playing a constructive role and contribute towards the upkeep of the centre.
Concluding her visit, Pule said she was "satisfied to have come and listened even though we cannot offer the help required as there are regulations in place governing the funding of service centres such as this".
She said the visit was a clear indication that government takes public complaints serious and is willing to listen to the people.
The Deputy Minister also visited 17 of Manyano Thembelihle in Mdantsane where community members showed their appreciation for the housing delivery project. They also indicated that they understood that there is an ongoing roll-out plan of service delivery.
