President of the Republic, Hon. Jacob Zuma
Honourable Ministers and Deputies
Honourable Premiers and MECs
Hon Thabo Manyoni and past Chairpersons of SALGA
Our new SALGA NEC leadership
Honourable Mayors and fellow Councillors
Leaders and Secretaries-General from across the world
Distinguished partners and guests
Members of the Media and Academia
Dignitaries
Ladies and Gentlemen
Allow me to begin by mourning the passing of the former President of Cuba, Commander Fidel Castro, and hereby acknowledge the tremendous sacrifices of the Cuban people, under his leadership, in advancing our cause and in particular in fighting side by side with South African, Angolan and Namibian freedom fighters for us to attain our freedom.
I wish to honour the legacy of our past Chairpersons and leadership who have built this organisation over the last 20 years and to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude. It is because of their commitment that we have the SALGA we are all so proud of today and celebrate.
I wish to particularly honour my predecessor, the Hon. Thabo Manyoni and the outgone NEC in leading the organisation with such unity and cohesion over the last five years, including 4 consecutive clean audits and averaging over 90% performance against predetermined objectives, significant gains in the policy and legislative space, groundbreaking conferences and events, unprecedented labour stability, as well as his personal role in leading the re-unification of the UCLG-Africa and indeed in my campaign for the UCLG Presidency, among many other remarkable achievements. Hon Manyoni’s legacy is unquestionable and will forever be treasured in our records!
Delegates, as emphasised by Hon Manyoni in his opening address, these gains have been made precisely because the NEC focused on building UNITY and COHESION in the collective body of municipalities.
We must learn from their wisdom and continue our journey in that spirit if we are to build on the gains made and inspire the delivery of basic and quality services, economic growth and spatial transformation.
We must acknowledge the massive progress the sector has made over the last 16 years of its democratic life, including the provision of basic services to so many more of our people, the rapid development and quality of our infrastructure, the increased mobility, investments in social amenities and massive progress in financial management and institutional resilience.
Nevertheless, the current socio-economic climate and context of high unemployment (particularly among the youth), poverty and inequality pose particularly steep challenges to our development trajectory and threatens to erode the gains we have made in many areas to date.
We see the mounting pressure that inequality and exclusion now bring to bear on the public system, no more so than at local level, with the cost of living (transport and electricity in particular) and the effects of spatial injustice becoming an increasing barrier for accessing opportunities, development and poverty alleviation. Ever increasing population growth will only require more services and place additional demand on infrastructure services, housing and social facilities.
Therefore Unity and Cohesion in our resolve and commitment to work out the solutions using our collective expertise, knowledge and experience is the only way we can make significant inroads into the challenges confronting our people.
Our vision – Sustainable and people centered local government
Is premised on Continuity (building on successes and the good work of the previous NEC) and Change (new opportunities to challenge the status quo).
With regard to continuity, we must continue our investment in capacity building through the SALGA Centre for Leadership and Governance, Professionalisation, Labour Peace and Stability based on service standards, Governance Support and Advice and Profiling.
Recalling the spirit of the White Paper on Local Government, we believe that we need to close the gap between current reality and the sustainability we want, by inspiring Spatial Transformation, Economic Growth and Sustainability through:
- Good governance and resilient institutions, financial sustainability;
- Universal access to and quality of Services and Infrastructure; and
- Improving the quality of life and access to opportunities.
Above all else, this will require collaboration and building strategic and global partnerships for development through the UCLG and widening our partnerships network, learning with Cities and regions of the world. We must unlock barriers for our members through partnerships, negotiation and facilitation. In my view, greater collaboration through joint initiative and partnerships is the future of connected governance.
We need to remind ourselves that the vision of the Constitution and White Paper on Local Government is one of a strong local government, supported by a firm subsidiarity principle and original powers. This required local government capability to be built by continuous (systemic) support from National and Provincial Government, which has unfortunately not happened systemically or with any level of consistency.
During our term, we will therefore focus on SALGA’s role as PROTECTOR to enforce the rights of local government much more robustly, and constructively DISRUPT (in a positive sense) where the existing overall system (legislative, fiscal, policy, institutional) makes it impossible for local government to deliver on its mandate.
To do so, we will strengthen SALGA’s role as an advocate for local government, by positioning local government at the centre of our cooperative governance system, through:
- Progressive policy, legislative and regulatory reforms to ensure a more conducive framework for local government to execute the developmental mandate;
- Greater fiscal equity, revenue enhancement and financial sustainability of municipalities; and
- Defending the discretion and right of municipalities to govern the affairs of their communities on their own initiative, within the ambit of norms and standards parameters.
We must consolidate unity and cohesion of the local government agenda under the leadership of SALGA, with relevant players executing specific assigned mandates within a broadly canvassed and agreed collaborative programme. In sum, we must become organised local government speaking with one coherent voice and acting in unison.
This Conference has reaffirmed our call for strategic alliances with civil society and the mobilisation of private sector investment for our people’s development. It has also reiterated the importance of greater partnerships and collaboration with various bodies and development partners, within the context of resource mobilisation for critical programmes.
A rapidly changing world
At the same time, the world is in a constant state of flux, with globalisation resulting in a similarity and a commonality of experience. In this shift local issues are assuming a global character, with developmental challenges that are no longer just the experience of developing nations. These include climate and environmental challenges as well as social inequalities emanating from increased migration and urbanisation.
We need to remind ourselves of lessons learnt on the failure to reach some of the MDG targets. In this regard, we would emphasize that the New Urban Agenda should not be seen in isolation from SDGs and that there should be explicit linkages with each of the SDGs. The New Urban Agenda is therefore not only about SDG 11, as all the SDGs have a local dimension.
In short, our task is to support local government to respond (being empowered) to the complex and rapid changes of the 21st century, and use the opportunities that it and the 4th industrial revolution presents for modernising governance centered on people’s development.
As implementers and shapers of the future, it presents an opportune moment to reinvent ourselves to adapt and be responsive to the fast-changing environment. In particular, I think we have a major opportunity to pioneer development and transformation models that are more sustainable and just.
Addressing the new global development paradigm therefore requires new and innovative thinking, supported by responsive institutions and appropriate means of implementation. The challenge before us is to relate these global commitments into real results which our people experience, in whichever space they may be, whether rural, intermediary towns or cities.
We must ensure that we do not allow the geopolitically divisive fissures currently bedevilling our world to cascade down to our level. If anything, we have to lead by example and serve as a catalyst for unity at regional and global levels.
That is the focus of my UCLG Presidency and I will rely on your support to live up to the promise we have made to the World. With the diversity of experience, context and lived realities in this collective body of members and among our partners, I am confident that our global commitments will translate into tangible local results.
On this World AIDS Day, our pledge and signatures today commit us to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS and we celebrate the re-launch of AMICAALL at this Conference, knowing that much work needs to be done with urgency to eradicate this scourge, which too many of our people are still afflicted by. We dare not fail them!
In conclusion
I wish to thank all of our valued stakeholders and partners for their continued commitment to strengthening local government and ensuring that we deliver on our constitutional and electoral mandate.
To our African brothers and sisters within SADC and the UCLGA, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the European Union, the Chinese People’s Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries as well as the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, I wish to extend our sincerest appreciation for your contribution to SALGA’s 20 year journey thus far and we look forward to working much closer with you in localising the post 2015 development agenda. As the last few days would have demonstrated, you can rest assured that in SALGA you have a committed partner for sustainable development.
Members, the mandate from you is clear.
Let us march forward with unity of purpose and ensure that we practicalise our ambitions into tangible, liveable and sustainable local spaces and places, for the benefit of our communities and future generations.
The fact of the matter is that we simply can no longer afford to leave anyone behind!
May you all travel safely until we meet again!
I thank you.
