Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Pinky Kekana, has urged residents of Delft in the Western Cape to stand up and get counted in the upcoming Census to help government to better plan for the delivery of services.
With just over 24 hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA), Kekana paid a visit to the area to raise awareness around Census 2022 and to explain to residents how that will empower government with the information it needs to plan for services proportional to the population.
“Every SONA as government, we do outreach programmes just to hear the feelings and get feedback from people on what the President has to focus on. But [tomorrow’s] SONA is also coupled with Census 2022 and one of the areas we are focussing on is Delft, which came into being in 1989 and by then, there [was a population of 25 000].
“Today we are speaking to the region of over 100 000. And it then speaks to the planning part – are we giving them services? Have we anticipated this growth? Surely the Census becomes relevant. The counting of households will help us to say now that Delft has one hospital, is it able to give services to all our people?”
Situated on the outskirts of Cape Town, not far from the Cape Town International Airport, Delft is a diverse township that is also known for several government projects, including the N2 Gateway human settlements project.
When Kekana arrived at the Delft Police Station, she addressed Census volunteers before interacting with locals at the nearby hospital, shopping mall and was later scheduled to visit the residents of Simphony, which is the main part of the N2 Gateway pilot project.
Addressing the media later, Kekana explained the importance of locals participating in the upcoming Census.
“You were with us at the hospital, people are queueing outside. And you know the winter rains in Cape Town are rainy, how will that be as we go into winter?
“Now the #GetCounted will also help us to plan accordingly to say the fact that Delft has grown exponentially means that hospital alone will not be able to service these people.
“The one police station that is there, of course we are alive to the challenges that COVID-19 brought, the shrinking fiscus and other realities. But there are other realities of growing communities in the area.
“People leaving the farming areas and coming where there are job opportunities. There is only one mall, and they are even saying many people have even given up in looking for jobs. So the counting process will also help us to get authentic information that will help us to plan accordingly. So the timing for us for Census will also respond to the challenges.” –
Source: South African Government News Agency