The President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), which is the statutory body in which the President meets with Premiers and the leadership of the South African Local Government Association, yesterday took a decision to promote and champion the rights of older persons.
The PCC was briefed by the Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, on the need to promote and prioritise the socio-economic rights and the living conditions of older persons. It was agreed that Premiers will champion the rights of older persons and will also decide what mechanisms to put in place to ensure that this is done.
President Zuma had promised older persons during the Older Persons Day annual party last year that he would ensure that their rights are championed by government.
The PCC also discussed the frontline service delivery monitoring visits conducted by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency during 2012. A total of 215 service delivery facilities were visited, with an additional 20 return visits to 29 facilities that had been visited in 2011.
During the visits citizens were asked to score certain aspects of service delivery. The areas that were scored the lowest are: complaints and compliment management, visibility and signage of service delivery facilities, queue management and waiting times, and cleanliness and comfort. The President emphasised the need for departments in all spheres of government to improve performance in those areas.
The PCC also discussed compliance with the Cabinet directive to pay suppliers within 30 days. The report shows that the number of invoices not paid after 30 days declined during the course of 2012.
However, there is still a large number of invoices not paid, despite the decline. National departments reported approximately 33 000 invoices worth almost R600 million as being paid after 30 days or being older than 30 days. Provinces on the other hand reported approximately 34 000 invoices worth R1.6 billion as having not been paid within 30 days.
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Mac Maharaj
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Email: macmaharaj@icloud.com
