NW to expand Early Childhood Development programme to rural communities

The North West Province will be expanding access to Early Child Development(ECD) 

 Centres to children in rural communities in order to reach 29,6 % of children between 0-4 years who do not have no access to the ECD 

 programmes.

This pronouncement on the extension of the primary service to improve quality of EDC Centres was made by Premier Thandi Modise in her State of the Province Address delivered in the provincial legislature on Friday.

Premier Modise reported that only 26,4 percent of the children who are supposed to be at ECD Centres have access to the programme.

To address this challenge, Modise said that the partnership that the Department of Education had established with the National Development Agency will be strengthened with the involvement of the Department of Social Development and Ilifa Labantwana (a national ECD programme) to expand ECD centres to rural areas.

Nutrition programmes are also used as a value-added measure for growth and wellness of children. 

There have been significant improvements in the Tlokwe Local Municipality, in the North West, in the three months since a DA mayor was appointed there, party leader Helen Zille said on Saturday.

“While the Democratic Alliance may continue to govern in Tlokwe for only a few days more, we can be proud that we have made major strides in making this a more delivery-focused municipality,” Zille said in a statement.

Tlokwe includes the towns of Klerksdorp, Orkney and Haartebeesfontein.

Divisions between Tlokwe African National Congress councillors resulted in a motion of no confidence being passed in mayor Maphetle Maphetle in November 2012, and the DA’s Annette Combrink replacing him.

Zille claimed that on Tuesday, under the instruction of President Jacob Zuma and ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, the ANC would try to regain control of the municipality “without following the proper processes”.

On Saturday Zille visited Ikangeng, in the municipality, to see the progress made during Combrink’s tenure.

“Under the ANC, residents became used to poor or non-existent service delivery,” she said.

This included 100 housing units, which were built in August last year but had not been connected to water or sewerage networks. The buildings were vandalised as they had not been handed over to the intended beneficiaries, she said.

Zille said the DA was connecting the units to the infrastructure and they would soon be handed over.

Under the ANC certain parts of Ikangeng became illegal dumping sites, but she said the DA embarked on a clean up operation in these areas.

“Residents now live in a cleaner, safer environment – that is the DA difference.”

Zille said other initiatives undertaken by the party in Tlokwe included repairs to fire fighting vehicles and the training of 30 entrepreneurs in small business management.

The DA also asked the auditor general to probe whether the cost of a mayoral car, ordered by Maphetle, could be recovered.

Zille said the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, with customised rosewood interior, cost R736,000 in public funds.

She said the party was also addressing 63 financial irregularities incurred by the ANC.

“Under the ANC, R143 million was irregularly spent last year alone, and a further R152 million was spent without proper authorisation.

“This type of mismanagement does not happen where the DA governs, and it would never occur in a DA-governed Tlokwe,” Zille said. – Sapa