Govt engages with communities to foster active citizenship

Recently, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi conducted a similar seminar in the Waterberg district in Limpopo province. These form part of 30 seminars that will take place across the country over the coming months.

The government has launched these engagements with communities around South Africa in order to increase awareness of its programmes and foster a culture of active citizenship, said Michael Currin of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). "The sessions are intended to help citizens understand the decisions that are taken in government and how it will benefit their lives."

During the Amajuba seminar, attendees took full advantage of the opportunity to raise issues, demand answers and even offer solutions to common problems. "...having the minister come all the way to Utrecht to talk to us showed me that government really cares about us, even though we live in a rural area," Elizabeth Malinga, a beneficiary of a land claim, told SAinfo, while Ian de Jager, a farmer in the area, felt that the seminar was useful in making Minister Nkwinti aware of issues pertaining to the area.

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