So the consultations are more about listening to the people, their questions and feedback at the Kgotla and other fora. Some issues raised are attended to by councils and local government and central government’s civil servants while others need MPs to ask questions, table themes or motions in Parliament.
What are some of the common issues raised by the masses of the people to their MPs? Most issues relate to economic problems of unemployment, poverty and inadequate access to basic services. It’s clear in many areas that our people are economically disempowered. In fact, the economy is in the hands of foreigners and our people are expected to eat crumbs from foreigners whose unprecedented bonanza continues unabated. The people lament that government programs are good on paper, well explained and very easy to understand but when one tries their luck it becomes a laborious task to almost impossible to be assisted or benefit. In particular, the people complain about bureaucratic red-tape in accessing Department of Gender Affairs and Youth Development Fund and other programmes especially agriculture related.
