By REGINALD KANYANE
The Taung Irrigation Scheme will be given a facelift. This emerged at the Provincial EXCO Lekgotlha in Rustenburg on Thursday last week that was addressed by the North West Premier, Bushy Maape.
Maape said, his government has prioritised infrastructure development. He said the primary objective of Lekgotlha was to assess the performance of the provincial government departments, State Owned Entities – SOEs as well as municipalities towards the realization of priorities of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-24.
“The government is broadly on track with the implementation of the MSTF priorities. There is still room for improvement in enhancing government planning processes to ensure the delivery of all the commitments made.
“As part of promoting good governance and ethical conduct, the Exco Planning Lekgotlha resolved to establish ethics committees in various departments and government institutions,” said Maape.
He said in addition, Exco Lekgotlha has resolved to institute a vetting process for all supply chain personnel in all government departments. Maape further said they need to put emphasis on good governance by putting various strategies in place to fight corruption and acts of malfeasance gripping the government.
“Moreover, the Exco Planning Lekgotla took place as part of a broader strategy by the government to find solutions to a number of challenges confronting the province.
“This includes a declining economy, deteriorating infrastructure as well as high levels of unemployment and poverty. So, as part of ongoing efforts to resuscitate the economy, several mega projects have been identified by the provincial government,” said Maape.
He added that, the identified projects include amongst others, investing and improving provincial roads and rail infrastructure. Maape said the government also plans to invest and refurbish the George Dick Montshioa Airport through an aero-tropolis.
“The government is also looking at expediting developments around the Smart City in Madibeng Local Municipality. Other projects to be rolled out include strengthening the Special Economic Zone in Bojanala-Platinum District Municipality, as well as, the Fresh produce market in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality.
“The province is on course in carrying out its intended objectives. Furthermore, the Lekgotlha resolved to promote the creation of socio-economic opportunities for women and people with disabilities by removing all the barriers that impede the empowerment of these designated groups,” said Maape.
He said the municipalities were also implored to have units that pay attention to the needs of women and people with disabilities. According to Maape, internship and learnership programs will be massified and attention will be given to women, youth, and people with disabilities.
“The planning of all the identified projects will start in earnest to ensure that the implementation of all identified projects begins early in the 2023/24 financial year,” he concluded.
The Guardian 