weeklyupdate@fspremier.gov.

za

20 February 26 February 2015

PREMIERS VISIT TO CUBA

- A RESOUNDING GREAT SUCCESS

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.

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 inroads in strengthening the political and economic relations. The outcome of several meetings held with various sectors resulted in agreements to collaborate 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 given 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.

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Free State Provincial Government Weekly Update

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MEC QABATHE HOSTS RE KGABA KA

DIRATSWANA AWARDS

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 programme and to encourage participants involved in food gardens to partake in the competition to showcase their creativity and new innovations.

MECS CALL FOR SGB ELECTIONS

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 responsibility to ensure that a school is governed in the best interest of all the stakeholders. 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 elections 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 educator 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.
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FEW DAYS TO THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS 2015

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 corruption; 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: weeklyupdate@fspremier.gov.za & hlaselanews@fspremier.co.za

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.

US JOINS
THE FREE
STATE
WITH
FIGHT
AGAINST
RHINO
POACHING

The US embassy in Pretoria donated a trailer to the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs 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 biodiversity, this donation will go a long way in helping us curb the scourge of fighting rhino poaching.