Deputy Minister,
MEC,
MMC,
Councillors,
Program Director
Today, South Africa is a country fundamentally different from yesterday. We have entrenched democratic institutions and propelled the country towards growth, stability and development. In less than twenty years we have provided our people with free access to education and increased the number of public health centres that operate twenty four hours a day.
We have provided multitudes of the poor with shelter and tenure rights. Many of these people are today proud owners of houses which were built and provided by the democratic government, in addition we also provided our people with a social security net in the form of grants, to help alleviate the problems of hunger and unemployment.
More people today have access to clean running water and improved sanitation. Instead of relying solely on paraffin and candles for lighting and cooking, many people are enjoying the privilege of having electricity connection in their houses. Life under the current regime is indeed a pleasure to live than it was just two and half decades ago.
We succeeded because we took a well-considered position of pulling South Africa out of the doldrums of socio-economic stagnation towards prosperity. We understand that any developmental agenda will not be realised if it is not people-centred and people-driven. Hence all our programs have been largely shaped and influenced by the aspirations of the mass of our people.
Moreover, we understand that democracy, if not entrenched at the grass root level is bound to be a farce. What will strengthen our democracy more than anything else is sharing information to empower our communities so that they too can participate meaningfully in developmental programs.
But, if we withhold information, which in many ways is the life blood of democracy, we are denying our people their basic right and rendering the democratic processes and institutions ineffective.
If we appreciate this reality we will fully understand the significance of establishing and supporting systems and structures that are community-based in our localities. Besides these being the fora for community members’ interaction, they are a valuable conduit between government and the people.
The space occupied by these structures is not supposed to be a competitive one but a complementary one.
The Community Development Workers (CDW), the Councillors and the Ward Committees are structures that are established to serve our people and advance the developmental agenda of our society.
I need to reiterate, these structures are not in any way meant to compete but to complement one another in pursuit of a collective agenda of transformation and development. It is only the comprehension of this agenda that each and every one of us must have.
The perceived contestation between the structures of our people and their representatives poses a serious threat to our programs. We tend to spend much energy pursuing what is not in the interest of the communities we serve at the expense of that which we must defend, promote and advance.
If we continue with such tendencies of undermining the purpose of our roles, we run the risk of betraying the very faith and the mandate that our people gave us in this province in particular and the country in general.
To strengthen and streamline the work of the CDWs in Gauteng we took a decision to establish a fully-fledged Community Development Workers Programme Directorate which is managed by a Director and located in the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs.
There is in total 425 CDW deployed in 382 wards. 142 wards are currently vacant. In Gauteng, all CDWs report to the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs.
CDWs have played a pivotal role in ensuring that government is accessible and responsive to the needs of citizens, by referring identified cases to the relevant government departments.
CDWs also identified blockages that delay service delivery and reported them to the relevant government departments for their attention. This has been an effort to bring government closer to the people.
There are indications that CDWs are finding ways to work productively with ward councillors and municipalities, although it is recognised that there are continuing challenges in this area.
The work of the CDWs can be improved through working closely with all sectors in our respective localities. In other words, we need to establish intersectoral structures that will promote the programs of the government in communities.
It is the responsibility of the CDWs to engage in advocacy work, where CDWs initiate as well as support government campaigns. Advocacy initiatives should be seen as those developmental issues that are geared towards educating, informing and capacitating communities around different matters organised by any of the three spheres of governments.
These could take the form of door to door blitz, campaigns and other initiatives spearheaded by the different government departments.
It is when we become aware of our role that we can make a difference. This government needs dedicated and disciplined servants of the people; those who are motivated and driven by the desire to improve the conditions of the masses of our people; the cadre who does not hesitate to stand up against any form of abuse, corruption and exploitation occurring in our communities.
It is therefore important that when we engage and discuss, we are mindful of our roles and mandate.
Dankie, ngiyabonga!
