Thirty rural villages in the Far Northern part of the Limpopo will now be able to access government services following the official opening of the R5 million Makuya Multi-Purpose Centre on Saturday.

Officially opened by the MEC for Transport, Stan Motimele, representing the Premier, Sello Moloto, the multi-purpose centre houses the Departments of Home Affairs, Health and Social Development, Labour, Economic Development, Transport, Mutale Municipality Section, SAPS and a Telecentre. Villagers used to travel 77km to Thohoyandou town to access the said services.

Of the 76 multi-purpose centres in the country, the one at Makuya is the 11th in the Limpopo Province. Mainly funded by the Vhembe District Municipality and Tshikondeni Kumba Resources, the Makuya Multi Purpose Centre is also the result of the joint efforts of the Mutale Municipality, the GCIS and the Limpopo Development Forum.

When opening the centre on behalf of the Limpopo Premier, Motimele said the multi-purpose centre is aimed at extending public services to the rural poor. He said the centre is a primary vehicle to help the government in conveying high-quality services without barriers. He added that the establishment of the centre would also help to cut the amount of money and time for villagers who used to travel long distances to acquire the services elsewhere. Motimele said the government aims at providing at least one multi-purpose centre per municipality in 2014.

“We hope the community will make full use of the centre because the much-needed services will now be available on your doorstep. As a government, we strongly believe that the centre will never be a white elephant as it would be cared for, with responsibility. This is one of the existing projects by our government to make the lives of our people easy and enjoyable…”

Motimele encouraged teachers and learners to make use of the telecentre to acquire computer skills. “Today’s life is based on science and technology and we encourage teachers and learners to use the telecentre to improve their skills. Science and technology are the backbones of our daily development and we believe the centre will obviously change your lives.”

The MEC also distributed birth certificates to the villagers during the function.