The newly appointed North West Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation MEC, Wessels Morweng, has vowed to use his new portfolio to help the province create much-needed jobs for young people.
Morweng assumed the position on Wednesday following Premier Lazarus Mokgosi’s decision to reshuffle his Cabinet. He hit the ground running, meeting with the department’s senior management on Thursday.
He swapped portfolios with former MEC Galebekwe Tlhapi, who has been assigned the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management.
In an interview on YOU FM Newshour, Morweng highlighted his priority of creating jobs for thousands of unemployed young people in the province through the arts.
“We need to do something about the latest unemployment statistics released by Statistics South Africa in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2.
“What is disappointing is that, as a province, we are leading in terms of the high unemployment rate.
“We are now expected, as leaders from all government departments, to come up with measures and ways in which we can use out-of-the-ordinary approaches to turn the situation around, because people are becoming impatient every day.
“We need to move away from seeing arts and culture as just a source of entertainment and instead try to create an industry where artists and sportsmen and women can make a living from their God-given talents,” said Morweng.
Morweng has also ordered the CEO of the Mmabana Foundation in Mahikeng to ensure that 17 contract workers whose contracts expired at the end of August and were not renewed are re-employed.
The 17 workers were contracted to provide housekeeping and landscaping services at the Mmabana Foundation and Mmabana Park.
“I can assure you, without any doubt, that those 17 contract workers will return to work with immediate effect.
“If the CEO is listening right now, it’s an instruction to him. With the high unemployment we are facing, we cannot afford to lose even one person. We need to do everything out of the ordinary to change the situation of our people.
“Imagine losing 17 workers — 17 providers for their families. So, I have decided that they must come back to work, and I am prepared to give feedback on that,” added Morweng.
The MEC highlighted that the department is underfunded but vowed to use everything within his power to create jobs.
He also undertook to build on the foundation laid by his predecessor to ‘return’ Mmabana to its former glory and ensure that government procurement favours local creatives in the province.
