Mpumalanga commended for good progress
The Executive Council expressed satisfaction to the Statistician-General’s report, and acknowledged that more work still needs to be done.
The Executive Council of Mpumalanga Province received a mini-community survey report from the Statistician-General, Mr Pali Lehohla who during his presentation recommended the Mpumalanga Provincial Government for the significant progress it has achieved in changing the lives of the people for the better.
In the sector of health, the Mpumalanga Provincial Government has made serious strides, which have contributed significantly in the decline of infant mortality and increased life expectancy. People have access to many health facilities built by the provincial government and the continued health education is bearing fruits as life expectancy is now at 62 years, which is just above the country.
Access to education has considerably improved. The provincial government has ensured that there are no learners studying under the trees, and the new state of the art boarding schools warrant that even the learners from the farming communities get access to quality education. The provincial government is also paying more focus on the early childhood education as an effort to prepare learners for their future.
The evidence provided by the Statistician-General acknowledges that more investment on education is necessary as it is the driver for social change.
The provincial government has also extremely done well in the eradication of shacks, which has declined from 14.5percent in 2006 to 10.9 percent in 2016. This has been achieved through the government’s integrated human settlements programmes.
The provincial government has been commended by the Statistician-General for its efforts to deliver quality water to the citizens, as most municipalities are almost 100 percent with its distribution. More efforts are still being made to deliver bulk water to various communities in the province.
All these interventions by the provincial government have in one way or the other indirectly contributed to the decline of infant mortality and increase in life expectancy.
In his report, the Statistician-General emphasized amongst others the need to invest more in education as means to fight poverty and unemployment, thereby improving the
quality of life for the people.
The executive council expressed satisfaction to the Statistician-General’s report, and acknowledged that more work still needs to be done. The Executive Council has further expressed an interest in checking the level of satisfaction of the citizens through a survey as the local government elections results suggests that the citizens are content with
the work of the ANC-led government in the province.
