Thusong centres bring government services to the people

A community member receives a service from Mokwakwaila Thusong centre

A woman comes out of Mokwakwaila Thusong service centre after been served

The government investment in public infrastructure is widely welcomed by many rural communities who have had to travel long distances to receive government services elsewhere.

The community of Mokwakwaila village near greater Letaba municipality in Limpopo is an example of those that had to travel long distances for government services before a Thusong centre was introduced in their village in 2007.

Before then, the community at the village used to spend their hard-earned money on travel expenses to Kgapane, the nearest town which is about 35km away from their village, in order to receive government services.

"I don't know how we would do without this Thusong centre," commented one of the residents in the village Pretty Malatjie who is unemployed, and has obtained her child's grant through the Thusong centre.
"The fact that we now access the government services at the doorstep is of great help to many of us, some of whom don't work and can hardly afford a transport fee to town," she said.

The Thusong centre is one of the busiest centres in Mopani district, and it service more than 2000 people per month. It has services such as home affairs offices, police satellite, SASSA, and others that are used as the main service points on a daily basis by the community.

Among the services offered in the service centre include: government social and administrative services where grants, personal documents, and housing applications are handled.

Another important part provided by the Thusong centre is education and skills development services, where it specialises in providing special training, adult basic education, and many more services including providing of information services through general service counter and modern IT infrastructure.

With its information centre, the Thusong centre has seen many young people advancing in life in the form of securing an employment after gaining an experience through voluntary work in the library or acquiring information that they needed to further their education.

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