Act together to rebuild society says Mbeki

By Mayibongwe Maqhina

QUMBU -- People should set their minds to the task of working together to rebuild their lives and not merely sit there saying what should be done for them, President Thabo Mbeki said at the weekend.

Mbeki was visiting Makhenkesi Stofile Technical School at Tsilitwa near here as part of the Imbizo programme aimed at improving communication between the government and the public.

Earlier in the day Mbeki laid wreaths at the site where seven taximen were shot dead on the Qumbu-Mount Frere road last month on their return from the national taxi conference in Durban. He was also shown a multi-purpose community centre with a communications and community training function.

The centre -- formed through a partnership with local community and a consortium of organisations -- accesses and distributes information to the community, linking schools and clinics to enable them to access services and resources like telemedicine and distance education.

Addressing a crowd of more than 1500, Mbeki said it was inspiring "that deep in our rural areas you find people handling information, communication and technology, the most modern technology in the world. (I think this is) very interesting that these young people here can communicate with schools in England and together start discussing the problems of the world."

He expressed delight that nurses at a local clinic were able to use a digital camera to take photographs of examples of illnesses they did not understand,
e-mail these to the best hospitals in the country, and get feedback on the nature of the disease, how to treat it and what drugs to use.

"I think this is a very inspiring example," said Mbeki, expressing gratitude to the organisations that had made it possible.

"I think we must also say thank you very much for the enthusiastic involvement of the people of Tsilitwa and other areas.

"I think it shows what can be done if we set our minds to this task -- that we must work together to rebuild our lives and not merely sit there and say 'what are you doing for me?' but to say 'what is it that we can do together?'," Mbeki said.

Mbeki promised the community that roads there, which are in a bad condition, would be upgraded. He saw for himself the state of the roads after he was forced to travel by vehicle when his helicopter was grounded due to the inclement weather.

Due to the weather he could not go to all the places scheduled and the trip to Port St Johns was cancelled.