Chairperson, in its statement of 8 January the ANC made the assertion that this year must be set aside as the year for "the mobilisation of people's power through democratic local government". With this assertion the statement of 8 January had thus provided us with on opportunity to table our plans, our priorities and our programmes for the year ahead.
Once again, with this debate, we are making efforts to review the degree of achievement in meeting the objectives contained in the statement of 8 January and as translated in the state of the nation address.
Such efforts, together with others within the machinery of government, must clearly stand as a symbol of commitment in our continued responsibility of ensuring that we as the ANC will never deter from the noble cause of social transformation. In terms of the statement of 8 January 2006, the central national challenge facing our country is the eradication of the legacy of colonialism and apartheid that has condemned the majority of our people to a life of material misery.
The 2006 state of the nation address set out targets on sanitation, electrification and the eradication of the bucket system, which are all connected to reducing poverty and unemployment by 2014 and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, which are, firstly, that all communities have access to clean running water and decent households by 2010; secondly, halving poverty and unemployment by 2014; thirdly, meeting the demand for electricity and satisfying the demand for water; fourthly, ensuring that there is universal provision of free basic services; fifthly, prioritising the eradication of the bucket system by 2006 or 2007 and in the sixth instance, ensuring that by March this year we had deployed 3 000 community development workers.
The Department of Provincial and Local Government has been allocated R82 billion over the MTF period. This amount represents a financial commitment to improving performance at provincial and local government levels. The department must, however, continue to intensify its support for other delivery arms of government to ensure that the spread and distribution of finances responds to the realities on the ground. The department has done particularly well in spending its finances, which saw it spending over 90% of its budget this year.
Municipalities have also registered significant progress in terms of overall performance, including those within Project Consolidate. The department has met the largest part of the targets, as encapsulated in the government programme of action. National Treasury recently reported that the nine provinces had vastly improved their spending patterns in the first six months of the 2006-07 financial year. They had spent an average of 45% of their combined budgets. This represents a spending increase higher than for the same period last year.
The ANC applauds the improvement in spending by provinces, and this capacity to spend saw provinces making significant increases in all delivery sectors such as education, health, social services, Public Works, etc. Moreover, the capacity of provinces to spend their budgets is an encouraging move and one that presents us with a sense of assurance that the turnaround strategies implemented are showing results and that resources are now being properly channelled to focus on the programmes directed at improving the lives of ordinary South Africans.
The ANC commends the shining example of a people's contract in action and further encourages provinces to continue to emulate this pattern for improved service delivery. Existing historical evidence confirms that the ANC remains the only organisation in the country that, in fact, delivers services to all the people of South Africa, black or white, despite the fundamental challenges inherited from the past.
I am pleased to report that improvements in communication and the acceleration of the imbizo programme have significantly contributed to deepening social mobilisation within and across local government, thus confirming that our transformation project remains and continues to be grounded on people-centred sustainable development.
This year also saw the Department of Provincial and Local Government extending the period of Project Consolidate, which was previously two years, to a more permanent hands-on support system for municipalities. This important step is part of our efforts to support and capacitate municipalities, and is further testimony that the ANC-led government is leading the direction and pace of development.
The efforts undertaken this year of accelerating the implementation of government's programme of action and intensifying the imbizo programme mean that our system of local democracy derives content from the actual participation of our communities in institutions of people's power.
The concept of "government of the people, by the people" means that the ANC- led government did not only improve the participation of citizens in decision-making, but also in the allocation of resources and in the identification of local needs and priorities in the form of ward-based IDPs. As a result, more people this year have access to clean water and electricity and have more opportunities to improve their lives.
The sphere of local government is best placed to give practical meaning and substance to the basic political commitment we made 55 ago in the form of the Freedom Charter that "The people shall govern." It is through the same commitment that we agreed "All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country."
In more areas than before, through the establishment of ward committees, public participation has become a reality. More than 80% of ward committees have been established in order for communities to be active and involved in managing their development, claiming their rights and exercising their responsibilities.
I am particularly pleased to report that municipalities now have realistic integrated development plans, credible local economic development programmes and the material and human resources, as well as the management and operational systems to implement these integrated development plans and local economic development programmes, as opposed to previous consultancy- based IDPs.
A significant degree of achievement continues to be made around the eradication of the bucket system through its replacement with decent sanitation facilities. The ANC is determined to ensure that the goal of universal provision of free basic services is achieved. Already around 3,9 million households receive free basic water, and free basic electricity reaches 2,9 million households. The Department of Provincial and Local Government has expanded the provision of free basic services to even the remotest areas of our country.
The RDP envisaged universal access to water and sanitation facilities and the elimination of hunger and malnutrition, all to be achieved on the basis of people's participation in development. In a book entitled State of the Nation published this year, the authors state, and I quote:
... despite the considerable growth in the number of households requiring services, notable progress has nevertheless been made in several arenas. One particularly successful field has been the provision of electricity. In 1994 only 55% of all households had access to electricity, but by 2003 this had increased to 78%. The most marked improvements in the provision of electricity are evident in informal and traditional dwellings.
The authors go on to say that in both these cases more than a third of all dwellings were electrified for the first time only after 1994.
The Department of Provincial and Local Government has launched an anticorruption strategy at 30 municipalities to ensure that the vision of rooting out corruption in the local government sphere becomes a reality.
In conclusion, President Thabo Mbeki, in his closing remarks in the ANC Today of 17 February 2006, said that these targets were captured in the state of the nation ... [Time expired.]