Eastern Cape Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs: Policy speech for the 2017/2018 financial year theme: Building a responsive, caring and accountable local government and traditional leadership institutions 14 March 2017
Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Chief Whip
Honourable Premier
Members of the Executive Council, Your Majesties, Kings and Queens
Members of the Provincial Legislature present
Executive Members of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders
Acting Head of Department and members of the Senior Management Service
Invited guests, ladies and gentlemen. Introduction
Today on the 14th March 1982, the African National Congress headquarters in London, was bombed. General Johann Coetzee, former head of the South African security police and seven other policemen claimed responsibility for the attack and applied for amnesty before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Coetzee's accomplices were Craig Williamson, John McPherson, Roger Raven, Wybrand du Toit, John Adam, James Taylor and Eugene de Kock.
Coetzee testified that the South African government wanted to demoralise the ANC and display South Africa's disapproval of the British government and their support of the liberation organisation. According to Coetzee, he acted on orders of former minister of law and order, Louis le Grange.
It is a great honour and privilege for me to be standing here 35 years later to give the Policy Speech of our Department representing the African National Congress. 2017 is a historic year in the calendar of our country.
On 27 October 2017, the late President Oliver Reginald Tambo would have turned 100 years old. This makes 2017 a crucial year of our country as it marks the centenary of Comrade OR, one of the most outstanding leaders produced by our country and the Continent.
We dedicate 2017 to him. He serve as President of our movement from 1967-1991 and is regarded as the glue that held many facets of the ANC together during the difficult times in exile.
Comrade OR united the movement by listening and engaging with the concerns of comrades, by staying true to the core values of the ANC through displaying great integrity and discipline in serving his people.
Inspired by the leadership OR provided over the years, we meet here today with a single intention that of repositioning the Department and to present our plans to unravel the complexities faced by the Department.
The ultimate aim is to deliver the much needed services to our people. Our presence here today signifies our commitment to ensuring that this Department becomes nothing else but a centre of excellence in discharging its constitutional obligation and mandate.
The Policy Speech presents a major change in how we go about our lives. In the past we expected government to do things for us. What our government needs is for all of us government, business and communities to work together so that people have what they need to live. The strategic thrust of the Policy Speech is aimed at reducing poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 defines a developmental state as the one with a capacity to lead in the definition of a common national agenda and in mobilizing all of society to take part in its application.
Professionalising the Workforce
Ladies and gentleman, I believe that public service is a calling. I and all other public servants, do so because we want to serve our people. It is for this reason that we are driving a campaign to instil a culture of good governance to the public service, municipalities and traditional leadership institutions who make up the backbone of our Department.
The make-up of the Department must consist of men and women with impeccable ethical conduct, including a high work ethic, high morale, humility and pride, associated with a loyal public servant. This is not an easy journey.
Our administrative culture must create an organisational culture, which embeds a civic culture reflective of Ubuntu value system. It is for this reason, and in partnership with National School of Government, that we will begin the process of changing our bureaucratic patterns of thinking and our attitudinal behaviour.
These are our ideals for reviving the Batho Pele principles going forward.
We must modernise the Department’s workforce, enhance training and development opportunities, career progression to improve leadership and management skills at all levels.
In the period under review, some of our traditional leaders and Councillors passed on in the service of human kind. They include Nkosi Mthetho Sigcawu of Ngxakaxa Administrative area in Willowvalle, Nkosi Daludumo Mtirara of AbaThembu, Nozollile Mtirara of abaThembu in Mqhekezweni Great Place (she was the only remaining eldest female in the generation of Nkosi Mandela, Dalagubha and Bangilizwe who had passed on), Nkosi Dumalisile Stanford Swelindawo of Amambalu in Ngqushwa, Councillor Nceba Dywili of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and other others including abakhwetha who lost their lives during the winter and summer initiation seasons. Yanga imiphefumlo yabo ingaphumla ngoxolo.
Good Governance and Sound Financial Management
Madam Speaker, our department has been under pressure due to internal challenges which translated to instability and a negative narrative in the media space. I confirm before this House that we have a plan firmly in place to restore order and stability for a conducive work environment.
Already the process to recruit members of the Senior Management Service including prioritised posts in the lower levels is ongoing and will be concluded by the end of March 2017.
We commit to recruit the best in the market and not the most preferred in the circle of friends and colleagues. We do not want to compromise on the competence of candidates as one of the prerequisites to ensure that the process to professionalise COGTA proceeds unhindered.
Some other work that has been attained include the establishment of the Management Labour Forum whose primary role is to improve employer- employee communication, maximise employee engagement, thereby closing the information gap and build trust among all internal stakeholders.
The Management Labour Forum should never be misconstrued as a platform to co-administer the department rather to put the employees and their concerns first and heal the divisions of the past.
The long awaited Project Plan to implement the recommendations of the Msiwa Investigation Report has finally been put in place and it is being operationalised as we speak.
Madam Speaker, it is our desire to remodel the Department to reclaim its status as the best performing department in good governance and the trusted leader in service delivery.
In this regard the Corporate Management Programme as a strategic partner to our core business, will play a pivotal role to create a value chain underpinned by integrated change management and service management.
Corporate Management will conclude Service Level Agreements with Traditional Affairs and the Development Local Government (DLG) Branches to realise well-structured support to our core business. We want to inculcate a service oriented culture, discipline and a sense of urgency through systematic consequence management and enforced accountability.
eport on Corporate Governance to management. Our resolve and determination is to achieve clean and capable administration that reduces to zero irregular and wasteful expenditure in its ranks and municipalities.
Madam Speaker, apart from some setbacks suffered, we are convinced that we are on the right course to remodel COGTA as the trusted leader of single window of co-ordination in service delivery.
In the year under review, we will advance peoples power by putting local government in the hands of various communities of our Province to create better living conditions. Full speech [PDF]
