Statement By Cobus Dowry Minister For Agriculture In The Western Cape

I am extremely proud that the Western Cape Department of Agriculture was awarded the gold trophy at the first ever Premier's Service Excellence Awards function held at the CCITC last night. The awards is run as a joint project between the Department of the Premier, Standard Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers with the aim to recognise, encourage and motivate service delivery teams within the Western Cape Provincial Government to improve their services through Batho Pele. The ultimate goal is to achieve the strategic goals of the Provincial Government and to reach a level that is on par with the best government services in the world.

The awards measures and recognises the level of implementation of Batho Pele and achievement of the iKapa elihlumayo strategy with particular emphasis on building human and social capital in organisations and the community.

The Department of Agriculture's Centre for Further Education and Training (FET), one of the arms of the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training came out tops for it's dedication to and achievement of the development and training of this province's citizens involved with agriculture on all levels. With its various satellite centres at Elsenburg, George, Oudtshoorn and Clanwilliam it strives towards a vision of being the leader in agricultural training in Africa. The FET centre's objectives speak of a commitment towards empowerment of the previously disadvantaged agricultural individuals and communities, the promotion of food security and the increase of income and quality of live for rural and urban communities. The centre has been operational for the past five years.

The centre's customers range from farm workers, land reform beneficiaries, the unemployed, community farmers and the youth of the Province. The building of human and social capital becomes a reality through the provision of skills training, learnerships, a magnitude of short courses and general advisory services and guidance. Annually approximately 2650 people receive training through 131 training courses and an additional 31 people are trained in learnerships.

The adjudication process is based on an extensive investigation into the organisation with questions around issues such as consultation, service standards, access, the provision of information, dealing with complaints, providing best value and promoting developmental outcomes and effective service delivery.

"The core of this achievement lies in the essence of teamwork," says Marius Paulse, Chief Director of Structured Agricultural Training. "The establishment of a decentralised centre for agricultural training has indeed been challenging and training often has to take place under difficult circumstances. However, an award such as this, gives new impetus to our efforts and a renewed belief that we are on the right track."

We wish to congratulate Marius Paulse, Chief Director of the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training and his team on their victory. This award recognises the fact that Agriculture is the backbone to rural development and that the contribution made by the Institute and the Department of Agriculture is invaluable for the growth and development of the citizens of the Western Cape, and especially those in the rural areas of the Province. The Department's commitment towards the vision of making the Western Cape a home for all and the iKapa principles of dignity, equity and prosperity has truly been cemented by this award.

The rest of the team consists of:
Dr GJO Marincowitz - Head: Academy
Mr H Cook - Lecturer
Mr F Marais - Lecturer
Ms R Olivier - Lecturer
Mr D Barnard - Lecturer
Mr W Kenny - Lecturer
Mrt M Mjonono - Lecturer
Ms J Beerwinkel - Lecturer
Ms B Abrahams - Lecturer
Mr K Eland - Administrator
Mr K Langeveldt - Administrator

Enquiries: Alie van Jaarsveld
084 604 6701

Alie van Jaarsveld
Spokesperson
Ministry of Agriculture: Western Cape
Tel: (021) 483 4930
Fax: (021) 483 3890
Cell: 084 604 6701
E-mail: avjaarsv@pgwc.gov.za