Programme director,
National Leadership of SALGA
Provincial Leadership of SALGA
Leadership of National Municipal Manager Forum
Good evening.
Programme Director let me open my Message of Support by quoting the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr Silvio Berlusconi. We all know Mr Berlusconi's legacy in the body politic of Italy and Europe in general. My reference to him should not be interpreted to mean approval of his legacy as a leader. I happen to be amused by one of his many quotations that he has made which is the very opposite of his private and public life during his tenure.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi once said "Political credibility is like virginity- easy to lose, difficult to maintain and impossible to regain if lost". The quotation simply emphasises the importance of Upright Leadership. I hope to succeed to give context to this quotation before I conclude my message of support.
Programme Director, I will not do injustice to our visitors if I do not give them a glimpse in the window of the real province of Limpopo and not the Limpopo Province through the lens of the media. It is true that five Provincial Departments have been placed under Section 100 of the Constitution. Whether this is correct or not, history will judge. It is also true that the Minister of Finance has announced, soon after announcement of section 100, long before investigations were completed, that people will be arrested.
Indeed people were arrested. The one life lesson I learned in my short stint in the Legal profession is that if you initiate any litigation, you must be sure of the end-game. If during the course of litigation you begin to capitulate, and even offer to discontinue the litigation, you will be dented beyond redemption.
Programme Director, it is not true that the budget deficit of approximately 1, 7 billion has been created by this term of government. This budget deficit has been accumulating since 1999 when it was around 20 million until it reached 1, 7 billion in 2009. After all, Limpopo is not the only province with a budget deficit. The contrary is true. This term of Government reduced this budget deficit by approximately 200 million by end of November 2011, before section 100 kicked in. It is also not true that there is no Government in Limpopo. The Legislature and Executive in the province are discharging their constitutional obligations satisfactorily. Departments and Municipalities are providing services to the approximately 5 million people in the province. If there was an unusual problem in this Province, these 5 million people would have long revolted. Instead, in the 2011/12 financial year, we have experienced the least public service delivery protest by far.
Programme Director; permit me in the first instance to place on record my sincere gratitude for the invitation extended to me by the Provincial Executive Committee of SALGA. My gratitude also goes to everyone present here for making time to be with us in this part of the country. We welcome you.It is also my singular honour and privilege, as a former Municipal Manager, to address you on this important occasion of the National Municipal Managers Forum taking place in a province renowned for peace, stability, hospitality, warmth, patience and humility. Without being accused of blowing one's trumpet, I may have to share with you that in my two year tenure as a Municipal Manager, I have not received anything less than unqualified Audit opinion. In my two year tenure as the Head of Department of CoGHSTA, I have as well not received anything less than an unqualified Audit opinion. One of them was without matters of emphasis (Clean Audit). I must hasten to record that this is not personal glory or individual achievement. I was and still led by men and women who provided continue to provide credible leadership in the department; it is a collective effort by the credible leadership of the Province.
Greatly encouraging is to witness a gathering of this nature where the country's administrative leadership of our local sphere of government unite with one mission in mind, that is, to strategise on how best to deliver on the mandate and most importantly to reflect on the lessons learned in the last two terms of Local Government. It shows your determination and commitment to make a contribution towards our programme of building integrated and sustainable communities and breathing life into the five key pillars of our manifesto.
This gathering tonight confirms the view that leadership and learning are indispensable. As you interact today and beyond, your actions should inspire others to dream more, learn more in order to confront poverty, inequality and unemployment.I am saying this because as we look ahead into the next century, Credible Leaders will be those who produce other leaders in all spheres of our lives including as administrative heads of our municipalities. Administrative Heads who should understand the essence of leadership as having a clear cut vision and vividly comprehend tasks at hand in this phase of our National Democratic Revolution.
The quotation by Berlusconi became even more relevant during the occasion of Celebration of the Centenary of the ANC lecture at Fort Hare University, on 19 October 201, about the life and times President Oliver Reginald Tambo by Former President of the ANC, Thabo Mbeki. The former President went into some length in describing the leadership qualities President Oliver Tambo. He said of Tambo, "an unwavering commitment to serve the people of South Africa with no expectation of any personal benefit: this affirmed a value system at the centre of which respect for fundamental principle and practice that leaders are there to serve the people; a sustained determination to conduct himself in his personal life so that at all times he would never betray the ethical standards which he represented and led viewed as fundamental to their definition of themselves; the commitment, to its fullest extent, of the entirety of his enormous intellectual capacity and personal energy to pursue the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution; his capacity to communicate well-thought out , clear and relevant messages to the National Democratic Movement as a whole about its tasks at all times, which reassured everybody that there was purpose to their actions and a positive end-game to their sacrifices".
The questions that all of us must ask are, are we any near these leadership attributes? Do we possess these qualities which will be of benefit to our municipalities and the country in general? If not, what are we doing as leadership to regenerate and cultivate ourselves to reach this level?
Programme Director; let me draw your attention to our country's National Development Plan - 2030. The foremost Blue Print Strategic Development Plan. This is a document that aims to eliminate poverty, inequality and unemployment by 2030. This plan is centred on building a Developmental State which has a strategic and technical capacity to facilitate economic development and redistribution. The Municipal Managers gathered here, are expected to make this document, a living document. What is highlighted boldly as one important factor for the successful implementation of this plan is focused leadership.Leadership that has credibility and command necessary respect across all sections of society.
This development plan requires credible leadership, sound policies, skilled managers and workers with clear lines of accountability and commitment. Tied to this plan is our commitment to the Millennium Development targets which stipulate that by 2014, all households must have access to clean water, sanitation and reliable energy source. Indications are that, if current trends are anything to go by, it will need exceptional and credible leadership, commitment and dedication to achieve these targets. This commitment will require us to among others efficiently spend all the available resources dedicated to Municipal Infrastructure Development. The reality is that we have been under spending on the MIG from 11% in 2009/10 financial year to 19% in 2011/12 financial year.
It is important for those in leadership positions, such as you, the Accounting Officers, to work very hard towards creating conditions in which those who continue to be marginalised can also enjoy the fruits of our democracy. This can only happen if careful planning and decisive leadership is the order of the day when leading our municipalities. The current policy framework encourages integrated development and forward planning.
I have to admit at this stage that Forward Planning is still elusive generally in Public Service. It is your responsibility as Municipal Mangers to ensure that these policy imperatives are implemented without fail. Programme Director, the National Findings on Municipal Capacity Assessment in the year 2010/11, have revealed a high staff turnover in municipalities' Strategic Management Positions.This is a major concern to all of us and it can't continue unabated. On average, a Municipal Manager and a CFO spend 3 years in their positions. Percentage of Section 57 managers that left during the financial year 2011 is 15.7% while those that resigned are at 63.8%.
These are worrying figures because the loss of these skilled personnel disrupts the capacity of the Democratic Government to provide service delivery. We need clear plans to ensure that municipalities are in a position to guarantee uninterrupted provision of basic services. Surely, municipalities cannot have uninterrupted provision of services while we encounter high staff turnover at the strategic level.Our plans should also include emphasising compliance with the minimum competency levels when appointing senior managers in our municipalities. The five year grace period for compliance with the Minimum Competency Levels in specified positions is coming to end in early 2013. We shall never have excuse of appointing people without requisite capacity in our municipalities.In 2009, we gathered at Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg in the Province of Gauteng.
As we emerged out of that gathering, we committed ourselves and made a solemn promise to our people that no single public institution including our municipalities, will receive either a disclaimer or adverse audit opinion by 2014 financial year. The AG's latest report on Local Government painted a dismal picture with only 13 of the country's 283 municipalities receiving clean audits. Clearly, there is slow progress towards attaining clean audits. The report also revealed sadly that most of our municipalities, led by you here, are dysfunctional, lack effective internal controls and are plagued by rampant corruption. It also revealed lack of skills and accountability as well as little revenue base.
The Consolidated Report on the audit outcomes of Local Government 2010/11 shockingly revealed that 86% of auditees incurred unauthorised, irregular as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This is happening while MFMA clearly requires Accounting Officers to take reasonable steps to ensure that such expenditures are prevented. I believe you will agree that these serious anomalies should not be happening while 2014 is around the corner. It is therefore critical that strong and effective and credible leadership is urgently needed. We need an uncompromising credible leadership to deal with corruption and maladministration fearlessly. The challenges are great. However, we believe that gathered here are capable men and women who are equal to the task. As agents of change,let us utilise this opportunity to share experiences and exchange views to advance and lay a firm foundation of a Developmental State.
Let me conclude by saying once again "Credible Leadership is like virginity- easy to lose, difficult to maintain and impossible to regain if lost".
We shall emulate Oliver Reginald Tambo.
I thank you.
