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Lurnay Tshabalala-Mavuso | Senior Reporter | Politics | 27 August 2024
ON FRIDAY the 23rd of August 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa and some of his cabinet members visited Tsakane Stadium in Ekurhuleni, the east of Johannesburg to host the very first Presidential Imbizo after the 2024 National Government Elections.
This imbizo is said to be the key connection between the president and the citizens, as ministers of respective ministries are also required to be present so that they can account for some of the concerns that citizens have about issues that are relational to their ministries.
In his welcoming, Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza mentioned that he is aware of the issues within the City of Ekurhuleni like unemployment, substance abuse, crime, etc. He also acknowledged and paid respects to the late iconic actress Mama Connie Chiume as she was a resident of Ekurhuleni. Mayor Xhakaza also made mention of an approved budget of 67.3 billion which is for servicing townships and informal settlements within the City of Ekurhuleni. He further continued to welcome the president, the ministers and everyone who was present at the gathering.
"Imbizo call by the President has respect for money and it is not a waste of money at all. It is about raising concerns and serving the community." , says Velenkosini Hlabisa who is the Minister of Cooperative Governance Traditional Affairs. Hlabisa who was a second speaker after the welcoming done by Mayor Xhakaza. While on the other hand the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi acknowledged the unemployed and the people in need of water, housing, people experiencing crime and poor service delivery. He spoke of Pholosong Hospital situated in Tsakane and made mention of the feat that people have of utilizing the hospital because it is known for death than healing. He made mention that the leadership has been changed which is a decision the Gauteng council made in betterment of the hospital and the community. He further mentioned that citizens will receive free benefits without being asked who they are and added that they will receive free wifi making emphasis that the future is about data.
Lesufi made emphasis on the issue of unemployment and gave hope to the citizens by making mention of the building of a closeby airport which will be in Springs. The airport is said to provide 75 000 permanent jobs with its division, the Cargo Terminal providing 15 000 jobs. On the alleviation of crime, Lesufi spoke of 600 surveillance cameras to be put all over the Gauteng province to fight crime in the province.
After Lesufi's address, residents of Ekurhuleni were given a chance to speak to their president about their grievances and these were among the grievances : Regulation of local business, Nyaope, Housing, Unemployment, Corruption within the finances of the City of Ekurhuleni, Recognition of Disabled citizens by the government, Call for the government to intervene on the matter of age restrictions on job opportunities and bursaries, Request for ambulances to go back under the management of the City of Ekurhuleni, Request for online applications for schools to be cancelled and the request for local rehabilitation centres because the ones in place have been closed, to mention a few.
Meanwhile Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa spoke on load-reduction which is in currently in place as it it caused by households who are using illegal electricity connections popularly known as Izinyoka-nyoka. Ramokgopa assured citizens that load-shedding is a thing of the past now and that the department of electricity has been working tirelessly to ensure that South Africans have lights at all times and that businesses continue with their daily operations without any disturbances. Ramokgopa made mention of Tsakane Extension 16 and said that 16 new transformers have been delivered, and upon the activation of these transformers it is indeed true that households are to take out R500, however households that cannot afford to pay the R500's due to unemployment will be exempted by the government from making the contribution. He further added that ten million houses qualify for free basic electricity and made mention that pensioners, unemployed persons and grant recipients will receive free basic electricity from the government.
"Imbizo is about the government listening. Listening to the grievances,views and inputs of the community. Imbizo is not a waste of time, it is very vulnerable for us as government to host izimbizo so that we can interact with our people. There is nothing more important like a government hosting such an event to interact with its people.", says President Ramaphosa in his closing remarks. Ramaphosa encouraged the people of Ekurhuleni to remain strong and to also know that Ekurhuleni is a major transportation hub and the biggest manufacturing hub. He also made mention that the Ekurhuleni metro is a major economic player because it is home to many factories and businesses that contribute largely to the economy of the country. It is also been raised that a University has not been built in Ekurhuleni and plans to build that university are being made, together with building the Ekurhuleni Airport, which the Gauteng Premier spoke about which will alleviate the unemployment challenge. The focus is to grow our economy, create more jobs and at that the government is at work very hard to make that a reality.
This has been said by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his closing remarks after calling ministers to speak on some of the issues raised by residents and also give inputs and suggestions on how to curb the challenges faced by residents and how to work together with the communities for the betterment of their lives.
I can add on and say that this Imbizo was meant to be had because it provided better clarity particularly with the purpose of the hosting of Presidential Izimbizos, and better clarity on what is going on in the work that is being done in the respective ministries.
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