Message from Chairman

Whilst paying attention to fixing the basics, ECATU has taken decisive strides to align itself with government's socio-economic transformation programme.

All this was aimed at improving the quality of life of rural and poor communities in the Eastern Cape. Management has taken value in constructive criticism to further refine activities within to put a sharper focus on target beneficiary needs and ensuring adherence to good corporate governance principles.

ECATU is the only public entity in the province that is dedicated towards undertaking applied research with a special focus on poverty eradication and rural development. It is therefore an invaluable asset whose potential has yet to be optimally utilised.

Provincial imperatives as outlined in the PGDP and other policy and strategic frameworks are the driving force behind planning activities. ECATU has worked together with relevant stakeholders to foster equitable access to basic infrastructure.

Projects have been undertaken through customised community participation methodologies. In the long term, this approach promotes self-reliance as critical skills are imparted to enable communities to sustain their efforts of looking after public assets provided by government. The rural people that have benefited from our projects come from various communities in the Eastern Cape.

A tariff structure has been developed, that will be used as a basis for project costing in the future. The basis for the tariff structure is to provide ECATU with a resource base to effectively undertake relevant project.

The challenge ahead is to ensure that within the available limited resources, the organization continues to achieve value for money deliverables. The performance of ECATU is also evident in the jobs created, skills developed and SMME promoted within the communities where projects were undertaken.

Our relationship with the Office of the Premier has grown stronger. This gives ECATU the opportunity to spend more time in the future spreading its wings across the province to strengthen strategic partnerships with other key stakeholders. We have identified strategic partnerships as the main pillar of our service delivery efforts.