Consultations post Covid-19 recovery plans
Victor Mulangisi
A special programme that seeks to understand better how communities in the nine provinces of the country have been affected by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is currently underway. In the many challenges that thrived in their midst during the lockdown period, the consultations are aimed at the downtrodden rural based people on how to come up with coping mechanisms that will guide arms of government in their quest to assist them.
On October 29, 2020 a consultative meeting was held at Da Vinci Guest House and Conference Centre in Kuruman where members of the community from the remote Joe Morolong local municipality were invited with their respective councilors to share their experiences during the period. Facilitating was Ms Lebogang Nkadimang from Omang Youth Organisation who also doubles as a national coordinator of civic organisations. She said that government is trying to find ways how it can come to the rescue using its recovery plan but this should not stem from an imposing point of view but a participatory approach where communities bring their own experiences to institute realistic answers or solutions.
“The recovery plan is multifaceted where both government and the private sector are respondents by way of alleviating the difficulties encountered by the communities. In August last year the first SDG country report was endorsed and launched by Statistics South Africa with the theme “Leave no-one behind”. The key focus areas of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are the nerve centre in the realisation of the recovery plan.
These do tally in the relief of our communities. All civil society groups in the country are presently compiling a comprehensive report that will reflect the needs of the people. Each province has taken the clarion call to ensure that the voice of the poorest is heard and attended to expeditiously.
The core of these consultations by Monitor Africa and the civil society groups across the country is to get the views from these communities so that the national coordinator of Civil Society under Stats SA can be cascaded further to the presidency and share them with other countries towards achieving the world SDGs.
