25 April 2006
The Northern Cape and the North West Provinces have since the first
democratic elections in 1994 had a number of shared municipalities officially
termed the cross border municipalities.
In the Northern Cape the Frances Baard District in particular had several of
its municipalities in its north-eastern border overlap with municipalities,
which were in the North West Province.
The Frances Baard District therefore shared and or overlapped with local
municipalities such as the Gasegonyane Moshaweng, Phokwane, Gamagara and
Kgalagadi District Municipality.
This in effect meant that the governance of those municipalities was a
shared political and fiscal responsibility of the Northern Cape and North West
Provinces. This geo-political arrangement meant that a matter such a local
government project had to be subjected to a tedious, labour intensive and out
rightly bureaucratic process of consultation between the local government
concerned and principals of the local government departments at provincial
level.
This process greatly affected and ultimately hamstrung the execution of the
provincial department of local governmentâs mandate in terms of those areas.
This affected communities negatively as government was literally caught up in
red tape.
Signing cross border protocol
At the end of February this year (2006) the Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms
Dipuo E Peters and her North West counterpart, Ms Edna B Molewa, signed an
agreement, which effectively repealed the statutory provisions of the cross
border municipalities in terms of the 12th Amendment of South Africaâs
Constitution Act 2005.
The effect of the agreement was to re-determine the local government borders
of the municipalities, which resided within the Kgalagadi (North West) and
Frances Baard (Northern Cape) districts.
The re-determination of the local municipal borders also meant that the
assets, rights, obligations, duties and or liabilities that resided within the
cross border municipality were now wholly excised from the one province and
transferred as is to the receiving province namely the North West and Northern
Cape Provinces respectively.
Status quo
In between the signing of the agreement and the actual transfer of the
affected areas service delivery must continue uninterrupted. This is achieved
via the same agreement, which states that in the interim the North West
Government will be responsible for and will continue to perform such duties and
basic services and related matters until its budget for the areas affected
expires in 2007. The protocol further makes provision for elimination of
authority vacuums and service delivery exigencies that may arise as a result of
the motives contemplated in the protocol.
In main the agreement protocol provides that a due diligence will be
performed to cover but will not be limited to the following:
* The status of assets and liabilities of the affected municipalities.
* Debtors balance of the municipalities and the age analyses of those
debts.
* Status of existing contracts and service level agreements.
* Infrastructure audit (buildings, implements, books of accounts)
* Personnel (including benefits, and retirement packages.)
* Projects ongoing in the affected areas.
* Program and revenue as well as spending trends for the year years ending 31
March 2006.
Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), asset management and municipal
resources
In developments not directly related to the agreement protocol but which are
nonetheless aligned with its spirit, a memorandum to the Premierâs
Co-ordinating Forum notes that a concerted effort be made by government
departments to help improve the resource base of municipalities included in
project consolidate.
Project consolidate was launched mid last year (2005) by Minister Sydney
Mufumadi to bolster the management and revenue base of financial and
managerially poor municipalities.
The briefing to the Premierâs forum proposes that government department meet
their financial commitments to municipalities promptly. This is for services
rendered to them by municipalities in which they reside.
The range of services include the provision of water, electricity, refuse
removal, sewerage outdoor furniture and the like to government institutions as
diverse as the clinics, hospitals, libraries, the rental of parks, warehousing
and others.
Although the debt owed to the indigent municipalities is not significant in
terms of it as a percentage of the provincial Government Development Plan
(GDP), it is deemed that the timely settlement thereof with the relevant
municipality may assist to ease its cash flow.
In this regard the government departments owe money for services rendered to
the Namakwa District Municipality of about R4 million. Sums of less than
R200.000 are owed to the Nama Khoi, Kamiesberg, Khai-Ma Municipality, Hantam
and Richtersveld.
The departments owe Siyanda municipality slightly more than R2 million in
services charges and negligible amounts to the Frances Baard and Kgatelopele
and Kai-Garib municipalities.
Further proposals to invigorate the economically depressed areas under the
scope of the protocol agreement are that financial institutions such as the
Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) pledge a capacity development task
force to needy municipalities.
In terms of this programme the DBSA will release about 30 of its personnel
and deploy them countrywide to help financial management at the weak
municipalities. In the Northern Cape the Siyancuma, Moshaweng and Kamiesberg
municipalities will receive this treatment for an extended period starting in
December 2006.
Conclusion
The Northern Cape will devise a strategic five year plan especially to
resource the local government sphere. The plan will in broad terms provide key
delivery focus areas, timeframes for delivery, the action champions of specific
programmes. It will involve all government departments at both national and
provincial levels as well as include in the planning and execution of the plan
the State Owned Enterprises (SOE).
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
25 April 2006
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.northern-cape.gov.za)
