“Leave no one behind”

“Leave no one behind”

President Ramaphosa engages the community in the Northern Cape

Fondly known as the “Diamond Province,” the Northern Cape is South Africa’s largest province with the most untouched landscapes in the country. While the population is low compared to other provinces, with only 2.3% of the population living in the province, the majority of South Africa’s diamonds have originated from the Northern Cape province.

“Leave no one behind” - this was the theme for the fifth Presidential Imbizo that took place at the Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs Stadium in Upington, Northern Cape, on Friday, 21 October. The Presidential Imbizo aims to enable members of the public and communities at large to interact with President Cyril Ramaphosa and leaders from all three spheres of government.

We have listened and everything you have said has been written down because you have raised important issues.

Thus far, President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited five provinces for the Imbizo, namely the North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Northern Cape to interact with residents.

Among the challenges that were raised by Northern Cape residents include basic services such as water and electricity, poverty and unemployment, corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, limited healthcare facilities, the illicit drug trade, ownership of minerals, and more.

Redstone Solar Plant

To pave the way for the Imbizo, President Ramaphosa paid a visit to the Redstone Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Thermal Plant in Postmasburg. According to the government, this project forms part of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) which aims to bring additional megawatts onto the country’s electricity system through private sector investment in wind, biomass and small hydro, among others. The Redstone CSP Plant makes up 100 MW of the remaining 314 MW that is under construction.

The presidency stated: “The Redstone CSP Plant project has to date created 972 jobs, with 1 500 jobs expected at project peak. About 100 permanent jobs will be created during the operations and maintenance phase.”

President Ramaphosa thanked the Saudi Arabian government for funding the project. He said more than R12-billion was injected into the project by the Saudi Arabian government.

A government that listens

President Ramaphosa told the members of the community that they are a government that listens to its people. “We have listened and everything you have said has been written down because you have raised important issues that are of concern... We are a government that has taken a policy position that no one must be left behind and that is what we have decided to do,” he said.

He added that sometimes the government doesn’t do as well as they want to because of the challenges they have. “Some of you have touched on those challenges. The shortage of resources is one of the big challenges and you have also touched on a huge challenge of unemployment which is big in the Northern Cape.”

With the challenge of unemployment, President Ramaphosa said the government’s programmes on unemployment have to include everyone and not only focus on those who fall under the youth group in South Africa (between the ages of 18 and 35) but also include those who are beyond 35 years of age.

“We have started with the programme targeting people aged 18 to 35, but many people remain unemployed. Up to 64% of those who don’t work are people below 35. At the same time, those who are 36 and above are also unemployed, so they must also be targeted. Our programmes for unemployment have to [include] everyone so that we do not leave anyone behind,” he said.