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Premier of the Free State Ace Magashule has just returned from
Cuba where he led a delegation from the Free State for the visit
intended to strengthen
relations with Matanzas Province. This included the visit to two
hundred Free State students studying Medicine in Cuba. The
delegation made serious in-
roads in strengthening the political and economic relations. The
outcome of several meetings held with various sectors resulted in
agreements to collabo-
rate in agriculture; education; health; construction and the
need for increase of Cuban experts in the Free State. Currently,
there are eleven Cuban doctors
stationed at hospitals like Bongani, National and Phekolong
among others. More doctors will be recruited to work in the Free
State but priority will be giv-
en to Trompsburg, Ladybrand and Phumelela hospitals. The Cuban
recruits will include medical doctors; Obstetricians;
Paediatricians; Gynaecologists;
Dentists and family physicians. Medical students, hospital
strategic managers, administrators, medical planners and
researchers will also be sent to Cuba
for further training.
20 February 26 February 2015
PREMIERS VISIT TO CUBA - A RESOUNDING GREAT SUCCESS
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Government Free State Provincial Government Weekly Update
1
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Part of the visit to Cuba included the visit to the Park of
African Heroes which houses the statues of various African leaders.
Premier Magashule is seen
here after laying a wreath next to the statue of the former
President of the ANC Comrade Oliver Tambo.
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The Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
hosted Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana Awards on Friday, 30 January 2015.
The annual event was held at Glen College of Agriculture where more
than two thousand people were present. The guests of the day
included mayors, speakers, stakeholders in the agricultural
industry and farmers from five district of the province. The event
celebrated the achievements of those nominated in the 10 award
categories after doing well in the district level. Some of the
categories in the competition include: Best School Garden; Best
Community Garden, Best Backyard Garden, Best Co-ordinator and MECs
Special Award. The
MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mamiki Qabathe
initiated this innovative programme to inspire ordinary citizens to
learn how to create their own sustainable food sources. The aim of
these awards is to recognise and reward participants for the
enormous effort they have put into growing their own vegetable
gardens. It is also to
motivate people to take part in the competition and thus far we
have seen remarkable results said the MEC. The programme focuses on
eradicating food insecurity through growing vegetable gardens. Re
Kgaba Ka Diratswana was initiated in June 2013 and to date, about
10 500 vegetable gardens have been established in all districts of
the province. The programme has also been nominated to be piloted
in SADC countries such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe. The annual awards
are held to market the pro-
gramme and to encourage participants involved in food gardens to
partake in the competition to showcase their creativity and new
innovations.
MEC QABATHE HOSTS RE KGABA KA DIRATSWANA AWARDS
MEC for Education Tate Makgoe has taken it upon himself to make
a special call for the
public to choose resourceful and community builders with
relevant experience in
different spheres as members of the School Governing Body (SGB).
In an open letter to
parents and other stakeholders, he emphasised the importance of
School Governing
Body and the public participation in the election of the
members. The SGB has the re-
sponsibility to ensure that a school is governed in the best
interest of all the stakehold-
ers. The SGB is made up of elected members, the principal by
virtue of his or her official
capacity and co-opted members.
About 1400 schools are expected to participate in the 2015 SGB
Elections. These elec-
tions are regarded as the second biggest after the National
Elections and are held every
three years. Voting gives the electorate power to exercise their
democratic right. By
voting, electorates will be able to give a specific direction of
how to govern their
schools, to improve teacher and learner discipline and improve
scholastic performance
said MEC Makgoe.
The 2015 elections will take place between 06 and 28 March 2015.
The Department of
Education is embarking on a massive campaign to educate the
community about the
SGB Elections and encouraging them to vote. The programme
include engaging with ed-
ucator unions, meeting with professionals, door-to-door campaign
by the Free State
Premier and his Executive Council. The province would also seek
divine intervention by
holding an Election Prayer Service on 01 March the 2015.
Education is a social responsibility; therefore I call upon
parents, business people and
professionals to participate in the upcoming SGB elections, MEC
Makgoe emphasised.
MECS CALL FOR SGB ELECTIONS
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Once again it is that time of the year where the country and the
provinces look back to evaluate the journey they have travelled in
the
past year. At the national level, the President presents the
State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the National Assembly in Cape
Town.
Subsequently, the Premiers of the nine provinces deliver their
State of the Provinces Address (SOPA) in their respective
provinces.
These speeches highlight the achievements and challenges in
respect to the commitments made in the previous year. In addition,
the
speech set the tone for service delivery for the current year by
outlining some of the projects to be implemented.
This year, Premier Ace Magashule will present the State of the
Province Address during the opening of the Legislature on 24
February
2015.He will report back on the achievements of the Free State
Provincial Government for 2014. His speech will be anchored
around
themes: Year of the Freedom Charter and Unity in Action to
Advance Economic Freedom, as espoused by President Jacob Zuma
during the SONA. Governments commitment to priority areas such
as education; health; job creation; fight against crime and
corrup-
tion; creation of jobs; decent work and sustainable livelihoods;
rural development and land and agrarian reform, will be
reiterated.
The presentation of the State of the Province Address will take
place on 24 February 2015, at the University of the Free State
(Vista Campus, Church Street). The programme will start from
08h00.
Members of the public who wish to send suggestions to the
Premier can do so by using the following platforms:
Facebook pages: Premier Magashule SOPA2015 & Free State
Provincial Government
Emails: [email protected] &
[email protected]
FEW DAYS TO THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS 2015
The US embassy in Pretoria donated a trailer to the Free State
Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and
Environmental Af-fairs to fight against rhino poaching recently.
This follows a pledge made by President Barack Obama to help
support the fight against wild life trafficking
when he visited South Africa in 2013. The Free State received a
trailer containing of survival, surveillance and investigative
equipment.
Tshepo Moremi, Deputy Director General who was present to
receive the trailer on behalf of department said now the total
figure since 2012 of suspects that have been arrested in connection
with the poaching of about 8 rhinos in the reserves around the Free
State is 13, and more arrests could have been
made had there been more advanced techniques in dealing with the
investigations.Now the Free State Nature Reserves will never be
prone to rhino poaching syndicates, this is according to the MEC
for DESTEA, Mosebenzi Zwane when the trailer arrived at the
department. In his delight, he said this funding comes in line with
Operation Tsipa, the campaign we launched recently to go all out
and catch these perpetrators who are wiping out our biodi-
versity, this donation will go a long way in helping us curb the
scourge of fighting rhino poaching.
US JOINS THE FREE
STATE WITH FIGHT
AGAINST RHINO
POACHING From left is the DDG: Environmental Affairs: Mr. Tshepo
Moremi, US Under-Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and
Environment:
Catherine Novell, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission: Cathrine
Hill-Herndon and Sifiso Keswa of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Moments
after handing
over equipment to support efforts in Anti-Wildlife
Trafficking.