Finally ...
Ayesaba amagwala. [The cowards are scared.]
Somlomo weNdlu yoWiso-mthetho yelizwe lethu, uMzantsi Afrika namaLungu ePalamente ngokubanzi, kuninzi okwenziwe ngurhulumente we-ANC ukususela ngowe-1994 ukuza kuma kowama-2014 xa sijonge umgama osele uhanjiwe ngoomasipala bethu ukuzisa iinkonzo kubantu bonke jikelele ngokungenamkethe.
Lo nyaka ubalulekile kwimbali yesizwe, ingakumbi kumbutho wesizwe okhokele amashumi ama-20 eminyaka. Ngumzekelo omhle kubo bonke oorhulumente xa sijonga emva apho i-ANC yathatha khona iintambo zolawulo kweli lizwe lookhokho bethu. Imbali yempumelelo iyabonakala, ingakumbi kwabo bayivumayo bayithethe inyaniso. Kweli lizwe akakho urhulumente onendima efana neyombutho wesizwe ukuzisa inguqu kubomi babantu. Siyaqhubeka ke nomzabalazo wenkqubela phambili yeli lizwe ukuze bonke abantu baphile impilo engcono kunakuqala.
Asinakubuya umva kwidabi lenkululeko yabantu beli lizwe kuba siyibonile ilahleko nosizi idyokhwe yengcinezelo eyenzileyo kumakhaya ngamakhaya. Abantu babengenalizwi kwizinto ezichaphazela ubomi babo ekuhlaleni nasemakhaya ngenxa yembinana negcuntswana labo bathathela kubo bodwa ulawulo lweli lizwe. (Translation of the isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Speaker of the National Assembly of our country, South Africans and Members of Parliament at large, a lot has been done by the ANC-led government from 1994 until 2014, looking at the ground that has already been covered by our municipalities in delivering services to the people in general without discrimination.
This year is important in the history of this nation, especially to the national movement which has led this country for 20 years. Looking back at the time when the ANC took the administrative reigns of this country of our forefathers, one has to admire the good legacy it has set forth. The legacy of success is there for everyone to see, especially to those who are honest enough to speak the truth. In this country, there is no government that has changed the lives of people like the national movement did. We are continuing with the struggle of bringing progress to this country so that all our people can live a better life than before.
We cannot turn our backs on the fight for the freedom of the people of this country, because we saw the deprivation and misery that the yoke of oppression wreaked on various homes in this country. People did not have a voice on matters that affected their lives in their communities and in their homes because of the minority who took it upon themselves to govern this country.]
The year 2014 marks a significant milestone in the history of local government transformation and service delivery in the country. Our system of developmental local government, which is unprecedented, has culminated in an equally unprecedented success story in the achievement of delivery of services, goods and visible development across municipalities. It is indeed a good story to tell.
As the ANC, we are unashamedly vocal about the success and the gains we have made as a country. As His Excellency President Zuma has stated, "South Africa is now a better place to live in than what it was 20 years ago" and that no government in this country has made such strides in the areas of development of its people before. The ANC-led government, therefore, has a true success story to tell the South African public. That is why, as the ANC, we remain focused and committed to even do better in the task of the continual improvement of the lives of all South Africans.
The strides made by the ANC-led government since 1994 in the local government transformation discourse, continues to serve as a barometer to measure and assess our track-record of successful performance.
Ayinakuphikwa nangubani na into yokuba ngokwenene i-ANC ... [No one can deny the fact that the ANC ...]
... has succeeded in laying a solid foundation and clear standards for the country's development and delivery of services.
A number of policies and legislative instruments have been put in place to ensure the smooth transition from a barbaric apartheid system of local government to the one that is developmental, participatory, democratic, transparent and accountable. As we speak here in Parliament, ordinary South Africans are now more than ever before able to publicly voice their opinions freely, to actively engage in the determination of the course and content of their own development and lives.
Part of these local government transformation policy and legislative instruments include the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act currently being reviewed through the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Bill to ensure smooth implementation. A fundamental feature of this legislative arrangement is the need to ensure that local government succeeds in their revenue-generative and management capacity. For local government to succeed in service delivery implementation, complementing the work of a developmental state, they need to have sustainable sources of own revenue to lessen dependency on state funding. The ANC, therefore, recognises the challenge of continually developing the capacity of local government to be able to perform efficiently their duties and functions for the general good of local citizens.
Property rates are designed for local government to have a stable source of revenue to balance their operating and capital budgets. Besides, they must be endowed with effective systems, processes, procedures and internal controls that will ensure that every property is built for property rates in order to maximise its revenue-generative capacity and potential of the existing revenue base.
This legislative framework, together with the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, allow municipalities to levy and recover fees, charges or tariffs in respect of municipal services and delivery functions, to and recover collection charges and interest thereon. Local government capacity is thus crucial for the overall understanding of the technical aspects of property rates management, that is ability to know total revenue receivable from all rateable properties in their jurisdictional areas through setting up credible property tariffs.
The ANC-led government under President Zuma recognises the challenge of enabling municipalities, through appropriate skills transfer, to balance their municipal property rates policy with the plight of the urban poor as part of a responsible local government system. Our governance practices in local government challenge all of us to establish, assess and analyse how municipal rates policies should promote access by the poor to urban land markets.
Finally, Chairperson and hon members, it is common knowledge that South Africa has a chronic shortage of skilled technical personnel in this key functional area. We further know the legacy of the apartheid education system the damage it has done across all sectors of society. Local government is equally affected.
The ANC government therefore reports in this House that through its collaborative efforts and sound intergovernmental relations, it has managed to convince the Institute of Property Valuers to grant concessions by allowing associated valuers to be fully registered, a measure that will enable them full participation as professional members capable of presiding over property valuation practices. This positive development is fully appreciated by the ANC and I hope all of us in this House acknowledge the efforts the ANC-led government is making towards continuously making South Africa a better country than it was 20 years ago. This is why we indeed tell a good story. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]