Mahdia Town Council on Friday, August 13, 2021, allocated a plot of land to the Ministry of Labour, Board of Industrial for the construction a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) training center and a labour office to tackle labour related issues in the mining region.
The 100 ft in length and 60 ft by width plot of land was handed over to the Minister of Labour, Hon. Joseph Hamilton by Councilor of Mahdia Town Council, Mr.Rikhiram Ramphal, who is also a Board Member of the Ministry of Housing and Water, Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
The Mayor of Mahdia, Mr. David Adams, was also present at the formal handing over, where he highlighted the township of Mahdia will see significant changes after been approached by the minister, earlier this year for the allocation of a plot of land. After the approach, the mayor said, a plot of land was identified by the council, that was initially to be used for a Housing Development Project.
Adams further highlighted that the Ministry of Labour, Board of Industrial over the years invested greatly into the residents of Mahdia through the delivery of TVET programmes but assigned trainers were without a facility for a number of years.
Minister Hamilton, in his acceptance speech told the small gathering, that the construction of the training and labour quarters will commence soon, since there are BIT Technical Officers who are already giving their duty to the people of the region but are working out of their briefcase and vehicle and not an office.
He stressed, to tackle the death rates in the mining region, when the facility is completed, there will be the placement of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), Labour and Co-op and Central Recruitment and Manpower (CRMA) Officers for the region. The minister further added, that Mahdia is not the only region, the ministry is working to acquire a labour and training facility but the same is carried out in Kwakwani, where NICIL will make a plot of land available with a building that will be rehabilitated.
The minister said, the aim is to offer the people of the every region, services offered by the labour ministry and with the extension of TVET programmes which will delivered through BIT. But first, he noted, that councilors and residents will be given the responsibility to highlight training demands that will be most beneficial for the development of the communities and region at large.
(Board of Industrial Training, Public Relations Department).