Issued by: Office of the Premier Gauteng
27 July 2001
A foundation for cooperation and collaboration between the Gauteng Provincial Government and religious leaders has been laid with Premier Mbhazima Shilowa calling for continuous engagements between the two parties.
Shilowa, accompanied by Members of the Executive Council (MECs) today met with religious leaders from various denominations to discuss a wide range of issues affecting communities in the province.
Speaking at the meeting, Shilowa said that the meeting was an opportunity for the provincial government to share with religious leaders the efforts that are being made to change the lives of the people for the better.
"Many of you have been involved in formulating the policies and programmes that we have been implementing since 1994. You have also been involved in the evaluation of those policies and programmes to see if they are having a desired impact on the lives of millions of South Africans, especially the poor of the poorest.
"When you critisise us, we know that you do it because you are concerned about the plight of the poor people," Shilowa said. Shilowa also told religious leaders about the challenges that government continue to deal with such as unemployment, poverty alleviation and providing access to health care.
He also briefed the religious leaders about the provincial government's strategy of addressing the problem of homelessness. "In order to make a significant impact on this massive demand for housing, we have put in place a multi-prolonged strategy to provide housing to millions of our people who are homeless. "Apart from our formal housing provision in the form of RDP houses, we have also diversified our approach to include rental housing," Shilowa said.
But he warned against illegal land occupation and reiterated that government would act against anybody encouraging land invasion regardless of political affiliation.
Among the concerns raised by religious leaders were issues of morality, homelessness, racism, justice and corruption. The leaders also expressed a need to build a culture of tolerance and self-respect, saying that is where they felt the churches should come in.
They said while they agreed with the government's approach in handling the Bredell issue, they appealed to Shilowa to set up a more structured cooperation between the provincial government and religious leaders.
For More Information Contact:
Thabo Masebe at 082 410 8087
Annette Griessel at 082 563 3614