Alfred Nzo’s first one-stop-shop government offices under construction
Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane together with the MEC for Public Works & Infrastructure Babalo Madikizela on Tuesday will attend a ceremony that will see the first-ever one-stop-shop government office in the Alfred Nzo District being constructed.
The sprawling office complex is geared towards being a one-stop shop for members of the public living in the vast and far-flung Eastern region of the Eastern Cape with the view to decentralize government services in the province. According to the government, the move is to generate revenue for provincial departments and the broader provincial government by significantly reducing expenditure on office space rentals.
It is the provincial government’s stated objective that the Emaxesibeni Office Precinct will also serve as a gateway site to the rest of the government precinct within Mount Ayliff.
The move will see provincial departments residing and leasing in Kokstad, which is part of KwaZulu Natal, move to the Eastern Cape and generate revenue for the Eastern Cape Province and Mzimvubu Local Municipality, under which Mount Ayliff falls.
‘’We are doing these one-stop-shops mainly to service our people such that they get most government services under one roof. These precincts also present other positive spin-offs such as business opportunities for young people as they can be able to open coffee shops and internet cafés,’’ said MEC Madikizela.
‘’In the case of the Emaxesibeni one, there will also be accommodation available for workers and a shopping mall nearby. So we are creating one-stop-shops in the true sense of the word,’’ added the MEC.
The provincial government departments within the Alfred Nzo district are currently housed in prefabricated structures and leased buildings in Mt Ayliff, Maluti and the Umzimvubu areas within the Eastern Cape.
The following government departments will be housed in this initiative:
- Public Works and Infrastructure
- Provincial Treasury
- Rural Development and Agrarian Reform
- Economic Development and Environment Affairs and Tourism
- Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs
- Transport
- Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
- Safety and Liaison
- Health
- Human Settlements
