Education and Awareness Campaign Empowers Rural Communities |
| The education and awareness campaign that is rolled out across the length and breadth of the country by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) contributes significantly in empowering rural communities. This view was expressed by the Chairperson of the Moses Kotane Local Municipality chapter of the South African National Apex Cooperative (SANACO), Mr David Moletsane.
Moletsane was speaking on the sidelines of a session that was hosted by the dti at the Madikwe Community Hall, in the Moses Kotane Local Municipality, in the North West. The session was the third to take place in the province this week. The awareness campaign, which is aimed at educating members of the public across South Africa on the rights and responsibilities afforded to them by various pieces of legislation administered by the dti, was also conducted in the North West towns of Ganyesa and Delareyville earlier in the week. The campaign covered the Liquor, National Gambling, Lotteries Amendment, National Credit, Consumer Protection, Copyright, Performers Protection, and Companies Acts. “This is a commendable initiative by the dti. Communities in the rural areas are starved of basic information that is important in improving their lives. The information that is being disseminated here today is really valuable to members of our communities. But more importantly, this rare opportunity for the people in far-flung rural villages to be able to interact directly with national government officials and express their challenges about various aspects of their lives is highly laudable,” said Moletsane. Officials from the dti and numerous of its agencies shared information on the business registration process, the socio-economic impact of alcohol abuse, legal and illegal gambling activities, how copyright can assist creative persons, debt relief measures to reduce the impact of high levels of over-indebtedness, national lotteries, and fundamental consumer rights, obligations and responsibilities. The national education and awareness campaign was influenced by the realisation during the public consultations on the Liquor and Gambling Amendment Bills that the dti conducted throughout the country in 2016, that the majority of the country’s citizens were not well-informed about their rights.
Some of the community members who attended the education and awareness session hosted by the dti in Madikwe, North West Enquiries: |
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