President Cyril Ramaphosa will today lead the 8th District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo and interact with communities in Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo.
Themed 'Leave No One Behind', the Imbizo will be held at the Motodi Sports Complex in Ga-Motodi Village in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality under the Sekhukhune District Municipality.
The President will begin with an inspection site visit to the R37 Driekop-Steelpoort Interchange Road Project, followed by a community engagement.
During his visit, President Ramaphosa will engage directly with the communities and stakeholders in Sekhukhune, addressing their concerns and seeking solutions to unblock challenges hindering integrated service delivery.
SAnews went around the Tubatse Local Municipality and spoke to a few residents on service delivery issues in their areas and expectations ahead of the Presidential Imbizo.
Just as in many provinces, basic services such as a shortage of water and electricity, dilapidated roads, poverty and unemployment, are some of the challenges that community members expect the three spheres of government to address today.
Sophie Makine, who works as a street vendor in Burgersfort, said she is looking forward to the services that the Presidential Imbizo brings to the area, especially the Home Affairs truck that will assist community members to apply for Identity Documents for their children.
On service delivery, Makine said she would like to see the three spheres of government address the issue of water, dilapidated roads and unemployment.
"As you can see, I work as a street vendor in order to be able to provide for my children. However, I would like for the President to give our children jobs so that they can be independent as well. When it comes to issues of service delivery, the main challenges are water and bad roads. I am pleading with the President to give us a stable water supply," Makine told SAnews.
Similarly, Delia Shai, a resident of Phiring Village in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality said she wants the President to address the issue of high unemployment rate in rural areas and afford the youth the same opportunities as those in urban areas.
She added that she would also like to see the potholes on the roads repaired.
"As the President is coming here today, I want him to address the high unemployment rate amongst the youth in our rural areas. It's really bad as there are no opportunities for them. The roads are also riddled with potholes so we would like to see government work towards repairing them," she told SAnews.
Meanwhile, Peter Kgagara from Makgemeng village told SAnews that he is concerned about the lack of RDP houses for the poor in his area.
"Our people are not getting RDPs from government; we are pleading with the President to please assist us in this manner. Another issue is the shortage of water; we do not have running taps in our yards, which we desperately need.
"Another major issue is the potholes on the road. They are very dangerous and many have died from them. This really concerns me; can our government please assist us," Kgagara said.
District Development Model (DDM)
The DDM is an integrated planning model for Cooperative Governance which seeks to ensure an integrated, district-based, service delivery approach aimed at fast-tracking service delivery.
The Imbizo is a platform for face-to-face engagement between citizens and senior government leaders that holds the administration to account and allows government to consult and brief communities on development and service delivery in the relevant area.
The engagement is also aimed at fostering collaboration between government, residents, business, community-based organisations and traditional leadership in transforming all districts in South Africa.
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With the participation of leadership from the National, Provincial, and Local spheres of government, the President's visit will facilitate meaningful community engagement, ensuring that government programmes and initiatives are tailored to meet the needs and priorities of residents.
Sekhukhune District has been identified by the Limpopo Provincial Government as a district with immense potential for economic growth, given its abundant mineral resources and water supply.
Leading up to the dialogue with the community at the DDM Presidential Imbizo, government leaders from all three spheres have interacted with key stakeholders and paid visits to service delivery projects within the four local municipalities in the Sekhukhune District Municipality.
To date, President Ramaphosa has visited seven provinces - namely the North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal where he interacted with residents.
