Looking back at NCOP meetings

OUDTSHOORN NEWS - The week long "Taking Parliament to the People" programme was just what the Eden communities needed to liaise with all spheres of government regarding service delivery issues on a single platform.

This according to a statement received from Marillia Veldkornet, of the Eden District Municipality. The event which took place from 13 to 17 April at the Brigdton Sport Grounds in Oudts-hoorn was attended by thousands of people of the area who used the opportunity to raise issues with the relevant ministers and representatives of the various Government departments.

This platform was created by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), in collaboration with the Eden District Municipality and local municipalities in the district. Its aim was to fulfil Government's role by creating opportunity for public participation to emerge in an active, coherent and transparent manner –ultimately giving effect to proper service delivery.

In his welcoming address on the first day of the events, Eden's Executive Mayor, Wessie van der Westhuizen explained the strong and diverse cha-racteristics of the Eden District municipal area.

Many community members raised issues and reported complaints; hence, many achievements were also highlighted by Government representatives at the event. The following topics were discussed: services provided by local municipalities, human settlements, water and sanitation, basic- and higher education, health, social development and home affairs, as well as agricultural, labour and land reform. Economic development and youth, police services and justice, as well as energy were also discussed.

Each panel was well-prepared to respond to the complaints and some of them went as far as to visit certain organisations and persons which were implicated in the reported cases. These were done to determine whether the situations indeed reflect the content of the complaints that were reported.

The panel consisted of national ministers, national deputy ministers, provincial ministers, the Eden executive mayor, councillors and senior management.

On the last day of the programme, the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his plenary said: "This is democracy at work. This is what we envisaged when we crafted the Constitution."

In closing, Ramaphosa said: "I hope that in a year from now, as a result of this week's activities, we will be able to see improvement in the lives of the people we have visited. We are here not just to meet and greet, but to achieve better communities and a better country."

Executive Mayor, Van der Westhuizen, extends a word of appreciation to all national, provincial and local representatives who organised and participated in the week's activities and most especially all community members who, by means of their active participation, contributed towards the successful roll-out of the program.

All complaints are now in the hands of government to resolve all issues in a sustainable manner by means of constructive investigations which now need to follow.

Click below for previous articles: