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LIMPOPO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES
THE 15 YEAR REVIEW REPORT
11 March 2009
Late last year, Limpopo provincial
government appointed a team of external
experts to help assess and evaluate its work
over the past 15 years of freedom and
democracy. The report has been finalized and
adopted by the Executive Council Lekgotla in
February this year. We have invited the
people of Limpopo to this meeting in order
to present this report to them.
The review is based on the growth and
development strategies that have put in
place to guide the provincial government in
carrying out its constitutional mandate
during the period in question. The current
Provincial Growth and Development Strategy
has got as its key objectives the
improvement of quality of lives of the
people, the building of institutional
efficiency and effectiveness, the growth and
development of the economy, the fostering of
socio-economic regional integration and,
above all, a focused attention on the
special programmes like HIV/AIDS, BBBEE,
people with disability, women, youth and
other vulnerable groups in the society.
The report indicates that the provincial
government has truly asserted a sense of
self being amongst the people of Limpopo.
The people’s satisfaction level about their
government and service delivery has
increased from 29% to 58% over the past
seven years.
In terms of the improvement of the quality
of lives of the people, there are a lot of
positive spin-offs in many respects. The
2007 Statistics South Africa survey and
provincial 15 Year Review reports indicate
that 81.2% of the people of Limpopo have
access to electricity, exceeding the
national average. These reports further
indicate that no less than 83.6% of the
households have access to piped water. This
is in addition to 64.5% of households that
have access to sanitation, by far exceeding
23.7% national average. We have just been
declared the best performing province in
terms of provision of housing in the
country. In this regard our provincial
department of Local Government and Housing
won the Govan Mbeki Award and an amount of
R3 million.
As the report notes, a focused investment in
the human capital has been the center-piece
of the provincial government over the period
under review. In 2007 alone, the provincial
government departments spent R85 million
compared to R6.4 million spent by private
sector in bursaries for students in tertiary
learning institutions. The provincial
government has significantly reduced
classroom backlog from about 35 000 in
1994/95 financial year to about 1000 in
20007/08 financial year.
Limpopo continues to distinguish itself as
the best performing province in the area of
Maths and Science. The curriculum content in
Further Education and Training colleges, (FETs),
has also been restructured and developed.
This puts Limpopo in a better position to
produce the required skills for the growth
and development of its economy. Another
noticeable milestone achievement is the
increment in the enrolment of people at ABET
centers. This has undoubtedly contributed to
the decrease in the levels of illiteracy
amongst the adult population of the province
over the last six years.
The report also shows that Limpopo has
registered significant progress in its
efforts to attain policy objective of
universal access to primary health care. To
date, new 114 clinics at the cost of R154
million have been built, whilst 196 clinics
at the cost of R337 million have been
upgraded. It is further reported that the
people of Limpopo, particularly those in the
villages, have benefited from many hospitals
and EMS stations that have and continue to
be revitalized and upgraded. With the
aggressive implementation of the
Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care, Treatment and
Management Programme, especially the
increment of the Anti-Retroviral Treatment
sites to 47 health centers, we seen the
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the province
decreasing from 23.5% to 18.5% over the past
four years. This has consistently put
Limpopo the third lowest amongst all nine
provinces, and also lower than the national
average.
The legislations, policies and systems that
affirm women and people with disabilities as
equal citizens in the land of their birth
are not only functional but operational.
Although there are still challenges in
municipalities, Limpopo provincial
administration boasts 50% of female Heads of
Departments, and 1.5% of people with
disabilities in its employ. Through the
National Youth Service programme, Umsombovu
Youth Fund, Expanded Public Works Programme,
learnerships and Internships, young people
have begun to occupy their rightful position
in the mainstream economy. Some of these
young people have become entrepreneurs in
their own right. They are job creators as
opposed to job seekers.
The South Africa by the South African
Institute of Race Relations declared Limpopo
the most peaceful province in South Africa
in past two consecutive years. This
represents milestone achievement in our
fight against crime.
The economy of Limpopo province continues to
grow at an annual average growth rate of
4.2%. Nevertheless, the report notes, as a
challenge, the insufficient labour
absorption capacity of this growing economy.
Although the unemployment rate has been
reduced from 35.6% to 32.4% over the past
four years, more descent and sustainable
jobs still need to be created. The report
also notes a significant improvement in
terms of income levels of many households
through social security net such as pension,
foster care and child support grants. We
should however move swiftly to develop
provincial economic stimulus packages to
respond to the current global economic
meltdown which has the potential to
undermine and reverse our gains.
The dams that were built, those under
construction and the ones for which we have
completed feasibility studies will bring a
further boom and development of agriculture
and mining industries in the province. These
dams include Nandoni in Vhembe district, De
Hoop and Flag Boshielo in Sekhukhune
district, Nwamitwa in Mopani district and
Mokolo in Waterberg district. These water
sources will definitely come in handy in our
continued efforts to provide portable water
for domestic use by our people. They will,
indeed, add value to our cause of fighting
the scourge of cholera and other
communicable diseases like malaria.
Above all, the capacity of the provincial
government to deliver services has
significantly improved. This is attributed
the gradual shaping up of the internal
control systems such as internal audit,
financial management, contract management,
risk management and integrated planning.
It is however worth noting, as the report
acknowledges, that a lot more still needs to
be done in order to improve the lives of the
majority of people who are still living in
the informal settlements, vast farmlands and
far-flung villages of Limpopo.
Contact:
Mogale Nchabeleng
Limpopo Provincial Government Spokesperson
072 632 8983 / (015) 287 6151
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