L Msengana-Ndlela: Preview on Bophirima District Municipality
Presidential Imbizo

15 May 2006

Introduction

The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Ms Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, accompanied by Cabinet Ministers, the Premier of the North West
Ms Edna Molewa, and senior government officials will visit Bophirima District
in the North West province on Friday, 19 to Saturday, 20 May 2006.

The Deputy President will interact directly with the public for the first
time in an Imbizo following the successful Local Government Elections of 1
March. Presidential Izimbizo are aligned with Project Consolidate, a hands-on
Local Government Support and Engagement programme as well as the Accelerated
and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA). Central to these
Izimbizo is the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process, which enables
and empowers communities to participate in confirming local development
priorities.

Background

In 2005, and in the previous phase of the Presidential Izimbizo programme,
the main focus was the municipal council, its officials and ward committees,
with attention paid to Project Consolidate municipalities. The aim was to
identify the nature of problems related to less than optimum levels of service
delivery. In this current phase, the Presidential Izimbizo programme will still
focus on the council and officials. Added to this current phase is the
opportunity for direct interaction with communities and stakeholders such as
business, youth groups and farmers.

This approach means that through these Izimbizo an opportunity is provided
to all three spheres of government, stakeholders and communities to interact in
an unmediated manner on matters of service delivery and development.

In this context, this Izimbizo programme also seeks to focus on the three
strategic objectives (2006-2011) for local government, which were developed by
the Cabinet Lekgotla in January 2006.

These are:

* mainstreaming hands-on support to local government to improve municipal
governance, performance and accountability
* addressing the structure and governance arrangements of the state in order to
better strengthen, support and monitor local government
* refining and strengthening the policy, regulatory and fiscal environment for
local government and giving greater attention to the enforcement measures.

Summarised profile of Bophirima District Municipality

The area of Bophirima is made up of six local municipalities, namely:

* Greater Taung
* Taung, Longaneng, Lykso, Madipelesa, Manthestad, Marubiseng, Mokasali,
Mokgareng, Mololema, Motsweding, Norlim, Pudimoe, Reivilo, Sekging, Shaleng,
Steekdorings, Tlapeng, Vaalboshoek
* Mamusa
* Albertshoek, Amalia, Avondster, Koosfontein, Mamusa (Schweizer-Reneke
* Kagisano
* Alettasrus, Algiers, Austrey, Barden, Coetzerdam, Egham, Eskdale, Eureka,
Ganyesa, Goodwood, Kagiso, Kgokgojane, Klein-Tswaing, Langehorn, Louwna,
Madiakgama, Madinonyane, Morokweng, Perth, Piet Plessis, Rusten, Southey,
Tsilwana
* Molopo
* Bray, Moloporivier, Pomfret, Senlac, Terra Firma, Tosca, Vergelee,
Vorstershoop
* Lekwa-Teemane
* Bloemhof, Boitumelong, Britten, Christiana
* Naledi
* Mansfield,Vryburg, Denonlea, Broedersput, Huhudi, Kameel, Setuat, Stella.

Three traditional communities and traditional leaders are found in the
Bophirima District Municipality. They are:

* Barolong boo Mariba ba ga Letlhogile
* Mmusi Abner Lethlogile
* Batlaping ba Phuduhutswana
* Tsepo Frederick Mankuroane
* Batlaping ba Phuduhutswana ba ga Mothibi
* Kgosiemang Isaac Mothibi

Municipalities have five Key Performance Areas by which are assessed and
monitored. They are:

* basic service delivery and infrastructure
* local economic development
* municipal transformation and institutional development
* municipal financial viability
* good governance and community participation.

Basic service delivery and infrastructure

There has been notable progress in the District with regard to the provision
of basic services. More than 64% of the households have been provided with
electricity in the entire District. Clean water is now accessed by more than
75% of the households and more than 10 000 households within the District have
access to basic sanitation.

The construction of roads to improve the accessibility of the area and grow
the economy of the District is underway. A total of 71,5 kilometres of road
have been completed.

Over 2 800 houses have been built so far in the area. Although such progress
has been recorded in the District, there are still backlogs with regard to
provision of services. With regard to electricity, the District has a backlog
of 110 714 households. With regard to refuse removal, the backlog stands at 106
709. The district has a 4 000 bucket system backlog and 115 285 water and
sanitation backlog.

Since February 2006, heavy rains have been experienced in the Bophirima
District. These rains have caused flooding which has resulted in extensive
damage to infrastructure and in communities being isolated. Support was
provided to over 6 400 people in the form of accommodation, food parcels,
blankets and other essentials. Long term interventions are also undertaken to
restore infrastructure that was affected.

Local Economic Development

The economy of Bophirima District Municipality is mainly driven by
agriculture, with Vryburg being the economic hub of the region focusing mainly
on beef farming and producing maize, groundnuts, sunflower seeds and
sorghum.

Government spending is second to agriculture in terms of contributing to the
economy of the District. Manufacturing and retail are also key contributors in
the economic growth of the District.

The District has a Growth and Development Strategy that provides a basis for
future economic planning. 82,54% of the households have an income of equal to
or less than R19 200 per year, meaning that 15% of households in the District
Municipality live below the minimum living level.

According to the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) the District plans
to:

* prioritise economic growth and job creation
* create an environment conducive enough to attract investment
* foster development based on local potential.

Unemployment currently stands at 77% of the population in the 15 - 65 year
age group. Limited exposure to education and training is a considerable barrier
to economic progress. Skills development is needed to contribute to the general
economy.

Municipal transformation and institutional development

The District and local municipalities have displayed a level of stability
during the past five years. In municipalities all but two mayors finished their
term except in Mamusa and Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipalities.

The municipalities have high vacancy levels which have a direct negative
impact on service delivery. Greater Taung has a vacancy level of 62% while
Kagisano's is 35%. A low salary offered for the jobs at municipalities makes it
difficult for the municipalities to fill vacant positions. However, all
municipalities have filled the positions of Municipal Managers.

Capacity to deliver services needs to be increased in Kagisano and Molopo
Local Municipalities, but all other municipalities have the capacity to deliver
the electricity reticulation function and other services.

The District Municipality and Local Municipalities have adopted the
performance management framework and some municipalities are implementing
performance contracts, which are linked to targets in the Service Delivery and
Budget Implementation Plan. The District Municipality has an Employment Equity
plan.

Municipal Financial Viability

Current Status

All the municipalities within the Bophirima District have increased their
operating budgets in the 2005/06 financial year when compared to the actual
expenditure incurred in the 2004/05 financial year. The highest increase in
operating budget provision has occurred within the Kagisano municipality and
the lowest increase in operating budget is that estimated by the Naledi
Municipality.

The capital budget of all the municipalities within the Bophirima District
have increased in the 2005/06 financial year when compared to actual
expenditure incurred in 2004/05 financial year. All the increases comprise at
least 50%, while the Bophirima District Municipality, Mamusa, Greater Taung and
Lekwa-Teemane have doubled the amount that was expended in 2004/05. This
reflects as much a lack of capacity to spend the capital budget in 2004/05 as
it reflects a higher availability of funding for capital projects in 2005/06
(Municipal Demarcation Board Assessment of Capacity: Bophirima District
Municipality Report, 2005/06).

Intervention strategies

Based on the analysis and the audit reports for 2001/02 to 2004/05 financial
years most of the municipalities do need some assistance as indicated
below.

* Credit control and revenue management

The four local municipalities that provide services for which consumers are
billed will benefit from credit control and revenue enhancement support. In
respect of credit control, existing procedures will need to be analysed in
detail to determine which processes require improvement. In addition, specific
assistance needs to be given to the local municipalities to develop indigent
support policies and revenue enhancement strategies to improve their cash flows
and debt collection. This strategy will need to be undertaken in conjunction
with the budget restructuring referred to below.

* Financial management support

The municipalities that received disclaimers from the Auditor-General will
receive assurance in reviewing their financial policies, control procedures,
accounting processes and overall system of internal control in order to rectify
this adverse situation. The details of the Audit Reports will set out specific
details of what support strategy is required.

In respect of municipalities that received qualified opinions, support to
rectify the circumstances giving rise to the qualification should be
provided.

* Budget restructuring

The four local municipalities that are in need of credit control and revenue
enhancement assistance will benefit from structured training in budgeting with
specific emphasis on budget restructuring. Structural issues such as
containment of personnel costs, ensuring repairs and maintenance are adequate
and ensuring that realistic revenue is included in the budget are key areas of
budget restructuring support that is required. This may also require a critical
review of affordable service levels and a review of how services are rendered.
It may also require a review of the sustainability of infrastructure grant
funding to ensure that municipalities budget for the increased costs emanating
from infrastructural development in their operating budgets.

If this is not done, it is unlikely that the local municipalities will
address their financial viability challenges.

Good governance and public participation

Current status on community participation and Ward Committee system

The new councillors are starting to have meetings in their wards since the
local government elections. 52 Ward Committees have been established and are
functional. Only two Ward Committees, one in Greater Taung and one in Molopo
Local Municipalities are not functioning. Monthly and quarterly meetings are
held by the Ward Committees and minutes and reports are presented to the
Council and Council Committees for further deliberations (Bophirima
Presidential Municipal Imbizo presentation by the Speaker, November 2005).

The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) review panel (2005) noted the good
relationship between the District and the Ward Committees:

The District indicated that Ward Committees have been trained on matters
such as the local government policy framework and legislation, powers and
functions, leadership skills, community participation, meeting procedures,
municipal service delivery, performance management system, conflict management
and the budgeting process (Bophirima Presidential Municipal Imbizo presentation
by the speaker, November 2005).

Some of the challenges facing the Ward Committees in Bophirima District
include the following:

* vastness of the wards
* insufficient compensation for ward committee members for 'out of pocket'
expenses
* limited capacity to carry out ward activities
* lack of office space to perform daily administration and tasks of the Ward
Committee
* ineffective communication between the Council, Ward Committees and community
(Bophirima Presidential Municipal Imbizo presentation by the speaker, November
2005).

Conclusion

The Presidential Imbizo forms part of efforts to accelerate the
implementation of government's Programme of Action (PoA) and improving the
institutional capacity of Local Government to deliver basic services to
communities as well as advancing participatory implementation of government
programmes to create a better life for all.

This Imbizo will present a platform for engagement between government, civil
society, business, other key stakeholders and the communities. It will also
seek to create a favourable environment for government to implement the three
local government priorities for the next five years. These interactions will
seek to provide immediate solutions to challenges experienced by Bophirima
District, some of which are raised in this preview, that of service delivery
and development at local government level.

Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
15 May 2006
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government (http://www.dplg.gov.za)