House Chairperson, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MECs of co-operative governance, traditional affairs and local government, representatives of Human Settlements, Traditional Affairs and Local Government, all mayors present here, chairpersons of associated institutions, senior managers, our royal and indigenous leaders, and hon members, it is a sad moment for us to present this Budget Vote at this rare and trying time when the country is laying to rest three of the leaders with whom we shared responsibilities in running this government's oversight and executive organs respectively.
Today, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Comrade Roy Padayachie, is entering his permanent place of postlife rest. On Saturday this week, the former Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Comrade Sicelo Shiceka, will be buried. Mom-Flo Nyanda, Member of Parliament, is also no more. These three leaders have run their race and fought their fight and have now reached their final destination, cold, still and voiceless. They leave their spears with us.
I am honoured to present the Budget Vote for the portfolio of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs for the financial year 2012-13. We are making use of this opportunity to account to Parliament and the nation on how we rolled out the programme to address the priorities we set for ourselves during the past financial year, as well as to commit ourselves to implementing the new programme.
It was a bold step, which only the brave can take, for the portfolio to have announced a turnaround strategy for Local Government. It was a journey to a brighter destination, yet routed through rugged terrain, over rocky inclines and sometimes down slippery descents with trap doors that required co-ordination. It was a journey derived from a deep-seated political will to do things differently, with a view to strengthening confidence between the people and the government through effective, efficient and responsive developmental local government structures which are accountable, among other things. If we were asked whether we were on course with the objectives of the turnaround strategy, the answer would be that it is work in progress on this tough journey. More was done; more remains to be done.
Of course, we are on this rough journey at the same time as having the similarly, challenging responsibility of somehow steering the ship in the unstable waters of the transformation of traditional and indigenous affairs.
We identified five focus areas as constituting our agenda of fast-tracking the implementation of the turnaround strategy, in terms of which we seek to evaluate our performance as we commit to a programme of faster implementation. These focus areas are service delivery, governance, financial management, infrastructure development and the fight against corruption.
It has been said several times that local government is at the coalface of service delivery. It is here that the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality is located. It is here that the practical delivery programmes take place, be it by national or provincial government departments or by private-sector institutions. All delivery programmes take place in the local government arena. The role of the Department for Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in this regard is to mobilise all the actors involved to give support to the local government structures.
We can report that for the past financial year we provided leadership to the nine national departments that are part of Outcome 9, with a view to promoting support mechanisms for accelerated performance. Our observation was that sometimes there is a distinct disconnection in the figures as we present them in terms of the Outcome 9 report.
It is a priority this year to revise the formula and come up with a more people-focused approach so that what we will be seen to be reporting on as outcomes will speak directly to the views of the people. We have therefore decided to hold service delivery assessment sessions, called One for All summits, in all the provinces, where we plan to engage on service delivery questions with all councillors, all traditional leaders and, finally, all civil-society formations.
In terms of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy, we have set ourselves a target to review certain pieces of legislation that are said to be impeding service delivery, The progress report on this point is that we have now identified more than 300 sections of legislation that fall under this category and we are moving ahead to propose reviews.
Yes, there has been a delay in finalising this matter, chiefly because those who identified these laws did not go further than mentioning them. We have put together a team of legal experts to deal with this matter so that we either establish facts, validate the claims and then continue to review the laws, or we do not validate such laws and remove them from the list. We will have to complete this process by August 2012.
When we developed the Local Government Turnaround Strategy after the 2009 report, the situation was characterised by confrontation between the people and our government, with so-called service delivery protests becoming more prevalent. Today, as we give account of our work, we want to state, regrettably, that the country still seems to be experiencing challenges.
People are becoming intolerant of the situation. They easily take to the streets and become extremely violent at times. We saw the destruction of government property and councillors' houses at the Lesedi Municipality in Gauteng recently. We saw what residents at Sunrise Park in Rustenburg referred to as a war-zone-like situation. Even as this budget speech is being delivered, there are reports of confrontation in the Western Cape, the Free State and also in Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms, especially when some of the issues raised could be resolved without resorting to violence.
Unfortunately, we do not have bold individuals and organisations in this country that are prepared to mention any of the many good things that are being done for the betterment of people's lives in the local areas. Without sounding complacent about our record of service delivery, let me refer to the findings of the South African Development Index, an initiative of the South African Institute of Race Relations. They made these findings during the third update in 2011, stating, "Of the six policy areas tracked by this index, three policy areas showed improvement and three remained the same."
If this does not bear testimony enough to convince us that turning the situation around is a work in progress, we may want to consider the SA Auditor-General's remark that, although there are clear indications that there is room for improvement in dealing with financial management in municipalities, it is not all doom and gloom.
Another important observation was made by the Public Protector in her report titled "Dipaleseng: Glimmer of Hope?" Although she had made more than five findings of maladministration against the municipality, she indicated that all was not lost.
Of course, the record speaks for itself, if we look at the reality. I just want to mention a few facts. Over 85% of local households have access to electricity and the majority of them are in the rural areas. Our housing delivery record shows that over 2,2 million houses have been provided since 1994. More than 95% of households have access to water. Access to sanitation and refuse removal is at 85% and 72% respectively. We have created 93 702 work opportunities through the Community Work Programme and we plan to upscale these as we continue to deliver.
You will remember, hon members, that when the Minister of Finance delivered the Budget, he indicated that this was a programme where we grow as we deliver. When we deal with infrastructure development programmes, we focus on both bulk infrastructure and municipal infrastructure, and this is at the centre of service delivery.
The state of the nation address on infrastructure development introduced a new way of doing things with the establishment of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission and the identification of the Strategic Integrated Plans, or Sips. There are 17 of them.
Sip 7 deals with the integrated urban space and public transport programme, and we will communicate details on this. We are formulating this Sip and it deals with issues around integrated urban space and public transport programmes. Suffice to say that for now, as part of this programme, R47 billion has been budgeted for the next three years for the development of infrastructure in the 12 major cities. Of course, we have completed the diagnostic report on the state of municipal infrastructure in the identified 23 district municipalities, with a view to rolling out the programme of action through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency. It has already been piloted.
This laid a foundation for an effective intervention to turn things around, and it translates into a total of about 105 local municipalities. According to the diagnosis, some of the key findings include the following: noncompliance with legislative Integrated Development Plan processes; no strategies to address land invasion; incompetent chief financial officers in many municipalities; overspending on operational budgets; and the Community Development Worker Programme not being incorporated into municipal operations.
One of the key aspects in the life of government structures is their ability to sustain sound financial management. We have set several targets in this regard, including Operation Clean Audit, boosting the viability of the municipalities, accelerating revenue generation and rolling out the municipal public accounts committees, with 80% of them having been established by now.
We want to be upfront and state here that the main driver of the Clean Audit Campaign has not come clean for two consecutive years now, and that is a problem. That is a fact. This state of affairs compromises the department's ability to intervene and provide support. We have since taken steps and are managing a project in this regard meant to recommend remedial measures by August 2012, after which we believe that we will be on course. We continue to focus on doing things differently through action support.
Recently, as national government, we began working closely with the Gauteng government and the local municipality of Lesedi to deal with issues relating to credit control. Together, we are searching for a solution to what the community identifies as unfair treatment, where sanction on electricity is used as a default credit control mechanism - a practice that is somewhat common. If you owe on water, rates or refuse removal, your electricity supply is cut off. What we are doing in this project is to make sure that the enforcement of bylaws and the activation of other credit control mechanisms are stepped up to address credit control. This will ensure that the revenue-generating capacity of the municipality remains high as we implement the practice of sanctions on service nonpayment in the area of default.
We know that this has generated a lot of interest, as electricity consumption and credit management is one of the manageable interventions. Through the Misa programme, we will build the necessary capacity for the municipality to rise to the challenge. Those who doubt that this is possible, put us to the test and we will prove you wrong.
Mhaka leyi yi lava hi yi teka kahle ku ya hi leswi yi lumbaka swona. Loko ho yi teka hi vuhefuhefu bya matimba ya nkanu wo lomba hi ta vaviseka. Xivuriso xa Xitsonga xi ri "Le'bya nyarhi le'yo, u nga ri ndza yi vona, hikuva u ta ya wela' makokweni ya yona. Ha va twa vanhu va vula leswaku loko va kolota masipala "service" [vukorhokeri] yo karhi; va lava leswaku va tshinyiwa eka "service" yaleyo. Ku nga ri ku loko va kolota mati, kumbe ti-rates [tihakelo], va tshinyiwa hi ku va tsemela gezi na loko va nga ri koloti. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[We must consider this issue well, according to the merit it deserves. If we consider it in haste, with borrowed aggressive defiance, it will hurt us. A Xitsonga proverb says that forewarned is forearmed. We do hear people saying that if they owe the municipality for a particular service, they need to be fined for that service and not that when they owe money for water or rates, they are sanctioned by having their electricity supply cut off, even when they do not owe money for that.]
In fact, to consider cutting off electricity as a default credit control increases the risk that service providers may not develop an interest in addressing sometimes genuine concerns about quality in respect of the delivery of other services. The debate is on about this issue and it will soon be considered at the national dialogue on local and traditional governance. It is, however, necessary that we raise this issue here, so that we develop an appetite for engagement.
Combined with the revival of the Masakhane-type campaign, it is possible to succeed in this area. We believe that if we, the various actors in the field of co-operative governance, work together, share our experience and respect each other's mandate, we stand a chance of succeeding to the point where the people will have this to say about our municipalities: "My municipality, my service". This includes the actions of political mandating structures. If all of us support our municipalities, then sound financial management for effective service delivery will be a reality. The question of viability is a critical factor in the lives of municipalities. The debate on the municipal demarcation process, which we will soon unveil, will also address this matter.
Good governance is one of the pillars for effective service delivery. In this regard, we want to focus on providing support to ensure that there are reliable systems and a capable workforce. Information technology management in municipalities is fragmented at the moment and, more often than not, we witness solution-based or product-marketing interventions in municipalities. This is an unfortunate development, given that in 1999 we created a vehicle for ourselves, as government, namely the State Information Technology Agency, or Sita. This was done with a view to providing an information technology regulatory regime by co-ordinating purchases to leverage on the economies of scale through bulk-buying and ensure the interoperability of systems for a government connected with itself across the spheres, as well as connected with its citizens.
In partnership with the Ministries for Public Service and Administration and of Finance, we will soon be concluding the required intervention. There is also a need for effective monitoring and evaluation to realise the implementation of human resources management. We have to strengthen the recruitment norms and standards and finalise issues relating to the rationalisation of salaries of municipal managers. We recommit to giving a progress report on this matter towards the end of the financial year. I know that we still have to finalise the municipal regulations to give effect to the implementation of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, as amended.
There has been a delay in the finalisation of the regulations due to differences arising from the interpretations of the Act and/or serious content issues that became apparent when the Act was being developed at the Bill stage, notably as raised by the SA Local Government Association and the trade unions. We have put together a joint facilitating team with Salga that will report to an appropriately configured forum. It is intended to deal with issues with a view to having the regulations published by July 2012. We could have accelerated the matter, but the reality is that we must deal with these matters without creating loopholes that would cause difficulties in the implementation.
In the spirit of co-operative governance by all three spheres, we want to consolidate the effective use of the tools that we have created to deal with the scourge of corruption in the public sector. The anticorruption inspectorate in the Department for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs will play a critical role in co-ordinating the fight against corruption, without necessarily duplicating the mandates of the other corruption-busting instruments.
The inspectorate will also be capacitated to deal with issues related to the violation of norms and standards in the general administration of local governance. We will unpack this when we address the NCOP, as we present our budget there in the near future.
Let me now cross over to matters of traditional and indigenous affairs. The progress we are reporting in this regard is that the transformation programme is on course. We are working on the National Traditional Affairs Bill and are still committed to tabling it in Parliament by July 2012.
This Bill seeks to review the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, with a view to creating space for the inclusion of certain categories of persons who may now be excluded, either through a technicality or by design. The Bill seeks to review the National House of Traditional Leaders Act, with a view, of course, to provide for greater participation in that institution.
The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act is also a subject to be considered for a possible review, primarily to provide for the active participation of traditional leaders at the local municipality level.
It is well known that traditional leaders are treated the same as other public representatives when it comes to the determination of salary levels and the provision of the tools of the trade. The determining body here is the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers, which was established by the Constitution.
The Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act is currently being reviewed in terms of the Act that I referred to in an effort to incorporate other categories of traditional leaders who are currently excluded. With regard to transformation work, we have not been playing as active a role as we ought to have in the development of a mechanism in the form of a legal instrument that talks about the administration of justice in the traditional communities.
We know a Bill, commonly referred as the Traditional Courts Bill, is currently being drafted. This is what I am referring to as a mechanism in which we have not, up to now, played a key role.
It has to be understood that the issue of administration of justice is one of the elements of traditional affairs and therefore it cannot be excluded from the activities dealing with issues of other elements. That is why we are getting on board. We have agreed with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development that we would do that.
As hon members are aware, we continue to provide support in dealing with litigation against the findings of the Nhlapo Commission. We can only say now that we still have a long way to go to put those cases behind us.
I also want to mention that we still have many cases of disputes and claims on traditional leadership. These cases are being considered by the in-house commission, which is headed by Commissioner Tolo. In total, we have a backlog of 1 244 claims and disputes that involve kings, senior traditional leaders, headmen and headwomen. It is a serious challenge that we are dealing with, but, of course, we believe that working together with institutions in the traditional affairs arena, we will succeed.
As a caring government, we feel obliged to take the people on board, so we will soon publish the list of those who raised claims or disputes. We are planning to do so on the day we present our Budget Vote to the NCOP. The list will indicate the claimant, the traditional authority that the claimant represents and the traditional leadership position that the claimant is in.
We are committed to the restoration of the dignity of the Khoi and San leadership and communities, and we are further determined to move faster to close the chapter on the transformation and affirmation of these communities. We believe, and we are committed to it, that come the time when we table the Traditional Affairs Bill, this question is going to be addressed.
We are encouraging all those people who raised issues and all those people who believe that there are still issues to be raised in the area of traditional or indigenous affairs to come forward so that when we conclude and finalise the Bill, we finalise it with all issues having been covered.
Between the Department for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the commission, we established a team to work closely with Treasury, so that we can be in a position to deal with outstanding questions regarding the remuneration of traditional leaders at all levels.
We commit ourselves to reporting on this matter soon. I want to state here that the issue of putting together a team, which we still talk about, is actually informed by the complexities of the issues themselves, for instance, the area of junior traditional leaders, who are commonly known as headmen and headwomen. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Members of Parliament, MECs from different provinces, traditional leaders, mayors and distinguished guests, on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs I would like to join you in extending our heartfelt condolences on the passing of our former Minister, the late Comrade Sicelo Shiceka. To his family, the ANC and the people of South Africa ...
... sithi iNkosi ithathile, iNkosi iphile. [... we say God has taken, God has given.]
We have lost a choirmaster at a time when the turnaround strategy that he championed, among other things, is beginning to see the light of day. His intervention through this strategy has rescued many municipalities across the country. We value and appreciate his contribution in the co-operative governance sphere. He has laid a solid foundation for fighting for clean audits in municipalities. May his soul rest in peace.
The total allocation of the department, in this 2012-13 financial year, is R54,7 billion. This represents a 17,8% increase from R48,2 billion in the previous financial year.
During our intervention with the department on the third quarter expenditure analysis, the committee noted with concern that, out of six departmental programmes, the expenditure of only two programmes was sound. They are Programme 5: Provincial and Municipal Government Systems and Programme 7: Traditional Affairs, which had a spending rate of 91,4% and 72,8% respectively.
We fully agree with the Auditor-General's audit outcome, which says:
Cogta has regressed from an unqualified audit opinion with findings on predetermined objectives to a qualified opinion. This was due to the incomplete disclosure in financial statements relating to irregular expenditure incurred.
The department failed to maintain a proper record-keeping system that would ensure that adequate and competing supporting evidence is available to support the reporting on predetermined objectives.
There was a lack of monitoring compliance with laws and regulations in relation to the Treasury Regulations.
The department did not have control processes regarding adherence to Supply Chain Management Regulations, which resulted in irregular expenditure.
Therefore, the department did not have control processes regarding supply chain management issues, as well as systems in place to detect irregular expenditures.
There were also about five investigations related to supply chain management irregularities and one related to fraud. All six investigations were conducted in March 2011. The irregularities added up to an amount of R271 million from supply chain management.
Having noted the challenges of the department's spending trend, I likewise want to highlight their successes. Building upon our achievements and learning from our government since 1994, we are committed to improving service delivery and providing water, sanitation and houses to millions of our people.
An improvement in audit outcomes has been indicated by the Auditor- General's report of June 2011. The consolidated audit outcomes reflected that seven municipalities received clean audits. These are: Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Steve Tshwete and Victor Khanye municipalities - these are all in Mpumalanga; the City of Cape Town; Metsweding District Municipality in Gauteng; Frances Baard District Municipality in the Northern Cape; and Fetakgomo Local Municipality in Limpopo. A total number of 57 municipalities have also improved their audit outcomes.
With regard to oversight, part of the committee's mandate is to pay oversight visits to provinces and ensure that we monitor the implementation of laws that we have put in place. The provincial and local interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government. The committee visited Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape.
I will comment briefly on the visits to the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The committee had interactions with the Dikgatlong Local Municipality, Sol Plaatje Local Municipality and Frances Baard District Municipality to get an insight into their performance across a wide range of areas in order for us to make considered interventions through the department.
It emerged from the interactions with structures that there were challenges and great interventions have been made. One of the challenges is the inability of municipalities to retain skilled staff and to appoint section 57 managers. This is due to financial constraints.
Section 154 of the Constitution and section 34 of the Municipal Finance Management Act allow the provincial and national department to support municipalities and enhance their capacity to meet their objectives.
The provincial department intervened in Dikgatlong Local Municipality and deployed a chief financial officer and a technician from its own budget. The vastness of the province poses a serious challenge to service delivery, particularly sanitation, and therefore the cost of service provision is enormous. To overcome the challenges of distance and time constraints, the legislature created five regional offices and introduced video conferencing to avoid costly travelling.
In this regard, the committee supports one of the recommendations the Financial Fiscal Commission made to Parliament and also to Cogta and Treasury, namely that the funding formula for municipalities should be reviewed to assist provinces that have vast and deep rural municipalities, like the Northern Cape, as I have indicated.
Frances Baard District Municipality has obtained unqualified audit opinions for several years, with matters of emphasis. In the 2008-09 financial year, the municipality obtained an unqualified opinion with no matters of emphasis. The district municipality was appointed as an ambassador for Operation Clean Audit. The district also won the Vuna Award. In the 2011-12 financial year it obtained a clean audit.
To promote its ambassadorship, the district municipality has allocated R1 million in its budget to support local municipalities to obtain clean audits. In terms of debt collection, the district has established a revenue enhancement to rectify database discrepancies for revenue collection in relation to property rates. The district had 100% expenditure of its Municipal Infrastructure Grant allocation.
Sihlalo, okuseyinselele kulo Mkhandlu isakhiwo sesikhungo sokuvikela izinhlekelele [District Management Centre]. Umasipala lo uyahluleka ukulekelela noma ukukhuthaza omasipala abancane uma besenkingeni bevelelwe yinhlekelele yezikhukhula noma ukuqubuka kwemililo. Isikhungo lesi sishoda ngezinsiza zokutakula abasenkingeni. Izikhungo eziningi emiKhandlwini yomasipala kuzwelonke azinazo izinsiza ezanele zokumelana nezinhlekelele.
Ikomidi laphinda lavakashela Kwazulu-Natali ngomhla ziyi-15 Mashi 2012 ngenhloso yokuyobona inhlekelele eyavelela lesiya sifunda ngenkathi kufika inkosanana isishingishane u-Irina. Lesi vunguvungu sahlasela ikakhulukazi izindawo ezingasogwini lolwandle. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, the challenge at this council is the District Management Centre. This centre fails to assist local municipalities when they are faced with floods or fire flares. This District Management Centre lacks the resources to rescue those who are in trouble. Most management centres at municipalities nationally do not have adequate resources to deal with disasters.
The committee again visited KwaZulu-Natal on 15 March 2012 with the intention of seeing the disaster that befell that province during cyclone Irina. This storm ravaged mostly coastal areas.]
The committee appreciates the excellent working relationship it has with joint operation committee structures and the role played by the weather service in alerting the province about the storm that was coming.
Plans were developed to get ready to respond to any incident that might arise. The levels of preparedness were very high. Rescue crew, hospitals, ambulances and NGOs, such as Red Cross, came on board and were prepared to respond to any emergencies that might occur.
In the areas of uThungulu District and Umlazi, uMhlathuze and uMfolozi Municipalities, and in the areas of the municipalities that I have mentioned, houses were flooded and households were evacuated to safe places. Water supplies were cut off, there was no electricity and roads and bridges were closed. The Red Cross and soup kitchens had to come in to assist.
At Ndwedwe Rural Municipality, the drainage system was blocked because of the flooding, which also increased the vulnerability of poor households. Mandeni, iLembe and Ndwedwe Municipalities are not compliant with the Disaster Management Act. The committee observed that there are no firefighters, let alone rescue teams. Calling for interventions or back-up from the National Defence Force is only done by the national department.
At iLembe District Municipality, three deaths occurred due to lightning. The provinces must assist municipalities on occasions when disaster strikes. There must be a uniform approach in implementing the Disaster Management Act.
The relationship between national government, the department and the Department of Human Settlements is questionable. Interventions are not made as fast as expected. There are families that have been struck repeatedly, but nothing has been done so far. There must be a task team that will release disaster funds in an emergency. We must take away this red tape and bottlenecks when releasing these funds.
The current legislation must be amended to fast-track intervention processes. There must be a monitoring mechanism to follow the rand. The committee appreciates that this financial year is the first time National Treasury has put aside funds to deal with emergencies after lightning strikes and for the rehabilitation of stricken areas.
There are two ways of funding. One is immediate funding, where we intervene by providing adequate material for strong structures. So,...
... abelungu bathi amabhulu athi ... [... English speakers and Afrikaans speakers say ... ]
... "goedkoop koop is duur koop". ["Cheap things are dear in the long run".]
Let's guard against putting people in tents for years and leaving them to wait for RDP houses. That is inhumane.
Municipalities made assessments and national government came on board by sending experts to verify the damage costs and estimates sent by provinces. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, today we have heard the Minister giving a lengthy assessment of his portfolio. Today I am saying that we must be very clear on one thing, and that is when municipalities fail, government fails.
I am saying this because no government programme aimed at service delivery, social upliftment or economic development can ever work without a functioning, effective and responsive system of local government. Local government is where the rubber hits the road and if that rubber is worn down or of a poor grade, then the vehicle of delivery is going to swerve off the road.
The recently released National Development Plan perhaps best summarises the enormity of the challenges we face, and I quote:
South Africa's local government system has significant powers and responsibilities, however, the system has to meet very different needs in different parts of the country with different levels of capacity, ranging from metropolitan municipalities with substantial financial, administration and technical resources to rural municipalities that have limited scope to generate their own revenue and lack the capacity to carry out complex tasks.
And here is the most important part -
A coherent approach to local government cannot be a "one size fits all" approach.
The fact that local government is at the forefront of service delivery in our country, is also evident by the mushrooming of service delivery protests in municipalities, and I am glad that the Minister spent some time on that today.
The recent report to the committee by the Financial and Fiscal Commission very clearly sets out that, in fact, currently we are facing an average of two service delivery protests per week across the country.
President Zuma's recent statement in the NCOP that "service protests are not a threat to the stability of the country", displays a remarkable political naivety.
It is obvious, even to the casual observers, that in most instances in our country, these protests are precipitated by an abject failure of local municipalities to effectively deliver basic services. This is largely due to the collapse of many of these authorities under the weight of corruption, maladministration and cadre deployment.
In many instances, these local authorities have lost experienced municipal officials, either through political purges or retirement. This has left them bereft of qualified personnel. When this institutional failure is then coupled with a decade of broken promises, it develops into a toxic mix of frustration and anger, ultimately manifesting in service delivery protests.
Now, the key to resolving many of these issues lies in reforming and strengthening local government, and unless drastic steps are taken to reform local government and create stable and efficient municipal administrations, the incidence of these service delivery protests will increase.
It is also vital that the frustration and anger that many citizens feel, as a result of poor or nonexistent service delivery, is effectively addressed. It is fine to say people have access to services, but are they actually receiving them? So what do we do, because it is no use cursing the darkness without lighting a candle.
The response to date has been to rely on the much-vaunted turnaround strategy. The truth of the matter, when we look at the programme, is that we have been turned around so many times that we have actually begun to become a little dizzy. Some municipalities, in fact, have been turned around so many times that they have ended up facing the exact same direction they were when they started. The reality is that many of these turnaround strategies end up collecting dust on shelves somewhere in the municipal archives. They do not get implemented; they do not inform the Integrated Development Plan and they do not change behaviour.
In the next fortnight, the Auditor-General will be releasing his report on the audit results for local municipalities. The prospects for these results do not look good. The Auditor-General was quoted in the Witness of yesterday, saying:
Bad results are regarded as the norm and when people get disclaimer or qualified reports, little happens to them to show that this is unacceptable. This is the culture that we all need to be concerned about. We cannot argue against that; we say amen.
The DA is showing that where it governs, it is possible to achieve good audits and clean audits at local government level. I have no doubt that when the Auditor-General's report comes out, it will, again, demonstrate that where the DA governs, it runs far more comfortable and transparent administrations than any other party. [Interjections.]
Chairperson, we still have a massive problem with corruption and graft occurring in far too many municipalities. This scourge has started to affect even major metropolitan municipalities such as eThekwini. The Manase Report, which a colleague will expand on later, established that councillors have been doing business with the council for millions of rands and not declaring it.
I think, hon Minister, that they took your slogan, "Local government is everybody's business", to a far higher level than they should have. The rot went right to the top, where the Chief Whip of the council and a fellow executive committee member were both found guilty. Instead of strong and decisive action being taken against them, they were let off the hook. They retained their positions and got a slap on the wrist. This is not good enough. We should have removed them from their positions, and that would have sent the proper message.
However, it doesn't have to be like this. We need to take a look at how we can restructure local government. Minister, we really need to examine the current structure of the system. The two-tier system in district municipalities has had very mixed results. In many instances, there is confusion and uncertainty about the roles and functions of the districts and local councils. We have some districts performing the functions of local councils, and in others local councils perform the functions of the districts. In many instances, there is extremely poor or no communication between the two.
In more rural and peri-urban municipalities, the districts are stripping staff away from their smaller local councils because the salaries at district level are obviously far more lucrative. This has left many smaller municipalities with extremely low capacity.
The National Development Plan also identifies the problems with roles and functions between districts and local councils and urgently calls for the differentiation of these roles and functions. The DA believes that we have to adopt a more flexible approach. Where districts work and are required, we should look at retaining them. However, where they are not required, we should have the option of doing away with them and devolving the powers and functions to local councils that have the ability to do the job.
The second thing that we need to do is to get the right people into the right jobs, for the right reasons. It goes without saying that we need to attract and retain qualified personnel to the local sphere, particularly the smaller and more rural councils that need the capacity. However, we will never affect this fundamental change, which is so desperately needed at the local government level, if we continue to play musical chairs with rogue officials, which is what we are currently doing.
Far too often, we are experiencing a situation where corrupt, incompetent and unqualified municipal officials are moved from one municipality to the other. Like the proverbial jack-in-the-box, they often disappear from one municipality, only to pop up in another.
There is legislation.
I'll come to the legislation.
In their wake they leave a trail of corruption, maladministration and governance failures, from which many municipalities just simply cannot recover.
Now, the new regulations announced by the department to give effect to the Systems Amendment Act are certainly very welcome. Sadly, however, because of the lacuna between the gazetting of the Act and the publishing of the regulations, to which the Minister referred earlier, many of these rogue officials will be appointed before the regulations take effect in the municipalities. This means that municipalities are going to be saddled with these officials for at least another two years. Perhaps the Minister, in his response, can take us into his confidence today and tell the House how he intends to deal with this problem as we go forward.
We also need to focus on getting the basics right. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, section 152, sets out the objectives of local government, and there are five of them. Too many of our municipalities are not focused on these objectives. As a result, another key crisis facing us is a lack of maintenance and capital assets and infrastructure.
Municipalities tend to focus on building, but then they do not place commensurate funds in the budget to maintain what has been built. This is largely why water reticulation and electricity distribution, and other key services, are failing more often around the country. The department must focus on urgently setting in motion plans to address this crisis.
I would now like to turn to oversight. We also need to set about ensuring far greater oversight, not only from a national level, but also a provincial level. On recent oversight trips, members of provincial legislatures or representatives from provincial legislatures were very seldom present, yet they need to conduct far more rigorous oversight.
Hon Minister and colleagues, we are facing an enormous challenge to get local government working. We dare not fail in this challenge, because if we do, and the current governance crisis continues on the same trajectory, then it will be impossible to implement programmes to improve service delivery and undo the legacy of the past.
The time for action is now and I leave you with the words of the former US president, John F Kennedy:
There are risks and costs to a programme of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, as in last year's budget debate, I am deputising for Mr Tozamile Botha, who is currently recovering from surgery.
Two days ago, in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, residents were protesting against the appalling quality of water provided by their local authority. They torched municipal buildings and destroyed expensive construction machinery that was meant to improve municipal infrastructure.
In this morning's news it was reported that unrest was flaring up in Ekurhuleni. This is frighteningly reminiscent of South Africa in the late 1980s, when people took to the streets to protest against a corrupt and unjust local governance system and lack of basic rights and services.
The latest service delivery protests are simply becoming part of the statistics of almost daily occurrences that hardly make news headlines anymore, except when it turns ugly and people lose their lives or there are serious injuries.
Dis waar. [That's true.]
Unfortunately, these are not only "incidents". They affect the lives of people, real people, who want clean water, who do not want their children to jump over puddles of raw sewage on their way to school. They are people who voted for a better life.
Much of what is debated in this House is only of academic interest to people in local communities. But the impact of bankrupt and corrupt local councils, where incompetent officials and councillors fail to deliver basic services, affects them directly and on a daily basis.
The failure of local government, however, does not only manifest itself in remote rural villages. In the Johannesburg Metro, hon Minister, a consumer, Ms Mapule Matshine, has just received a notice from Johannesburg's ANC administration, demanding payment of R1,5 million in electricity arrears. Although weird and wonderful accounts are the order of the day in the notorious Johannesburg billing fiasco, this case is unusual.
In this case, Ms Matshine lives in a modest RDP house in Cosmo City, where she has a prepaid meter installed. Yet the fat-cat administrators of Braamfontein are now harassing her for payment of R1,5 million for outstanding electricity consumption.
Similar anecdotes of local government failures arise throughout South Africa, and even the staunchest ANC loyalist cannot but admit that local government has sunk beyond crisis stations - it is becoming a fully fledged national disaster.
Auditor-General Terence Nombembe stated publicly, and the previous speaker referred to the fact - it is interesting that the hon Minister did not - that the Auditor-General's findings of financial mismanagement and incompetence are not taken seriously by those who need to do something about it. He said his office would soon release the latest audit results for local municipalities. He expressed his dismay, and I quote: "The people voted into power were slow in taking responsibility for what they had been voted in for."
The quote that hon Steenhuisen referred to was:
The accountability for the results is not taken as seriously as it should be. Bad results are regarded as the norm ... Little happens to them to show that this is unacceptable. This is the culture that we all need to be concerned about.
Is this government serious about improving administrative and financial management standards? That is the question.
HON MEMBERS: Yes!
How many actual prosecutions and convictions have taken place to show that the government is serious about rooting out corruption and incompetence? [Interjections.] How often is misconduct rewarded with extensive suspension periods on full pay, followed by sudden resignations before a proper disciplinary committee is held and the same delinquent official is soon rewarded with another lucrative redeployment somewhere else?
Cope wants to suggest that the hon Minister gets the basics right. Firstly, establish and entrench professional and public administration at the local level. [Interjections.] There should be a clear distinction between political and administrative roles and functions. Where politicians become officials and officials become politicians, things go wrong and systems collapse.
Secondly, entrench accountability and force incompetent councillors and officials to resign. Replace them or fire them.
Thirdly, establish bodies for the training, grading and accreditation of municipal officials in executive positions, such as the Institute of Municipal Managers or the Institute of Municipal Accountants, and allow them to do their job without political interference. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members!
Fourthly, develop professional and effective project management capacity at local government level. Millions of taxpayer rands remained unspent due to failed or nonexistent project management capacity at the local level.
Fifthly, monitor performance and plan section 139 interventions timeously. Both the national and provincial government has a constitutional duty to ensure effective local government through a number of instruments provided for in section 139 of the Constitution. Unfortunately, such interventions are rarely used. Is it because the other spheres of government also lack management capacity, or is it out of fear of powerful provincial and local branch comrades running local councils, particularly in the run-up to Mangaung? [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Yes!
Sixthly, apply the law to punish corrupt politicians and officials. Show the world TV visuals of a convicted corrupt mayor in handcuffs being thrust into a police van on his way to jail. This will instil a fear for the consequences of corrupt practices. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! Please.
Seventhly, there should be zero tolerance for the abuse of public resources from so-called minor theft, such as playing around on Facebook during office hours and abusing the use of municipal vehicles, right up to corrupt tenderpreneurs who serve their own pockets and not the people.
Eighthly, with regard to personal liability for council decisions, if councillors ram through decisions that bankrupt or defraud municipalities, let them pay out of their own pockets so that they will think twice before voting through imprudent decisions.
Lastly, stop cadre deployment in municipal service. This is like gangrene in the body. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson and Minister, in the few minutes that I have today, I would like to concentrate on one theme, namely spending efficiency at the local level. This focus is due to the recent publication by the Fiscal and Financial Commission of a report authored by one Jugal Mahabir, titled, "Measuring the Efficiency of Local Government Expenditure". I urge all practitioners in local government to read it.
Now, we all know that local government is not in a good shape. In fact, the recent comments by the Auditor-General are cause for even deeper concern to many of us - even if the Minister appears to be more optimistic than those of us on this side of the room.
What many would term appalling governance is, in fact, taking place against the backdrop of what is claimed by many to be the national government's indifference to what is going on, as well as an austerity budget in which it is self-evident that we cannot spend as if there was no shortage of money.
What is the reality? Well, of course, delivery is occurring - as the Minister has said, and he itemised some housing and other delivery outcomes - but the question I am putting to the Minister and to the department is: Are we getting value for money?
Now, we are all aware that far too many municipalities perform very poorly in respect of delivery of basic services. But I think you will be very surprised by the headline finding by the Financial and Fiscal Commission in this regard, and I quote:
In general, the sample of municipalities that they used could use 60% to 70% less resources and still maintain the current quantum of services rendered.
That's amazing. What it's saying is that 60% to 70% of monies spent on service delivery is not required or adding any value to the services. That means only 30% to 40% of monies spent is actually utilised for service provision.
Now, of course, this gloom and doom is not achieved solely through corruption and pure waste, but is also the inherent nature in which the government does its business. However, I do think that we should look at this more carefully.
The FFC also has a number of subsidiary findings. The first, which you will find interesting, is, of course, that the resources are distributed unequally throughout the country. These resources are also in the form of grants issued by the government to municipalities.
This is an issue that we have raised for years, particularly the inequitable formula by which poorer rural municipalities are short-changed, as far as we are concerned. We are very pleased that there has been a process to engage with the equitable share formula and hon members will recall that in last year's budget debate the Ministry reported on what's going on.
However, I have not heard anything today from the Minister. Therefore I would like to ask, through the Chair, whether the Minister can tell us where we are with the review of the local equitable share formula and what the progress is to date.
The FFC also made another rather interesting observation, which is not what you would think, actually. What it says is that the better-resourced municipalities use their resources more inefficiently. This does not make sense to many people, but you can attest to this yourself - many of us come from places that are fairly well-off municipalities.
I come from Durban, which is my constituency, and I can tell you that the municipality there has the best billing system in South Africa. It has the least problems with its billing system, but it has spent R500 million - and is still spending more - on a new billing system, which is not needed, it does not work and they are not using it. Now that is exactly the kind of thing that the FFC is talking about. [Laughter.]
There is another finding, which you might find interesting, colleagues, and this is also counterintuitive, but there is logic to it. What the FFC found is that the more resources a municipality generates, not from grants from the national government but from its own sources, the more inefficiently it spends it. Yes! That's counterintuitive, but that is what they found.
This has important implications, I would suggest, for local democracy, because when we created the form of democracy we now have - the decentralised model - part of the logic in the Constitution-making process for creating a decentralised model was that local decision-making, especially local accountability for funds raised locally, would be enhanced. Now, if the reports of the FFC are telling us that this is not happening, then obviously our assumptions about the validity of that model need questioning. So, it has important implications that we should look at.
This is also not surprising, because it has been mentioned by both of my predecessors here: The FFC also found that the lack of capacity and skills of municipal managers are serious problems and have to be addressed if we want to improve the efficiency of spending. Now, of course, this is not something new. Since this new system started 12 years ago, we have been on about it consistently, year after year. Frankly, in my humble opinion, the government has done very little to address the problem. What it has done has been done under extreme duress, if not with a lackadaisical approach. I don't know what else to call it ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, officials, ladies and gentlemen ...
Maaforika Borwa, a re laleng ka dintho, madi a tshologe le dipelo tse di gamutlhetseng kutlobotlhoko di tla fola. Ba ile bomorwarraarona, ba ka seka ba boa. Ba tserwe ke loso le le se nang pelotlhomogi. BooraShicheka, booraPadayachie le booraNyanda gomotsegang. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Fellow South Africans, we are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the passing away of our comrades. However, we hope we will find healing in grieving. A merciless death has taken them away from us and therefore I would like to pass on our condolences to the Shiceka, Padayachie and Nyanda families.]
Chairperson, as the department that stands at the centre of governance and development in the country, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is also responsible for ensuring that the following entities participate in the intergovernmental system to contribute towards constitutionally enshrined principles of co-operative governance within their respective mandate. These are the South African Local Government Association, the Municipal Demarcation Board and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religion and Linguistic Communities.
Salga was established in terms of Chapter 7(163) of the Constitution and its mandate is to provide for the recognition of national and provincial organisations representing municipalities; to determine procedures by which local government may consult with the national or provincial government; to designate representatives to participate in the NCOP; and to participate in the process prescribed in the national legislation.
As a representative body of organised local government, Salga has played an important intergovernmental-relations role in promoting the principle of co- operative governance in the country. In addition, it is a developmental institution which has, over the years, focused on building the capacity of councillors. We need to commend them for their implementation of the council induction programme immediately after the 2011 local government elections.
The aim of the programme was to ensure that the newly elected councils are capacitated with a greater understanding of their leadership role, the legislation that guides local government, key municipal processes, developmental local government and service delivery.
In assessing the Budget Vote, it is imperative that recognition of this developmental role of Salga is emphasised for the purpose of ensuring that its capacity is strengthened through government support. This approach would be in line with our goal of establishing a developmental state and building its capacity.
It would mean that there is recognition of the challenges of uneven development and financial viability of most municipalities in the rural areas. The focus should be in enabling Salga to vigorously implement programmes for skills and capacity development for councillors, with enough resources.
The Municipal Demarcation Board is an independent authority with a mandate to determine municipal boundaries, declare district management areas, delimit wards for local elections and assess the capacity of municipalities to perform their functions. The MDB has conducted its work professionally by reducing the number from 1 000 to 278 municipalities currently.
Another critically important contribution of the MDB to our robust democracy is its work on the delimitation of boundaries prior to the democratic elections. The MDB co-operated collectively with the Independent Electoral Commission to bring about well-organised ward boundaries for a credible electoral outcome.
However, the MDB needs to do more in future to encourage public participation in the determination of ward boundaries. It is also important for the board to explain to the members of the public the process of establishing metropolitan municipalities as there are some provinces that do not have municipalities with a metro status.
Ke gopola gore nna le wena Tona ya me e e tlotlegang, re tla dumelana gore Rustenburg kwa Bokone Bophirima e mo maemong a go nna metro. [I believe that my hon Minister and I will agree that Rustenburg in the North West qualifies to be a metropolitan municipality.]
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities was established in terms of section 185 in Chapter 9 of the Constitution. Its mandate is to promote and protect culture, religion and linguistic rights. The commission's main focus is on conflict resolution research advocacy and community engagements on conflicts pertaining to culture, religion and linguistic rights within the communities.
Taken holistically within the broad mandate of the department, these entities are critical for the promotion of effective intergovernmental relations and co-operation between all spheres of government. Most importantly, they must be seen within the context of nation-building and national cohesion. This is one of the critical missions of the ANC since its formation 100 years ago.
It is a mission that is embedded within the theory of the national democratic revolution, which seeks to achieve a national democratic society, as enshrined in the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of South Africa.
Their respective roles are essentially about ensuring and promoting greater public involvement and participation in matters of governance. The MDB's role is about ensuring that the technical demarcation of boundaries is inclusive, transparent and participatory in respect of communities. The role of the CRL is about the restoration of people's humanity and dignity, which were trampled upon over centuries of colonialism and apartheid.
Mmogo re ka dira go tlala diatla. Mabogo dinku a thebana. Sedikwa ke nt?wa pedi ga se thata. Kgetsi ya tsie e kgonwa ka go tshwaraganelwa. ANC e tshegetsa tekanyetsokabo e. Ke a leboga. [Legofi.](Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Working together, we can do more. People should help each other. Many hands make light work. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Agb Voorsitter, dit gaan so as 'n mens in twee debatte moet praat wat gelyktydig plaasvind.
Die agb Minister is 'n nuwe Minister en daar l uitdagings vir hom voor. Dit gaan nie help om nou met hom te baklei nie.
Ek wil wel vir die agb Minister s dat as daar nie streng opgetree gaan word teen korrupte amptenare in plaaslike regering nie, gaan die stelsel nie net in duie stort nie - want dit is klaar besig om in duie te stort - maar daar gaan totale anargie op plaaslike regeringsvlak plaasvind.
Laat ek 'n voorbeeld gee. Die Provinsiale Wetgewer van Noordwes het so pas 'n kabinetskommeling gehad. Dit is so dat die ANC "musical chairs" speel, soos hulle s. Een oomblik is jy 'n Lid van die Uitvoerende Raad, en die volgende oomblik is jy op straat. Een oomblik is jy op straat, en die volgende oomblik is jy 'n LUR.
Wat gebeur in die Noordwes? Die voormalige uitvoerende burgemeester van die munisipaliteit Matlosana - dit is Klerksdorp - is uit die stadsraad weg omdat hy nie die vermo en kundigheid gehad het om daardie stadsraad te bestuur nie. Hy het die munisipale bestuurder in so 'n mate beskerm dat die VF Plus 'n klag by die polisie moes indien ten opsigte van die oortreding van munisipale wette wat finansies betref.
Wie het hom beskerm? Niemand anders as die burgemeester nie, wat nou die LUR vir plaaslike regering en tradisionele sake in die Noordwes is. [Tussenwerpsels.] Al die munisipaliteite in die Noordwes word deur die Spesiale Ondersoekeenheid ondersoek, want by almal is daar ernstige probleme. Die nuwe LUR het egter 'n rekord dat hy die vorige munisipale bestuurder beskerm het toe hy die wette oortree het.
Dink u dat u dan skoon administrasie gaan kry? Dink u werklik dat u dan plaaslike regering gaan regruk? Nee, agb Minister, u gaan net verder probleme skep wat nie opgelos kan word nie en die mense wat daarvoor sal moet opdok, is die belastingbetalers. [Tussenwerpsels.] Dit is as gevolg van agterstallige dienstegelde.
Kom ons praat oor dienslewering. Volgens die Minister van Polisie was daar verlede jaar amper 12 000 insidente van mense wat in optogte teen swak dienslewering deelgeneem het. Dit behoort vir u 'n baie duidelike boodskap te gee.
Vandag s ek vir u dat daar net een rede daarvoor is, en dit is as gevolg van onbevoegde en korrupte amptenare. As u nie teen daardie amptenare gaan optree nie, dan mors u net die belastingbetalers se tyd en gaan u nie deur middel van 'n omkeerstrategie daarin slaag om u doelwitte te bereik nie. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, this is what happens when one has to participate in two debates taking place simultaneously.
The hon Minister is a new Minister and there are challenges that lie ahead of him. There is no point in fighting with him now.
However, I do want to say to the Minister that if decisive action is not taken against corrupt officials in local government, the system will not only collapse - is already is - but it will also lead to total anarchy at the level of local government.
Let me give an example. The North West Provincial Legislature reshuffled its cabinet just recently. The ANC plays musical chairs, as they say. One moment you are a Member of the Executive Committee, the next you are out on the street. One moment you are out on the street, the next you are an MEC.
What happened in the North West? The former executive mayor of the City of Matlosana Local Municipality - this is Klerksdorp - left the city council because he did not have the competence and expertise to manage that city council. He protected the municipal manager to such an extent that the FF Plus had to lay a charge with the police for the violation of municipal laws in respect of finances.
Who protected him? None other than the mayor, who is now the MEC for local government and traditional affairs in the North West. [Interjections.] All the municipalities in the North West are being investigated by the Special Investigations Unit, because all of them have serious problems. However, the new MEC has a record clearly indicating that he protected the former municipal manager when he violated the law.
Do you think it is possible for you to have a clean administration when this is the case? Do you really think that you will be able to straighten out local government? No, hon Minister, you will only create further problems that cannot be solved and the people who will have to shoulder the burden are the taxpayers. [Interjections.] This is because of outstanding service fees.
Let us talk about service delivery. Last year, according to the Minister of Police, there were almost 12 000 incidents of people participating in protests against bad service delivery. This should give you a very clear message.
I say to you today that that is the result of one reason only: incompetent and corrupt officials. If you fail to take action against such officials, then you are simply wasting taxpayers' time and you will not succeed in achieving your goals by means of a turnaround strategy. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Ngqanga neentsiba zayo. Sihlalo, mandiqale ngeyokuqala. Umbutho wesizwe, i-ANC, unyawo zabezolo, uyaluxhasa olu hlahlo-lwabiwo- mali. Ndiyitsho loo nto ndicacelwe ukuba emileyo ziyayichamela, ehambayo ziyayikhonkotha. Into emnandi kuzo yakudlula ziyahamba ziye kulala, zilindele elandelayo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Mr J M MATSHOBA: Protocol is observed. Chairperson, let me start at the beginning. The people's party, the ANC, the organisation that has been tried and tested, supports this Budget Vote. I'm saying this with the clear understanding that if you are not successful, people laugh at you. However, when you are successful, they will discourage and be jealous of you. If they see that their discouragement is unsuccessful, they give up and proceed to the next victim. [Applause.]]
In the precolonial and apartheid era, the indigenous people of South Africa lived peacefully under traditional authority. The authentic traditional leaders were the custodians and champions of values of ubuntu, human solidarity and justice.
It is under the leadership of the legitimate kings and queens that there was the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources such as land for food production and fields for grazing of livestock and recreation. Under the wisdom of traditional leaders, sharing the harvest among all in the community was standard practice in order to foster the fundamental value of human solidarity.
The peaceful coexistence of South Africa, at that time, was interrupted by greedy foreign aggressors who sought to dispossess us of our land and destroy our livelihood. Traditional leaders waged determined resistance wars to protect the territorial integrity of their nations against invasion and inclusion by colonial and apartheid missions. Their relentless efforts left a permanent mark and history is blessed with the footprints of those who propelled the liberation movement to honour and advance the cause of freedom.
A quick look at the colonial history of our land reveals the admirable struggles by our forebears, led by kings, during the frontier wars - Hintsa, Maqoma, Sandile, Nxele and many others in the Eastern frontier. It would be a mistake for me not to mention the victorious army of the people led by King Bambatha during the Bambatha rebellion and King Cetshwayo's decisive defeat of the British forces in the now celebrated Battle of Isandlwana.
It is an inescapable reality that the chiefs' traditional authority played a fundamental role in the defence of the people of South Africa against foreign and settler aggression. Some paid the ultimate price, while others were dethroned by the colonial regime.
It is also inescapable that the kings' chiefs played a pivotal role in founding the oldest liberation movement on the African continent. One is reminded of the leading role played by Chief Albert Luthuli.
This is a history that Africans treasure. It is a reality that continues to inspire many traditional authorities to play a constructive role in lifting the black majority out of abject poverty. Therefore, it is encouraging that in our democratic dispensation the role of traditional leaders is debated and considered seriously in order to contribute to the fight against the enormous challenges in South Africa.
Ngenxa yobukrelekrele bombutho olawulayo, i-ANC, kwinkomfa yayo yowe-1969 eMorogoro, kwezinye zezindululo zayo yaqinisekisa ukwakhiwa kombutho wabahlali i-SANCO, le sithetha ngayo ngoku. Oko kungumyalelo wokuba iinkosi nombutho wabahlali mabasebenze kunye. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Because of the intelligence of the ruling party, the ANC, at the conference in Morogoro in 1969, it ensured in some of its recommendations that the civil organisation Sanco, which is our subject of discussion today, was formed. This was an instruction that there must be co-operation between traditional leaders (chiefs) and civil organisations.]
The democratic government under the ANC adopted a progressive Constitution in 1996, which recognises the role of traditional leadership institutions in Chapter 12. The Traditional Governance Framework Act, Act 41 of 2003, provides the progressive framework for participation of communities in traditional council. In this regard, the Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, emphasises the importance of community participation, as is stipulated in Chapter 4.
Masibalungise abantu malunga noMthetho oYilwayo ojikelezayo. Kukho uMthetho oYilwayo ojikelezayo weeNkundla zeeMveli ongekagqitywa yiPalamente, nosele uneengxwelerha eMpuma Koloni kumasipala iNkonkobe nowaseNyandeni. Xa uyijonga le nto isibuyisela umva kunyaka we-1922 phantsi korhulumente waseBrithani oweza neengongoma ezintathu, endingazi kuba sazichaza ukuba zazimi njani na. Kwakhona, ukuba uyajonga, iBlack Authorities Act of 1951 section 28 yayiqinisa olu calucalulo olwaqalwa ngowe-1922. UMgaqo-siseko wesizwe awucalucaluli bantu ngebala, ngendawo yokuhlala, nobuni. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Let us correct people regarding the Bill that is being discussed by the stakeholders. The Traditional Courts Bill is being discussed and has not yet been finalised by Parliament. It already has victims in the Nkonkobe and Nyandeni municipalities in the Eastern Cape. If you look at this, it takes us back to 1922, when we were under the British government, which came with three points and which I will not dwell much on. Again, if you look at the Black Authorities Act of 1951, section 28, it strengthened apartheid - which started in 1922. The country's Constitution doesn't discriminate against people in terms of race, the places where they live and gender.]
It is important to know that over 24 million of the people of this country reside in rural communities and therefore this democratic government cannot ignore this population. The Freedom Charter stipulates that the people shall govern.
Loo nto ithetha ukuba abantu baya kulawula. [That means the people shall govern.]
It is on this understanding that the late Comrade Chris Hani insisted that nobody owned the people, but rather that the ideas must find resonance in the interests of the people. The ANC-led government, under the leadership of President Zuma, established the Department of Traditional Affairs as a fully fledged department in order to foster the support of traditional leadership institutions, including the Khoisan leadership.
This department has the fundamental responsibility to ensure the establishment and support of the traditional institutions such as traditional councils at local level, as well as provincial and national houses of traditional leaders. This responsibility is paramount because these institutions are not mere symbolic structures, but must execute a developmental mandate.
Minister Comrade Baloyi, the Traditional Affairs cannot remain a programme within the Department of Co-operative Governance. This is diminishing the status and funding of this important department. Traditional Affairs has a service delivery mandate and therefore needs resources to execute that function and reposition the cultural leadership landscape under a developmental agenda.
The successful colonial and apartheid regime sought to destroy African unity, as well as the institution of leadership. They did this by removing legitimate traditional authority and installing oonomgogwana [illegitimate traditional authorities.] The people know their legitimate leaders. The establishment of the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims was a correct decision by our government. The outcome of the commission must be accepted not by traditional leaders themselves, but by communities. It is therefore strange that certain traditional leaders are rejecting the findings of the commission and are challenging these findings in court. Whose courts are these?
The traditional communities have not voiced their disapproval of the findings of the commission, but the leaders whose legitimacy is questionable have done so. This reflects signs of placing personal agendas and greed above the needs of the people.
The commission must move swiftly to settle all outstanding claims of the chiefs in various provinces and the question of the Khoisan communities. The provincial offices of the commission must be capacitated to deal with the outstanding claims in order to restore dignity to the rightful traditional authority and to bring development to their communities.
We live in a world in which capitalism and its ugly tendency of commodification are on the upsurge. Traditional leadership has the duty to restore the values of human solidarity and ubuntu. It is against this background that the question of whether traditional leaders should be symbolic or developmental arises.
The answer is clear that traditional leaders, under democratic rule, must be progressively developmental. The role of traditional leaders is not merely a symbolic or ceremonial role of presiding over the meetings and functions and thus enjoying privileges and benefits, but an active progressive developmental role. [Time expired.] Ndiyabulela. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Chair, having missed the opportunity to say a few words when the condolence motion for former Minister Sicelo Shiceka was passed, let me take this opportunity to convey my condolence to his family, his colleagues in the department, his friends and his political home in the ANC. We can only hope that he has been called to higher service by his Higher Power.
Local government has always been a thorny issue in the democratic dispensation. This is always an unfortunate scenario as it has a direct impact on service delivery. This means that ordinary citizens are deprived whenever decision-makers veer away from following prescripts.
Local government also receives a lot of attention from media and other interested parties. It is thus pleasing to know that, in spite of the problems faced, there has been a consistent commitment towards changing for the better. Such projects and campaigns have not gone unnoticed, for example, projects like Operation Clean Audit.
The promulgation of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act could not have come at a better moment. We all hope its implementation will have the desired result in the ongoing fight against fraud and corruption.
Another area of concern is when departments set targets that have a direct link to the quality of life led by our people and then dismally fail in their execution or implementation. We deem it unacceptable that the department's target was to have 32 towns and cities participating in the implementation of the clean towns and cities programme, but only eight participants turned up.
In effect, this means that most of our towns and cities are unclean. An unclean environment has a direct impact on the health of the inhabitants. Now, if we fail town or city cleanliness tests, I shudder to think what must be happening in our peri-urban and rural settings.
The implementation of programmes in local government needs to move beyond just meeting reporting standards or standards of the Auditor General, but must make a tangible difference in people's lives. Be that as it may, we welcome the improvement of seven municipalities receiving clean audits. It is certainly not good enough when the number of municipalities, whose audits are worse than before, is now sitting at 15!
However, the fact that 57 municipalities had improved audits testifies that the tailor-made municipality turnaround strategies are yielding results. We welcome the increase in allocation for the Infrastructure and Economic Development programme. This indeed is done because of the President's commitment made at the beginning of the year. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon members, officials of the department, ladies and gentlemen, one of the most important lessons to be derived from the 100-year existence of the ANC is to always be rooted among the people and to remain true to their aspirations.
Since assuming power in 1994, the ANC has sought to transform the state into a people-centred system, with the emphasis on the promotion of public involvement and participation in governance. These values are expressed in our 2009 electoral message, Working Together We Can Do More, and the 2011 local government elections message, Together We Can Build Better Communities - A Better Life for All.
Institutionally and in terms of policies, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is centrally located to entrench these messages by ensuring that all three spheres of government act in tandem and are well co-ordinated in delivering services and promoting development.
Working in silos has proven to be both ineffective and inefficient. The three spheres of government working together is not a matter of choice but a constitutional obligation.
Through this debate, I pay tribute to former Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, hon Sicelo Shiceka, and his initiative of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy. We remember that the aim of the strategy is to mobilise government and society, to make a concentrated effort to deal with factors undermining local government and to restore good performance and the community's confidence in the country's municipalities.
It is therefore the department's responsibility to oversee and support municipalities, and, where necessary, to assist with capacitation in order for them to implement their turnaround strategies.
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is responsible for overseeing the implementation of key programmes within local government. It has to ensure that the agenda for the transformation of local government, as enshrined in the White Paper on the Transformation of Local Government, and the subsequent legislative framework that has been developed over the years is consistent with the ideals of building a developmental state, as articulated by the ANC.
In this regard, the capacity of municipalities to plan and to execute plans must remain one of the main priorities of the department in the coming financial year. One of the most prominent achievements of the ANC government since coming into power has been to establish and entrench the most progressive and people-orientated system of developmental planning, the Integrated Development Plan, or the IDP, as we know it; the Spatial Development Framework and the provincial developmental plans.
The fundamental principle underpinning these plans is integration, co- ordination and mutual support between all spheres of government. Again, it is about institutionalising public involvement and participation by communities in all governance matters that affect them at national, provincial and local government levels. I must hasten to add here that the responsibility of public participation does not, and I repeat, does not resort only with councillors. It resorts with all public representatives in all spheres of government. Too often blame is laid at the door of councillors when, in fact, some of the issues raised do not resort at a local level, but at provincial and national level. But these councillors are at the front line of service delivery and they bear the brunt of service delivery protests.
On this very point, we want to appeal to our communities to use the structures that have been put into place to raise their concerns about and dissatisfaction with any of the issues relating to governance and service delivery. Vandalising and destroying municipal property and infrastructure will not solve the problem. It will only reverse the efforts made to address the imbalances of the past.
The policies, systems and processes that the department develops and implements have to ensure that the principles of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations, as enshrined in Chapter 3 of the Constitution, are practised and achieved across the board. On this score, the achievement of the ANC in establishing the current legal and legislative environment for intergovernmental relations must be acknowledged. Testimony to the success of the system has been that disputes between the spheres of government have often been resolved through co- operative mechanisms rather than through the courts. This shows a maturing intergovernmental relations system based on democratic values.
These policy achievements should, however, not blind us to the numerous challenges that we are facing which, in many instances, have affected the degree to which local government, in particular, has been supported. As the ANC, we are aware of the shortcomings and deficits in implementing some of these policies.
The department has regressed from an unqualified opinion to a qualified opinion in the previous financial year. This is unacceptable, especially in the light of Operation Clean Audit by 2014. This is a programme spearheaded by the department, so it has to lead by example. We encourage the department to pull out all stops on this deliverable.
Of particular concern when looking at this budget is how the capacity support for municipalities is going to be increased. It is unacceptable that especially low- and medium-capacity municipalities are unable to spend municipal infrastructure grant funding.
Chairperson, the department must ensure that mechanisms such as the Municipal Information Systems Association, or Misa, are put in place to address this anomaly and achieve its objectives. It must ensure that its monitoring and evaluation systems are implemented. The purpose of establishing the municipal public accounts committees, or MPACs, as we know them, is to promote good governance, transparency and accountability on the use of municipal resources.
We urge the department to ensure that all municipalities not only establish these MPACs, but ensure that MPAC members are also capacitated in order to fulfil their mandate within those committees. Another critical challenge in municipalities is the ageing infrastructure, which requires maintenance. However, municipalities allocate very little funds for this purpose and therefore have a decaying infrastructure.
This, in many instances, is not due to the unwillingness to budget for maintenance, but rather a very low or no revenue base. We would urge the department to review the recommendations made by the Finance and the Fiscal Commission. Currently there is no link between MIG funding and the equitable share.
Another concern is the Municipal Systems Amendment Act of 2011, which was assented to by the President in July last year. The Amendment Act seeks to build a managerial capacity of municipalities in a manner that will improve service delivery. Minister, 10 months down the line the regulations are still not in place. It is only now that it is in the process of being finalised. These regulations need to be finalised as a matter of urgency, so that we prevent the ghosts of the past from haunting us.
The cornerstone of the ANC's policies on local government is to strengthen its capacity, lead in promoting development at local level, through appropriate intergovernmental fiscal relations, and a redistributive funding model that takes into account historical inequalities, unequal development and the legacy of the racial spatial planning of the past.
As the ANC, we want the department to put greater emphasis on these issues in terms of its budget allocations for various programmes. We are cognisant and supportive of the efforts made by the department to simplify the Integrated Development Plans and to assist municipalities in ensuring that they incorporate all elements and requirements of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy.
We believe that the implementation of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy and the Municipal Systems Amendment Act will eventually address most of the challenges that have been facing municipalities.
Notwithstanding these challenges, we, as the ANC, support all the efforts made by the department and as such support its Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Rre Tona, ga ke a go tshelela dithupa mo metsing, jaaka Rre Kgosi Kgositala a buile, se ke batlang go se bua ke nnete e e senang bana ba phefo. Modulasetilo ... [ Minister, as previously stated by Mr Kgosi Kgositala, I bear no grudges against you. All that I would like to say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Chairperson ...]
I find it imperative to commence my speech by outlining the mandate of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which is to develop national policies and legislation relating to provinces and local government.
Furthermore, it has to monitor the implementation of legislation related to intergovernmental relations; local government administration; as well as financial management, traditional leadership, governance and disaster management. In terms of the government's outcomes-based Performance Monitoring System, the department is responsible for achieving a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system.
Contrary to this laudable mandate, the nation is witnessing widespread and unmatched corruption, which is a horrendous menace to the provision of quality service delivery to our beloved nation. The big question is: How long should this spate of corruption occur unabated? How long should the poor taxpayers continue to suffer while those holding the reins continue to line their pockets?
Hon Minister, now is the time for the turnaround strategy to begin to work for the nation rather than for the corrupt few in high places. We have just celebrated our hard-earned freedom, on 27 April this year, 2012. Freedom without clean running water, sanitation, electricity, roads, decent houses, quality education and sustainable jobs means nothing to the masses of our people, because without these basic human needs being met there is no human dignity.
It is astonishing and shocking to realise how easily some municipal officials can be gulled out of taxpayers' money. The Moqhaka Municipality officials have proven beyond doubt that their state of gullibility is such that they are not suitable or fit to handle public funds. These men and women were easily swindled by a conman in the person of one Tshabalala into paying R942 950 into the Owame Groups account for a so-called management fee for him to develop Kroonstad into an attractive and economically viable town. The total cost to Moqhaka Municipality was R9 million. However, the residents of Moqhaka did not benefit at all.
The Auditor-General duly found that the money spent on Tshabalala and his soccer game had been fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Predictably there have been no political consequences and the mayor and council remain anchored in power. They cannot provide clean water or sewerage reticulation because they claim they have run out of funds.
I hope the people of Moqhaka will remember this when they go to the polls in 2014. It will take this government many decades to combat and defeat corruption - if it will ever defeat it. This is so because the government has allowed corruption to develop to the level where it has now become the norm. If you are a government official and you don't act corruptly, you are perceived as abnormal by your colleagues.
Corruption has even found its way to this Parliament. Here corruption has been perpetrated by the top echelon from whom one would expect high levels of mature leadership and self-restraint.
According to a report in the Sunday Times, on 18 March 2012, R186 000 of parliamentary money was spent on a private home belonging to a parliamentary staff member. It is indeed a shame to see people entrusted with resources belonging to a poor and starving nation such as ours concentrating mainly on lining their pockets instead of improving the lives of the poor.
Take the release of the key findings of the Manase Report on 7 February 2012. This report has lifted the lid on a corruption scandal of unprecedented size and scope, involving every senior politician and council official in the ANC-run eThekwini Municipality. In this metropolitan municipality, like all other ANC-run municipalities, officials are allowed to have business interests in companies that benefit from government contracts. This is corruption, and it must be stopped now.
It is corruption that leads to the meltdown in provincial and local governments countrywide. According to the Manase Report, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is rotten to the core, with overexpenditure of R1,3 billion attributable to wide-scale corruption, tender fraud, maladministration and inappropriate business dealings. The report fingers the former mayor, the former municipal manager, several current departmental heads and well-nigh two-thirds of the councillors.
eThekwini has been turned into a slush fund for well-placed ANC politicians and deployed ANC officials. This is clearly the inevitable outcome of a system of cadre deployment, which intentionally, systematically and conveniently links the ANC in government and the ANC in business. It results in endemic corruption and the merciless theft of public assets. For the DA, the meltdown in eThekwini ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, Mphathiswa ohloniphekileyo, malungu namagosa onke aseburhulumenteni, manene namanenekazi, ndiziva ndinelunda ngokuthabatha inxaxheba kule ngxoxo-mpikiswano ebalulekileyo yanamhlanje emalunga neVoti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali yoRhulumente woBambiswano ngoLawulo kunye neMicimbi yezeMveli.
Eli sebe liyinxalenye ebalulekileyo nengundoqo yorhulumente wophuhliso, nanjengoko sasijonge loo nto ekusekweni kwalo. Oku kubangelwa yindima yalo ekulungelelaniseni ukudluliselwa kweemali zikazwe-lonke kumacandelo amaphondo nakoorhulumente beendawo, ngenjongo yophuhliso lweziseko zolwakhiwo nokuxhaswa kokuhanjiswa kweenkonzo ezingundoqo. Omnye wemiba ephambili yeli sebe kukuxhasa oomasipala ekunikeni kwabo iinkonzo ezingundoqo ezifana namanzi, ugutyulo, umbane nokuthuthwa kwenkunkuma. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Nkosi Z M D MANDELA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, members and all government officials, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to take part in this important debate today on the Budget Vote of the Department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
This department is one of the very important and significant players in the country's development, and this was our aim when it was formed. The reason for this is its role in the planning of the budget for government departments and the provinces, with the aim of infrastructure development and significant service delivery of basic services. One of the other key priorities of this department is to give support to the municipalities in their delivery of basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and waste collection.]
Since 1994, the ANC-led government has made access to basic services and infrastructure development its key priority, targeting previously underserved and poor areas of our country in particular. In recent times, we have observed a degree of discontent in some communities about access to and delivery of services in different municipalities. The ANC, as a movement that has for the century of its existence been rooted among the people, is mindful of these challenges and is responding to them through its elected government.
An assessment of the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs budget should be consistent with the ANC's policy interventions in building a developmental local government that is people-oriented and therefore always responsive to their needs and aspirations.
As we face today's challenges, we need to appreciate the many strides that we have made since 1994. In this regard, we are guided by the values of the Reconstruction and Development Programme and the call that was made at its launch by our first President of a democratic South Africa, uMongameli uMandela:
... for the rich consumers to subsidise the poor so that they can have access to services. It further calls for the funds to be made available from other sources of government and to address the backlog of services in some areas.
The RDP constituted the first of numerous policies and programmes that the ANC has implemented to address massive deficits in access to basic services and infrastructure backlogs. The deficits and backlogs are now more pronounced in the rural and poor areas. The establishment of a developmental local government and a system of wall-to-wall municipalities was aimed at addressing these challenges.
As we debate this budget today, we must recognise the reality that the long- term impact of the apartheid legacy and the ravages of its discriminatory spatial planning continue to manifest most glaringly at the local government level of our society. As an example, it is estimated that in 1994 more than 15 million people did not have access to a safe water supply and over 20 million did not have access to basic, decent sanitation.
Upon the dawn of democracy and the establishment of a new democratic developmental local government, we knew that the road towards transformation would be hard and long. We knew that this road would be bumpy, but that we would also have successes. We faced challenges and sometimes failures. What is crucial is to stay the course, correct our mistakes and move forwards with determination.
Ulonyulo loorhulumente beendawo lwama-2011 lusifundise isifundo esibalulekileyo malunga nomgama esele siwuhambile ekuhanjisweni kweenkonzo, kunye nemingeni esijamelene nayo. Ngale nkqubo siye seva amazwi oluntu, sabona iimeko abaphila phantsi kwazo abantu belizwe lethu, sabona nenkqubela, saza sazibona ukuba sisilelephi. Sifunde ukuba sikhulile, kwaye sinamandla netshisakalo yokuqhuba nokwakha oorhulumente bophuhliso beendawo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[The local government elections of 2011 have shown us how far we are with the process of service delivery and the challenges that we are faced with. In this process we have heard the people of this country voicing the conditions under which they live. We have seen the progress and where we have failed. We have learnt that we have grown and we have the determination to continue developing local governments.]
We are more determined not to fail in our quest to achieve the Freedom Charter's commitment when it declared:
All people shall have the right to live where they choose, to be decently housed and to bring up their families in comfort and security; Unused housing space shall be made available to the people; ... Slums shall be demolished and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, crches and social centres; ... Rest, leisure and recreation shall be the right of all; Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished and laws which break up families shall be repealed.
The Freedom Charter's commitment, together with the promises we made in the RDP, should serve as a baseline progress indicator by which we assess to what extent our local government is providing security and comfort to our communities. Hon Steenhuisen, it should be a measure for assessing how local government is providing infrastructure and basic services to people, as well as eradicating the legacy of apartheid spatial planning and inequalities.
There has been great progress. Figures provided by the department show that between 2008-09 and 2011-12, R43,3 billion was spent through the municipal infrastructure grant on basic services infrastructure. Over the period, an additional 7,25 million people were given access to water services, while 5,87 million people were given access to sanitation services. This was not in the areas governed by the DA, hon Steenhuisen.
In 2011-12 alone, 1,8 million people were given access to water services and 1,3 million were given access to sanitation services. Approximately 1,3 million households benefited from the extension of access road projects and more than 600 000 households benefited from community lighting.
Frans Cronj of the SA Institute of Race Relations, in his article on service delivery, says that service delivery has not failed. That contradicts the usual refrain perpetuated by the DA.
I want to assure the House that where the DA governs, we have seen that minorities living in areas like Constantia and Bishopscourt are the ones benefiting, but if you go to Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, you will see how our people are treated.
Clearly, the toilets that you gave to our people were totally unacceptable.
Xa sijonga ubunzulu bokusilela kulwakhiwo lweziseko zoluntu kunye nokunikezelwa kweenkonzo ezingundoqo awathi wafikela kuko urhulumente okhokelwa yi-ANC, kufuneka ezi mpumelelo zithathwe njengobungqina benguqu koorhulumente bendawo, sikuqhwabele izandla nokonyuswa kwemali eyabelwe isibonelelo sikamasipala yolwakhiwo lweziseko ngokuphindwe nangaphezulu kwesibini. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[When we look at the depth of the failure of infrastructure development and the delivery of basic services before the ANC-led government took over, this shows that those achievements should be regarded as proof of change within local government. We should applaud the double increase of the local government budget for infrastructure development.]
I quote: "... from R7,2 billion in 2008-09 to R15,8 billion in 2014-15 at an average annual rate of 14,6%."
We are grateful for the priority that the department is placing on infrastructure investment in the budget. However, our considerable achievements do not blind us to the enormous challenges that lie ahead, hon Boinamo. We are mindful today, 18 years into our democracy, of a degree of discontentment in some communities about access to and delivery of services by municipalities.
The ANC, as the movement that has for a century been rooted among the people, is very mindful of the impact of tardy delivery on the poorest of the poor and it is responding to the challenges through its elected government. [Applause.]
Maladministration and corruption cannot be tolerated. Hon Groenewald, though you are not here now, if you had attended any of our parliamentary committee meetings, you would have known that the ANC-led government has undertaken that officials found to be guilty will ... The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Thank you very much, Chairperson. Let me first take this opportunity to thank the people who provide support for the work we do every day. They include the portfolio committee staff in general; the leadership; the staff in the private office and the broader Ministry office; the extended family of co- operative governance, our MECs and mayors, the SA Local Government Association, the Municipal Demarcation Board, the House of Traditional Leaders and the commission that deals with disputes and claims. We are a big family. If I were to name all of them, my 15 minutes would expire while I was doing so.
I want to thank all the speakers who participated in today's debate. I want to indicate that all of you raised very important issues. Even in situations where one could recognise contradictions, we can understand that those are contradictions arising from an attempt to put the same message differently.
We make a commitment that we are going to get the messages that you raised and we will respond to you in terms of how we are taking forward this question of providing leadership to co-operative governance. As Nkosi Mandela has indicated, it is our responsibility not to shelve anything. It is our responsibility to deal with issues and confront them head on.
I will not be responding word for word to everything that was said because I will not have the time to do that. We will definitely respond to you in writing. If I were to try to respond to everyone, taking the speed at which I speak into consideration and the details I would like to provide, it would take approximately an hour or more to respond.
It is true that in dealing with issues of co-operative governance, there is nothing like one-size-fits-all interventions. We have to respond to the situation as it dictates. What helps us - and this is also at the centre of the turnaround strategy - is to first understand the situation that we are dealing with. If you don't understand the situation that you are dealing with and you jump into action, you are likely to apply the wrong intervention to deal with a specific issue. I therefore call on all of us to work together in that regard.
I indicated that we will soon convene a national dialogue. This national dialogue will be meant to deal with issues that we regard as priorities that need to be addressed. That will be the five issues that I referred to and which punctuated our message here today. When we do that, we will get to the core of dealing with these issues.
I must be honest and say that we need more people who are ready to talk about the good things our municipalities are doing. At the end of the day, we focus only on the negative and we don't do more to talk about the good that is actually happening. It is time that we were honest and fair and confronted these issues and dealt with them. I raised this concern with the leadership of the municipalities too.
The mayors are here, including the Mayor of Rustenburg, with whom I raised this matter not long ago. Even the municipalities themselves are not doing enough to expose the good things they are doing in the community. If you visit a municipality in session and sit in the public gallery, all you will hear is, "Agree, agree, agree". You will not hear the debate on the good things that are actually happening. We are doing ourselves a disservice and that gives opportunists a chance to scavenge off those things that they realise we are not doing correctly. [Applause.]
When we convene this dialogue, we will call on all South Africans, including hon Members of Parliament, to be part of providing solutions. I want to indicate that there are some South African institutions, like the Afrikaanse Handels instituut, who wrote to us and indicated that they didn't want to be fence-sitters just crying foul about what was happening in municipalities. They want to get their hands dirty. They appealed to us to use their experience and that is what we are doing.
We will soon announce the areas in which we are working in partnership with the AHI to address some of the issues. That is what we are calling for. There is no hon Member of Parliament who does not have a constituency. All of us have a constituency, but what are we doing in our constituencies to address these issues? You will end up in a situation where you look at things like the hon Boinamo does. When you look at issues of corruption, what comes to your mind is that corruption is equal to preparing for elections. It should not be like that.
We need to deal with issues for what they are. Don't wait for the elections, because you are going to be frustrated. If you wait for the elections, you will be blinded and look only at the negative things. You will end up being beaten because you will have failed to do the things that you ought to have done.
I am extending a simple invitation to all of us to rise above mere opportunism and deal with the issues for what they are. We once more invite you to a dialogue in order to talk about these issues. Take, for instance, issues of service delivery. We need to talk about these issues in terms of what they are. Are these issues about service delivery or has service delivery become a flimsy excuse for people to pursue their own agenda or interests?
Some of the issues raised are fuelled by those whose survival in the elections depends on these accusations because they are always trying to identify the mistakes made by the current leadership so that their dreams can be realised. You will continue to lose opportunities of winning because you are not doing the right thing. So, I am extending the invitation to you to have the dialogue that I referred to earlier.
Hon members, some of our cities will be hosting the Africa Cup of Nations, as the Minister of Sport and Recreation has announced. We need to join forces and support them to champion the cause of the South African way of doing things successfully. They are not only going to succeed in hosting this tournament for the first time but are succeeding in leading their municipalities themselves. They are doing that in provinces where we do have leaders who are providing support.
The MEC for local government in Gauteng told me that we needed to engage with each other and talk about our five priorities in practical terms. When he said that to me, his approach was not opportunistic or motivated by elections. He was doing that as a person who had internalised the obligation to serve this country and ensure a better life for all who live in it. That includes all of us, even Members of Parliament, irrespective of which side they are on.
I agree with the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs that we need to do something to improve our interventions. It is true, hon Steenhuisen, that if local government fails, government fails. That is why we are saying that of all of us are at the centre of the success of local government. That is why it is our responsibility as the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to mobilise all actors: national government, provincial government, local municipalities and even extragovernmental organisations.
Hon Kilian, I ask that you provide my office with the details of Ms Matshine's case. I'll make an effort to reach out to her. Let us have that information so that we can deal with the matter. The mayor of the city is here and we will definitely work as partners. We do not run away from problems, even if they seem to suggest that there is room for improvement on our part. We will confront them. So I'll appreciate it if you can give us that information.
Hon Smith, on the issue of equitable share progress reports, there is a great many things we could say, so we have taken the decision, which will be implemented a day before we present the budget to the NCOP, to provide details on everything that we are saying then. There is a booklet with information on the details of all the things that we have said here. We are going to launch that booklet. We are dealing with the issue of the equitable share formula with the Treasury. We are looking at finalising it after the release of the census report around September.
Hon Segale-Diswai, I fully agree that Salga is very important in terms of promoting co-operative governance. It is in our culture that if you identify a central message that guides your actions, you should put that in a slogan. We have the slogan, "My Salga, my collective voice". It can only be "My Salga, my collective voice" through our own support Salga. We engaged Salga as well and said that this was not something that came as a Christmas present. Salga has to earn it.
There is one area in which we have not yet coined a slogan, but you will help me, hon member. From now on, we want to say, "My demarcation board, my reliable location compass". Chairperson, you heard me; you were there. The issue regarding municipalities debating and taking advantage of local radio stations to share their views with the community is something that we need to look at.
Hon Groenewald, in absentia, we are aware of the issues around reshuffling and reassignment of responsibilities and they happen exactly as you said they do. You can't be an organisation that does not do introspection and make changes where it is necessary to do so. You have to do that if you want to remain a winning organisation.
Let me indicate that the issue regarding the Special Investigating Unit's report on the North West is not lost. After my appointment, one of the first things that people wanted to know was when I was going to release that report. It is not our intention to lose that report. We are going to attend to it and we will pounce on those who are identified as having done something wrong. This is the message that we are sending to people in order to show who we are.
Baba Matshoba, we are looking at issues around funding. The "department of traditional affairs" can't be a branch of the "department of co-operative governance". We have taken note of that. This is a decision that was taken after the national macro-organisation that produced new departments and other entities. Instead of having a proliferation of Budget Votes, a temporary arrangement that will deal with this issue is needed. We are also engaging with Treasury to address that.
However, the department is still in the making and is still very small. We are going to have a strategic planning session because the department can't execute everything that is required to address the elements of traditional affairs at the moment. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.