Programme Director,
The Executive Mayor
Mayor
SALGA leadership
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good day.
Programme director, I indeed count it a privilege to be afforded this opportunity on this day to be interacting with you, honourable mayors of our municipalities, as we move ahead with our Constitutional objectives of providing services to communities in a sustainable manner. I felt it necessary to prioritise meeting you in this fashion because we know that where there is leadership commitment, a lot can be achieved for our people in this province. We need to provide a democratic and accountable local government.
Before I go any further, let me take this opportunity and thank my predecessor, Mec Ishmael Kgetjepe for the solid foundation he has laid and the visionary leadership he has shown in the nine months he spent in this department. I thank him for the good work, strong leadership and great example. I hope the support you accorded him will be the same or more for me as we carry on with the work of changing the lives of our people.
The festivities of our 2014 fifth general elections have come and gone and the President in his inauguration speech on the 24th of May 2014 said: "We do not take this confidence bestowed upon us lightly. We are truly humbled and will do all in our power to build a South Africa in which all citizens will have a sense of belonging and hope for a brighter future". The premier on the other hand said in his acceptance speech following his election as the premier of this province at the fifth democratic legislature of Limpopo. We are called upon to work together to ensure that we create job opportunities for the jobless, that we accelerate the provision of houses for the homeless, above all, deliver water and electricity to the most needy in the vast farmlands and far-flung villages of Limpopo. You will agree with me from the onset that we have been entrusted with an important task and responsibility of anchoring change and leading the process of translating the ANC electoral manifesto into a meaningful workable action plan. What should drive us is that unequivocal voice and solid voice of the people of Limpopo which said our province can be best governed by the African National Congress.
When our people have spoken in this fashion, not working together is not an option because you and I know very well the service delivery challenges that lie ahead. We also know that the road ahead is long, hard and very demanding. Working together in this room, we can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that quality service delivery is achievable where there is leadership commitment and dedication. We can surely remind one another that the aims of a democratic society and a growing economy can only be realised through a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient system of local government. It is important to ensure that the tone from the top is always appropriate so that it permeates the rest of the organisation and we must as councillors set the right tone that talks to service delivery.
Needless to say, if local government fails, service delivery fails and the province fails. This is an important sphere of government and we must sharpen and deepen our understanding as we continue to tussle with the challenges presented by the current democratic dispensation particularly in the area of Local Government. This is one sphere that contributes to the achievement of a number of significant social and economic developments.
That is why the performance of our system of local government has been under close scrutiny in the last two or so years. Notwithstanding the valuable role that our municipalities have played in our new democracy, key elements of our local government system are showing signs of distress. Our municipalities make headlines dominated by issues of service delivery failures and protests, mismanagement, financial mismanagement challenges and poor audit outcomes, skills shortages, inadequate infrastructure planning resulting in the non-spending of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), corruption, high vacancy rates and other challenges that hamper service delivery in the face of huge service delivery backlogs.
It is in this spirit that I urge all of us to work together and not forget that the new administration has a clear electoral mandate to deliver on key priorities that must ensure that visible, tangible and positive changes are felt in all our communities, more especially our rural areas. As much as our Twenty Year Review indicated that South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994, it has also pointed out that poverty, inequality and unemployment as thorny issues plaguing our communities. To overcome we need all hands on deck and it starts with us here.
It is in this spirit that I urge all of us to work together and not forget that the new administration has a clear electoral mandate to deliver on key priorities that must ensure that visible, tangible and positive changes are felt in all our communities, more especially our rural areas. As much as our Twenty Year Review indicated that South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994, it has also pointed out that poverty, inequality and unemployment as thorny issues plaguing our communities. To overcome we need all hands on deck and it starts with us here.
The achievement of clean audit has been of a particular concern and poor state of financial management has been cited as the factor for poor audit outcomes. There has been a modest progress in achieving Government's Operations Clean Audit, targeting clean audit for all municipalities by 2014. This is something that we cannot allow to recur unabated. I am sure we all agree that there is an urgent need for additional capacity building and skills development for municipalities, as well as the oversight functions
What it means therefore is for all of us to commit to an efficient, effective and development-oriented institution of local government. We have a mandate to ensure functional municipalities in the entire province. Municipalities are by their nature responsible for delivery of basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and roads. Without proper functioning municipalities these services will not be accessed by the poor and the marginalised communities as intended, which may ultimately worsen poverty and underdevelopment. To achieve these objectives, the performance of our municipalities will need to improve undoubtedly so.
The challenge of fraud and corruption remain an important priority for the sector. This is so because corruption is a challenge that diminishes the advances we are making to build a better life for our people. We must be steadfast in our commitment to better the lives of the people of Limpopo and we must lead in eradicating corruption and inefficiency in our municipalities. The Premier has warned us in his acceptance speech and said: We will definitely not tolerate people who use state resources for personal gain. It is for this reason that we will be merciless in dealing with those involved, irrespective of their social standing. Let us heed the call and promote productivity within the public service and ensure much tighter accountability , with firm consequences where there is a failure to deliver services to our people. Our people might stop taking to streets more often if we deliver to them in a manner that addresses their basic needs.
One of the biggest problems facing municipalities is their continued inability to spend their allocated Municipal Infrastructure Grants. This situation has got to be urgently attended to if we have to improve on the current trend. In the implementation of our projects, planning is critical, so is the monitoring and evaluation of progress. Accurate feedback mechanisms are also essential in this case.
In conclusion, Honourable mayors, I wish to appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by the Premier to serve as the MEC for this department. He has when appointing me given me specific mandate to fulfil, among others is to ensure that there is sustainable provision of basic services, achieve good governance, service delivery challenges and credible leadership in all municipalities and the housing sector.
With the 2016 municipal elections looming, let us together provide that strong visionary leadership. We must be well equipped to deal with local government shortcomings and help our municipalities in achieving the aims of the National Development Plan, a key policy intended to drive South Africa's economic growth. The success of the NDP hugely lies on us getting the fundamentals right at this sphere of our government. Our capability to get closer to the people on the ground will make a huge difference
Let us together take ownership of the processes in our municipalities and show strong understanding of our organisational transformation. What remains at the forefront of government's development challenges are huge service delivery and backlog challenges, accountability relationships with communities and others. It is important as I conclude to note that despite the many challenges in our municipalities, there is sterling work undertaken by our municipalities across the province under the most difficult conditions yet continue to inspire with their vision , leadership and commitment to do well under highly challenging environments.
I therefore wish to call for your support and collective leadership to achieve these noble mandates. We have a lot of work to do to achieve functional and well-performing municipalities with the ability to achieve its set objectives consistently.
Together, we can move South Africa forward.
I thank you.
