Comrade Deputy Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and
Traditional Affairs to present this Report which was supported by all parties except the DA. The amendments that we have effected in the Bill will go a long way in bringing about the effective government closer to our people. It will also ensure that service delivery agenda at local government level, which is bringing a better life for all communities, is achievable at a faster rate.
This Bill represents the culmination of engagements with all local government stakeholders of over many years. The amendments have been sponsored by amongst others; the provincial Committees on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogtas; the Independent Electoral Commission; the Municipal Demarcation Board; the South African Local Government Association, Salga, and other people who are interested in the affairs of local government. They have appeared before the committee and expressed their views and support for these amendments. The proposed amendments were further considered and some of the provisions were strengthened during the deliberations that we held in Parliament in November to December 2018.
The Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill contains provisions that are aimed at addressing the challenges that we have experienced in the management and administration of local government affairs, in particular, the elections. It is also assisting us to strengthen the governance at municipality level. Therefore, the Bill deals with amongst others the following electoral related matters which are: clarifying the date when a councillor assumes office; the requirements for municipal managers to inform the Member of the Executive Council, MEC, and the Independent Electoral Commission of ward vacancies; to provide for a resolution of a situation where excessive seats may arise and to allow for the MEC to inform the Independent Electoral Commission on vacancies when the municipal manager fails to do so.
Subsequently, the Bill also deals with the following governance related matters: through abolishing the plenary type of municipalities; providing for a minimum of 10 councillors in a municipality and allow the deviation of 20% of the number of councillors determined for the municipality, in municipalities that are larger
than 20 000 square kilometres; prohibiting councillors from becoming a councillor for two years if such councillor violated a code of conduct; also to allow the MEC to appoint a person to call and facilitate a meeting when the municipal manager refuses to do so and to provide establishment of Municipal Public Account Committee.
It was noted that the Democratic Alliance raised some of the issues but the committee defeated their proposal. Hon Deputy Speaker, our view is that the amendments will assist all of us who are Members of Parliament to ensure that we assist at the local government level and to also ensure that the sphere of government that is closer to our people, functions in a manner that assist all our state organs. It is our view as the portfolio committee that matters of local government are very important to all of us, therefore, we should play our role in our constituencies and in other areas of our deployments of ensuring that local government engages communities and other stakeholders in many issues that they are dealing with.
Hon Deputy Speaker, it is our view that this sphere of governance is very important for the proper running of a developmental state.
In conclusion, if the provision and interventions that are contained in the Bill are implemented by all municipal councils, it is certain to make a positive difference and attempts to upscale governance and to ensure that the municipality finds certainty in how to process challenges that they are confronted with. The memorandum of the objectives of the Bill provides further information in respect of each of the provisions that are contained in the Bill.
Finally, the ANC and the portfolio committee is of the view that the amendments contained in this Bill, will assist a great deal in strengthening and ensuring capable political leadership and oversight management that is accountable and transparent at a local level and capable of delivering on its mandate that is using public resources to better the lives of all our people. We are convinced that the majority of all South Africans will
vote for the ANC in the coming election. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time.
Deputy Speaker, it is time to face reality. A few years ago I stood at this podium and accused the then Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, of fiddling while our country burned.
I pointed out that our municipalities were in complete disarray, and that Minister Gordhan's Back to Basics programme had no tangible outcomes. I advised him that amalgamating dysfunctional municipalities was a recipe for disaster - a prophecy that has been borne out since the 2016 Local Government Elections, and which even the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, COGTA, admits was a mistake.
The sad truth is that South Africa's municipalities are failing. They are crumbling under the mismanagement of the ANC. They are, by and large, bloated, inefficient and wasteful. There is a complete lack of oversight, support or intervention from the national or provincial departments.
We have been waiting for the Intergovernmental Monitoring, Support and Interventions Bill since at least 2013. It has been promised in budget speeches and in departmental annual performance plans and it shows no sign of being tabled any time soon.
Where interventions do take place, they are inadequate and have no clear outcomes. As a result, the municipalities frequently fall back into the same situation a few short months later. Honestly, when there is no political will to intervene and no real provincial or national oversight being conducted, is it any wonder that we have scandals like VBS scamming municipalities out of billions of rands? Is it any wonder that we have mayors like Florence Radzilani, when they know that any
misconduct or crime is more likely to get them sent to Parliament than to prison?
Just ask the hon Zukisa Faku, who despite a court finding her guilty of fraud against Buffalo City Municipality in March 2016 sits in this House - so much for the ANC being a party that fights against corruption.
We have municipalities like Makana, where the dams have run dry and the pumps lack the capacity to bring water from available sources because they haven't been maintained or upgraded for many years. In Riebeek East, millions were spent on digging and equipping boreholes that have never been connected to the supply reservoir, because there are no pipes.
Maybe we should consider Enoch Mgijima, where the entire municipal fleet was auctioned off to settle outstanding debts; or Ethekwini, which wants to use ratepayer funds to pay for an album by the crooner from Nkandla?
We have seen municipalities under threat of cut-offs from ESKOM, not from load-shedding, but because they are
unable to pay their bills to the power utility. Neither ESKOM nor SALGA seem willing to budge from entrenched positions.
The Inter-Ministerial Task Team appointed to chart a way out of the mess has presented exactly zero tangible solutions to the problem, despite being on the job since 2014. In fact, Minister Mkhize, you promised to present recommendations in January this year, but so far, nothing.
Now contrast all this with DA governed municipalities and the DA-led Western Cape. The DA took over Kouga municipality in August 2016, and since then has made significant strides in ensuring clean governance, enhancing revenue to the point that the municipality now has cash on hand in excess of R150 million, and implementing emergency measures to ensure that the drought does not affect its residents adversely. It has handed over hundreds of title deeds that sat in a storeroom under the previous ANC administration. It is a municipality that takes service delivery seriously.
In Thabazimbi, the DA started off their first day in office with the sheriff coming in and taking away all their equipment and their fleet to settle debts run up by the previous ANC administration. Within two weeks, the DA leadership had ensured that the offices were operational and had furniture and equipment.
They had put in place emergency arrangements to enable the running of essential services. For the first time in seven years billings and valuations were rectified and that has helped stabilise the municipality's finances. There is still a long way to go, but the residents of Thabazimbi will agree that they are better off now than they were under the ANC.
In Modimolle-Mookgophong, DA Mayor Marlene van Staden has been begging since late 2016 for National Treasury to conduct a forensic audit into the finances at that municipality. It took nearly two years for the MEC in Limpopo to agree to such an audit - something the ANC and EFF were bitterly opposed to.
That audit was concluded in October last year and handed to National Treasury. We still await the report, but it is clear that the ANC and EFF are seeking to cover up corruption and a looting spree in that municipality.
Maybe we should talk about Tshwane which the ANC left
R2 billion in debt, and which now has R2,1 billion in its accounts and a positive credit rating. Or the City of Johannesburg, where Mayor Herman Mashaba has uncovered R18 billion in corruption, where more than three 3 500 cases are being investigated and 700 arrests have been made thus far.
Continuous oversight and a hands-on provincial government in the Western Cape have ensured that the province has the highest number of clean municipal audits in the country at 83%. It is the top province in terms of good governance and has been for the last 6 years in terms of the Presidency's Performance Management Assessment Tool.
You see, this is the difference: Where the DA governs, there is oversight and accountability. There is action, not words. There is delivery and not false promises. All
of which brings me back to the Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill we have before us today.
Make no mistake, this Bill does make some positive changes like establishing and empowering Municipal Public Accounts Committees, and clarifying the composition of Executive Committees - which have long been abused by the ANC, who seem to think that they can determine who other parties' representatives on those committees should be.
It is for these reasons that the DA will support this Bill. But it is little more than fiddling while Rome burns. It is fiddling around the edges of the massive systemic failure of local government.
Neither Minister Mkhize nor his predecessors, Pravin Gordhan and our very own weekend special, Des van Rooyen, have addressed the financial and governance failures of local government. Minister Mkhize's solution is to send them engineers rather than accountants. They have not addressed the criminal mismanagement of municipalities; instead, the ANC sends the perpetrators to Parliament.
It's not just the BOSASA and VBS accused - it's the tainted people like "Mr Cash", hon Philly Mapulane, who allegedly made millions through graft while Municipal Manager of Madibeng. It's people like these who have turned local government into personal piggy banks, and they are the swine with their snouts in the trough.
So, while we support this legislation, because it does the right things, we believe it has not gone far enough. The time has come for change; change that delivers for all South Africans; change that cleans up the mess left behind by the ANC; change that brings about the good governance and service delivery of the DA. Because where the DA governs, we govern better than any other party in South Africa. On 8 May, vote DA and help us build one South Africa for All. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, the local sphere of government is the most important sphere in as far as delivery of services is concerned. It is also true that most of our municipalities are in a dysfunctional state, with incompetent people, and have become havens for
criminals whose sole intention is to loot public resources.
There are urgent reforms needed therefore to restructure the entire system of municipal governance, to guard against abuse of authority, against lapses in governance that lead to corruption, to regulate appointment, not just of councillors but of senior management too, and to have tough measures against those who engage in corrupt and destructive activities.
Instead of limiting itself to matters relating to the election of councillors and regulating the minimum number of councillors per municipality as this Bill does, it could have been used to comprehensively restructure local government. We do support the clarification of minor issues such as the date at which councillors become officially elected, and we welcome the proposal coming from the Northern Cape in particular, that there must be a minimum of 15 councillors per municipality. But these are barely enough to tackle the structural impediments to efficient local government and delivery of services. These relate primarily to lack of consequence management
in municipalities. The Auditor-General has for years identified problems that need to be resolved in each municipality, and year after year, these problems have not been resolved.
These problems, relating to lack of appropriate financial and management skills, political interference and infighting in councils have crippled local government in this country. As a result, the majority of municipalities are in a shambolic state, which suits the ANC's objectives of looting quite well. A comprehensive solution of these problems is required, and that includes tightening up legislative provisions and improving the administrative capacity of municipalities to collect the debt, fix infrastructure, and report regularly of service delivery challenges.
The solution must also entail a relook at the funding model of local government, to ensure that the bulk of the national budget actually goes to where it is needed the most, to municipalities who are at the coalface of service delivery. This must also entail asking questions about the continued relevance of the provincial sphere of
government, and the need for the discontinuation of provinces, to pay more attention to service delivery at a local level. We are in broad support of the amendments proposed in this Bill, but we urge that it could have been utilised to usher in much more comprehensive changes to the structure and functioning of local government.
In conclusion, we are asking all South Africans to vote for the EFF. [Interjections.] The EFF is the only party that will usher true freedoms to our people. Stop voting for this ANC, year after year, which continues to put our people into more poverty. It keeps on telling you, Thuma Mina! Thuma Mina! And they are continuing ...
IsiZulu:
... bayontshontsha ...
English:
... in that Thumaring of theirs. Therefore we are asking all South Africans to vote for the EFF. Thank you very much. [Interjections.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, at the outset, let me state the IFP's support for this Bill but that being said, there remain a number of concerns that still require an address in our municipal structures. As handed down in the Tlokwe judgment, there must be proper defining and contextualising of the rules of legislatures and powers that are held, ex officio by their respective office bearers. The rule of law must be upheld and office bearers must be under no uncertain terms made aware that they themselves are creatures of statute. In the execution of their duties, they must be fair and free of any bias towards their political alignment and affiliation.
And Gcwabe, section 139 of the Municipal Structures Act must not be used to fight political battles. We are noticing that in many municipalities where, for example, the ANC is in leadership, they take too long to intervene in ANC-led municipalities, for example, the issue of uThukela and Newcastle. The MEC too so long to intervene there but in the IFP-led municipalities, by just hearing that on portfolio committee did not sit, the MEC will want to invoke section 139.
IsiZulu:
Sinigadile ...
English:
... like in the issue of Mtubatuba. We have heard that you are trying to move in there slowly and that is actually on political points or using section 139. The Rule of law as has been stated on so many occasions cannot and must not continue to be sacrificed upon the altar of political expediency and convenience. If one looks at the findings of the Auditor- General as regards to audit outcomes, one will find that the audit area with the lowest improvement rate over the last number of years has been in regard to municipalities that fail to comply with municipal legislation.
Slow responses in respect of corrective actions in such matters only fuel municipal service delivery problems, with weak controls resulting in irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure. I wish to conclude by once again raising the plight and role of traditional leadership within the Act which must be strengthened. Section 81 of the principal Act as it currently stands is
an affront to traditional leaders all over South Africa in that it expects traditional leaders to play a role in local governance but in no way, shape or form capacitates them, financially or otherwise to carry out such duties and that must be addressed, hon Minister. I thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Khubisa. [Interjections.]
I said, in my first sentence, that the IFP supports the Bill. [Interjections.]
Order Chief Whip! Order! [Interjections.]
Deputy Speaker, the NFP welcomes the Bill tabled here today, as the Bill seeks to provide for seamless administrative matters regarding the number of seats a local municipality must have, the elimination of the concept of district municipal areas, dates set aside for the by-election, and the representation threshold at a district municipality for local municipalities, considering the population size and geographical area.
Whilst the NFP agrees that dealing with a void, or a lacuna, in case of the speaker, the municipal manager or any other official designated by members of the executive council is important, it is indeed worrying that, since 2000, government has not deemed it necessary to legislate on such pertinent matters. For instance, in the year 2000, there were 60 by-elections. In 2006, there were 54 by-elections. In 2011, there were 741 by-elections. In 2016, there were 43 by-elections. The list goes on and on.
In each year of a by-election or election, we have encountered instances where municipalities are paralysed by political power struggles, and it becomes worse where there is the perception that the intervention by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is partisan or biased. That exacerbates the problem, and municipalities are rendered dysfunctional for a long time. There have been many instances where it takes a long time to inaugurate municipalities officially and, at grassroots level, the citizens of that area become the victims of a lack of service delivery.
Whilst the Bill attempts to respond where there is confusion on issues such as "declared elected" or "date of election" and many others, like the finding against the councillor that broke the code of conduct through fraud and corruption, etc, and was handed a two-year sentence, it is our considered view that in light of the killing of councillors and officials, we need to tighten the legislation. Murdering of councillors, officials and security guards has become a common phenomenon. The NFP feels that, working with the security cluster, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs should attempt to tighten the legislation so that those who commit these heinous crimes of murdering others for their own ulterior motives are brought to book and face the full might of the law. It also takes a long time for officials and councillors who have been charged with wrongdoing to exit the system. It is worse when they are migrated to other lucrative positions, either in municipalities in the same province or other provinces in our country.
In its current form, the Bill has a number of loose valves and, whilst dealing with administrative matters,
it falls short of covering some of the other critical matters that affect municipalities. Some of these matters require intra- or multiparty interventions. In short, they require political solutions. We have noted that, in some instances, problems continue indefinitely, as municipalities and communities feel that intervention by MECs is biased. That must stop.
Having raised its concerns, the NFP supports the Bill. [Time expired.]
Deputy Speaker, through you to the Chief Whip: The FF Plus does support the Bill. However, the biggest problem is the fact that this Bill will not actually address the collapsing municipalities and the biggest failure of the ANC-led government.
Since 1994, the single biggest failure of the ANC-led government has been at local government level - and you have many failures! The problem, the reason for that failure, is the fact that the ANC does not regard legislation as important. They regard legislation as guidelines, only guidelines. Go and look at what your
councillors, your mayors, and your speakers do on a daily basis in local council meetings. Illegal meetings take place. They have a complete disregard for the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act. These amendments will mean nothing because they won't be implemented. They won't be adhered to. The code of conduct for councillors is positive, but it won't be adhered to. It won't even be regarded as singly important because the ANC is only interested in a place to redeploy its cadres, a place to make more money, and a place to take more money from the people.
Local government is not the centre of service delivery. The second reason for our failures on local-government level is the ideology of the ANC to centralise everything. We heard the hon President say there should be fewer provinces. That is wrong! We must have more provinces, more local government units of service delivery because we have to take the power of service delivery closer to the people, not further away. [Interjections.] A lot of these amendments are only needed because the ANC cannot even trust its own appointed municipal managers. Why do you have to have
MECs declare vacancies and not your municipal managers? It is simply because you cannot trust them, because you appointed people that are not competent to do the job. You appointed people on political grounds, and now there are factions, and the ANC is falling apart, and you have problems. Now you need amendments to legislation.
We do support the Bill, but what we are saying is that the ANC will be ...
Afrikaans:
Die ANC gaan gestraf word by die stembus as gevolg van u mislukkings op munisipale vlak. Dit is waar die mense ly. Dit is waar riool tussen huise instroom. Dit is waar mense ly as gevolg van u swak dienslewering en die feit dat u glad nie belangstel in die mense nie. Ek dank u.
English:
Deputy Speaker, it is clear that this Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act to address, of course in part, problems that have been experienced in relation to the
administration and management of municipal elections. We support these amendments.
Cope welcomes the clarification of the formula to be used to determine the composition and membership of executive committees, the decision to do away with plenary executive-type municipalities, and the creation of a legal imperative for the establishment of municipal public account committees. Broadly speaking, these amendments appear to be inspired by a theoretical desire to foster oversight and good governance. However, the question remains whether they will.
Cope has its doubts. Many would agree that our Constitution and our suite of local government legislation provide a modern and comprehensive framework for the attainment of good, clean, progressive and developmental governance across the country. Instead, areas where the ANC governs our municipalities are crime scenes, epicentres of ANC-inspired corruption, greed, dysfunction and failing service delivery. It is only where the opposition governs, thus far, that we find municipalities that are governed according to the letter
and spirit of the law, municipalities that are well governed and that are delivering upon its developmental mandate. It is clear that good and progressive governance cannot simply be legislated for. Rather, it starts with the election of ethical leaders.
To my fellow South Africans, I say this: The key to saving South Africa is in your hands. Please save South Africa. At the moment, we are in trouble. Thank you very much.
Hon Deputy Speaker, it is surprising when the progressive move is being done by the ANC that everybody will try to put some holes where there are none at all. The ANC took a decision in 1991 - I do not know where you were, in 1991 in the 48th Conference in Durban to establish the ward to ward local government. As informed in terms of the Constitution of South Africa Chapter 7 of the forming of the local government.
In the Ready to Govern Policy Document, the ANC in 1992 put as a requirement to establish local government. So, today it is to amend the Municipal Structures Amendments
that we are dealing with today. Therefore, as the ANC-led government we believe that those amendments that are required are some of the minor challenges that have been experienced at a local government level as well as by the Independent Election Commission in terms of setting up the municipal structures in different municipalities. This is the reason we are today saying that we want to amend.
Over and above that we must remember that in terms of the establishment of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, it has not been catered for in the Act. Therefore, this is assisting us to make sure that there is accountability and monitoring as we are committed to the clean governance as the ANC. We therefore believe that in terms of the participatory democracy we need to make sure that we amend these Acts. This will assist us in terms of where there are municipalities which are refusing to establish the ward committees. This amendment will assist us to establish those ward committees for us to be able to have a proper participatory democracy for our people.
We applaud the committee for the work that has been done to do this amendment because when the Act is being amended you need to consult and the people have to put their voices in it. This has been so in this Bill. As the South African - I beg your pardon, as the ANC we would like to support the Bill. [Interjections.] Of course the SACP supports the Bill as well. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, the AIC supports this Bill, however there are few issues that we would like to raise. The Local Government Structures Bill will not pass the constitutional master because it has glaring anomalies. Despite our support for its promulgation, the Bill cannot be passed as it is. The formalisation of the Municipal Public Accounts Committees marks an important era in the governance of local government. It will strengthen oversight and safeguard public resources against plunder.
We are concerned, Deputy Speaker, that the Bill empowers the executive head of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, that is, MEC of a
particular province to designate a person to call and chair a meeting of the municipal council where the Speaker, Acting Speaker or Municipal Manager refuses to call the meeting. This will be tantamount to the violation of the separation of powers. It allows an executive functionary in a province to pick and choose the chair of the municipal councils when the Speaker, Acting Speaker of Municipal Manager refuses to call the meeting.
Effectively, the MEC is allowed to continue the chairing of the council. This could have the rippled effect of stifling robust debate, criticism and effective oversight in the council. In our view, when there is a stale mate on the chairing of the council, the mediation committee should elect the chair. Where the mediation committee is nonexistent the Bill should create one. The MEC cannot be the one who delegates the chair of the council if one considers the South African Electoral System with its attendant shortcomings. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker, actually, when you want to discuss this Bill, you need to start by understanding
the history that the country is coming from; that the apartheid has left its imprint on South Africa's human settlements and municipal institutions.
The transformation requires an understanding of the historical role of local government in creating and perpetuating local separation and inequity, and the impact of apartheid on municipal institutions. Equally important, is the history of resistance to apartheid at the local level, and the struggles against apartheid local government thereof.
In 1994, the advent of democracy in South Africa changed the regulatory framework of local government. South African citizens were freed from the shackles of an oppressive regime and experienced democratic rule. Freedom from apartheid came with promises of a better life for all and the realisation of constitutionally protected human rights.
The preamble to the Constitution lays the foundation for an open and democratic society with a bill of rights, recognising the injustices of the past and aiming to
improve the quality of life of all citizens. The majority of the electorate supported a constitutional mandate, which set the foundation for democracy and bestowed a positive obligation on all spheres of government to ensure the enforcement of the bill of rights, as well as an obligation to ensure that the majority of people experience a better life for all.
It is against this backdrop that Transition Act, 1993; the new Constitution envisaged a complete transformation of the local government system. In terms of the new Constitution, local government is a sphere of government in its own right and no longer a function of national or provincial government. Local government has also been given a distinctive status and role in building democracy and promoting socio-economic development.
The proposed amendments to the Municipal System Act, promotes certainty on some matters and strengthen oversight and governance in municipalities. In the main, the Bill speaks to two fundamental areas. The first fundamental area is the electoral matters where you allude of the vacancies as the previous speaker spoke
about; the formulas, the issue of the time frames and the party lists.
The second one that is important is the issue of governance matters. In governance; I want to pull one important part which is the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, MPAC. The MPAC will assist in getting better audit outcomes amongst other issues like the quorum, decision, and the abolition of plenary type.
However, we have noted the challenges experienced by plenary type municipalities including limiting of executive authority to the full council, and it is unable to delegate its executive responsibilities to any individual council or any of its committees in strengthening oversight and governance in municipalities and ensuring service delivery for all.
The Municipal Structures Amendment Bill seeks to do away with the plenary type as I have said; so that it enables the system to flow smoothly. This will contribute to municipal council to improve oversight over the administration and the executive by implementing critical
checks and balances to ensure that the municipality implement the constitutional mandate, as accountability is one of the tenets of a democracy.
Therefore, improving oversight in local government to holds the municipal executive and the administration accountable should be the pre-requisite to implement the constitutional mandate of local government.
In conclusion, the ANC is convinced that the proposed amendments provide for solutions and clarity which will restore the confidence of the majority of our people in our municipalities, as the primary delivery machinery of the developmental state at a local government level. It is for this reason that on the 08 May we must go all out in our numbers and vote for the ANC to ensure that all these Bills get implemented as required. I thank you, Chair. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
IsiZulu:
USEKELA SOMLOMO: Hhayibo! Kahleni bo.
English:
How do you scream like that? That is out of order. Ao! Please man; just lower your voices here.
The MINISTER OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS RESPONSIBLE