Chairperson, the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, hon members, despite the political changes ushered in by the 1995 local elections, the legacy of apartheid remains embedded in many municipalities. Many are still traditional, rule-driven bureaucracies which are not used to servicing the public in a responsible manner.
Financial management systems are often weak in many municipalities. Apartheid employment regulations are often still in place, creating a degree of inflexibility in the system. Many municipalities remain untransformed and locked in old, inefficient ways of working.
It is the White Paper on Local Government which aims to establish a system of local governance in which municipalities play an increasingly important role in service delivery, eradicating poverty and improving the social and economic conditions of our people.
We see this Local Government: Municipal Systems Bill as a very important piece of legislation in that it seeks to establish the basic principles and mechanisms to give effect to a collectivisation of developmental government. It focuses primarily on the establishment of internal systems and the administration of municipalities. This legislation will put in place new processes and will create new institutions with new principles and support mechanisms that will enable local government transformation to take place.
Clause 4(2) of the Bill should be amended to include the following addition:
(k) treat communities, residents and ratepayers with dignity and respect.
Item 2 of Schedule 2, the Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members, should be amended to include the following addition:
(f) treat communities, residents and ratepayers with dignity and respect.
In Gauteng we expressed concerns regarding the incorrect tagging of the Bill as a section 75 Bill, instead of a section 76 Bill. The correct tagging of the Bill would have afforded us an opportunity to conduct proper consultation and a process of public hearings with local governments in the province in order to determine the practicality of the systems that are being put in place.
Our opinion is that the crucial provincial oversight role as reflected in Chapter 7 of the Constitution, particularly section 155(6), was overlooked in the tagging process. Although the Bill was classified as important at provincial level, we only deliberated and gave input on the basis of section 75 legislation, which was unsatisfactory. We support the principle of the Bill and the detail of the proposed amendments. [Applause.]