/ 16 July 2018

Troubled North West gets help from UN team

Skills first: Job Mokgoro has been elected premier of the embattled North West.
Skills first: Job Mokgoro has been elected premier of the embattled North West.

North West Premier Job Mokgoro will on Monday welcome a technical team from the United Nations to assist the province to recover.

The troubled province saw violent protests in multiple towns across the province after years of mismanagement by former premier Supra Mahumapelo.

After weeks of protests earlier this year, Mahumapelo was removed from office and the province was placed under administration of the national government.

Mahumapelo’s replacement, Mokgoro reached out to the technical team from the UN and recently met with UN coordinator Nardos Bekele-Thomas to discuss ways to help fix the province.

Mokgoro’s spokesperson Vuyisile Ngesi said among the commitments that came out of the meeting was interventions around issues identified as having led to the national intervention in all provincial government departments, including the Office of the Premier.

“The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has therefore committed expertise from all UN agencies in South Africa to participate in the process of ensuring that the Section 100 (1) interventions lead to a sound and sustainable provincial administration, before the end of the 5th administration’s term next year,” he said.

“Both the North West government and the UNDP have agreed on a Marshall Plan approach towards the recovery of the provincial administration as informed by the national intervention,” he said.

Ngesi said this will include health and the provision of quality health services, social services, agriculture, anti-corruption across all levels of government in the province, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and youth empowerment initiatives.

“Ms Bekele-Thomas further committed the UN agencies to ensuring that all the necessary resources and expertise are directed key areas that need to be unlocked to put the North West on the road to recovery, to ensure that socio-economic and developmental challenges the province face are dealt with head on,” Ngesi said. — News 24