President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday guide government’s interaction – in the form of a District Development Model Presidential Imbizo – with communities and stakeholders in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality in the Free State.
The Presidential Imbizo will catch spot at the Kopano Indoor Sports Centre in Thabong, Welkom, within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality.
This will be the 11th Presidential Imbizo led by President Ramaphosa since March 2022.
The Matjhabeng gathering marks a return visit to the province by the President following a Presidential Imbizo in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in April 2022.
During the 2022 engagement, 42 community members, representing the seven regions of the Mangaung Metro, voiced their concerns to the President.
The towns represented in this discussion included Van Stadensrus, Soutpan, Dewetsdorp, Wepener, Thaba Nchu, Botshabelo and Bloemfontein.
“Under the theme ‘Leave No One Behind’, this week’s visit will allow the President and other leaders in government to assess progress made [and] to be briefed on challenges associated with the improvement of service delivery since the President’s previous engagement with communities,” the Presidency said in a statement.
The Matjhabeng municipal economy is mainly anchored on the mining of gold and uranium and it is the hub of the Free State Goldfields.
The Lejweleputsawa District Municipality consists of five local municipalities, which accounts for a third of the province which is made up of the local municipalities of Matjhabeng, Masilonyane, Nala, Tswelopele and Tokologo.
Ahead of this week’s Imbizo, national, provincial and local government as well as state entities believe embarked on pre-Imbizo build-up programmes across the province.
These activities are undertaken to stimulate communities’ participation in the Imbizo and to assist residents with services they may require or other challenges they wish to report.
“Thus, this Imbizo will also seize stock of the progress made since the last Presidential Imbizo in the province.
“As an interactive platform, the DDM Presidential Imbizo allows communities to engage and interact face-to-face with the President, Ministers and the provincial and local leadership face-to-face.
“The District Development Model enhances integrated and sustainable service delivery through the maximisation of intergovernmental planning, budgeting and implementation towards creating inclusive economic opportunities for locals,” the Presidency said.
The DDM also aims to intensify the delivery of services, promote social cohesion and advance the developmental state agenda, in line with the National Development Position, and Growth and Development Strategies of the province.
The participation of leadership from the national, provincial and local levels is directed at maintaining accountability by public office bearers, the administration and promoting collaboration. – SAnews.gov.za
Lil Rebel Ma
Uzbekistan: You have two cows. They are probably less bored than you.
Bleachers
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?