KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Senzo Mchunu has cautioned members of the executive council, mayors and senior management in various spheres of government that they are all responsible for the successes and failures of the provincial government. He was speaking at the provincial executive council Lekgotla, which is currently underway in Durban.
“In his book entitled ‘Why States Recover – Changing Walking Societies into Winning Nations’, author Greg Mills says countries can change for the better. But outsiders cannot fix state failure. Insiders are largely as responsible for their recovery as for their decline, since it is local politics, customs and rules that overwhelming shape their choice and thus their destiny.
“Greg continues stating that the costs of failure and the potential rewards of recovery are enormous. He says today the bulk of the world’s poor – totalling 1.1 billion of the planet’s seven billion people – live in failed or failing states.
“I therefore believe that in order to create a successful KZN government, we must all ensure good governance and sound financial administration at provincial and local levels. Good governance means that at all times state resources must be used to strengthen the delivery of services such as quality education and health care, electricity and water, human settlement, reliable public transport and to drive job creation initiatives in partnership with the private sector.
“Corruption and greed remains the main causes of failure of most states and governments. We all have the responsibility to practice prudent fiscal management. Our improved financial management will better enable this province to grow and prosper for many years. It will demonstrate to the potential foreign investors that we are ready to take charge of our future.
“Importantly, a successful government is preoccupied with entrenching social cohesion and there are high levels of stability with people feeling safe in their homes and in public places. The majority of us live in secure homes with alarm systems whilst ordinary members of society live in fear. This cannot be correct. We have the responsibility to lead by example and ensure that we turn around the situation.
“We must mobilize society to fight the proliferation of drugs which threatens the fabric of our society. We must deal with serious crimes such housebreakings associated with the torture of victims and we must curb escalating gruesome murders. The recent murders in KwaMashu, Ladysmith, Mandeni and Glebelands are a cause for concerns.
“The taxi industry continues to be characterized by violent protests and assassination of taxi operators has become an accepted business practice with areas such as KwaDukuza often in the spotlight. This government must act decisively to root out lawlessness.
“We need to deal with other conflicts such as religious and cultural intolerance including racial based violence. We must work with traditional leaders to prevent any re-emergence of tribal conflicts in rural areas such as Ngudwini and Umsinga.
“While there should be a greater focus on service delivery and driving socio-economic development, we must deal with any form of instability and work hard to promote the unity of our people in order to build a winning nation.”
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