Programme Director,
COGTA MEC, Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube,
Mayor of uMgungundlovu District Municipality, Cllr Y Bhamjee,
uMshwathi Local Municipal Mayor, Cllr B Gwala,
Chairperson of uMgungundlovu Local House of Traditional Leaders, inKosi MZ Mthuli,
CWP participants,
It’s an honour to address you today, just a day after Freedom Day. Speaking at the Freedom Day celebrations in Giyani yesterday, President Zuma reminded us of the long road we have travelled since that fateful day of 27 April 1994:
“Many communities and households were without electricity, water, roads, clinics providing quality health care or state of the art schools. The democratic government has since 1994 spent each year delivering such services….Millions of our people now have access to these services.”
I’m sure that many citizens in Umgungundlovu have benefitted from the many services introduced by this government since 1994. I’m sure your concerns would not have been met had you voted for those people who are giving out free blue t-shirts. This ANC-led government is delivering services to all our citizens.
The Department of Home Affairs has partnered with banks to rollout the new smart card ID. The Department of Social Development is ensuring that we provide childcare, disability and old-age grants to our poorest citizens. We, as the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs are working together to target the poorest amongst us, through the Community Work Programme (CWP).
Let me first thank all those who have made the CWP a success in this District Municipality. This includes the provincial Cogta department, the district and local municipalities, the implementing agents, the Local Reference Committees, traditional leaders, the CWP participants who have made the programme a success through their efforts and our national officials.
The CWP has in the last financial year provided work opportunities to over 197 thousand citizens in 196 municipalities across South Africa. The residents of Umgungundlovu District Municipality have been part of the CWP since 2010, with the municipalities of Impendle , Msunduzi and Mkhambathini being targeted. The municipality of Mpofana is also included in the next intake of CWP participants.
As you know, the difference with CWP and other public support programmes, is that the community chooses the kind of projects it wants to support. Common among the programmes here are the food and nutrition support for HIV and AIDS affected households, orphans and vulnerable children, child headed households and people with disabilities.
The informal settlement upgrade and urban renewal projects that includes tree planting, establishing infrastructure for food gardens, paving and water harvesting murals and installations in public spaces, landscaping and clearing and cleaning public spaces.
The environmental programmes assist with ‘greening’ initiatives, erosion control and other environmental services. Support is also provided to schools through the supervision of homework classes and sport activities, school-based food gardens and other support activities.
Home Based Care and Auxiliary Care Services include cooking and cleaning in vulnerable households, care programmes for orphans and child headed households and after school programmes.
What these various projects tell is of communities who are committed to supporting and uplifting themselves. It is only through such dedicated support from communities and individuals who are beneficiaries of the CWP that we will make a difference to the lives of all South Africans.
I am glad to note that Cogta has signed and MOU with the Umgungundlovu Technical Vocational Education and Training college. This will assist participants in achieving Early Childhood Development qualifications.
Mayors,
As you know we host the local government elections in just over three months from now on the 3rd of August 2016. Our responsibilities as public representatives will be placed under the spotlight in coming months and we cannot be found wanting. I urge you to step up your efforts to deliver service to our citizens.
The Back to Basics programme is operating across the country. I urge you to be part and parcel of this programme. One of the pillars of the B2B is deepening public participation. We need to hold more engagements with our citizens, through ward committees, through public meetings and other means.
Even social media such as Facebook offer you the opportunity to keep in touch with your citizens on a daily basis. We need to also ensure that we have effective complaint mechanisms to deal with citizens’ queries, complaints and service delivery challenges. If we fail to do so, citizens will voice their concerns at the ballot box come the 3rd of August.
As the national department of Cooperative Governance we realise that we need to have municipalities that are sustainable. The United Nations estimates that over 71 percent of citizens will live in urban areas by 2030. We need to cater for their needs and develop a new urban policy that ensures that our urban areas are safe and economically inclusive.
The Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) envisages creating ‘liveable, safe, resource-efficient cities and towns that are socially integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive, where residents actively participate in urban life.’
The IUDF has four overall strategic goals aimed at transforming apartheid’s spatial legacy to an urban future, which is “inclusive, resilient and liveable.”
These are:
- Spatial integration: To forge new spatial forms in settlement, transport, social and economic areas.
- Inclusion and access: To ensure people have access to social and economic services, opportunities and choices.
- Growth: To harness urban dynamism for inclusive, sustainable economic growth, and
- Governance: To enhance the capacity of the state and its citizens to work together to achieve spatial and social integration.
The IUDF recognises that each city and town is different and accommodates these differences within its plans. I urge you to study the IUDF and offer a New Deal for your town. Just as the CWP responds to certain economic needs within our municipalities, the IUDF also provides the opportunity to define a new urban future.
Let me finish by saying that you can still register to vote until the election date is proclaimed. I urge you to do so if you haven’t and that you also take along your proof of address when you do so.
I hope the CWP programme here grows from strength to strength and that the skills development initiatives that we have started prove to be the germination of a much broader project.
As we mark Freedom Day I am reminded of the words of our former President Tata Madiba:
“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
Our walk has not yet ended. Let us redouble our efforts to ensure a better life for all our citizens.
I thank you.
