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3 March 2007

Programme director,
Kgoshi Modjadji,
Executive Mayor of Mopani District Municipality Councillor Mokgobi,
Mayor of Greater Letaba Municipality Councillor Matlou,
Magoshi a rena le Mantona ka moka,
MPs, MPLs, and Councillors,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

* The Constitution of our country bestows upon us the responsibility to discharge high quality services to all citizens of South Africa irrespective of their gender, race, language, creed or geographic location. This means that our government has got a legal duty to extend public services to all citizens in every community, village or township that exists in whatever corner of our province and the country as a whole.

* In response to this need, the MPCC or Thusong Service Centres (TSCs) programme (as is now known) was initiated in 1999 with a vision to extend government services to poor and rural communities as part of our social and economic transformation endeavours. The idea behind this programme was to make quality services available in accordance with Batho Pele principles. Its intended objective is to address historical factors limiting citizen's ability to access government information and services, particularly in deprived and outlying areas.

* TSCs are therefore primary vehicles to help government convey its key messages and services to communities. They are one-stop centres or hubs where local, provincial and national government services are made available to the communities. One major advantage for the establishment of these centres is that communities living near them and in surrounding areas are responsible for identifying required services based on their needs.

Our overall target as government is to achieve at least one Thusong Service Centre per Local Municipality by the year 2014. So far the province has 14 functional MPCCs across our districts. The opening of Mokwakwaila Thusong Services Centre today now brings the total of all centres in the province to 15. On Saturday next week we shall be opening yet another centre at Ga-Malebogo in the Capricorn District to add the number of TSCs to 16. Given the pace at which we are moving, we are definitely sure that by 2014 we would have succeeded in establishing one Thusong Service Centre per local Municipality as directed by the President. We are moving at a faster pace because we understand the importance of integration and better co-ordination amongst government departments in order to improve service delivery and to avoid duplication and wastage of effort.

* Collectively all our TSCs provide more than 700 essential services ranging from application and collection of birth certificates and Identity Documents, marriages, business advice services, HIV and AIDS Counselling, South African Police Service (SAPS) services and many other services.

* Services that are currently being rendered in Mokwakwaila TSC are those from Home Affairs, Labour, Social security, Eskom, Social work services, Economic Development Environment and Tourism, SAPS, Agriculture and the municipality. This means that communities can be able to obtain information regarding their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Local Economic Development (LED) plans from this centre. Business people can also be able to assess tender documents and business advice from this service point. We hope that other departments will follow suit and bring their services to this TSC, in order to make their services more accessible by communities. There is no doubt that the establishment of this TSC will have significant economic opportunities for Mokwakwaila residents and those from surrounding communities as a result of enormous benefits that lie in this hub.

* We are informed that the centre is currently serving 45 villages under Greater Letaba Municipality. In addition to this number, there are two villages under Greater Giyani Municipality and 15 other villages falling under Tzaneen Municipality which bring the total number of villages accessing services at this centre to 62.

* What this means is that approximately 226 800 members of the community will be able to get services which they were unable to obtain in the past; and be able to participate in activities that will allow for two-way communication between government and the people.

Programme director,

* This establishment must help us cut the amount of money and time needed for one to travel long distances to Tzaneen, Giyani and Polokwane only for the purposes of accessing government services.

* Our expectation is that Traditional Leaders, business and community leaders would also take advantage of these facilities at their doorstep to communicate with government and to initiate ventures that will bring development to our people. With no one using this centre, there is doubt that it will become a white elephant. We call on the community to get involved in the management of the centre so that the needs of the community are constantly looked upon from time to time. This will improve the standard of service provided at this centre and enhance the quality of service delivery. This is important due to the fact that our government believes that "development is about people."

Programme director,

* We also wish to encourage our learners and educators to make use of computer facilities available in this centre in order to boost their comprehension skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and in the process of learning and teaching in general. Every community member can now benefit from computer lessons at this centre without having to travel long distances to the surrounding towns.

Programme director,

* We sincerely wish to thank the Greater Letaba Municipality and the Traditional Authority under the leadership of Kgoshi Modjadji for welcoming us to this beautiful land of the Rain Queen and for availing land on which this important landmark is built.

* Once again we must stress that, ownership and acceptance of this establishment by community structures and Traditional leaders cannot be overemphasised. At the end of the day it becomes everybody's responsibility to look after this centre and ensure that it does not get dilapidated or damaged by vandals. It is our pleasure to declare the Mokwakwaila Thusong Services centre officially open for public usage.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
3 March 2007