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SIGNING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE
DEPARTMENTS OF HOME AFFAIRS AND BASIC EDUCATION
On 01 March 2010, the Director-General of the Department of Home
Affairs (DHA), Mr Mavuso Msimang and the Acting Director-General
of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Mr Bobby Soobrayan
jointly signed an Intergovernmental Protocol.
This historic event took place at the new offices of the
Department of Basic Education. The aim of this Protocol is to
strengthen the collaboration between the DoBE (so as to enhance
its monitoring and evaluation mandate) and DHA. This protocol is
in terms of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act,
2005(Act No.13 of 2005).
In more detail the objectives and priorities of the protocol are
as follows:
(a) To create a constructive working relationship;
(b) To foster a relationship of mutual cooperation, support and
assistance with regard to the sharing of information and best
practices in combating fraud in the process of registering of
birth certificates; and
(c) Establish formal channels of information sharing and
communication.
The protocol identifies specific areas of collaboration where
both departments will cooperate for the betterment of government
services to the people of South Africa. These can be summarized
as follows:
1. The DoBE to identify schools where there are a high number of
learners without birth certificates in order for DHA to visit
these schools to register births.
2. The DHA to conduct an accelerated birth registration campaign
in cooperation with schools in order to reach the target of
registering all births by 2011. The DoBE will promote and
communicate with schools to get the message about the Birth
Registration campaign across the various areas where the
campaign will be launched.
3. DHA to work together with DoBE to reduce duplicate numbers
detected by the Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking
System (LURITS). The DHA shall provide a mechanism whereby the
DoBE could check the validity of identity numbers and or the
link against identity numbers, names and surnames to assist the
DoBE to sort out duplicates and ghost learners in the education
system.
4. The DHA to provide DoBE with a list of identification numbers
of learners turning six and seven years of age each year so that
LURITS could track whether all learners are in fact in school
and to be able to identify learners that are of school going age
but never entered the school system.
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Premier
Maureen Modiselle speaks to Education
In support of quality schooling, government will support the
back to basics call by the President by implementing the
abolition of learner portfolios and the standardization of
teachers so as to release the load of teaching.
Premier Maureen Modiselle said during her State of the Province
Address at the North West Provincial Legislature today.
“We will be training subject advisors on subject content, an
area that research has identified as being weak,” Modiselle
said.
In the drive to strengthen the teaching of Mathematics and
Science in the province, government has in the past year
supplied Schools with various support materials worth R22.7
million.
Premier Modiselle said government will continue with the
refurbishment of laboratories and the special training of
Mathematics and Science teachers.
Performance monitoring of the educational system will be spread
across all levels and not only matric.
Modiselle announced that they have identified school governance
as an undermined variable in the performance of the education
system.
“In addressing this, we have inducted all new principals,
introduced a practical leadership programme for principals as
well as capacitating 953 school management teams to manage
curriculum at school.
Reiterating government's commitment to promoting the status of
teachers Modiselle said they will n ensure the employment of
adequate numbers, improve their enumeration and training as an
important part of the drive to ensure that quality teaching
becomes the norm rather than an exception.
“Our teachers are carriers of what this society will become.
They have the responsibility of shaping our tomorrows,” she said
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RENOVATING VERSUS
RELOCATING
Many homeowners have asked themselves the question: “Should I
stay or should I go.” However, says Frans Roos, Owner of RE/MAX
Exclusive in Klerksdorp, the decision to stay put and renovate
your existing home, or to sell it and buy another house, is
largely dependent on each homeowner's individual circumstances
and preferences.
If you do decide to renovate your home, be careful of
overcapitalizing, where you spend more money on additions or
renovations than the value they add to your property. Says Roos:
“The total value of your property, which comprises its current
value plus the cost of the proposed additions, should not be
more than 25% higher than the average property in your area.”
He notes that homeowners need to look at their neighbourhood and
find out what the average home in that area consists of: “If the
average home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and your home
only has two bedrooms and one bathroom, then it will probably be
worth adding on another room and bathroom.” However, in the
above example, Roos says that it won't be worth your while to
add another three bedrooms and bathrooms to this home. Doing
this would seriously narrow the market for potential buyers who
would be prepared to pay the required asking price that would
cover the value of the property plus the costs of the
renovations.
“If your property is in a good area, and you have owned it for
many years, there is less danger of overcapitalising, as your
home would have grown in value over that time. However, bear in
mind that if your property is in a good area and your house is
really old, then it might be worth your while to demolish it
entirely and build a new one. This is because the costs of
building new are much lower than the costs of renovations, as
builders charge premium prices for relatively small renovating
projects,” explains Roos. He says that in some cases, it may be
worth it to look around as you may find you are able to buy a
home in a similar condition for less than you would spend on the
renovations.
Roos also points out that it is vital to calculate the costs
involved in both renovating, selling and buying another home:
“To calculate what it will cost you to renovate, you need to
compare a couple of quotes from building contractors. Since the
cost of renovating or building can vary dramatically, depending
on what you want done and the finishes you chose, it is
essential to get detailed quotations that specify the exact
finishes you want. Quotes that are based on estimated per-metre
costs are dubious at best, and don't allow for proper
comparisons. They often lead to much higher costs down the
line.”
The kind of renovations you decide to make will also be a
primary consideration with regards to the financial feasibility
of the proposed project: “You need to take into account whether
the additions you are planning will add to or detract from the
aesthetics of your property. Cheap ad-hoc additions usually have
the potential to seriously devalue your property. Renovations
that add the most value to a property comprise upgrades to the
kitchen, bathroom, living and entertainment areas of your home.
But always remember, it is more often than not kitchens and
bathrooms that sell homes.”
Also, it is important to consider your future needs, he says:
“For example, it won't really be worthwhile to add on two extra
en-suite bedrooms if your children are expected to leave home in
the next few years.”
A final word of advice: “Homeowners need to carefully weigh up
the pro's and con's of renovating vs. buying before making a
final decision. At the end of the day, the decision is often
largely influenced by cost and personal circumstances.” |
