Parliament, Wednesday, 14 March 2017 – One of the seven National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) delegations, visited the uMzimvubu Local Municipal as part of its report back session and to assess progress made in the implementation of commitments of the Departments of Education, Health and Social Development during the 2016 NCOP’s Taking Parliament to The People programme in Alfred Nzo District and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipalities.
Following their visits to Nzululwazi Senior Secondary School and Emthonjeni Primary School in Umzimvubu Municipality, NCOP members expressed complete displeasure at poor progress made on the issues raised both during their pre-visit and Taking Parliament to the People in 2016. The leader of the NCOP delegation to Umzimvubu, Ms Tsapane Mampuru said some of the NCOP recommendations were not implemented at all. She said: “Apart from the inroads made by the Departments of Health and Social Development, we are not happy at all with what we saw during our visits. We expected better, but we saw the worst.”
“We were still saddled with the ongoing challenges of water and sanitation and we feel that the dignity of the people has been compromised by those who were expected to act to alleviate the plight of learners in these schools’, said Ms Mampuru. The concern raised was the shifting of responsibilities and the blame game that led to a prolonged delay in implementing the most crucial services required to advance the dignity of our learners.
One of the members of the NCOP delegation, Mr Mntomuhle Khawula decried the apparent lack of coordination in dealing with issues that cut across departmental clusters. He said: “The lack of implementation of commitment can be blamed on the lack of coordination among those having shared responsibilities on these matters. As such, the coordination on the ground is poor and worse than we expected it.”
The issue of dilapidated toilets at Emthonjeni Primary School brought Ms Mampuru to tears, leaving her with no words to express her disappointment.
In reference to these conditions Mr Khawula said: “The state of those toilets is appalling. They are a disaster that is waiting to happen. There is no human being that should be subjected to such conditions.”
About 50 Members of the NCOP, segmented into seven groups and supported by their counterparts in the Provincial Legislature, are on a three-day inspection visit to the Eastern Cape.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER OF DELEGATION, MS TSAPANE MAMPURU.
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