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19 October 2007

The tenth national Imbizo week is scheduled to take place from 22 to 28 October 2007, the week will be characterised by heightened interaction between leaders from the three spheres of government, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers, MECs and councillors with communities across the country.

Under the theme 'Social mobilisation for growth and development' the month will focus on strengthening partnerships and extending platforms for communities to access programmes of government aimed at reducing poverty and growing a shared economy. The week will also profile achievements of government while acknowledging the challenges we still face.

It will include, among others, the strengthening of partnerships in local economic development, the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and assess the effectiveness of the local government development strategies and progress on their implementation. This direct communication is central to participatory democracy and is the most effective catalyst in ensuring that government is held accountable on its implementation plans aimed at uplifting communities.

The week will see politicians participating in over 300 events across the country. Amongst these will be a visit by Gauteng MEC for Local Government Qedani Mahlangu to sites in the province showing progress on the eradication of bucket toilets, this will include a visit to Alra Park, where the province has managed to replace all identified buckets with VIP toilets, as part of meeting the December 2007 deadline to eradicate all bucket systems in settlements that were identified.

During this week the regional office of the Government Communication and Information System will host a youth Imbizo where Umsombovu, Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust (MRTT), Department of Labour and the Department of Economic Development and Planning will expose the youth to different economic opportunities that they can access through these departments.

The Imbizo week is an important platform for mobilising communities to partner with government in order to accelerate service delivery and ensure the achievement of government's Programme of Action.

The draft Imbizo Week programme is available on the government website http://www.gov.za. The final programme will be available on the website on Sunday.

Enquiries:
Bongani Mlangeni
Cell: 078 402 1016
E-mail: bongani@gcis.gov.za

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
19 October 2007