The Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms. Sylvia Lucas, and the Provincial Executive Council completed a successful four-day Cabinet outreach from the 02 October 2018 till the 04 October 2018 to the John Taolo Gaetsewe District.

The Executive outreach programme is aimed at strengthening intergovernmental relations and to improve the capacity of Government in implementing integrated service delivery programmes. This programme also places the Provincial Government in a position to assess the implementation of service delivery to the areas that are visited as well as focus on service delivery challenges facing the communities in these regions.

Members of the Provincial Executive were accompanied by the Director General, senior officials of Government, municipal Mayors and councilors as well as officials from the respective municipalities in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District.  The Northern Cape Province is known for its vast distances and remote areas that are often not within accessible reach of Government Departments, for this reason the Executive Council decided that the outreach would target mainly the most remote areas because everyone regardless of their location have a right to service delivery. This outreach saw the Executive council visiting areas such as Sesheng (Mapoteng), Galothlare and Wrenchville.

The Outreach was two-fold in nature; firstly Ms. Lucas and the MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Mr. Bentley Vass, met with the Traditional leaders in the District because they are represented at the Provincial House as well as the local House of Traditional leaders. Traditional leaders have previously been solely responsible for service delivery in the areas that fall under their jurisdiction. Under this new dispensation, Government realises the importance of placing traditional leadership at the centre of development in these rural villages.

A Second leg of the outreach was allowing community members an opportunity to interact directly with Members of the Executive Council on service delivery challenges and to seek direct intervention from some of the Provincial Government departments. Service delivery departments also delivered services to community members, whilst MECs conducted unannounced visits to service delivery points. Early Childhood Development Centres and schools were supplied with much needed educational toys and sporting equipment.

• Office of the Premier had a meeting Female Farmers and Tswelopele Old age group
• The MEC of Roads and Public Works, Mxolisa Sohatsha  visited the Legobatse paving project in the Mentu village to access the progress of the project.
• The war on poverty families in were also supplied with food parcels.
• Visiting of live Stock Project by Department of Agriculture
• Meeting with Health structures by the MEC
• Information dissemination on school bursaries and Cuba Medical Programme
• Handing over of cheque to Patliso Day Care Centre by the Department of Social Development.

Issues that caused concern to community members were largely water, road infrastructure, agriculture, electricity, health and employment.  These concerns raised by the community members have been noted by the respective MEC’s who will return to the communities with tangible solutions to their concerns.

Throughout the visit, Ms. Lucas stressed the need for Government to work with greater speed to address the challenges faced by the respective communities. The Premier also encouraged the community to assist Government with the shortages experienced in the health personnel by submitting names of qualifying students that can be trained as nurses and doctors in order to plough back to the communities where they come from.

The Premier will ensure that in all the areas of service delivery where commitments had been made that there is definite delivery on these. Taking from success of previous Executive council outreaches and future activities planned it bears testimony that the Premier and her Executive is committed to delivering services to the poorest in the Province and will continue to do so no matter the distance or conditions to reach these communities.