President Jacob Zuma today held a meeting with the Premiers of all nine provinces and the Executive Mayors of five of the six metropolitan councils, with Cape Town represented by its Deputy Mayor, at the Presidential Guest House in Tshwane.
President Zuma was joined by Minister in the Presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission Trevor Manuel, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane, Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka, Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, Deputy Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene, and Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Yunus Carrim.
Also present were provincial Directors-General, the Municipal Managers of the metro councils, and the Directors-General of the relevant national government departments. The meeting was part of the process to improve coordination between the leaders of the three different spheres of government.
In the Presidency budget vote in June, President Zuma observed that the experience of the last 15 years had exposed gaps in inter-governmental coordination. Government therefore decided to review the form and functioning of the President's Coordinating Council (PCC). Among other things, this could involve the inclusion of the metro mayors. The PCC is traditionally a meeting of the President and Premiers.
The meeting took place in the context of significant changes to the configuration of national government and the way that it approaches its work.
The meeting was briefed on the progress being made in developing an approach to national planning, and to monitoring and evaluation. President Zuma said: "By definition, these processes have to be located within the context of cooperative governance. National government cannot plan without the active participation of the other two spheres. Similarly, it cannot undertake effective monitoring and evaluation without looking at the functioning and impact of provincial and local government."
The Premiers and Mayors had an opportunity to comment on the issues being contemplated in the two green papers being prepared for public discussion. The contributions were much appreciated, providing perspectives drawn from practical experience of service delivery. These contributions are expected to enhance the consultation process and enrich the eventual outcome.
President Zuma said that since this government took office, it has emphasised the need to ensure that government becomes more accessible, responsive and accountable.
"The urgent need for a change in the approach of government institutions has been highlighted by recent local protests. While the reasons for the protests differ from place to place, they all point to shortcomings in the way that government relates to the people, whether at local, provincial or national level. We have agreed that this forum should be a place where we look at how to address this gap," he said.
Within the next month, the Presidency will be setting up a hotline as part of its enhanced public liaison capacity. While this is based in the Presidency, it is in reality a project of government in its entirety. Government has established a Public Liaison Forum consisting of public representatives from all 34 national departments and each of the nine Premiers' offices. These are the people who will need to make sure that queries and complaints from the public are effectively addressed.
President Zuma said there had been a frank discussion on the state of local government in the country. While much progress had been made, there were significant areas of deficiency. National and provincial governments have therefore committed themselves to work with their counterparts in local government to address areas of concern.
"We are encouraged by the deliberations today. They demonstrate a determination at all levels to work together to build a better life for all our people. We have no doubt that if we continue in this spirit we will be able to effectively close the gaps in inter-governmental coordination that we spoke of in the Presidency budget vote," President Zuma said.
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Issued by: The Presidency
13 August 2009
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za)
