Led by the Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Mr Yunus Carrim, the exercise is central to the implementation of the Local Government Turn Around Strategy (LGTAS), which was adopted by Cabinet as a programme of government in December 2009.
A legislative review seminar conducted with senior government officials from provincial and national government this weekend will result in an unprecedented process of reviewing legislation deemed to hamper the speed of service delivery in the country.
“This Legislative Review Programme will result in a comprehensive overhaul of the existing pieces of legislation related to service delivery, with the sole purpose of unlocking service delivery impediments,” Deputy Minister Carrim said.
The Municipal Systems Amendment Bill currently before Parliament is an example of this review.
In his address to the officials attending the seminar, Deputy Minister Carrim said that service delivery in the country was frustrated by legislative misalignment and conflicts among national government sectors, and between provincial and national government.
“Post 1994, many pieces of legislation have been passed and at times they do not talk to each other, which leads to duplications and possibly over regulation, which in turn affects a speedy service delivery decision making process,” said Deputy Minister Carrim.
The seminar acknowledged that the provision of services to citizens by government tended to take longer due to complex bureaucracy and lengthy procedures that local government often needed to follow before a service delivery-related project could even commence on the ground.
In undertaking the Legislative Review Programme, government, led by CoGTA will identify legal provisions that either prevent or slow down service delivery across government, which are in the main found in the following four areas:
- Legal provisions that lead to time consuming processes which result in undue delays
- Legal provisions ( or lack thereof) that result in decision-making ambiguity, where there is uncertainty resulting in no decision being made or decisions being delayed
- Legal provisions that impede the effective and efficient internal functioning of organs of state which consequently prejudices service delivery indirectly
- Legal provisions that require highly skilled, capacitated and well financed state institutions to take certain decisions or undertake actions, thereby constituting obstacles in the case of inadequately skilled, capacitated or resourced state institutions.
This comprehensive legislative review programme will be led by CoGTA and involve all affected government sector departments who will be represented in an intergovernmental coordinating committee. The review will focus on service delivery areas that include housing, health, education, transport, economic development, as well as safety and security.
Enquiries:
Vuyelwa Qinga
Tel: 012 334 0993
Cell: 082 877 3898
Nkanyiso Ndadane
Cell: 074 5235 119
Source: Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
