Rustenburg-The North West Provincial Planning Commission in the Office of the Premier will be hosting a one-day Research and Policy Round Table with stakeholders on key priority areas impacting on implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) in the Province.

The aim of the round table, which is to be held in Rustenburg on Monday next week, is to gather inputs to inform strategies for the implementation of the NDP priority areas in the North West.

Premier Thandi Modise, who is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the event, said she is confident that the range of high profile speakers invited will be able to offer perceptive insights that will help the province to address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

“We are a province that is supposed to have low levels of unemployment given the mineral resources we are endowed with. Beneficiation, sustainable community development, enterprise and skills development, local procurement, social investment initiatives and greater involvement of communities in the determination of Social Labour Plans are but some of the opportunities that we need to exploit fully because though there are currently challenges in the mining sector, we need to reposition ourselves for an upswing that will put us on a higher development trajectory,” Modise said ahead of the round table discussion.  

Speakers on the programme will among others include Joel Netshitenzhe from the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), who will discuss the future of the platinum industry and the challenges of growth and development, Prof Ojakoruti of the North West University who will make a presentation on the impact of mining on host communities, Prof Julian May from the University of the Western Cape who will preset the statistical overview of poverty, among others. 

The event is scheduled to be held as follows:
Venue : Kedar Country Lodge, Rustenburg
Date : Monday 31 March 2014
Time : 8H00
-TDN
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