Programme Director
Your Worships, the Mayors present
Councillors and MMCs present
Esteemed Magosi
Municipal Managers and Municipal officials
Members of SALGA
Representatives of the NGO and CBO Sector
Esteemed Delegates
Departmental officials
Ladies and Gentlemen
Programme Director, We have come together to discuss, debate and arrive at common positions on the way forward for improving the system of Local Government in our province.
Today’s discussion gives us the welcome opportunity to collectively assess the progress which is being made in the actual theatre of implementation in the sphere of Local Government, to appreciate the challenges that lie ahead and to equip ourselves so that we may better be able to discharge our responsibilities diligently.
It is during this particular gathering where we must pause and perhaps robustly get a sense and determine our status quo in terms of the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) so that we should map a way forward in improving and accelerating service delivery across the Province.
We need to commit ourselves to serving our communities to the best of our abilities. Of more importance, the work ethic we need to portray is that we:
- Show leadership;
- Improve our oversight;
- Focus on job creation;
- Continue and speed up service delivery to eliminate backlogs;
- Maintain our assets, skills and experience base;
- Continue our sound financial governance tradition;
- Restructure our Province with increased densification, integrating public transport and improving electronic accessibility;
- Our administration works economically, effectively and efficiently to promote the interests of our residents;
- Promoting healthier and safer lifestyles, and
- Putting our people first.
Leadership and Commitment to serving people
Truly the 18th of May 2011 Local Government elections brought on board a new team of Councilors tasked with a huge responsibility of confronting head-on the challenges and complexities facing local government in the province.
A major challenge the province is faced with is to restore lost confidence in the system of local government as well as instilling trust and meeting the expectations of our people in government service-offering at large.
Programme Director, Social cohesion is necessary in this regard as this is about “engaging and sticking together” on all matters of development as a society. Government, people on the ground and the business community in general must be seen to be pulling in the same direction if we are to realise the objectives of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy. One of the key indispensable factors in the strategy is to address the consequences of social transition by:
- Encouraging the growth of the First Economy.
- Address the challenges of the Second Economy and build a social security net for the poor.
Our Province is richly endowed with natural resources and it presents ample growth and economic opportunities for all, especially in light of mining and mineral beneficiation, Agriculture and Agro-processing as well as manufacturing and Tourism.
However, we need to inculcate and entrench a sense of service-orientation, drive and commitment to quality service in order to reflect a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities; a society in which the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all; and a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and the wider community.
Ladies and gentlemen, Social exclusion and unemployment are terrible individual misfortunes that threaten the progressiveness and livelihood of society as a whole. This is why the adoption and implementation of measures to combat unemployment must be mapped out in order to come to the aid of the young and the poorly qualified.
The care that we devote to the most vulnerable is bound to have a positive knock-on effect on growth and yield returns that will benefit everyone. Because to be sustainable, growth must benefit everyone. Boosting economic prosperity and social cohesion are key tasks for our Government, and on them rests the fight against poverty and social exclusion.
The fight against poverty must be taken into account systematically when policies are formulated, whether they be employment policies, social policies, education policies, policies on migration and migrant integration or policies on the fight against discrimination.
Employment is, of course, at the heart of our preoccupations. A revival of growth that does not generate jobs would be pointless. And employment is undoubtedly the surest safeguard against poverty and the surest guarantee of strong social cohesion.
We have a population estimated at about 3, 2 million of which 51% is women, and 49% men. Out of these figures 36% comprises youth. More alarming is that the unemployment rate, according to STATS SA: Quarter 3 2010 Labour Force Survey stands at about 28.0%. About 35% of the population is illiterate and more than 60% are living below the bread line.
With this in mind, it is vital to tackle the concentration of high economic activity only in certain areas, as well as the rigidities created by the disparities of our varied landscapes in the province – we must find a way of creating synergy and “some economic vibe” among all districts in order to complement and stimulate areas that have not realised the full potential of economic activity.
The task we face today is no easy one. Our thinking may be ambitious yet realistic and above all necessary. But at this difficult time in budgetary terms, we must define our priorities carefully in order to satisfy the twin requirements of effectiveness in service-offering and impact on the livelihoods of the poor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am convinced that this political phase of reform is an opportunity and a responsibility for all of us to reaffirm our values and to reinforce our social cohesion. It is a time for greater solidarity allied with greater shared responsibilities. This does not mean less responsibility for each of us, on the contrary, this means a network and a multiplication of responsibilities and therefore reinforcement of our efforts to reach our objectives of impacting the lives of the people of the North West.
Councilors, Municipal office-bearers, galvanise into action and seize the opportunity to deliver good service, and that - let us be quite clear - necessarily involves seeking to safeguard and respect the dignity of the poor since that is the foundation of social solidarity.
Holding Municipal Office bearers accountable
Programme Director, A countrywide survey by the Institute for Democracy in Africa (Idasa) in April last year states that only one out of 10 citizens are satisfied with the quality of service delivery provided by their district and municipal councils. Our Province is no exception. However, our people have once again entrusted us with the mandate to improve their quality of life – purely because they still believe in us. We are obligated to ensure that the underprivileged and poverty-stricken enjoy a decent standard of living.
The provision of good-quality houses that are well serviced in respect of ablution facilities, running water and electricity must be accelerated. The approach to delivering these services should be labour-intensive, drawing on the unemployed, as opposed to well-connected tenderpreneurs.
Road construction and maintenance should be of good, durable quality, as approved by qualified civil engineers. Contractors who produce inferior infrastructure that collapses after the first heavy rainfall should be mercilessly held accountable. Streets should be kept clean and safe; and all wards should be provided with libraries, regular supply of clean water, community halls, parks and sports fields to keep our young people occupied.
Programme Director, we are aware that some Councils have to contend with semi-literate ward councillors. As a direct consequence of serious capacity deficiencies among a section of councillors, municipal officials tend to have more “manipulative power” over the politicians and to some extent can easily manipulate council.
Under such circumstances, it becomes easy for unscrupulous council officials to do the bare minimum, do it badly and get away with it. They would fulfil their legal obligation of remaining “accountable” to their respective councils by means of frequent reporting, but such reports would only reflect issues of their choice.
In essence, they would be setting the tone and direction of the Council debates because the Councilors lack the capacity to engage constructively and critically with the reports that end up being tabled.
Programme Director, a Roman Poet Horace said, “He who has made it a practice to lie and deceive his father, will be the most daring in deceiving others”.
For example - In one local municipality – in another place far from us, where only four out of 36 councilors had a matric level of education, the municipal budget speech that was delivered by the Mayor was written in English, a language that only four of the councilors could fully understand. This meant that only these four councilors could fully engage in and debate the contents of the speech.
I solemnly advise our Councilors to hold municipal staff to account: no delivery, no bonus; better still, no delivery, no pay. Read every flying document, ask probing questions and pay meticulous attention to detail before you approve any action.
Financial Management and Accountability
Programme Director, We are one of two provinces where more than half of the municipalities did not submit their financial statements for audit within the legislated time frames. This has adverse implications for the timely exercise of oversight by those charged with governance and may defer the opportunity for accelerated movement towards achievement of clean administration.
We need to pay meticulous attention to proper management of public finances. It is not good taste to obtain adverse audit outcomes. We have to minimise fruitless, irregular and wasteful expenditure at all costs.
The Select Committee on Finance and the Auditor-General were not impressed with the state of our municipal finances during their visit meeting to our province in November last year. They were particularly concerned about Maquassi Hills, Ventersdorp and Tswaing Local Municipalities. Of great concern, to mention but one example, was Maquassi Hills Local Municipality which was bankrupt, had a suspended municipal manager under forensic investigation, was paralysed by infighting, and had incurred R 750 000 in two months with continuing legal battles.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have to come up with ways on how to minimise the use of consultants in key competency areas that needs full time attention in order to ensure regular and timeous submission of accounting records to the Auditor-General.
We should have professional and well-suited incumbents employed in our Municipalities who will comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act and the National Treasury’s Municipal Regulations on Minimum Competency Levels, which requires that all managers dealing with municipal finances have to a minimum qualification and comply with financial competency levels appropriate to the budget and size of the relevant municipality by 2013.
Engaging Communities
Programme Director, former statesman, Dr Nelson Mandela once said: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands”.
There are compelling reasons why Councilors have to get better at engaging with their communities. The first is the government’s empowerment agenda, which means that councilors have a new duty to inform, consult and involve their constituencies. Councilors will be judged on how well they work with partners to engage citizens and improve their respective local areas.
Councilors, Ward Committees, Community Development Workers must work hand-in-glove and speak with one voice when cascading government`s messages to communities.
This necessary exercise may also serve to uplift your reputation and build trust among residents, as you are expected to demonstrate that you offer value for the leadership confidence you have been entrusted with.
Fighting Corruption
Eduard Shevardnadze once said: “Corruption has its own motivations, and one has to thoroughly study that phenomenon and eliminate the foundations that allow corruption to exist”. Corruption is still an unruly and uncontrollable infant – a challenge that diminishes the advances we made to build a better life for our people.
Programme Director, as a nation redressing the wounds and scars of active economic exclusion and years of inequality and repression, we should now know better than self-enrichment through unscrupulous means is equal to casting capital punishment on the defenceless poor. We must work actively to right the wrongs of the past and build a nation all of us can be proud of.
While most of us, in the public sector, are women and men of integrity who are driven by the honour to serve our people, there are those whose preoccupation is to steal as much as possible; do as little as possible to improve the lives of the poor and leave as much damage as an atomic bomb can cause.
Be that as it may, I see in this room very distinguished experts, many people committed to service, to the fight against corruption and poverty and to all matters that are now so urgent and necessary. I wish you a very successful summit, and you may be sure that the conclusions of these impending engagements will be an important contribution to the effective functioning of the system of local government that responds to the needs of the poor.
I thank you!
