Picture: (North West Provincial Legislature Chair of Chairs, Itumeleng Mosala)

BY KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

North West Provincial Legislature held a Stakeholders’ Dialogue in Vryburg on Wednesday. NWPL chair of chairs, Itumeleng Mosala said the aim of the event was to unleash the economic spin-offs within Dr Ruth Mompati District in the context of Villages, Townships and Small Dorpies (VTSD) areas.

“The initiative created a platform for robust debate on growing the local economy of the district through existing resources. We also wanted the communities to identify the unique intervention mechanisms necessary for unleashing the economic spin-offs. This stakeholder engagement is the important tool as the legislature will get expertise from various fields.

“Today, we talked about the enhancement spin-offs from the economic point of view in relations to VTSD initiative. This will assist us to know what our people are faced with and it was very interesting as most of those who attended were young people. This also proves that there are serious challenges facing our young people,” Mosala said.

He further said Dr Ruth Mompati District is the most depressed district in the North West. Mosala added that most people are affected by unemployment, inequality and poverty.

“This demonstrates that our young people are more interested in understanding and getting involved in some of economic activities. We have noted their inputs and some range from small scale mining where there is continuous lamentation from them. In Bloemhof area, there is a small mining taking place which is controlled by white people and the local community does not benefit from the initiative.

“The community requested that something must be done by both the local municipality and provincial government. There is also the Bloemhof Dam where there is an annual international competition taking place there. However, the community is excluded once more and it is a serious concern,” he said.

Mosala said that local artists alleged that they were not benefiting from provincial events. He further said local artists need to be included in the procurement processes.

“We believe that 70% of procurement needs to be re-directed to VTSD areas as pronounced by the Premier Supra Mahumapelo,” Mosala said.

One of the young people, Mpho Seane from Amalia said: “VTSD initiative does not reach us in Mamusa area. Our government also fails to monitor projects or cooperatives handed over to the youth. This lead to many projects collapsing because there is no training, monitoring and workshops provided to sustain them.

“We have also realised that nepotism is the order of the day because only few people benefit from government while we are left out in the dark. There are so many tourism attraction sites in Dr Ruth Mompati district, however, we have not seen tourism department in our shores except during Setsokotsane programme.”

North West Provincial Chairperson for the Khoisan community, William Langeveldt said they have been excluded from the mainstream economy. Langeveldt urged municipalities and provincial government to support them.

“We have an outreach programme in Vryburg where we transfer skill to younger generation. As Khoisan people, we felt excluded from the constitution and budget for the past 23 years. We have artisans and skilful older persons who transfer their skills to younger generation. We also bring in grandmothers and young girls together to restore our culture. We have older persons Forum in Dr Ruth Mompati district. We cannot resolve social problems with the same mission that created them,” he said.

Tourism department Chief Director in Planning, Policy and Research, Ishmael Kgokong said: “Local Economic Development (LED) in rural communities is imperative. We need to ensure that we build on the competitiveness of what we have in the district. We also have to be realistic and we do not have adequate infrastructure. Good policies will also assist the district to be environmental responsible, social just and to have services that will allow economic development.

“Communities must also commit to the same processes with government and participate fully in our programmes. All stakeholders must be prepared to invest in LED programme to bring stability. Balance economic strategies are needed to ensure the economic developments taking place and this will improve service delivery,” Kgokong said.

He said transparency is one of challenges that affect many programmes. Kgokong said society-state relation is important and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) needs to be implemented and forge relationship with communities.

“There are specific areas that need to be institutionalised. Community based and community-led economic development needs to be supported to avoid malicious compliance that affects most municipalities. The economy of Dr Ruth Mompati district is mostly relied on agriculture, culture and tourism. So, changing the landscape of our economy will need full commitments from all stakeholders.

“There is no value chain economy in the district because of non-existing economic activities. We have also realised that government officials are doing business with government and that bring lack of service delivery. We need to institutionalise knowledge management and let community decisions to influence the LED programmes,” he said.

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By REGINALD KANYANE ALL Stakeholders gathered at Dryharts playground in Dryharts village, in Taung on Tuesday to commemorate 16 Days of Activism of No Violence against Women and Children. The event was organised by Dr Ruth Mompati District Municipality. Community members welcomed the initiative in their area and said this will strengthen their working relationship with various stakeholders. Ruth Tlatsweng (55) said they live in fear after recent crimes taking place in their area. Tlatsweng said they do not feel safe anymore as criminals break into their homes. “Most elderly persons are raped and killed in their homes. However, the initiative has given us hope. Our government is doing its best to beef up security in our homes and it is up to us to play pivotal role in achieving that,” she said. Nthabiseng Sebabi (31) said many young people are engaged in drug and alcohol abuse. Sebabi further said this caused by high rate of unemployment. “Our youth have lost hope and indulge into drug and alcohol abuse. However, there are many programmes from the provincial government through Youth Enterprise Services (YES) structure that they can be part of. The North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo encouraged the youth to form cooperatives and stop being consumers. “I do not believe that all crimes are caused by unemployment. We tend to rely heavily on government and expect hand-outs. Now is the time that we stand for what we believe in and become our own employers. Dryharts village is too small for all these shenanigans taking place here,” Sebabi said. According to North West SAPS statistics, more rapes across Taung are experienced at Dryharts village. Warrant Officer, Onkabetse Monnamme from Pudumong Family Violence Child Protection & Sexual Offence unit urged community members especially the youth to be cautious and responsible. “It is so heart-breaking to see a small village like Dryharts experiencing this kind of behaviour. More people are indulging in alcohol and drug abuse especially the youth. More rapes are experienced in the process. Our people drink in various taverns such as Motimalenyora in Pudumong and walk to their homes in the early hours of the mornings. “Most affected section is Tlhogoyapudi where the area is informal settlement. Most rapes are taking place at the railway lines. People tend to turn the railway lines into beds because of the darkness marred the surrounding. In most cases, there are no witnesses in these cases and this create challenges for police to do investigations,” Monnamme said. He further said victims and eyewitnesses sometimes deliberately hold back evidence and fail to cooperate. Monnamme added that people should take care of themselves and drink responsibly. “In most cases, those who are raped are between the age of 12- 25. Also 3 out of 10 elders between the age of 55-89 are victims of rape. Most girls who are victims of rape did not wear panties. They preferred free-styling which is a fashionable method among the youth. However, this brings challenges during forensic investigations. “We also urge our people to be wary when falling in love or being married to foreign nationals. According to our investigations, most South Africans are used by these foreign nationals to gain South African citizenship through marriage. SAPS will also engage with tavern owners to ensure they follow correct procedure and close on time,” he said. Monnamme urged school children to be disciplined at all times and enjoy their school holidays responsibly. Social Development was also part of the initiative. Bridgette Mooki from Social Welfare structure said: “We urge all women to report any form of domestic violence. We have realised that many women are depressed because they do not speak out. Many children are also abused and this affects them mentally. The social development department has various programmes to address abuse against women and children. “We also have men and boys strategy programme where men groom boys to become role models. They teach them values and morals that will assist them in the future. The department has many shelters to accommodate those who are abused. We have centres across each municipality to ensure that victims receive assistance.” Mooki further said Taung is mostly affected by women and children abuse. She added that 70% of referrals at Khuselela Centre are from Taung. Dr Ruth Mompati District Municipality mayor, Boitumelo Mahlangu said: “We need to come up with new strategic measures to address the pandemic. This is a societal issue and we cannot win it alone. Our people need to be self-empowered and capacitated to avoid being dependable. This should be a daily dialogue where we engage each other. “These challenges affect basic service delivery and we urge men to take the stand. They need to talk to those who are perpetrators to refrain from their criminal behaviour. Government must also strengthen the laws against perpetrators and women should also break the silence.” taungdailynews@gmail.com