President Mbeki officially opens the 100th Thusong Service Centre

Unveiling of the Plaque by President Mbeki and Premier Sbu Ndebele	President Mbeki and Premier Sbu Ndebele during the executive member’s tour of the centre
Nosipho Mkhize from Mbuthisweni Public School, enjoy story reading with the President and the Premier	The Community of Inhlazuka cheering to the President’ speech

KwaZulu-Natal, June 2008-

Gone are the days that the community of Inhlazuka and surrounding villages had to travel long distances to access essential government services and information. This is because of the successful launch of the Inhlazuka Thusong Service Centre in Richmond Municipality. The centre was officially opened by President Thabo Mbeki on 7 June 2008.

“One of the objectives of the Thusong Centres is to bring to an end a situation whereby our people are referred from one place to the other, often at great expense and across long distances for the services they deserve”, said the President. Indeed this was the case with the people of Inhlazuka as they had to travel 45 km to Richmond to access basic services. This in the mist of unemployment and poverty was difficult as they had to pay for high transportation costs.

Inhlazuka Thusong Service Centre was built through a partnership between national, provincial and local government at a cost of R2,7 million, and it is set to serve about 40 000 people, including those from nearby villages and municipalities.

Government departments and parastatals housed at the centre include GCIS, Department of Home Affairs, Department of Labour, South African Post Office, Department of Social Services and Population Development, and the South African Police Service. The centre also has a telecentre installed by the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) and a general service counter, a front desk where communities can access information and have their queries addressed. This counter is established as a partnership between the Richmond Municipality, the Department of Public Service and Administration, USAASA and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.

Dignitaries who attended the event include the Minister in The Presidency Dr Essop Pahad, the Premier of Kwa-Zulu-Natal Dr Sibusiso Ndebele, the MEC for Local and Traditional Affairs, Mr Mike Mabuyakhulu, heads of national and provincial departments, mayors, traditional leaders and senior officials working for parastatals. The events of the day ranged from cultural activities in the marquee, executive members’ site visits, the cutting of the ribbon and unveiling of the plague. The highlight was a tour of the centre by the President and his entourage. This provided an opportunity for the President to interact with communities who also had the chance to test some of the services and computer facilities for themselves.

The Thusong Service Centre Programme, which will be celebrating its 10th year of existence next year, is moving into its second phase and currently 123 centres are operational across the country. By 2014, government aims to have a centre in each of the 283 municipalities. In KwaZulu-Natal alone, 15 centres have been in operation with a further nine currently under construction.