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Key
role for local government in public works programme
President Thabo Mbeki, 19 May 2004
The national Expanded Public Works Programme got off the ground
on 18 May 2004 at Sekhunyani Village, Giyani, where it was formally
launched by President Thabo Mbeki.
Although this is a national programme, it will largely be implemented
by the provinces and municipalities. The President emphasised
that ’its success therefore depends on a high level of cooperative
governance’ and hard work from the premiers, MECs and Members
of the Provincial Parliament, Mayors, Councillors and public servants
from both the provinces and local municipalities.
’We would like to say to all these people who are going
to be at the centre of the implementation of this programme that
we will not accept any failures. We want to say to everybody,
including those who will be coming from the private sector that
we will deal harshly with any form of corruption that may surface
as we implement this programme.
‘All of us should agree that we will not see any amount
of wastage of public funds either because there is negligence
or maladministration,’ he said.
He also noted that the implementation of this programme must be
within the given time frames and that the quality of work must
be of a high standard.
Several years ago, the Limpopo provincial government took the
initiative to implement a labour intensive provincial roads programme
called Gundo Lashu (which is isiVhenda for ‘Our Victory’).
Under the EPWP, the provincial government has now teamed up with
all the municipalities in the province to expand the programme
to the municipal infrastructure sector.
The President said the national EPWP was launched at Sekhunyani
Village because ‘you have successfully established a programme,
which exemplifies this kind of cooperative governance’.
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Previous
news reports on KSP:
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