Date: 16/03/2004
Source: Ministry for Provincial and Local Government
Title: Local Government MINMEC meeting of 16 March
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINMEC WRAPS UP FIVE-YEAR WORK
16 March 2004

The Local Government MINMEC, consisting of Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi, Deputy Minister Ntombazana Botha, nine MECs responsible for local government and the South African Local Government Association (Salga) wrapped up its work today by discussing a status report on local government transformation.

The meeting was unanimous that a lot has been achieved in the area of local government transformation in the last five years from drafting legislation later passed by Parliament, ranging from the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Systems Act, Disaster Management Act, the Traditional Leadership and Governance Act and the Property Rates Bill.

The local government transformation process is divided into three stages, starting with the establishment phase between 2000 and 2002, following the redrawing of municipal boundaries and the December 2000 local government elections. The meeting noted that the current phase, the consolidation phase between 2002 and 2005, was on track and achieving sustainability in this sphere of government from 2005 and beyond was within reach.

However, it noted that limited progress has been made in the areas of Intergovernmental Relations and prioritised 2004 as the year in which the Intergovernmental Relations Bill and Framework should be finalised.

The meeting also noted that municipal debt has actually increased in the years under review, but acknowledged work done to improve the situation thus far. The department is consolidating an intervention strategy that will help municipalities recoup the money owed, estimated to be around R26 billion. However, the issue of municipal debt is receiving ongoing attention from the department and has resulted in the establishment of the Municipal Revenue Enhancement Programme, which was initiated by the Minister in May 2002.

Minister Mufamadi commissioned an investigation to frame and examine the issue of municipal services debt and to provide some specific recommendations on the role that can be played by the national government in addressing this issue. The programme is bearing results as evidenced by the collection of more than R1,4 billion from government departments who owed municipalities for services.

The meeting also acknowledged the work already done in beefing up capacity in this sphere of government, with the launching of the Local Government Leadership Academy next year to be a crowning moment in the mammoth task carried out by the department and its partners. The Academy will train councillors and officials in various fields of local government administration and build their capacity for monitoring and implementation of government programmes.

The meeting noted the initiatives of the department in dealing with corruption in this sector, following the establishment of the anti-corruption unit. However, it was noted that few provinces have a local government anti-corruption strategy and all those involved committed themselves to have such strategies ready by the end of this year. A workshop with provinces on this issue is scheduled for August, as the local government anti-corruption strategy would have been finalised by July.

MINMEC also acknowledged that the majority of the country's 284 municipalities were providing free basic water and electricity, 90% in the case of the former and just more than 50% in the case of the latter. A strategy on free basic sanitation is being developed and the department would, by July, finalise national guidelines on indigent policy. It would also develop a framework for communities who use alternative sources of energy and would strengthen the monitoring of such systems.

In his closing remarks, Minister Mufamadi said it was indeed true that a lot has been achieved in this sphere of government in the last five years. He noted that local government issues were becoming an election issue even though elections for this sphere would only take place after its term expired next year.

"People legitimately complain about the billing systems. Very few municipalities in the developing world have delivered services to their citizens in the scale that ours have done. People would not be complaining about billing systems if government did not make significant progress in rolling out the electrification and water provision programmes. However, the complaints point to the need for us to enhance the capacity of municipalities to ensure sustained delivery and to be precise in their administration of accounts," he said.

It was important to talk about the challenges facing local government within this context. "We must treat this election campaign as some kind of barometer to assess some of the areas which are in need of improvement."

The Minister encouraged local government practitioners to harness the energies, which were evidently generated by the election campaign and channel them towards improving levels of public participation in the post-election period.

He said some of the criticism levelled at councillors during these meetings was legitimate, for example, their invisibility. "If we look at our own experiences, it has been proven that it is when there is dynamic contact between our people and leaders that solutions to our problems come up. You cannot just rely on efficient information technology systems and billing systems to communicate with our people," said Minister Mufamadi.

Local government has come a long way from the period when there were over 1200 racially segregated municipalities, to more than 800 after 1996 to the current 284, municipalities that are now focussed on growing local economies and extending the provision of services to areas that were previously neglected.

For more information please contact:
Xolani Xundu, Media Liaison Officer
Tel: (012) 334 0680
Cell: 082 777 8079

Issued by: Ministry for Provincial and Local Government

16 March 2004

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