Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon premier, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members of the NCOP, ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to appear before this esteemed House for the first time since taking office and to participate in this very important debate, not only because of its topic, but also because of its timing, given the looming local government elections.
Local government is, of all government spheres, the closest to the people. It is the first contact for service delivery to our communities and it plays a key role in ensuring that our communities receive the services they have the right to.
The NCOP serves as a bridge between national, provincial and local government. The Council is a linking mechanism which aligns national, provincial and local interests in national legislation, policies and planning processes, specifically those that may affect these spheres.
In the same breath, it is the department of local government that is the bridge or linking mechanism for local municipalities to provincial and, in many instances, national government.
I believe that through local government processes, oversight and support, provincial and national government can be sensitised to local government interests and needs when developing their policies, legislation and planning programmes.
It is therefore the responsibility of my department to ensure that our local municipalities are fully supported and to make certain that there is proper functioning, responsiveness and accountability within these institutions. This mandate can only be achieved through co-operation between the spheres of government, commitment to good governance and strong intergovernmental relations.
In line with the above statement, our overarching goal is to ensure that our municipalities function efficiently and effectively, and that they are accountable.
In the Western Cape our political environment is quite unique. Our municipalities are governed by coalitions which, in many instances, have an impact on administration but are a reflection of the level of maturity of our democracy.
Within this environment we have, however, successfully been able to foster and maintain strong intergovernmental relations across the province, which has enabled us to collectively resolve and effectively address any challenges. Many stakeholders participate in these structures and are afforded the opportunity to express themselves, a case in point being the SA Local Government Association, Salga, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA.
Another area which highlights the level of co-operative governance within this province has been that of service delivery. One key responsibility we share with the NCOP is that of ensuring that service delivery and the quality thereof is not compromised. This is done through the oversight work we do in assessing integrated development plans, IDP's, and local government budgets.
The Western Cape departments of local government and treasury have, together, for the past couple of years held local government medium-term expenditure committees, LGMTECs, and this year these processes have evolved to become IDP indabas, which seek to promote intergovernmental planning and budgeting.
The key outcome of the IDP indaba will be to provide a space for joint planning between spheres of government, where engagements will focus mainly on current development realities within municipalities.
Furthermore, government will be able to reach a mutual agreement on what the development priorities are within each of the 30 municipalities and on future investment of government per municipality.
I want to emphasise that our provincial government takes very seriously the responsibility both the NCOP and local government have, as stipulated in section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000 which, in a nutshell, promotes good governance and mandates both the MEC for local government and the NCOP to act in the event of maladministration within a municipality.
In promoting participatory democracy, there are synergies in the work done by the NCOP and that of the province, in that, while the NCOP has the responsibility to facilitate public participation in terms of section 72(1) of the Constitution, the department has committed itself to unlocking opportunities for communities through improved access and active participation.
Strong emphasis has been placed on active citizen participation in local government through ward-based planning. Furthermore, through the community development worker, CDW, programmes, the institutional gaps in service delivery are addressed and investment programmes of government with a specific focus on poor and vulnerable communities are being implemented. There is a strong correlation between these two custodians of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations, and yet they have distinct roles and responsibilities, which are clearly defined by the Constitution and applicable legislation.
It is imperative to understand that these roles and responsibilities complement each other. For example, in matters of socioeconomic development there may be great overlap, where local government shares its legislative power with both the national and the provincial governments and may oversee a similar matter. However, the way that municipalities exercise their power is key.
It is against this background that it becomes clear that unlocking the synergies through co-operative governance is a non-negotiable imperative. It is only through the collective effort of government that integrated planning, budgeting and implementation can effectively accelerate service delivery.
In conclusion, intergovernmental relations are key for a successful province and a successful South Africa, but we must also focus on interdepartmental relationships, otherwise we are going to stay and work within our silos. To get out of our silos, the Western Cape has decided to make use of our strategic objectives to align all the departments to work towards a common goal. I thank you.