Premier Sihle Zikalala: Taking the Legislature to the People

Address by Premier of KwaZulu Natal Mr Sihle Zikalala during the Taking the Legislature to the People held at the EThekwini Metro

Honourable Chairperson;
Honourable Members;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;

Good Morning!

We join this important gathering which is Taking the Legislature to the People to fulfil the obligation assigned to the Legislative arm by the Constitution which is to monitor service delivery and the work of the Members of the Executive.

The programme is an expression of our commitment to the principle of accountability and our posture that the people must take an active role in the formulation of government programmes and be afforded the opportunity to direct government expenditure to when it needed most.

The TLTP programme therefore presents a unique opportunity for the Executive to respond directly to issues raised by the citizens, provide for face to face engagement between the public and their representatives on issues affecting their lives. These sessions also inform the content of our response through policies and programmes to the achievement of a non-racial, non-sexist, equal and prosperous KwaZulu-Natal.

Today, we are also giving expression to the Freedom Charter demand and declaration that, “ The People Shall Govern!”

And indeed the National Development Plan (NDP) is very explicit on these issues. According to the NDP 2030 “active citizenry and social activism are necessary for democracy and development to flourish. The State cannot merely act on behalf of the People – It has to act with the People, working together with other institutions to provide opportunities for the advancement of all communities. All sectors of society, including the Legislatures and Judiciary, have to ensure that the fruits of development accrue to the poorest and most marginalised, off-setting possible attempts by elites to protect their own interests at the expense of less-powerful communities”.

As the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, we continue to strengthen monitoring of government services and the quality and level of democratic participation through a campaign like Operation Siyahlola which we launched last week Friday.

On Friday, we visited a botched housing project in Woodlands in the Umsunduzi Municipality. The project which cost R24m, will now have to be started all over again because of the shoddy work performed by the contractor. It is projects such as these which give government a bad name and sullies the good work of the departments.

We can promise this gathering that we will continue to conduct unannounced visits all over province as part of Operation Siyahlola so as to complement the work of the Legislature and we will report back at such public forums, the Legislature and through the media as we always do.

We will continue to monitor the quality of service and workmanship through the implementation of Intergovernmental Relations System and the Premier’s Coordinating Forum which bring all levels of government together on a regular basis.

Furthermore, we are implementing without hesitation the District Development Model (DDM) which introduces coordination of Planning, Project Management, Implementation and Budgeting between the three tiers of government which are Districts, Provincial and National.

Among the issues which have been raised during the last sitting of the TLTP are unemployment, inadequate and poor government services, social relief, the high levels of crime and a failure to respond to demands of the community. The issues relate to the economy, the quality of government services, housing, education, health and some which are linked to the departments and agencies of national government such as PRASA and Home Affairs.

Honourable Chairperson, as the provincial government, we implement national priorities while taking into consideration our unique circumstances and challenges of KwaZulu-Natal. We continue to intensify our crime-fighting initiatives through visible policing, intelligence-driven investigations and closer involvement of as many stakeholders in our communities to address every challenge.

The Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan of KZN

We are currently in the midst of a global crisis occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, a challenge that has undermined some of the work of government not only in KwaZulu-Natal but in the whole world. In this regard, we wish to take this opportunity to thank the people of KZN for the collaboration and support of our national effort to fight this global pandemic which has brought much devastation.

We are humbled that the World Health Organisation has lauded our approach as a country which is described as being among the best in the world and which has saved us from the worst effects of this pandemic. One key element of this response which has been praised internationally is the Relief to business and the poor which although inadequate, has provided a shock absorber from the economic effects of the lockdown.

According to a report tabled before the NCOP by MEC for EDTEA, Honourable Nomusa Dube-Ncube on 13 October this year:

  • EDTEA assisted KZN 1805 applicants to access the national Temporary Relief Schemes (NRS);
  • R97, 7 million was approved for SMMEs representing different sectors of the economy. We have been able to save about 4 596 jobs;

We are finalising the Sugar Industry Masterplan to allow for diversification of the Sugar Industry and acquisition of technology for biofuels/ co-generation and promoting Biomas Energy production in rural areas starting in iLembe District Municipality.

In addition:

  • We are supporting the Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) and government, through EDTEA, has committed more than R32 million for development and production of films in KZN;
  • We are also investing in the Development of Marine Sports and Recreation (yachting, sailing, diving, sport fishing) and Marine Leisure Activities (eco-marine tourism, real estate, adventure and viewing)

Honourable Speaker it will also be recalled that on the 15th of October, President Cyril Ramaphosa presented to the joint sitting of Parliament South Africa’s Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

We welcome the call by our President that South Africa must “rebuild, repair and restore our country not after COVID, but in the midst of COVID”.

Indeed, in the midst of Covid-19 we must fight even harder for the achievement of a South Africa that is united, non-racial, non-sexist, equal and prosperous. We must push back against predictions by the IMF, the World Bank and the Word Trade Organisation that economic growth is going to be considerably slowed down over the coming year.

We must push back against hopelessness and despair, and like a nation emerging out of the disaster of war, stand up and rebuild.

In line with the national Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan in KwaZulu-Natal which will have infrastructure development and SMME support at its heart, we are implementing a provincial plan to kick start our economic recovery. Our plan seeks to ensure that the transformation process is speeded by ramping up the substantial participation of Women, Youth and Black People in key sectors of our economy.

The KZN Reconstruction and Recovery Plan is a product of wide-ranging consultation with stakeholders and aims to respond directly to the issues taken from the broad section of the people of this province.

The key objective of the KZN plan is to revitalise, restructure and transform the economy of the province and to achieve sustainable growth and employment creation. This growth will be driven by strategic sectors with potential for growth and job creation and transformation of our economy. The plan is formulated against the need to achieve the following key policy principles:

  • Economic transformation;
  • Advancement of Rural and Township economies;
  • Spatial Economic Transformation;
  • Economic Modernization and renewal;
  • Localisation of economic value chains;
  • Beneficiation and value addition;
  • Export focused industrial development;
  • Commonality of Purpose/ Goal Congruence;
  • Innovation and Fourth Industrial revolution;
  • Research and Development;
  • Support and develop Black Industrialists;
  • Building Robust Public Private Partnerships;
  • Investment Promotion; and
  • Entrepreneurship development (small business and cooperative development).

Already we are setting up the KwaZulu-Natal Strategic Infrastructure Development Agency (SIDA) to accelerate radical economic transformation. SIDA will drive the implementation of the Provincial Infrastructure Master Plan while ensuring transformation of construction, repair, maintenance and management of the infrastructure sector.

Honourable Members, we are mandated today as government to report back to on the issues that were raised during the previous session of Taking the Legislature to the People. Al departments are represented and they will have the opportunity to give details to the issues and responses.

The report that we present this morning details issues allocated to the Office of the Premier which is the department responsible for overall coordination of the work of government including monitoring and evaluation of government working together with national government. The central principle is that of accountability and responsiveness and we expect that follow ups will be conducted to ensure that what we commit today is indeed realised and delivered. However, given its length and level of detail, we have opted to highlight some of the issues. The rest of the detailed report is being tabled for further engagement.

To recap and to start with, during the engagement held at the Tongaat Community Hall there was a report about a discourteous, disrespectful Department of Labour official who failed to assist community members applying for UIF.

Response - This matter is being investigated by the Service Delivery Improvement Unit at OTP and a report will be released once completed.

A concern was raised that Religious organizations were not given Covid-19 relief funds. Indeed, we concede that no faith community was given Covid-19 Relief Funding.

Response – We also note that contrary to this expectation, religious and faith organizations are the ones that actually assisted those who were in dire need during the height of the national lockdown. We cannot thank enough the religious community and other social partners who answered the call to act to support the needy and most vulnerable amongst us.

Another issue raised was that Churches pay rent, in some instances as much as R500 in public schools. The concern is that they cannot afford this rent, hence the request to use schools for free.

Response- Our response is that Churches are actually paying a nominal amount of money for using school facilities during Sunday services. There is no stipulated blanket figure for churches to pay. This money assists the schools just as churches surcharge those who use church buildings as crèches and sewing clubs during the weekdays. Some schools, however, do not charge this occupational rent. We should also bear in mind that government does not make decisions alone about affairs of schools or their fund raising initiatives. School Governing Bodies (SGBs) are empowered to make such decisions and we urge for more dialogues between the churches and SGBs in this regard.

An issue was also raised recommending that Government should make old buildings available for churches to utilise.

In this regard, we wish to advise our churches to apply to the local municipality for the use of their buildings. Each case will be examined on its merits and the strength of the proposal.

There was an outcry that members of the community were not involved in projects that are in progress.

Our response that we encourage communities need to be led by credible structures to be able to deal with civic matters – councillors, OSS structures, Ward Committees. These civic building-blocks are tailor-made to intervene on any government project in any and all community projects undertaken by any level of government.

A concern was raised over lack of resources hampering the functioning of the war-rooms.

Response: Due to budget cuts amid COVID-19, the Office of the Premier is unable to provide furniture and equipment at this stage.

A concern was raised over relations not being good between government and the community. The community do not know where to raise their service delivery issues and they do not feel that they are citizens of South Africa.

Response - Indeed this is an area that we must all attend to urgently. Government exists to serve the people, and we cannot afford crisis that emanate from poor communication or a feeling that government does not care. That would be against the Constitution and Batho-Pele values.

Equally, we urge communities to better organise themselves. We challenge them to identify credible leaders and to be in effective and organised structures.

These structures need to be able to deal with civic matters – councillors, OSS structures, Ward Committees. These civic building-blocks are tailor-made to intervene on any government project in any and all community projects undertaken by any level of government. We also implore our Church leaders to play an active and constructive role to help improve communication and to provide leadership that will ensure that concerns are addressed promptly.

Issues regarding Zone 4 Ward 84:

It was reported that Operation Sukuma Sakhe War Room does not have resources and as such, it is difficult to convene meetings.

Response - Due to budget cut amid COVID-19 OTP is unable to provide furniture and equipment at this stage. However war room meetings can be convened with officials being present and attend to cases.

The standard of quality for services provided to the people is not satisfactory with government being asked to monitor and evaluate the output delivered by the contractors. Response - EThekwini Metro Public Participation Section needs to prioritise this and engage the citizens on services delivered.

People from Philani area do not have title deeds for their houses and the government must assist in expediting the issuing of title deeds.

Response -This will be attended to by EThekwini together with the Department of Human Settlements and Public Works.

We have noted the complaints about the role of Business Forums that disrupt construction projects all over the province.

Response - We will continue to engage with legitimate business people who want to be involved in business. We will, however, not allow lawlessness to stop normal business activity and call on the police to intervene as these are criminal acts of extortion and intimidation. We applaud national government for its efforts to prioritise attacking criminality associated with the construction sector.

We have noted the request for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) to be extended to those who are older than 30 years of age.

Response – This, we have referred to the National Department of Education for further processing.

We have received a request for government to remove experience as a requirement for entry level positions in order to allow new graduates to be considered for the positions. Response - Our position as KZN government is that all entry levels in government now no longer require experience. We must make sure this is implemented across government. National Government itself has embraced this as a policy decision.

There is the claim that some Departments do not attend OSS war rooms.

Response - We have indicated to all the Departments in KZN to attend War Rooms as much as possible.

There are some Contractors who are not employing local people in projects.

Response - We expect local people to be the primary recipients of government jobs including all projects.

Zone 5 Ngqokazi Hall

The One Home, One Garden – There is an urgent need to have the one home, one garden programme in the INK area.

Response - This is a government campaign against hunger and poverty alleviation. We may also suggest the One Church, One Garden approach as some churches have vast tracts of land and could therefore, as part of food security strategy, use those tracts of land to operationalize One Church, One Garden in any and all communities.

There are too many people without Identity Documents – this is a major issue that was raised in the public consultations in all of EThekwini. This number of over 700 people including children do not possess a South African identity number.

Response - We have engaged the Department of Home Affairs to intervene. This greatly affects people’s opportunity to access services, grants, employment and schooling. Children of school-going age are most affected by the lack of I.D’s leading some of them to drop out of school because they do not form part of a School’s formal headcount.

We also engaging the Post Office to prioritize the elderly – given the rise in the social grant beneficiaries. Steps must be taken to assist the elderly in a speedy manner to avoid exposure to the sun which may lead to fainting and other ailments.

Zone 10 issues

The KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council (KZNCC) raised these concerns in July 2020 with the Premier and MECs in a bilateral meeting.

Response - The Premier has formed a Task Teams to investigate different issues raised by the KZNCC Delegation, prime of which was land invasions, evictions and relocations. The Human Settlement section in the EThekwini Metro made a comprehensive presentation for the church leaders, politicians and officials around the status of these developments within pockets of land where invasions, and evictions had impacted different communities within EThekwini.

A complain was also raised that there are no opportunities given to our youths to be self-employed or given a fair chance to be employed by government when there is government vacancy available due to nepotism and political bias.

Response -The OTP has a Youth Chief Directorate which focuses on Youth Issues. The Unit is responsible for the Youth Development Fund and will attend to issues linked to the Youth. In addition, the whole of government has a duty to provide opportunities to the Youth. Where there are specific issues, these must be raised with OTP and will be attended to.

Still, we want to stress that government itself does not have infinite resources. While we deeply care, we cannot offer financial support or employment to all our youth. The private sector should do more to reduce the scourge youth unemployment. We urge the youth to use skilling and SMME opportunities from our government to help our nation in creating jobs.

An issue raised in Lamontville township is of a need for a Government Complex to house all Government and Municipal departments.

Response - In a sense, this is linked to a general need for Free Wi-fi and a Skills development centre to cater for the needs of Youth and the community. These are key facilities that can enable self-development of young people by having information and training that will enable them to take advantage of opportunities in the market place.

We have also heard a complaint by the Widows of Itheku that they are being made to pay for PTOs after the death of their husbands. They insist that this is discrimination and should stop.

Response- We expect COGTA to follow up and make sure that this does not happen.

With regard to the surfing and general security at PRASA trains.

Response - We must ensure tighter security at KwaMashu Station to prevent train surfing by youth. We are aware according to the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula that security has been beefed up at all PRASA facilities. This includes the employment of over 3000 security officers to provide static and mobile security while working together with the law enforcement agencies and employing the latest technological innovation to address safety and security at PRASA.

Honourable Chairperson, we wish to reiterate that we are fully committed to the Social Compact that we have with the residents of KwaZul- Natal and I stand here to commit our entire government to endeavour to respond to all the issues. We must remain a caring, responsive, and an activist government that address the concerns of our nation. We hereby table this report of the OTP to this session of Taking the Legislature to the People.

Growing KwaZulu-Natal Together!

I thank you!

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