Residents to benefit from government agreement
This partnership will contribute towards the strengthening and enhancing of a strategy of transferring skills to unemployed youth in the municipality.
HIGHVELD – Residents of Govan Mbeki Municipality stand to benefit from a government agreement to give them access to agricultural land.
The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), the Department of Correctional Services (DSC) and Govan Mbeki Municipality signed a Service Level Agreement on Friday, 18 November, whereby in the context of a collaborative effort to develop comprehensive community poverty alleviation projects, the departments and the municipality are forming a partnership through the Community Work Programme (CWP) in the Bethal management area.
The project will contribute to uplift and support communities, while at the same time, ensuring that participants acquire skills that they can use in the future.
This partnership will contribute towards the strengthening and enhancing of a strategy of transferring skills to unemployed youth in the municipality.
The skills acquired will form part of the beneficiaries exit strategy from the CWP.
The DCS will provide available land for farming/training purposes and other resources in the Bethal Management Area, which will be used by the CWP.
Participants in the programme will be paid a stipend.
Mr Legadima Leso from CoGTa said this agreement will see parolees benefiting from the CWP programme through training and financial support.
“Access to an employment safety net will continue to be required by vulnerable South Africans to complement other social assistance programmes.
“The CWP can therefore be seen as an instrument of community development as it improves the quality of life in poorer communities.”
CoGTA implements the CWP to provide an employment safety net and basic minimum income for people living in marginalised areas, where employment opportunities are not easily accessible.
