Govt addresses plight of farm workers

(Image: GCIS)

Motlanthe was speaking in Douglas in the Siyancuma Municipality, Northern Cape, where he interacted with the local community, with a special focus on the youth.

Motlanthe visited the area to monitor progress made in the War on Poverty campaign and listened to community members' concerns, which included challenges to accessing government services.

Young people were mostly concerned about the levels of unemployment and lack of service delivery and infrastructure in their communities, such as water, roads, schools and clinics.

All to benefit?

In his response, Motlanthe assured the residents that government's massive infrastructure development would benefit all South Africans, and that government was urgently attending to the problems of housing, education and access to basic services.

"Government has identified all the places that needed development and all are going benefit from that."

He urged young people to choose careers that would enable them to find employment and benefit from the infrastructure development plan. This, according to Motlanthe, would also help to address poverty and unemployment.

He called on parents to play an active role in ensuring that their children attend school and to monitor their school work.

Vulnerable to abuse

Also present during the community interaction was Northern Cape Acting Premier Grizelda Cjiekella, who said the provincial government would continue to assist child-headed families to access government services.

"These young people need urgent attention as they are more vulnerable to abuse."

Cjiekella said the provincial government had made strides in addressing poverty.

Siyacuma Mayor Lorraine Oliphant echoed the acting premier's sentiments, and called for broader partnerships with the municipality and other social agents to address the challenges faced by the youth.

The War on Poverty campaign encourages intergovernmental co-operation and co-ordination in service delivery to eradicate poverty.

Motlanthe was accompanied by Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane; Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti; Deputy Minister in the Presidency Obed Bapela; Deputy Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu and the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant.