Deputy Chairperson, hon Ministers here today, Premier of the Northern Cape - that's the only one I can see currently - MECs here today, permanent delegates and special delegates, I want to thank you for attending this debate in your numbers. I also want to give special thanks to the Minister of Public Works, Mr Doidge, who actually challenged us long ago, saying that this debate is overdue and needs to be called, and I promised that I would call it.
I really appreciate that the provinces are also here today to debate the role of the National Council of Provinces in co-operative government and intergovernmental relations: Unlocking the synergy for collective effort. The topic recognises the inherent synergy within the National Council of Provinces, NCOP; however, in order to realise its potential, the NCOP needs to unlock this synergy to ensure and facilitate collective action.
Let me try to conceptualise this. The new South Africa was founded on the principle of a unitary state, with regional features being the products of the compromise. Given this, it became necessary to have an institution to replace the old Senate that you know as the second House of Parliament. At conceptualisation, the primary function of the new institution, the NCOP, was to facilitate co-operative governance, by facilitating co-operation, co- ordination and consultation in executive matters within and across the different spheres of government.
The arrangement of South Africa according to provinces then necessitated the existence of a co-ordinating forum at a national level. That is why all of us are here today, co-ordinated at a national level, to come and discuss this important issue.
What is the constitutional framework that depicts this? In terms of the Constitution, all of you would remember that our government is constituted as three spheres of government, namely national, provincial and local government. These spheres are distinctive, but are however interrelated and interdependent. They are obliged to observe and adhere to the principle of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations.
This includes that they must, firstly - and all of us should listen carefully - provide effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government; secondly, respect the constitutional status, institutions, powers and functions of government in other spheres of government; and thirdly, co-operate with one another in mutual trust and good faith. These are the three important principles that come from the Constitution. All of us have to understand them in order to function properly as the three spheres of government.
Further, the Constitution provides for an Act of Parliament to establish or provide for structures and institutions to promote and facilitate intergovernmental relations. In this regard we have in place the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act. This Act establishes a framework for national, provincial and local governments to promote and facilitate intergovernmental relations and provide for mechanisms and procedures to facilitate the settlement of international disputes. It is the responsibility of Parliament therefore, especially this House, the NCOP, to oversee the implementation of this Act by the executive.
What is the position and role of the NCOP in doing so? Against this background, it is important to note that the NCOP is strategically placed to play a central role in promoting co-operative government and intergovernmental relations. It brings together representatives of three spheres of government, that is national, provincial and local government, under one roof, like we are today, to consider issues, including issues relating to how their governments are impacted by the decisions taken at a national level. It is very important that these three spheres of government realign and talk to each other for better service delivery on the ground.
The inherent synergy of the NCOP has been expressed practically through the way in which it conducts its business. For example, with the "Taking Parliament to the People" programme, representatives of the three spheres of government embark on public participation together. None of them is left out. We are all there as the leadership to take questions, respond to the issues, and therefore follow up on the issues that people raise on the ground, and make sure that their lives are bettered.
During provincial week we do the same thing. The three spheres of government come together, work together and make sure that the work is done and co-ordinated in a better way. However, this synergy needs to be further unlocked so as to enhance co-ordination among the three spheres of government. It is very clear that for any meaningful oversight to take place there must be co-operation, collaboration and consultation at the level of the executive, which is the arm of government responsible for implementation. It is for this reason that we always employ a cluster approach, bringing related portfolios together when considering Budget Votes, for example.
To facilitate co-operative government and intergovernmental relations, we have rationalised the portfolios of the House Chairpersons. We now have a portfolio for co-operative government and intergovernmental relations. This signals the maturity of the NCOP, because this portfolio encapsulates the essence of our mandate.
Through the creation of this portfolio, these are the things that we want to achieve: firstly, a high level of understanding of the role that the NCOP can play in promoting the principle of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations; secondly, to improve the capacity to monitor and assess government performance with regard to ensuring a co-ordinated and co-operative approach to service delivery; and lastly, to enhance the impact of public participation initiatives and the role of the NCOP in international fiscal matters.
The NCOP has many instruments that it uses to advance the principle of co- operative governance and intergovernmental relations. These include the Division of Revenue Act. This is an oversight tool that is essential for the purpose of promoting sound internal fiscal administration. However, there are some challenges in the implementation of this Act which require our attention. I hope some of the members will touch on these, but let me touch on a few of them: Firstly, with regard to fiscal capacity and efficiency, when resources are allocated we need to ensure that provinces and municipalities have the necessary capacity to utilise those resources, otherwise we might be locking up money that could be used elsewhere.
Secondly, it is also important to check whether or not government resources are used efficiently, meaning without any wastage. That is a very important aspect, not just for the NCOP, but for all of us - whether one is a national Member of Parliament, a provincial Member of Parliament or a councillor. How those particular resources are used on the ground to make the lives of the people on the ground better is a very important issue.
The third issue is with regard to long-term planning. Planning remains one of the challenges facing government at the moment. One often finds that people do not adopt a long-term view when planning. Few people know today what they want to do in 10 years'time. As a result, government projects are often done in a piecemeal fashion, often without properly assessing the needs of the people.
Yet we have a progressive three-year rolling expenditure framework in the form of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework which can be used as a basis for multiparty year planning. That is why the Minister of Finance has come with this Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, because it allows one to plan better for one's longer- and mid-term planning, so that it goes together with the resources that one has, and one is then able to achieve the plans that one has in place. I hope the Minister of Finance will dwell on this a little bit. That is actually why we found it important that he also participates in this type of debate.
Let us look at the issue of budget management very quickly. Poor planning leads to poor budget management. For instance, this can be seen in the following expenditure figures in infrastructure budgets, which I picked up in one of the provinces: In the 2008-09 budget they spent 132% of the infrastructure budget. In 2009-10, they spent 84% of the infrastructure budget. In both instances it does not appear that proper planning was done. This requires proactive oversight on our side and making sure that the planning is proper and is properly done.
Recently, during my visit to the Free State, I think it was about two weeks ago, I was shown a project that is run by the province which the local municipality is not aware of. Yet the local municipality will be expected to provide services such as water and electricity once the project is finalised. We cannot work like that. Surely, if there is a project that is done by either of the spheres of government on the ground, it has to speak with the other sphere of government and check what the services are that the other sphere has to be engaged in. Otherwise, at the completion of that particular project the local sphere of government will not be able to provide the necessary resources - the water and electricity - that they should and are supposed to provide, because they will not have budgeted for that as they did not know what was happening. Therefore we need to plan together and make sure that the plan tallies into the three spheres of government.
In order to promote that sustainable local development, it is therefore very important to consider the integrated development plans, IDPs, of municipalities. Among other things, IDPs are crucial for: firstly, effective use of scarce resources; secondly, speedy delivery of services; thirdly, strengthening democracy; and lastly, promotion of co-ordination between local, provincial and national government.
These are important, because they then begin by helping role-players to focus on the most important needs of local communities, taking into account the resources that are available. This is also possible through the identification of, at least, the services in the most impoverished areas. Through the active participation of all of the stakeholders, we can achieve to better planning and use of those particular resources. As a different sphere, local government is encouraged to work in a co-ordinated manner to tackle and develop the needs of the local area.
In conclusion, the NCOP has an important role to play in facilitating co- operative government and intergovernmental relations. As such, today's debate should serve as a catalyst for further elaboration on mechanisms of how the principles of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations could be advanced in practice by this House.
It is with this in mind that we will note, very clearly, the issues raised by all the people who will be participating today for the purpose of strengthening the role of the NCOP in ensuring that government, although constituted at different spheres, works as one for the betterment of the delivery of services on the ground.
I would suggest to the House, if you agree with me, that, at the end of this debate, the NCOP will have to sit down further and work out the mechanism that we can use to take forward the issues that will be raised by the different speakers in this House today. Thank you. [Applause.]