Zuma to monitor delivery
2010-03-15 13:12
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Johannesburg - As the latest wave of protests moved to Rabie Ridge near Tembisa, Gauteng on Monday, President Jacob Zuma's office announced a series of service delivery monitoring visits over the next three weeks.
"In the State of the Nation Address, the President said the defining feature of his administration would be that it knows where people live, understands their concerns and responds faster to their needs," his office said.
He will start with a visit to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on Tuesday, followed by a visit to Madelakufa in Tembisa on March 19.
On March 23, he and Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will visit the Libode region in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape "as part of promoting the new culture of putting citizens first at the Department of Home Affairs and ensuring that all citizens have birth certificates and identity documents, especially in rural areas".
Visits to other areas such as Siyathemba in Balfour, where a library was torched in a recent protest, are also planned.
Complaints
He will be accompanied by a number of Cabinet ministers and will meet directors general and their deputies in the public service on April 23.
Most of the protesters echo the same messages and complain of unemployment, poor housing delivery, lack of clean water and electricity and the need for clinics and extra police resources.
On Monday, police fired rubber bullets at Rabie Ridge residents barricading roads with burning tyres and stones - a common ploy for protesters trying to draw attention to their issues. Forty-two people were arrested.
Last Friday Public Service Minister Richard Baloyi warned of more protests if programmes the public expected were not implemented.
- SAPA