Health • Rural Development • Employment • Safety & Security • Education Vuk’uzenzele Brought to you by Government Communications (GCIS) October 2015 Edition 1 Mobile Home Affairs office makes improves land claims services JOBS easy for all INSIDE Page 2 Page 4 Government heeds Eersterust’s call More Matshediso going back to their communities as better people. overnment is serious about hitting Eersterust Local Drug Action Committee the ground running when it comes Chairperson, Desiree Fischer, said the committee to helping communities that reach had developed a programme of action to help Gout for help and the Eersterust save the lives of vulnerable individuals. community, east of Pretoria, is no exception. President Jacob Zuma recently held an Imbizo with the community to show government’s EDUCATION IS THE KEY commitment to the fight against drug Minister in The Presidency for Planning, and substance abuse and promote youth Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, also development in Eersterust and surrounding visited the area recently and encouraged learners areas. to work hard at school, despite the challenges The Presidential Imbizo gave the President they face. first-hand knowledge and an understanding of “Education will give you the opportunity to be the challenges faced by the community. better than your parents, so your responsibility A number of challenges face the community, is to persevere so that you can become better from drug and substance abuse and drug citizens and the leaders of tomorrow,” he said. syndicates operating in the area to low income President Jacob Zuma visited Eersterust to work with the community to find solutions to The Minister visited Eersterust Secondary levels and high crime and unemployment, all their problems. School and Prosperitas High School to listen of which have a negative impact on the youth to and understand the challenges that learners and those searching for a better life. anti-crime organisations and security cluster of ministers visited the area to work with the and educators face. He appealed to learners to According to community representatives, the partners in conducting awareness campaigns communities to find solutions to the challenges not focus on their negative surroundings, but drug abuse problem is affecting 15 000 youth against drugs and crime in general in the they are facing. to rather concentrate on the positive side of life. – mostly school learners who end up dropping area…” Social Development Minister Bathabile “Let your dreams of a brighter future inspire out of school. The President added that the City of Tshwane Dlamini addressed residents during the you. You need to aspire to be someone in life. You President Zuma said police have been running had registered 1 024 poor families from the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit must aspire to become teachers, nurses, doctors, operations aimed at arresting drug runners, community who were receiving free basic Trafficking where a number of young people scientists, astrologists etc. The sky is the limit in the kingpins behind them, and other criminal services, and during the road show held in July, admitted to smoking "nyaope" - a mixture of South Africa,” he said. elements operating in the community. the City also helped 187 families in need of help. crystal meth, heroin and marijuana. Minister Radebe also encouraged learners to “About 69 crime intelligence operations have “The City also donated recently R100 000 to Minister Dlamini said the department would aspire to be entrepreneurs so they could own been conducted so far in the area and have led two Early Childhood Development Centres in help the youngsters and take them to the best their own business and plough back investment to the arrest of 55 alleged drug dealers. Police the community,” said President Zuma. drug and substance abuse rehabilitation centres into their own community. are further working with community based Before the Presidential Imbizo, a number in the country, but urged them to commit to > Cont. page 2 During construction at least 223 jobs were towards correcting the unnecessary imbalance Airport breathes life into EC economy created and up to 120 of those employed of neglecting areas in former homelands,” she were youth. Eastern Cape MEC for Transport said. Vuyo Bathembu hannesburg. But all this is set to change. The Weziwe Tikana said a bigger and better Mtha- Government’s long-term plan was to reposi- provincial government is confident that more tha Airport was important for the province’s tion the Mthatha Airport as the “gateway” to he revamped Mthatha Airport, which airlines will now fly to and from Mthatha economic growth and tourism and will sup- the eastern part of the Eastern Cape. This will boasts a new R700 million terminal Airport, following the massive revamp. port rural development. be achieved by transforming the airport into a building and runway, is set to change The airport can now receive bigger aircraft “The unprecedented investment in this passenger and freight hub, linking road, rail Tthe face of the region’s economy and and 36 200 passengers have already landed airport is indeed making a necessary mark and air transport. create a number of jobs. there since April this year. Upgrades to the Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle re- airport include resting areas for passengers, cently led a media tour of the almost complete restaurants and workstations for other air- AFTER airport and has set 30 October as the target lines. There is also a car hire building, with date for the official opening of the new-look parking and wash bay facilities. facility. Safety has been upgraded, mainly to keep The upgraded Mthatha Airport was sched- stray animals away from the runway, and uled to be officially opened in April, but a there are new landing lights that meet inter- strike in the metal industry and constant rain national aviation standards. led to delays. Mthatha Airport is part of government’s BEFORE The airport is situated in the eastern part infrastructure build programme and the of the Eastern Cape, an area rich with herit- upgrade was done under the Presidential age and home to the Wild Coast, which is intervention package in the previous admin- frequented by local and international tourists. istration. The next step is the development The airport’s small runway and terminal of an office park and a retail and hospitality building made it unattractive to airlines. complex in the airport’s non-aviation zone Airlink, the only airline that operates from precinct, which will include a hotel and major The Mthatha airport will not only boost the economy, but will increase the number of jobs in the province. Mthatha Airport, only offers flights to Jo- conference centre. FREEFREE 2 October 2015 Vuk’uzenzele GENERAL Land brings opportunities Mobile office makes land claims easy Noluthando Mkhize In February last year Parliament passed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill, for Nodunga community mobile land restitution office will which reopened the land restitution process. be travelling around KwaZulu-Na- The new deadline for land claims has been in accounting or running a business because tal (KZN) and the Eastern Cape to extended to 31 December 2018 and applies we had a goal for the farm. There are seven of A make the process of lodging a land to any person dispossessed of their property us on the committee.” claim easier. after 19 June 1913. The mobile office, a bus, forms part of The restitution programme has provided EMPLOYmeNT OPPORTUNITIES government’s Land Restitution Programme. compensation to a large number of victims The CPA registered Nodunga Farming, which The land claims process enables people who who had their land taken and lodged claims is run by three directors, to enable the com- were forcibly removed from their land under by 31 December 1998, the former cut-off date. munity to do business on the land they claimed apartheid to lodge land claims. In KZN, 16 000 claims were lodged during back. KZN only has two lodgement offices, in Pi- the first land claim period. Nodunga Farming also received R17.8 mil- etermaritzburg and Vryheid, and the mobile “Of these, 14 000 have been processed and lion from the department’s Recapitalisation office will enable people to lodge their claims only 2 000 are outstanding. These are to be and Development Programme (RADP) which closer to their homes. processed simultaneously with the new was introduced in 2009. The bus will be shared with the Eastern claims, with priority for payment given to The RADP provides training and develop- Cape, spending three months at a time in those lodged before 1998.” ment to those who have received land through each province. According to the national Department of the land reform programme. KZN MEC for Agriculture and Rural De- Rural Development and Land Reform 76 000 “When we officially got the land back in velopment Cyril Xaba said the bus is fitted land claims had been settled by March 2012. Aaron Zulu, chairman of the Nodunga Communal Property Association, holds 2012 we had nothing to run the farms or start with technology to process the claims elec- More than a million beneficiaries around naartjies produced on the land he co-owns a business with. The farms were in a very bad tronically. the country received just over two million with other community members. condition and there was no electricity.” “Government is confident that the process hectares of land. Today Nodunga Farming produces sugar- will work much faster because all claims will The total expenditure for the land restitu- Noluthando Mkhize cane, mangos, naartjies, litchis and macadamia be lodged electronically,” he said. tion programme was R24.6 billion. nuts. aron Zulu (58) never thought the There are 239 community members working How to lodge a land claim day would come when he would on the farm and 42 casual workers.