Category: Speeches

SPEAKING POINTS FOR COGTA MEC SIHLE ZIKALALA DURING HIS ENGAGEMENT WITH MSUNDUZI STAKEHOLDERS – TOWN HALL, 23 NOVEMBER 2022

Programme Director;
Councillors;
Representatives of Business, Religious and All Civic Organisations;
Members of the Public;
Government Officials present;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

Introduction

It is a pleasure and an honour to meet with you once more on a platform such as this one.

We are gathered today, at a key moment in our country and for our city. As the provincial government, we recognise the important role that the KwaZulu-Natal Capital City in the life of our province and this community. It is for this reason that we have chosen to keep a close eye on what is happening in this historic city because we are deeply invested in its rejuvenation and return to its former glory.

We use former glory advisedly knowing that the city’s needs have expanded since 1994 because it had to be an inclusive city that is a home to all, black and white, rich and poor, urban and rural. And so, as we reimagine the rebirth of Pietermaritzburg, we have to envision a city that plans for rapid urbanisation, population growth, and indeed more demand for basic services.

Many of you will remember that we have had numerous engagements with you on the condition of the municipality and the steps that need to be taken to get this municipality where it belongs.

We acknowledge that the municipality is not where it is supposed to be, but we have noted improvements which we hope will be built on.

It also does not escape us that we find ourselves in a society that has high unemployment and rising crime levels which exacerbate the challenges in this municipality as key infrastructure is constantly vandalised by criminals. While law enforcement must rise to the occasion and arrest criminals who steal and vandalise infrastructure, this is a challenge that requires the mobilisation of all sectors of society. In our homes, communities, places of work – everywhere – we must have zero tolerance for law breakers and those sabotaging our future. We must, therefore, not glamorise crime and protect thugs whether they are our neighbours, friends, or powerful individuals in communities.

Purpose of the Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, you will remember that many years ago, the government launched the Masakhane campaign, which was aimed at fostering closer ties between communities and institutions such as municipalities.

Through this programme, municipalities would be transparent with residents and earn their trust and win their confidence by showcasing the work they are doing and the steps that need to be taken by the residents in support of municipal efforts.

In the budget policy speech for the 2022/23 financial year, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs committed to relaunching this campaign in the province’s municipalities. Given the importance of Msunduzi, it was chosen as the first place to launch the campaign in 2022. We will be using much of tomorrow here in Msunduzi to stage the launch and invite communities and other stakeholders to work closely with government to rebuild this municipality and its communities.

We hope that through the rejuvenation of the Masakhane Campaign, we can continue to educate, inform and create awareness among our residents about the need for them to pay for services that are rendered by municipalities.

In our province, billions of rands are owed to municipalities by businesses, residents and even some government departments and entities.

We also aim through this programme to sharpen systems that are already in place that are aimed at keeping our cities clean, safe and hospitable.

Back to basics

One of the pillars that this campaign is built on Sound Financial Management and Service Delivery.

We understand the responsibility that the municipalities have of using the limited resources given to them in a manner that is above board.

We have witnessed many instances where trust in municipalities is eroded based on poor decisions that are taken by councils or their failure to deal with corruption and mismanagement.

This is an issue that we will not turn a blind eye to, we are serious about this matter and several legislative changes have given more powers to the Auditor General to recoup any irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure from Accounting Officers if they fail to take the appropriate actions.

On the economic front, we wish to see Msunduzi taking its place as a light industrial production hub. In order for this to happen, we will require the municipality to identify key areas that it can focus on such as basic services, security, ease of doing business and strong support for light industrial production.

Key Programme of the Masakhane Campaign

As we meet this evening, we wish therefore to invite you to be a part of it. Part of our exercise this evening is to register your issues as key stakeholders so that our collective responses to your issues are addressed in a more systematic way. We must all hold each other accountable and have monitoring mechanism while identifying people we can trust to follow up on the priority of issues and our pragramme of action.

Through the Masakhane campaign, we aim to:

Address outcomes of the municipal assessments which indicate disparities and poor public participation functions in certain municipalities, as well as very poor revenue collection and non-payment for services.

Make it possible for all Councilors to conduct regular consultation and feedback meetings with their constituencies during a stipulated period.

Empower local communities with information on their rights and responsibilities, including payment of services rendered by the government.

Encourage local communities to play a meaningful role in the affairs of the municipality to influence decision-making processes.

Bring back public confidence in the elected representatives in the local government space, to overcome a sense of hopelessness in that individual members can speak out on what development is required and what is of concern to them.

Facilitate a platform to identify service delivery failures and bottlenecks, in turn, address the worsening public protests which are organized as a result of communities being neglected, ignored and left behind in development programs.
Compatriots, the campaign seeks to:
Improve the quality of relations between the Msunduzi council and its communities. It is important that the council is seen to be listening to the communities and acting on the community’s concerns.

Encourage businesses, government departments, government political office bearers, Councillors, officials and general members of the community to pay for municipal services to address challenges of power cuts and shortage of funds to provide basic and other services.

Conduct mass education on the indigent policy so that elderly people and those who qualify can register and benefit in line with municipalities’ indigent arrangements.

We also appreciate the fact that we cannot do this on our own but need to form a partnership with all stakeholders across the board.

MEC’S FIVE KEY PRIORITIES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN KZN

As the department of Cogta, we have identified five key areas that need us to work closely with residents and like-minded organisations.

1. Stabilisation of the sphere of local government

The priority is for us to stabilise the sphere of local government within our province. The instances of intimidation and murder of public representatives and municipal workers are a blight on our province and demonstrate that there are forces that are hell-bent on compromising the sphere of local government at any cost.

We cannot allow these rogue elements to subvert the democratic gains that we have made within this space. Working together, we can stamp out acts of criminality.

2. Professionalization of local government

The second issue is the professionalization of the sphere of local government within our province. Only a meritocratic local sphere of government that values skilled, ethical, and law-abiding public servants can succeed in making local government capable and developmental in its approach. And so, efforts to improve the skills of municipal officials and other public servants is a priority in delivering quality, dignified, basic services to communities. Lack of skills and professionalism contribute to municipality dysfunctionality and disastrous consequences for residents.

We also urge communities to pay attention to the calibre of councillors that they elect. These need to be men and women who driven only by the passion to selflessly serve and improving the lives of others. They need to understand the seriousness of the position they occupy and the responsibilities that they carry. If this is not looked into, we run the risk of having the stature of our municipalities undermined and the public losing confidence.

As political parties, we also carry an enormous responsibility of ensuring that criminals do not infiltrate our political systems and cause chaos or start looting people’s resources at the local government level.

3. Building Capacity to deliver

As CoGTA, we have undertaken to help our municipalities to build their capacity to deliver service to our communities as outlined in the constitution. The District Development Model (DDM) which we have begun to implement seeks to bring all 3 spheres of government to resolve service delivery challenges. We are providing various forms of technical support to help municipalities improve delivery of services.

It is clear that in this day and age, we cannot have our municipalities absent when we are talking about issues of the economy, electricity generation, and strategic partnerships with the private sector on creating new industries and protecting those that exist. In this regard, we again we invite the business community to partner with CoGTA and the Msunduzi Local Municipality to turn around Pietermaritzburg and surrounding communities.

4. Community Participation

The fourth issue is community participation. It is disheartening and unacceptable to see councillors not convening meetings with their respective communities to update them on the decisions that are being taken in the councils.

This leaves our communities poorer in terms of information and sometimes leads to protests as communities search for answers. The Constitution and various pieces of legislation enjoins municipalities to involve communities in decision making or to consult them when plans like IDPs are for instance drafted. Communities must also stand up and insist on monitoring and evaluation of IDPs and council programmes.

5. Mechanism to manage political competition

My fifth point is that our municipalities must have systems that help them to manage the political competition.

While the area of local government is heavily contested terrain there should be areas of common interest and approach for political parties within the respective councils.

We say this because ultimately every councillor in the council represents the interest of the residents and there has to be collaboration on issues that strengthen accountability and protect the integrity of the institution.

CONCLUSION

Programme Director,

Having outlined these steps that we believe will assist us to turn the situation around in Msunduzi and other municipalities, we must add that if we are to succeed, we need all stakeholders to work closely together and to share best practices. This is why gatherings like today’s are so important as we get a chance to cross-pollinate and share experiences.

We wish to assure you as KZN CoGTA that we value your input, time, and commitment to see Msunduzi work to your expectations.

We stand ready to hear you, to craft together with you a programme that we can all own, and most importantly, to make our great city a thriving centre of commerce and citadel of hope again.

This is a task that government alone cannot accomplish.

It is a task that will not only be fixed by courts, threats to boycott also paying for services, or constantly putting Msunduzi under Administration. On the contrary, it requires a mindset shift and new ways of doing things. And so, we are here to work with you to ensure that all your needs are reasonably addressed within agreed time frames so that Msunduzi can again become a place of pride for all who are associated with it.

To win, we should also lend a hand, pay for services, help fight crime, and prevent wastage.

And there must be no opportunity for impunity for officials and councillors who treat the public with disdain or disrespect.

Together Growing KwaZulu-Natal!

I thank you!

ADDRESS BY KWAZULU-NATAL MEC FOR COGTA SIHLE ZIKALALA DURING THE MUNICIPAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS, DLI HALL, DURBAN, 22 NOVEMBER 2022

Programme Director;

Mayors and Councillors;

Representatives of SALGA;

Amakhosi and izinduna present;

KZN CoGTA Head of Department, Mr Tando Tubane

Senior Government Officials;

Leaders of Business and Labour;

Social Partners;

The people of KwaZulu-Natal;

Members of the Media;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Good evening to you all! Sanibonani! Dumelang! Salaam!

Let me begin by adding my voice in offering you all a warm welcome to this majestic, beautiful, and hospitable province of KwaZulu-Natal.

We are honoured and pleased to have in our midst representatives of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) who for more than two decades have been a credible and reliable partner of CoGTA and local government leading from the front to inspire service delivery.

We truly appreciate our collaboration and partnerships with SALGA and other stakeholders which geared towards making local government truly capable, developmental, and to help us realise the vision of South African communities which are truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, equal and prosperous.

And to municipal managers, councillors, mayors, and public officials, today you are truly our guests of honour because these awards are about recognising and rewarding your hard work. Today we are here to salute your remarkable contribution to changing the quality of life of our people through improved service delivery.

Tonight, we wish to celebrate the value of professional management and to recognise impactful projects that have significantly improved the quality of life of the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

As you would know, these Provincial Municipal Excellence Awards attract entries from all our municipalities and also provide space for the public to participate in choosing winners.

For a number of reasons, including the reprioritisation of budgets, the global pandemic of COVID-19, and the July 2021 unrest, we have not had these important awards since 2018.

We are therefore truly pleased that we have succeeded to return this significant event to our provincial calendar as a meaningful gesture of appreciation to the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities that are going the extra mile to qualitatively transform the lives of our people by bringing much needed services to our communities and stakeholders.

We also wish to pay tribute to the people and communities of our province who have participated in helping us identify the winners because ultimately, they are the best positioned to judge as it is them on the ground who encounter excellent or poor service delivery.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We cannot overemphasise the importance of local government in improving the lives of the people and in helping our democratic state forge a new South Africa founded on the principles of democracy, non-discrimination, equality, and shared prosperity.

Understanding that local government is the coalface of service delivery, the 6^th Administration under His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a particular interest and renewed focus to reduce bottlenecks to the delivery of basic services by introducing the District Development Model (DDM). The DDM brings together all spheres of government under the ONE-PLAN-ONE BUDGET framework to improve coordination and accelerate service delivery.

In this regard, we also wish to remind this august audience that the 6^th KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government identified as its first priority the improvement of the basic delivery of services, in particular water.

The verdict is still out there in the remaining two years of this administration on how far we have succeeded to turn our municipalities around and improving the provision of services as we committed in 2019. We cannot, however, ignore the important work that KZN CoGTA and our municipalities are doing to attend to the water challenges through the implementation of the KwaZulu-Natal Water Master Plan.

On behalf of KZN CoGTA, we wish to thank all the hard-working municipality officials, mayors, and councillors who ensure that local government works around the clock. We saw you on the frontline of service delivery during the height of the deadly COVID-19 which took the lives of many of our people and wreaked havoc in our provincial economy.

Once again, we express our solidarity with families and colleagues who lost their loved ones. We also saw your patriotic commitment during the floods early this year ensuring that much-needed emergency services are provided and lives are saved. Thank you once more!

As we honour you this evening, it would a neglect on our part not to acknowledge the loss that the sector is also facing with the murder of councillors and municipal officials that are being murdered. We have learned that since the November 2021 local government elections, about 54 municipal officials and councillors have been murdered throughout the country. The Western Cape is said to have the highest incidence of the murder and intimidation of Councillors and official while in KZN we have lost no less than 11 councillors since the local government elections.

We wish to assure you all that this is a serious challenge that is of great concern to all spheres of government and SALGA. It is an issue that we were debating in the NCOP this afternoon. Apart from strengthening law enforcement, we wish to urge every councillor, every municipal manager, every public official to work hard towards eliminating the deep-rooted culture of violence in our society.

This culture which sometimes is motivated by greed, corruption, and competition over limited resources and fight for positions seems to be rearing its ugly head as we see with the despicable crime of the murder of amakhosi and izinduna in KwaZulu-Natal. It is the same culture of violence across society that we see dehumanising women and children, exposing them to violence and trauma on a daily basis. We implore upon all of you to fight corruption courageously and relentlessly in municipalities and to ensure that those who commit crime face the full might of the law.

We urge you all to work hard in advancing local economic development in your municipalities and in making your localities attractive to investments and job creation. There can be no doubt that poverty, unemployment, inequality, and various social ills provide a fertile ground for a culture of violence to take root.

It must be our generational mission to make our municipalities safe, socially cohesive, and prosperous. And so, when we deliver social infrastructure, build schools, bring water closer to communities, and electrify our rural communities and informal settlements, we are also contributing to building a firm foundation upon which we can create the KwaZulu-Natal of our dreams.

If we all prioritise the development of communities, especially the vulnerable poor and youth, we are protecting our own future by building on the solid rock of peace and stability and lessening the chances for the counterrevolution to undermine our hard-won democratic gains.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tonight, must be remembered as an evening where collectively we succeeded to raise the profile of local government. We have to do this to foster trust and to create a better image and more informed understanding of the local government sector.

Today, we intend to focus on what is working and identifying those municipalities that are leading by example. It is our opportunity to celebrate good practice and excellence among your peers so that we can all learn from one another.

At this point, please allow me to highlight the broad categories that various municipalities will be recognised for this evening:

Best Performing Ward Committees in terms of functionality in the 2021/22financial year

This category recognizes an outstanding Ward Committee that has a record of consultation mechanisms with its community. Here we are paying attention to evidence of an effective public participation programme.

We can attest that those municipalities where communities are involved in the life of a municipality, where there is a two-way communication process, and where the leadership of municipalities regularly consult, service delivery protests are reduced and trust is restored in local government.

Best managed electricity project by a municipality

The winning municipalities in this category were able to accomplish electricity connections to households within specified time and within the allocated budget, thus changing people’s lives.

These municipalities are rewarded for efficiency in accelerating basic service delivery to very needy communities.

The impact of electrification (notwithstanding load shedding) has clearly resulted in improved socio-economic conditions where households were able to connect to modern technologies such as computers and smartphones. We also see businesses and entrepreneurs thriving because of electricity connections.

Best Recycling Project managed and supported by a municipality

With the emergency of climate change and its disastrous effects on humanity and in KwaZulu-Natal, we cannot overemphasize the need to protect the environment from pollution. The category on recycling recognizes those municipalities which have responded to the call to support the waste recycling culture. Through it, we wish to encourage many more municipalities to offer dedicated support to individuals and SMMEs that are working with waste, helping clean our environment, and supporting green economy initiatives.

Best Managed Landfill Site

It is important that landfill sites are properly managed and adhere to bylaws. This is for the well-being of all including nature on which we depend. We have sadly had the experience of communities taking Umsunduzi Local Municipality, for instance,  to the Human Rights Commission and ultimately court on a landfill site that was not managed properly.

This category of Best Managed Landfill Site, therefore, seeks to reward those municipalities that have well-run and functional landfill sites. Compliance would include, for instance, that the Landfill facility is licensed, is fenced, and has an Operational Plan.

Best Implemented Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP)

Winners in the category would have achieved at least 95% of the targets that were set for the previous financial year.

The winning municipalities received Clean Audit opinions on Performance Information. Quarterly performance reports submitted to Oversight structures on time. Also, there’s evidence of Improved Audit Opinion on Annual Financial Statements and Performance Information.

Best Developed Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the 2021/22 Financial Year

This category rewards municipalities that achieve no less than 85% in the IDP scoring. The criteria utilized for the determination of the Best Developed IDP are the Credible IDP assessment criteria that are applied in the MEC’s IDP assessment process. We again wish to encourage municipalities to ensure that all stakeholders, including our traditional leaders and communities themselves, are involved in the crafting of IDPs so that they can feel a sense of ownership and be in a position to effectively monitor their implementation.

Clean Audit Opinions

The category of Clean Audit Opinions cherishes municipalities that have achieved Clean Audits in the 2020/21 audit year.

Municipalities that have achieved clean audits have been found by the AG to possess these attributes:

• Its financial statements and performance report give a transparent and credible account of its finances and its performance against the targets that had been set. In other words, these accountability reports present a reliable picture of the municipality’s performance.
• The municipality complied with the important legislation that applies to it and, where transgressions did occur, they were rare or not material.

Best and sustained sound Financial Management

With these awards, we seek to reward municipalities with the best and most sustained financial management and viability. As KZN CoGTA, we remain committed to offering extra and skilled personnel to support to struggling municipalities to turn their finances around.

Among others, the criteria include:

• Positive Audit Outcomes (either a Clean or Unqualified with matter opinions) for the 2020/21 audit year.
  • Funded budget status for the 2021/22 Financial Year
  • Cash coverage ratio – within the Treasury Norm of 1 – 3 months
  • Debtors’ collection rate – within the Treasury Norm of 95% revenue annual collection

Allocation and spending on the Repairs and Maintenance (O&M) budget

This important category rewards municipalities that have budgeted more than the Treasury Norm of 8% on repairs and maintenance based on Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) for the 2021/22 financial year and had spent the R&M budget.

Winner of the Night

The biggest award this evening will indeed be “Winner of the Night”. We all need to learn from this municipality as we seek to develop ideal municipalities throughout KwaZulu-Natal.

We will be presenting this prestigious award to the municipality that met the criteria of a stable municipality. This is a municipality with governance structures which are functional. In this municipality, there is clear evidence that Ward Committees and Municipal Rapid Response Teams are functional.

A number of our municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and throughout the country are showing poor financial results and no municipality can be sustainable with poor financial audit outcomes. This is one of those municipalities that provide hope. As such, we can reveal that the “Winner of the Night” would have:

• Received positive audit outcomes on Performance Informationin the 2020/21 audit year.
• Passed funded budgets for the 2021/22 Financial Year.
• Revenue collection within the Treasury Norm of 95%.
• No ESKOM or Water Board debt.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tonight, is a night of the hard workers, the innovators in local government, and those passionate about service delivery. It is about rewarding leadership and team effort in the service of our people.

We must begin to also emulate the spirit of entrepreneurs and encourage communities to think like them. Where many see problems like littering, disruption in electricity supply, lack of transport options, entrepreneurs see opportunities for growth and innovation.

As we go through limited budgets, we have no doubt that the leadership of the local government sector will innovate, think outside the box, and be entrepreneurial in approaching our challenges.

Once again, congratulations to the winners and we hope that next year it will be the turn of your municipality to be recognized if you missed out this evening.

Growing KwaZulu-Natal Together!

I thank you.

ADDRESS BY KWAZULU-NATAL COGTA MEC SIHLE ZIKALALA DURING THE SALGA KZN PROVINCIAL MEMBERS ASSEMBLY, UMFOLOZI CASINO, EMPANGENI, 04 NOVEMBER 2022 

Programme Director, Cllr. DT Memela;

MECs and MPLs in our midst;

The Leadership of SALGA;

Mayors and Councillors;

Our Traditional Leaders Present;

Esteemed Sponsors;

Members of the Fourth Estate;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

SALGA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND INSPIRE SERVICE DELIVERY

It is an absolute joy and immense honour to join the KwaZulu-Natal SALGA Provincial Assembly taking place on the shores of the majestic and beautiful uMhlathuze.

Established in November 1996, this prestigious body, the South African Local Government Association, has continued to champion the mandate of local government and has lived to its motto of “inspiring service delivery”.

Given our history of racial segregation and spatial inequities, SALGA continues to play a crucial role in positioning the local sphere of government to achieve spatial justice, social cohesion, and sustainable development through its unrelenting focus on integrated management of space, economies as well as people.

For nearly three decades, this autonomous organisation has successfully advanced the interests of local government, improved the profile of local government, and fought against encroachment within a vibrant framework of intergovernmental relations (IGR).

We recognise, for instance, that it was throughSALGA’s efforts that the number of seats for local government delegates was expanded in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

Thanks to your organisation and the NCOP, South Africa has now observed Local Government Week for a decade since 2012. 

Your brainchild, Local Government Week, was initiated to foster shared responsibility for service delivery and to facilitate the coordination role between local government and other spheres of the state machinery. Through it, we are also able to advance the principles of subsidiarity with regard to powers and functions in the delivery of services within a differentiated model.

Just like during the first local government week a decade ago, the government continues to use the week to pay attention to issues of alignment and coordination of planning and budgets between the three spheres of government. Today, this work is part of our daily mantra as we vigorously pursue it through the District Development Model (DDM) which is an anchor programme of the 6th Administration.

It was also the government’s collaboration with SALGA that led to the introduction of wall-to-wall municipalities and the re-design of the local government system as a developmental agent envisaged by the White Paper on Local Government.

This Assembly that you are holding once again underlines your interest and contribution to promoting the sector through knowledge sharing and building technical capacity to make local government truly impactful in changing the lives of communities.

SALGA IN CONTEMPORARY SA STRUGGLES

Compatriots, as COGTA, we wish to affirm our appreciation of SALGA’s voice with all the developments and evolution of local government.

As we renew our country and fight wastage, incompetence, and corruption, we are pleased to know that SALGA remains an actor in the fight against corruption and poor service delivery.

We are paying attention to your suggestions on building ideal municipalities, forging climate-resilient municipalities, and on our path to just energy transition. We appreciate the research you are conducting and the proposals you are making on improving water security, clean energy provision, uninterrupted electricity supply, and post-apartheid smart cities development. In this regard, please allow me to congratulate SALGA’s President, Cllr Bheke Stofile for being elected as one of the 5 Co-Presidents of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

As South Africa comes to terms with the reality of coalition governments, we support the views expressed by SALGA through President Stofile that all efforts must be made to ensure that coalition governments do not result in communities struggling to receive quality services on time. We support him and SALGA on the need to make coalition agreements transparent. As KZN COGTA, we are already engaging the national government on how in KwaZulu-Natal we could implement SALGA’s suggestions on making coalition agreements transparent and inclusive within an agreed framework that prioritises the delivery of services.

ON THE BROAD THEMES OF THE KZN SALGA ASSEMBLY

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please allow me to commend the KwaZulu-Natal SALGA leadership for organising this successful gathering around several important themes. 

We applaud you for reminding us through the choice of your subject matter and focus that local government touches people’s lives in more ways than one. All participants will be inspired and encouraged to expand the meaning of local government since it touches every facet of our lives.

It is this assembly that has said that when we say local government is the coalface of service delivery, we are affirming that this sphere of government touches all avenues of our lives and far beyond the critical task of providing basic services like water, electricity, waste removal and decent sanitation.

In this regard, it was pleasing to see SALGA also seize on the question of developing arts and sports infrastructure in communities. This is a correct approach, reminding us of the value of the arts, culture and sports in building social cohesion and positive social values. We cannot overemphasise the importance of this especially when our province and country face worrying levels of crime, substance abuse, and the scourge of gender-based violence. This thinking will help us go far in defeating social ills, advancing positive social values, and creating the model citizen of KwaZulu-Natal who frowns upon patriarchy, toxic masculinity, crime, and violence.

We wish to pay tribute to SALGA’s role in supporting the youth of KwaZulu-Natal to be tech-savvy. This is in line with our provincial vision of making our province a leader in ICT development and innovation. In this vein, we recognise that in August, SALGA brought together various stakeholders and launched the first Inter-Municipal Technology and Innovation Hub. 

As COGTA, we stand ready to support initiatives that will ensure that the youth of KwaZulu-Natal, especially those in our rural areas, are not left behind with all the developments associated with robotics, artificial intelligence, as well as the 4th Industrial Revolution. This is a programme that we have begun to support partly through the introduction of robotics in our foundation phase at schools as well as investing in Maths, Science, and Technology Schools. This is a task that can only be successfully executed through strong and sustainable partnerships with the private sector.

We also commend you for ensuring that your discussions and presentations also do not leave behind our important and respected traditional leaders. As COGTA, we are keen to receive your report and recommendation on how collectively we can promote spatial planning that integrates traditional authorities. We are aware that you have explored, for instance, how working better with Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB), KwaZulu-Natal could unleash pro-poor rural development. We do not doubt that your proposals will receive greater support from the ITB as well as His Majesty the King who last week at Moses Mabhida Stadium spoke passionately on rural and economic development for KwaZulu-Natal.

FIVE KEY PRIORITIES

As the department of Cogta, we have identified five key areas that need us to work closely with SALGA and other like-minded organisations. 

Stabilisation of the sphere of local government 

The priority is for us to stabilise the sphere of local government within our province. The instances of intimidation and murder of public representatives and municipal workers are a blight on our province and demonstrate that there are forces that are hell-bent on compromising the sphere of local government at any cost. 

We cannot allow these rogue elements to subvert the democratic gains that we have made within this space. Acts of criminality must be stamped out.

We also understand that before any form of protection is given to a councillor or municipal official comprehensive risk assessments need to be done by the competent agency of the state which in this case is the South African Police Service, we have noted the concerns raised by municipalities on the issue of the slow turnaround in the conducting of these assessments and we commit ourselves to work closely with our police to expedite these processes. 

Professionalization of local government

The second issue is the professionalization of the sphere of local government within our province. This is an important issue which requires all of us to pay close attention to it, especially since local government is at the coal face of service delivery. 

Our communities rely on the services rendered by municipalities, which means that a dysfunctional municipality has disastrous consequences for residents. 

This also speaks to the calibre of people that become councillors, we need to have councillors who understand the seriousness of the position they occupy and the responsibilities that they carry. If this is not looked into, we run the risk of having the stature of our municipalities undermined and the public losing confidence. 

Political parties also have a responsibility on this matter as they have a responsibility to ensure that criminals do not infiltrate their political systems and cause chaos at the local government level. 

Building Capacity to deliver

We have to help our municipalities to build their capacity to deliver service to our communities as outlined in the constitution. This is both a simple and a complex task, there are low-hanging fruits which our municipalities can deliver on however we do not wish for them to only focus on these low-hanging fruits but to see them also building their capacity to deal with complex issues which are of a strategic nature which show foresight and vision. 

We cannot have our municipalities absent when we are talking about issues of the economy, electricity generation, and strategic partnerships with the private sector on creating new industries and protecting those that exist. 

Community Participation: 

The fourth issue is community participation. It is disheartening to see councillors not convening meetings with their respective communities to update them on the decisions that are being taken in the councils. 

This leaves our communities poorer in terms of information and sometimes leads to protests as communities search for answers. This issue speaks to the issue we previously mentioned on the professionalization of local government, as we need councillors who know what it means to occupy these positions. 

Mechanism to manage political competition

My fifth point is that our municipalities must have systems that help them to manage the political competition. 

While the area of local government is heavily contested terrain there should be areas of common interest and approach for political parties within the respective councils. 

We say this because ultimately every councillor in the council represents the interest of the residents and there has to be collaboration on issues that strengthen accountability and protect the integrity of the institution. 

Programme director, having outlined these steps that we believe will assist us to turn the situation around in our municipalities, we must add that if we are to succeed we need all stakeholders to work closely together and to share best practices, this is why gatherings like today’s are so important as we get a chance to cross-pollinate. 

AREAS OF COLLABORATION WITH SALGA KZN

As Cogta we look forward to working closely with SALGA KZN in the common areas of interest such as: 

• Improving the provision of water in our municipalities. 
• Improving spatial planning
• The provision of service delivery through the District Development Model
• Strengthening the effectiveness of the Masakhane Campaign which calls for residents, businesses and government to pay for municipal services. Those that fail to pay for these services are compromising the financial viability of municipalities and their ability to continue providing services.

As a department, we have taken a tough stance on several issues, such as municipalities having unfunded budgets, which is a contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act. We have taken a principled decision that we will not condone such budgets and that municipalities will have to comply with the law and only pass funded budgets.

We also have zero tolerance for the issue of employees having the relevant qualifications for the role they occupy within our municipalities. To this effect, we are roping in the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the Public Service Commission as we have noticed several instances where people are appointed into positions for which they do not have the relevant qualifications. 

We are also not comfortable with municipalities that have become employment agencies at the expense of delivery on their core mandate which is to bring services to our communities. We are of the view that municipalities should not spend more than 35% on staff wages, this is a healthy ratio and allows the municipality to dedicate 65% of its resources to expenditure on capital projects which is their core mandate. 

Our municipalities must not be found taking over the functions of other provincial and national departments they have to invest in their core mandate in line with the resources that they have been given. 

CONCLUSION:

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let us answer the call to serve.

On behalf of COGTA, we invite you all again to rise to the challenge of our day and contribute in the creation of the KwaZulu-Natal of our dreams

In all that we do, let us be inspired by the aspirations of our people, in particular the poor and vulnerable of our land.

We cannot afford to go to bed without concern or worry that many of our young people are without hope and languishing on our streets.

We must not tolerate corruption, poor service delivery, and theft from the poor. Those that cheat the state, there must be consequences for them so that people understand that local government and the public service is not a refuge for thieves or those who drag their feet when they have to serve our communities.

As COGTA, we pray that we all realise the huge responsibility that we carry in transforming society and restoring the dignity of our people.

We dare not linger!

It is in our hands!

And may SALGA continue to inspire service delivery in KwaZulu-Natal!

Asisukume sakhe iKwaZulu-Natal!

I thank you!

.

MEC Hlomuka Remarks

Honourable Chairperson and Members

It is a great pleasure to be part of this important workshop where we present to our line function Portfolio Committee the KZN Provincial Water Master Plan – one of the most extensive research-based documents ever produced by this department and a document that is already being analysed and replicated in other provinces.

The importance of this document matches the importance of its subject – the provision of water to communities and its sustainability in the short-, medium- and long-term in the wider context of KZN’s socio-economic development.

It proudly encompasses water quality, water use efficiency, and inter-governmental co-operation. It sets ambitious targets for the provision of water as well as its protection and restoration of critical water ecosystems. This document also aims to address the many interlinked challenges our world is facing, particularly as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Its contents are thus relevant to everyone.

It is now clearly established that water is critical for poverty eradication and sustainable development. For example:

• Unsustainable exploitation of water resources is among the biggest threats to the ecosystems which are so essential for food security and for the livelihoods of many

• Water-related illnesses disproportionately affect poor people – and particularly poor children, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide

• Without adequate water provision, working people may not be able to go to work and children may not attend school, and they all may therefore miss out on income and education, respectively, and

• Women who must spend hours fetching water have less time for income-generating work and other important activities

These are but a few example but they tell the whole story. Overall, water provision deficits make for poor health, lower school enrolments, and greater gender disparities. They have wide economic and social impacts. With the fundamental importance of water in its own right well established as well as its clear links to other drivers of development, a master plan for the provision of water in a province as diverse as KZN, really is a no-brainer. 

The document before us today puts water, clearly and unequivocally, at the centre of our development policy. It also implies that there is genuine political will for the water policy agenda which has led to the formulation of such an important planning tool.

To build on this momentum and drive, we pledge to implement this master plan in its entirety. To make this happen, we have already placed water – as is clear from our 2021/2022 Budget Policy Speech, at the heart of our development strategy, which in turn needs to be supported by all our partners, including this Portfolio Committee, and civil society. All of us here today have a role to play.

To tackle challenges related to water successfully, integrated approaches which cut across departments and sectors are needed. Municipalities, as a separate sphere of government, need to be on board to address these issues, working holistically across institutional silos.

The KZN Water Master Plan does indeed bring together stakeholders from different sectors and levels of government to co-ordinate the development and management of water resources in a more systematic manner than ever before. Its ultimate goal is to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

Above all, the document before us demonstrates that accelerating progress on water under our developmental agenda is possible. It will require all of us working together, and a lot of innovation and ambition. I look forward to your reflections and proposals in the discussions on this document in the context of this important workshop today.

I thank you!

Ladies and gentlemen of the media

Thank you for availing yourselves for today’s media briefing.

PURPOSE OF THE BRIEFING

We are convening this engagement today to update you on the state of municipalities under administration in our province. We are doing so because we believe it is in the public interest to inform the public of the support we are providing to municipalities in various stages of distress. It is also important to outline the successes we have achieved in the context of these support measures as well as the challenges we have encountered during this exercise.

We appreciate the role you play as members of the media in keeping the residents of KZN informed about the programmes we are managing as government. We also appreciate that you hold us accountable as members of the fourth estate.

CALL TO ABIDE BY COVID-19 REGULATIONS

We are meeting with you as the country continues to manage the Covid-19 pandemic – the biggest health crisis we have faced in our lifetime. The oversight role we conduct as a department over the sphere of local government and the institution of traditional leadership gives us a unique insight into the impact Covid-19 continues to have on our communities. From that perspective, we add our voice to the calls addressed to all our communities to abide by the regulations as set out by the national government in terms of the Adjusted Level 2 Lockdown.

Municipalities under administration

There are currently 10 municipalities under administration – or under intervention in terms of Section 139 of the country’s Constitution. In practice, this means that we, as representatives of the Provincial Government, have temporarily taken over some executive functions in these municipalities to assist them, through our appointed administrators, to draft and implement wide-ranging turn-around plans to allow these municipalities return to stability so they can resume these executive functions as soon as possible.

MPOFANA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of this intervention is fact that the previously vacant critical positions of the Municipal Manager, Chief Financial Officer and Director: Technical Services have now been filled. I cannot overstate the importance of filling of critical vacancies such as the ones at Mpofana. The fact that this municipality now has all hands on deck is the best prerequisite for its return to stability. The Council has also approved a revised municipal organogram on 20 August 2020. Similarly, the 2020/2021 Municipal Infrastructure Grant has been spent and INEP is at 100%.

MSUNDUZI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention at Msunduzi is the fact that all of its oversight structures, including the Council itself and its Committees are functional and they are optimally executing their allocated responsibilities. This is no small achievement considering where we started with Msunduzi and the credit for it must go to our administrator in this municipality. The municipality’s Eskom debt, which was a significant challenge in the past, has now also been fully settled.

We are also aware that the Municipality has enter into an agreement with Eskom in relations to the maintenance of its electricity grid. We view this development as an important which will hopefully solve the electricity challenges faced by this municipality.

UTHUKELA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention at uThukela is the fact that the previously vacant critical Senior Management positions are now filled. The municipality has also implemented consequence management against its errant senior managers, with its CFO and Director: Water Services, for example, currently undergoing disciplinary processes. The municipality has similarly identified its main costs-drivers which include overtime and stand-by, fleet and fuel costs, equipment hire as well as pump repairs and it has implemented cost-containment measures to curb this challenge.

INKOSI LANGALIBALELE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention here is that fact that most historical creditors dating as far back as 2016 have now been paid up. Arrangements were also made with Eskom for a three-year payment plan. The municipality has fully honoured this commitment as the whole amount of R138-million has now been settled. Four out of the six senior management posts that were originally vacant are now also filled.

UMZINYATHI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention in this district is the fact that its Council, Exco and all Portfolio Committees now sit regularly and process matters that they should be processing. Our Section 106 investigation is also currently being implemented. Matters with criminal elements have been referred to SAPS for processing. The Council has similarly written off R276 303 312 of its irregular expenditure as per the unaudited Annual Financial Statements submitted to the Auditor-General. The municipality’s grants, including EPWP and MIG, have been spent at 100%.

ABAQULUSI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention here is the fact that the finance official who misappropriated funds from the municipal accounts has been disciplined and dismissed. The matter was also reported to the police. R3.5-million out of R3.9- million has been recovered.  The former official is now attending a criminal case. The municipality is currently approaching courts to secure the balance of the R400 000. Similarly, the MISA projects that are being implemented at eMondlo have been unblocked and are progressing well. The municipality’s old Eskom debt of R68- million was settled in December 2020 and its current Eskom account is up-to-date. Its creditors have been reduced to R8.2-million from R100-million.

EMADLANGENI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention here is the fact that this municipality has approved a funded budget. This municipality has also spent all of its MIG funds as a result of this and it has since received additional funding of R5-million.        

MTUBATUBA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

Among the successes of our intervention at this municipality is the fact that it has concluded implementing consequence management measures arising from several internal investigations and 15 employees, including middle and junior managers, have been dismissed pursuant to disciplinary processes. Unfortunately, one employee passed on before the finalisation of the disciplinary process. In addition, most grants at this municipality are being spent optimally.

UMKHANYAKUDE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

I regret to say that not much tangible progress has been recorded at uMkhanyakude district despite our best efforts during our intervention here. There is persistent political instability which is frequently collapsing Council meetings. The municipality is also and as a result of this unlikely to approve its budget before end of June 2021. Needless to say, the current institutional instability at uMkhanyakude is having a negative impact on service delivery, especially the municipality’s water provision. Water provision remains intermittent and unreliable, particularly at Mbazwana and Ingwavuma.

NQUTHU LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

The same, unfortunately, goes for Nquthu where almost no progress has been made despite our intensive support. The Executive Council recently reconsidered a report outlining challenges facing Nquthu and resolved to intervene in terms of Section 139(1)(b) on 26 May 2021. The reconsideration of the intervention was due to the fact that the Minister declined to approve earlier intervention.

Our concerns with Nquthu include its failure to investigate unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, with the municipality’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee being dysfunctional. Nquthu has also forged ahead with irregular appointments of senior managers despite resistance from Cogta and even from the judicial branch. It is among the 12 municipalities which have been flagged as distressed, despite our interventions that are being implemented in line with our Municipal Support Plans.

MUNICIPALITIES THAT HAVE HAD THEIR INTERVENTION TERMINATED

One of the municipalities that had their intervention terminated is the Richmond Municipality, in which we assessed the progress that it made and were satisfied with the systems and measures that were put into place. This led to the Provincial Executive resolving to terminate the intervention in the municipality and this was done at the end of March this year.

GENERAL CHALLENGES IN MUNICIPALITIES UNDER ADMINISTRATION

Among the remaining challenges in municipalities under interventions are issues such as political instability, unfunded budgets, irregular expenditure or vandalism causing damage to public infrastructure. All of these issues are being addressed and until they are resolved to our satisfaction, we will continue with our interventions in the relevant municipalities.

CONCLUSION

The point I wish to drive home here today is that our municipalities as a whole will not be allowed to deteriorate any further under the watch of this Sixth Administration. As you can see, we are managing to turn the tide despite a huge amount of resistance from some of the municipalities we are trying to help. Despite these challenges, our focus remains on ensuring clean governance in all our municipalities even as we continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and mitigate its economic effects on our communities.

As I conclude, I am confident that the next time I address you on the subject of these interventions, the overall reports from these municipalities will be even more positive.

I thank you!

Ends.

DEBATE ON 2019/2020 BUDGET FOR NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS

BY HON. SE HLOMUKA

KZN MEC FOR COGTA

NCOP: 19 JULY 2019

Honourable Chairperson;

Honourable Members;

It is said that time and spaces are significant determinants in history as they define the actuality of any period. They tell us about the challenges and opportunities of any period and the possibilities permitted by such period.

The Honorable Minister, during the Budget presentation eloquently defined the actuality of the period we are in as a country and quite succinctly sketched the bright possibilities ahead – particularly the mission to grow South Africa and create nothing but jobs! Jobs! And more Jobs !

In her articulation of our radical socio-economic agenda to grow South Africa, the Honourable Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, took full charge of the cooperative governance and traditional affairs, vehicle that will transport this country on a journey towards achieving NDP vision 2030.  There can be no doubt that in Honourable Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, we have a driver who knows where she and her team are heading.

The 2019/2020 budget for national Cogta, was bound to be an impressive budget because it presents a vision that will take the sector of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to another level. This comes from a minister with a stellar career in championing ground breaking developments as a former Minister of Health, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the African Union Commission.  Many of her achievements in each of these portfolios now form part of the collective legacy of our successive democratic governments.

We are lucky to have Dr Dlamini-Zuma in charge of Cogta at a time when this portfolio is seeking reclaim its role of being a developer of choice for South Africa. We are confident that Dr Dlamini-Zuma will bring her vision, her special brand of energy, her hands-on management, her judgment and her woman’s touch to Cogta addressing the stubborn challenges facing the local governance sector such as precarious finances, governance issues and service delivery shortcomings.

As articulated by the Minister, policy continuity and change will define the work we will collectively perform in this sector. The ongoing Back to Basics programme is a good starting point for any discussion of local government in South Africa today. The programme rests on the pillars of governance, financial management, service delivery, capacity building, and public participation. Dr Dlamini-Zuma has made clear how she intends to deal with each of these areas in her budget speech.

Coming from the province of KZN – which has the largest number of municipalities of any province, the largest number of deep rural and the largest number of traditional leaders, we would like to bring our own experiences and solutions to the vibrant debate in this House and the debate on the future of local governance in our country as a whole.

In many ways, KZN is the microcosm of local government in South Africa. We are representative of both its successes and its shortcomings. In order to maximise the successes and minimise the shortcomings, we have undertaken an assessment of the current state of local government in our province. Its aim was to get to the bottom of the multiple challenges and to sharpen our own response as Cogta to them.

We have collected up-to-date information, reconciled it with the existing municipal reports and corroborated it with the municipal leaders, both administrative and political, in each one of KZN’s 54 municipalities. We have found municipalities with unfunded budgets, high levels of irregular expenditure, unspent conditional grants, high vacancy rates and poor state of service delivery to communities.

With all of this information on hand, we have formulated in details how our support programmes will have to change to offer comprehensive and targeted support to municipalities that is tailor-made to their specific needs and challenges. Going forward, we will support as best as we can, but we will also demand strict consequent management for all manner of wrongdoing.

We are determined to build on the successes we have, such as the 34 municipalities with unqualified audits, all of which we will support so that they can graduate to the clean audit category where we already have Okhahlamba. We will also build on the successes of municipalities that have excelled in the provision of universal access to electricity, such as Kokstad and Danhauser which have electricity in every ward. We will respond comprehensively to the challenges of non-payment for services.  We will roll-out campaigns to encourage communities to pay for what they use.  We commit to ensuring that we will write a new narrative for local government in the coming years and we will ensure that this sector is repositioned to achieved its sustainability phase as envisage in the local government white paper.

At the same time, we will be uncompromising when it comes to maladministration, fraud and corruption. We will continue to conduct forensic investigations, speed up the tabling of our reports in the affected councils and sharpen our tools in ensuring that our recommendations are implemented even when this means that those fingered in the investigations are brought to book and lost funds are recovered.

We are encouraged by the recent judgment by the Western Cape High Court where a custodial sentence has been imposed on a former Municipal Manager for offences relating to irregular expenditure. This adds bite to the provisions contained within the MFMA and we hope that our Municipal Managers will note the possible consequences for failing to prevent irregular expenditure in their municipalities.

As we consider our best response to the challenges in our own municipalities, we rest assured that our counterpart department at national level is in the best possible hands of Hon. Minister Dlamini-Zuma. We pledge to work with her as she tackles the day to day running of one of South Africa’s most contentious portfolios and we also pledge to give her our unwavering support.

In conclusion Honourable Chairperson, I want to say.  We are led by a woman of less talk and more action, indeed as Thomas Sankara instructed us, in this sixth administration “Our revolution will not be a public-speaking tournament. Our revolution will not be a battle of fine phrases. Our revolution will not simply be for spouting slogans that are no more than signals used by manipulators trying to use them as catchwords, as codewords, as a foil for their own display. Our revolution is, and should and will continue to be, the collective effort of revolutionaries to transform reality, to improve the concrete situation of the masses of our country”.

As KZN we welcome and support the budget presented by the Honourable Minister of Cogta.

I thank you!

LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY DIRECTIVE FOR THE SIXTH TERM OF OFFICE

ADDRESS BY HON. SIPHO HLOMUKA

KZN MEC FOR COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS,

BERGVILLE: 21 JUNE 2019

Programme Directors;

Your Worships, the Mayors;

Municipal Managers;

Head of Department, Mr. Tubane;

Cogta officials;

Ladies and gentlemen;

All protocol observed

Introduction

Let me start by thanking the leadership of Okhahlamba Local Municipality for hosting us today and let me extend our heartfelt congratulations to you as our clean audit loadstar. Thank for the hospitality and for flying the flag of our province high.

I am deeply honoured to be afforded an opportunity to engage with the leaders and senior bureaucrats of our most important sphere of government – municipalities. You are the people who are manning the forward trenches in our quest to deliver a better life for all our citizens and it is through this sphere of local government that ordinary people experience government first-hand.

I would like to first and foremost thank the many of you who sent us messages of congratulations and best wishes following our appointment. We had a bit of trepidation as we contemplated the road ahead and the magnitude of the task at hand but your messages of support have given us confidence, warmth, excitement and pride because we now know that we can count on you as our partners on this important journey.

I warmly welcome you and thank you very much for all the positive encouragements.

Renewed Mandate

Yesterday, His Excellency President of the Republic, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, presented his State of the Nation Address, which details a five-year programme of priorities of the sixth administration of the democratically elected government of the country. In his address, the President issued an open invitation to all sectors, especially local government: he said that, collectively, we must grow South Africa and create jobs.  These are the new marching orders and part of the renewed mandate for us and this is a new barometer that the citizens will use to measure our performance.

We therefore felt it is very important that we engage early on as the session of the sixth administration gets in motion so that all of us can identify the role we will play in promoting and ensuring the realisation of this national programme of action.

We have all been recently on the ground where we were campaigning in the elections and we heard for ourselves the views and frustrations of ordinary citizens. I think we all agree that this has been the most difficult election because the voters, as we were interacting with them, have been asking difficult questions. Indeed it has become evidently clear that they are and will continue to hold us accountable. The voters have been unequivocal in that they will not give any government a blank cheque; they have put us to yet another test and we dare not fail this test.

The only way we will pass the test is by responding to and delivering on the commitments we have presented to them.

Key to that commitment is that we will have a stable system of local government that is faster in implementing programmes to change the lives of our people.

For this to be achieved, it is critical that we proceed from an identical service delivery script where we are clear about our respective roles and what is expected of all of us as elected public representatives. Unity of purpose is an important ingredient of success. We cannot be pulling in different directions and still expect to succeed. This requires that we must listen to each other, learn from each other and always strive for consensus. Munimec is an important forum for intergovernmental relations in this province and it is also a platform where we must perfect listening to each other, learning from each other and forging consensus.

New Dawn and Khawuleza

We are in this era of the New Dawn where now government has been sent (Thuma Mina) to now implement faster and faster (Khawuleza) a better life to all citizens.  Those of us who have been around in the sphere of local government will remember that we started by diagnosing the problems, we then emerged with a turnaround programme, thereafter we went back to basics. The question now is where do we go from here and the answer can only be “implement”! Deliver! Implement faster!

We are in that age where the dust has to be seen flying as we engage in implementation. As we do so, we are acutely aware that we will be building upon the solid foundation laid by many of you, colleagues, including my predecessor, Honourable Nomusa Dube-Ncube and the many generations of councillors and local government practitioners.

We therefore have a critical task ahead to break new ground. This means that we have to urgently respond to the major problem areas that impede the performance of local government and affect ordinary citizens. These include job creation and attracting investment, the land question, striving for greater efficiency in service delivery,  responding more quickly to community concerns, speeding up transformation of the apartheid landscape by encouraging more racially-integrated residential areas, increasing capacity via effective management instead of relying on the crisis-driven interventions, improving municipal revenue collection, ensuring that financial commitments are commensurate with resources, and co-ordinating the work of community development officers, municipal councillors and ward committees.

We have to attend to a number of inherent challenges that present stumbling blocks to local government achieving its full developmental potential. Part of this is the problem of uncoordinated planning and implementation. A common complaint of municipalities has been that national and provincial government and state entities implement their programmes in local areas without the full participation, knowledge and input of municipalities.

We have just emerged from the Cabinet Lekgotla which was convened by our Premier, Honourable Sihle Zikalala, and I want to assure you that we have a new vigour and determination to address this long-standing anomaly. It is time that we move beyond just theory towards practice and walk the talk when we say the IDP is our bible of implementation as government. The IDPs have to incorporate what will be implemented by other spheres of government in municipal spaces. We are going to use all the available intergovernmental relations platforms to make sure that departments and entities provide resources for the programmes they committed themselves to on the IDP. We want them to do this on time and not in the last quarter of the financial year when they have to clean their books as they fear under-expenditure.

A writer once said that local government in South Africa at times acts like “a chicken whose legs have been tied for too long”.

In other words, even when the chains that bind the chicken’s legs are loosed, it remains at a loss for what to do with its newfound freedom. This descriptive analogy apparently refers to the failure of local government to harness its newfound power in post-apartheid South Africa and to claim its rightful position as the driver of development at the local level, and instigator of bottom-up growth and progress, which is meant to shape and transform our society. In this era we want to see local government fortifying its role as a service provider of choice and not acting like a poor cousin of national and provincial government.

For this to happen, we have to ensure that we have the correct capacity and we are able to deliver. The common concern that is often raised is that municipalities are under-capacitated. This we must address speedily because after 19 years in the life of local government, we should not be making such excuses. Critics argue that the challenges are as a result of placing the major burden of responsibility for the delivery of social services, in large measure, on the weakest level of government: municipal or local government. Our task in this era will be to change this state of affairs.

To reclaim the lost confidence, we have to attend to the issues of how we manage the resources of our municipalities. The latest audit reports from the Auditor-General indicate that as a province we received only one clean audit, which is here at Okhahlamba Municipality. This is indicative of the work that lies ahead of us. I am sure that, as we are about to close the books and prepare the annual financial statements, this picture is going to change.

Equally we have to rise to the challenge of consumer municipal debt which I am advised is now standing at some R14-billion and increasing. We have a challenge now where some municipalities are on the road to defaulting on their responsibilities, such as Eskom. This is an area of grave concern and we have to mount a serious campaign to persuade our residents to pay for services.

This should start by ensuring that our billing departments send out accurate and up-to-date accounts to ratepayers.

Land Reform

Our government is currently formulating how deal with the challenge of land reform and the operative word, once again, is “implement”. As local government, we need to identify our role in this and determine how we can assist our partners in the national and provincial government in ensuring that title deeds are restored to all rightful owners of land within our respective municipal jurisdictions. As the new MEC for Cogta in KZN, I would like to see our sphere of local government taking the front seat in the regard and our municipalities have a range of tools they can use to speed up land reform. Let us, for instance, deploy our existing structures, such as CDWs and municipal War Rooms, in identifying land reform beneficiaries and let us use our muscle to facilitate the legal procedures in fast-tracking this government initiative on the ground working with the Department of Human Settlement.

Job Creation and Working Economy

Another message that came very strongly out of the State of the Nation yesterday was the urgency in creating jobs and improving the resilience of our economy. We sometimes forget that the bulk of economic activity takes place in municipal spaces.  This is where we need to work to improve the state of our economy. If we are to improve the overall economic growth of the province, we have to start in individual municipalities.

We need to mobilise businesses and create conditions where business people can invest and thrive. No business is going to invest in a municipality that is dysfunctional, disorganised or a by-word for non-efficiency and red tape. We need to attend t infrastructure and aesthetic appeal of our municipalities. They must be clean and attractive.  We must support township and rural economies through SMMes so that we create a generation of job creators, not mere job seekers especially among young people. We must tap into the opportunities that the new technological revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing.  To achieve this, we need a clear vision that is tailor-made for the needs of each municipality, that takes into account local strengths and weaknesses that harnesses the local potential.

Cost Containment Measures

We still find ourselves in a situation where the province is impacted negatively by a constrained economic climate and the new Premier, Honourable Sihle Zikalala has made it clear that the cost-cutting measures the Provincial Government introduced to improve our finances must stay in place. The cost-containment measures now formally extend to municipalities and what this means is that we all have to remain prudent in spending our finances, prepare for budget cuts and reprioritisation. Against this background, we must still do our work effectively with fewer resources, managing them effectively and receiving value for money. We are in this together and we must encourage each other as we adhere to our respective cost containment measures.

Need for Stability

I believe that, going forward, we should be more proactive in raising the red flags before things deteriorate too far for us to take quick remedial action.  One of the prerequisites of well-run municipalities and traditional institutions is that they must enjoy high levels of stability. We appeal that we stop engaging in power games and occupy ourselves more with services to the community.  We need to create a legacy of our work and not be remembered for maintaining the status quo in our municipalities.  We are almost three years into the era of local government, we need to take stock of the work we have done since we assumed office. Is it a record we are proud of? If not, lets use the time to catch up and refocus.

Professionalism and Integrity

The people of South Africa have made it very clear in the 2019 elections as to what they expect of their elected public representatives. They have reminded us that we are servants of the people from whom they expect efficient and professional service. I appeal to all of you to perform your duties and functions in a manner that put people first and with professionalism and integrity as your ultimate values to live up to these expectations. We have all been given people’s trust and we cannot betray it. Integrity, in particular, is a very important currency, colleagues. You can do many good things and commit just one mistake to undo all your integrity. Once lost, reputation for integrity can easily be lost forever.

Fighting Corruption

Even as we ourselves do what is right, we must also be driven by courage to prevent or report any corrupt practices that we observe as these will ultimately reflect badly on all of us. After all, we are all part of the sphere of local government and we do not want to be painted by the same brush if some of us are involved in any form of corruption. Let us all be clear: corrupt practices are going to be punished without any fear or favour. As Cogta, we are well equipped to conduct forensic investigations into all reported instances of fraud, corruption and maladministration in municipalities. Our past record in this area speaks for itself.

As a former civil servant, I would like to implore all of you that we must work in a business-oriented manner and always put people first as Batho Pele principles guide us. We must be functional, efficient and effective. Without these attributes, the sphere of local government in KZN will falter.

Conclusion

As we conclude this opening address, we would like to reiterate our longstanding wish from Cogta’s side that the communication between you in municipalities and us in the department is always smooth and productive. We would also like to impress upon you that Munimec is primarily a forum for municipalities to raise issues that affect them. Cogta is merely the convener of these meetings. We would therefore appeal to you to take full advantage of this forum and bring issues for discussion at Munimec at your own initiative. We are aware that in the past, the vast majority of Munimec agenda items originated with Cogta and this may have given a false impression that we are in charge of this body when Munimec is in fact a cooperative arrangement.

On a related note, we would also like to sound a note of concern about the functionality of our inter-governmental relations. In the past, too many IGR meetings were being cancelled at the last minute and some meetings that did take place were not quorate to take decisions. Needless to say, this has impacted negatively on decision making and one consequence of this have been delayed or entirely hampered service delivery projects, particularly at district level.  Our appeal to you today – as we start from a clean slate – is to afford our IGR structures the seriousness they deserve.

We look forward to learning from you, working with you and improving the lives of communities together with you. I will be embarking on a tour of all municipalities in the various regions of KZN so that we all are ready to sing from the same hymn book.

I wish to thank all of you for making time to travel from all over the province to attend this Munimec. Our deepest gratitude cannot be expressed through words but we will forever be grateful for your presence and for all the ideas, knowledge and  information you are going to share with us. I wish you the best for the entire journey of the sixth term of democratic government that lies ahead of all of us. Let us grow South Africa together!

I thank you!

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For more information contact: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; or Senzelwe Mzila, 082 474 1882

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kzncogta

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Website: www.kzncogta.gov.za

Ends.