Twenty work opportunities were created during the revamping of the Home Affairs offices in Thaba Nchu, which were completed earlier this year. This according to the MEC of Public Works in the Free State, Dora Kotzee, who attended the reopening of the facilities. Close to a hundred residents and government officials were present at the event when Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, officially opened the newly revamped offices.
According to Kotzee, the local community had the opportunity to be skilled in various sections of the construction and building environment such as carpentry, brick-laying, welding, electrical work, earthworks, tiling, plumbing, flooring and fencing.
The refurbishing project was completed in March this year.
“We implore the private sector to partner with us in order to create a sustainable pipeline of jobs for these quality individuals from Thaba Nchu. I must also add, of the twenty work opportunities that were created, twelve jobs were for women and seven for youth. This further demonstrates our commitment to address gender and social inequality,” said Kotzee.
She mentioned that Thaba Nchu was a town that held a rich history of the country’s painful past and the project proved the government’s capability of meeting the needs of the people.
“This proves a heart-warming promise of an inclusive future under the ANC government. It is both a privilege and honour to lead the department that went to all lengths to apply the initiative process that led to the completion of this state-of-the-art project. The involvement of our internal teams, artisans, tradesmen, as well as participants of our Extended Public Works (EPWP) programme, is a clear demonstration of a country that has full capacity to meet the growing needs of our people,” she added.
Kotzee explained to Gigaba and those gathered at the event that they had implemented the project through a model called ‘Massification’. “The model implies that the department will focus on local unskilled and unemployed labour services to provide skills. Work experience is still a pain that is caused by poverty. By working with the department and stakeholders, this is proof of the effectiveness and efficiency of good inter-governmental relations between all organs of state.” – Refilwe Gaeswe
refilwe@centralmediagroup.co.za