Chairperson, hon Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Pravin Gordhan, Deputy Ministers Nel and Bapela, hon members, fellow South Africans, mayors and councillors, the SA Local Government Association leadership, and senior managers, I rise to take part in this important debate on Budget Vote 3 - Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The highest law of our country, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, has, as we all know, rendered any law or conduct not consistent with it invalid and requires that all obligations that are imposed by it should be fulfilled. The 1998 White Paper on Local Government came into existence following the adoption of the Constitution, thus paving the way for a new democratic local government.
One of the things that is often said, but sometimes not fully appreciated, is that the South African model of local government became and continues to be the envy of the world. [Applause.] It is no exaggeration to say that local government practitioners and activists across the globe marvel at the opportunity that both the Constitution of the Republic and the White Paper on Local Government present to the people of South Africa, in particular to local communities.
We will do well to remember that elsewhere in the world the powers and responsibilities of local government are dependent on the whims and fancies of local and regional government Ministers, who may not be progressive. I guess that the same can be said of related political parties. If they happen to be conservative you are dammed; if not, you are supposed to be eternally grateful.
It is important to state, as section 151(3) of the Constitution says:
A municipality has the right to govern, on its own initiative, the local government affairs of its community, subject to national and provincial legislation, as provided for in the Constitution.
The objects of local government are stipulated in section 152(1) and 152(2).
In this regard, the successive ANC-led governments, now under the leadership of President Zuma, are an example of how things should be done. To keep on keeping on, as the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, says, "beyond the utmost bound of human thought", is to remain focused, to refuse to be distracted!
Many would agree that it is indeed an excellent achievement that this model of local government is in place in every local area, side by side across the length and breadth of South Africa. We are a nation at work. In the light of the many socioeconomic challenges, the ANC continues to chart the way forward.
Despite the many ill-informed criticisms, which sometimes border on extreme forms of bitterness and outright reactionary conduct, we remain steadfast in addressing the task at hand. [Applause.] We seek to build a strong local government that is a meaningful instrument to improve the quality of life of all our people.
We remain aware of the many challenges that face local government and municipalities. These include, amongst others, the complex intergovernmental system of government and the unevenness in the capacity of provincial and municipal administrations; the burden brought about by the incorporation of dysfunctional homeland administrations in the post- 1994 period; the many poverty-ridden areas; the many municipalities that do not have any tax base; the huge infrastructure backlogs; and, of course, failure by some municipalities to address the basics. The apartheid colonial legacy will continue to be one of those issues that we need to address.
We will do well to remember that the district system at municipal level was meant to help address these issues by allowing for skills and capacity to be shared across several local municipalities. Indeed, I was quite impressed and encouraged by the words of the Minister with regard to district municipalities.
We in the ANC would be amongst the first to acknowledge that the road we have travelled thus far has been long and arduous. We have not only spoken well and developed ideas - which has been a suspect, dubious speciality of some people in this House - but we have actually rolled up our sleeves and intervened in many complex and difficult situations in order to improve the quality of life of all our people in general, and that of the workers and the poor people in particular. [Interjections.] Needless to say, only those who do the actual work dirty their hands, make mistakes, and in our case learn from them. [Applause.] These interventions include rationalising municipalities and reducing them from 843 before the year 2000 to 283 just before the 2011 local government elections. At present the figure stands at 278.
A new fiscal framework has been instituted and it guarantees local government, which we see as work in progress, a share of national revenue, building improved local capacity in an ongoing manner to enable a more effective and efficient delivery of services.
In this regard, we undertook specific steps to set up the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent in the year 2011, with a focus on planning, management and other technical expertise in the process of infrastructure roll-out. As we speak, there are 107 municipalities with a total of 77 technical experts, engineers and planning professionals who are assigned to this work. The Siyenza Manje Programme spent R933 million in the periods 2006-07 and 2009-2011.
In response to identifying poor recruitment practices and political interference in appointments, the national government has developed minimum competency requirements for all senior managers. We can assure hon members that as we proceed we will be able to recruit the right skills for the job, strengthen ward committees, ensure their functionality and enhance community participation.
We initially set a target of developing 2 000 ward operation plans. We have increased the development and implementation of these ward-level operation plans to 2 059 municipal wards, out of an overall total of 4 277 municipal wards.
The implementation of policy and legislation by government to strengthen co- operative governance across the three spheres through the Intergovernmental Monitoring, Support and Intervention Bill has been submitted to the ministerial cluster. This Bill will proceed through Parliament in the 2014- 15 financial year, ensuring an improvement in overall government professionalism, and national and provincial government oversight in the implementation of local government legislation.
In this regard, regulations governing the appointment criteria of municipal managers, and those managers that are directly accountable to municipal managers, have been finalised and promulgated.
A database, from all nine provinces, of municipal staff members dismissed for misconduct or those who resigned prior to finalisation of their cases has been created. The definite figure by the end of the past financial year was 36 officials.
We welcome the Ministry's commitment to active collaboration with other spheres of government. This takes co-operative governance beyond mere commitment to a higher level.
We welcome the commitment by the Ministry to the idea and principle of performance management across the local government sector.
We also welcome the acknowledgement of the SA Local Government Association as a voice of municipalities and a partner in development. Salga has a critical role to play indeed. Together we will be able to take local government to a different level.
There are some amongst us who remain frozen in a negative discourse of yesteryear, who at the core of their arguments believe there is nothing good that can come out of local government. [Interjections.]
There have been instances where the DA has gone out of its way to be alarmist, to distort reality, and even to become economical with the truth. [Interjections.] There are many examples of this kind. Who can forget the allegation that the City of Johannesburg was insolvent? To this Municipal IQ responded by contradicting this assertion and stating that the City of Johannesburg was "downright healthy". It went on to say that "the allegation of insolvency is unfair" and further stated that "coming from a councillor ...", meaning a DA councillor, "... of the city itself", this was "somewhat irresponsible." [Interjections.] This does not come from me; it is the Municipal IQ's statement. [Interjections.]
Then there is the DA's Milaham. [Interjections.] "Mileham", thank you very much. Apart from being so negative, can you please tell us: What are the policies of the DA on local government? [Interjections.] [Applause.] Can the DA answer the question: What is to be done? [Interjections.] All the hon member says, which is ridiculous in the extreme, is, "Set up a commission; do a comprehensive investigation." This is the best he can say. [Interjections.] This is the best he can muster. [Interjections.]
Very briefly, let me conclude by saying that the ANC is not a debating society. [Interjections.] So, many of the opposition parties enjoy the special luxury of standing up and saying things that are neither here nor there - no substance! [Laughter.] [Applause.] I think that these hon members need to be assisted.