The Department of Local Government and Housing has expressed its sincere commitment in collaborating with all municipalities in Gauteng, in making sure that they find a collective solution that will respond to challenges facing local government.
This commitment by the Gauteng MEC for Local Government and Housing MEC, Kgaogelo Lekgoro, follows the launch of local government turn around strategy, which was held at Braamfontein’s Parktonian Hotel, yesterday.
The local government turnaround strategy’s main aim among others is to improve the organisational and political performance of municipalities and in turn improve delivery of services. This launch comes in the heels of the recent wave of service delivery protests where councillors were at the receiving end of some of these violent protests.
Therefore, this launch is responding to this situation, the new administration has recognised the need for provinces and national government to focus on local government and sharpen the support and monitoring function with regard to local government. This will then improve service delivery and provide basic services to communities in line with constitutional mandate.
“The turn around strategy is effectively a strategy and support framework to be undertaken to improve the system of local government for the better, in order to rebuild and improve the basic requirements for a functional, responsive, efficient, and accountable developmental local government, as well as building and restoring the confidence of the majority of people in local government”, MEC Lekgoro emphasised.
The MEC added that gains which form part of the review strategy identified a number of areas of excellence that municipalities have displayed in some areas around service delivery, institutional development and governance.
He said: “This goes to confirm our view that whilst municipalities are facing challenges, we still have some pockets of excellence that show that our system of local government has not collapsed as some have argued.
“The turn around strategy will also attempt to elevate such areas of excellence as best practices municipalities must begin to share amongst themselves,” he continued.
Another highlight is that Local Government and Housing has registered an improvement with the audit outcomes for the financial year ending 2008/09 which showed a marked improvement from previous financial years.
“Notwithstanding challenges municipalities are facing, this improvement illustrates that we are beginning to realise that opportunities of improving their performance are beginning to be a reality”, Lekgoro said.
Speaking at the forum, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Councillor Khorombi Dau, said SALGA has embraced the local government turn around strategy initiative, however, the implementation needs “all of us to harness our efforts to reach the targets that have been set. Some of the critical elements include working together in a coordinated fashion”.
For more information, contact:
Fred Mokoko
Cell: 082 447 8407
Tel: 011 355 4013
E-mail Fred.Mokoko@gauteng.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Local Government and Housing, Gauteng Provincial Government
5 February 2010
