South Africa
15 April 2009
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele has been rated best Premier in South
Africa in an Ipsos Markinor Poll rating government leadership in the
country.
According to the poll, Premier Ndebele received significantly higher ratings
from voters than any of the other premiers. 73% of likely voters rated Premier
Ndebele's performance as "very well" or "fairly well." The Premiers of
Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the North West and Eastern Cape all received less than 50%
favourability.
Responding to the poll, Premier Ndebele said: "Since 1994, when I was first
appointed MEC for Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, I realised that it is important
to listen to people and to try to put forward their interests. My greatest
achievement in KwaZulu-Natal was far more than the delivery of houses and basic
services such as water and electricity â it was bringing peace and stability to
the province. You can achieve so much more when you create a peaceful
environment. It allows you to work as a team. It was teamwork within the
African National Congress (ANC) in the province and in government that saw
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) faring well."
The Ipsos Markinor Poll rating follows recent comments by the
Auditor-General (AG), Terence Nombembe, who praised Premier Ndebele and the KZN
Provincial Government for their commitment towards ensuring effective and
efficient financial management of the various government departments in the
province.
"KwaZulu-Natal is the only province in South Africa which has in excess of
45 municipalities â the province has 61 municipalities. The municipal audit
outcomes and trends for the 2007/08 financial year is one of the best in South
Africa. This is a very good success story of which KwaZulu-Natal must be
extremely proud of. The national average percentage for audit completion is
75%, but KwaZulu-Natal achieved 98%," said Nombembe.
Nombembe said KwaZulu-Natal also faired well in terms of the audit outcomes
and trends for provincial government departments, when compared to the other
provinces in South Africa. Nombembe's positive remarks on the state of
financial management in KwaZulu-Natal follows the landmark achievement by the
province's education department, which is one of the largest government
departments in the country, of moving from repeated disclaimers since 1994 to
an unqualified audit report in 2007/08.
The KZN Office of the Premier also scooped the prestigious Southern African
Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA) Annual Public Sector Reporting Awards
for its excellence in annual reports. Of all national and provincial government
departments in South Africa, the provincial Office of the Premier scored 92,25%
against the overall average score of 86,34%.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 644 4050
E-mail: maistryl@premier.kzntl.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
15 April 2009
