Deputy Chairperson, I want to acknowledge the hon President Jacob Zuma, the Chairperson of the NCOP Mr Mahlangu, the premiers, the MECs present here today, hon members, councillors, mayors, Salga, and most importantly, our bosses - people in the gallery at the back there who voted us into power, for whom we are supposed to be working.
Firstly, I want to say that the importance of distinctive, interdependent and interrelated spheres of government cannot be overemphasised. The different spheres must co-operate in order to give effect to coherent governance and ensure the wellbeing of all South Africans. By the same token it is exactly the independence of a sphere of government that can ensure that those rights afforded to all of us by our Constitution are protected.
Therefore, we should guard against increased centralisation and control under the national government as it undermines the spirit of our Constitution. It is important to have a separation of powers between local, provincial and national government in order to strengthen democracy and ensure accountability.
Centralisation affects the way in which we can hold our representatives accountable. It may also make justice more difficult to achieve where power is abused, as the different spheres of government form important checks and balances on each other.
I believe that we should create broader opportunities so that everyone in our society has a chance to fulfil his or her potential. I believe that each sphere of government - the local, the provincial and the national - has an important role to play and needs to be independent of the others.
Yes, they do need to work together. However, local solutions to local problems can provide better service delivery. What does a bureaucrat in Tshwane know about gangs in Hanover Park? What does an official sitting behind a desk in the capital know about the suffering of the people in this province in that they do not have access to clean running water? Each sphere should therefore be bolstered so that local municipalities can provide proper services to communities so that provinces can be actively involved in ensuring good levels of education and health, for example.
Having said that, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to ensure that they get the services that they are entitled to; they cannot provide running water and sanitation on their own. That is the role of government.
Two of the biggest threats to our democracy in society today are corruption and incompetence of government officials. Corruption prevents delivery of services, because some politicians have benefited from a deal that resulted in a project not being done, or the quality of that project is so bad that it will have to be done over at double the cost. Incompetence of officials that are unable to spend the money allocated to their particular municipality is another threat, because they don't have the ability to do so because they are not trained to carry out that mandate.
However, in a democracy the politicians must fear the electorate and not the other way around. It is only when leaders start fearing the very people who voted for them that we will see real delivery and accountability. When leaders don't deliver on their mandate the electorate has the power to remove them and vote for an alternative government. [Applause.] It is no use voting for a government in May and then toyi-toying down the streets in June protesting about the lack of service delivery. What sense does that make?
Voters, the people, get the government that they deserve. As voters, you have the right to choose your government. More importantly, you have the responsibility to hold that government to account when they fail in their duty. The only way you can do that is to hit hard where it hurts the most; and that is at the voting station.
Too many of our public representatives see public offices or being an MP as a nice, cushy job. Oh! Madam Chair, we must come out of that culture and do the work for which the poor voted. In a democracy you have a right to change your mind and that does not make you any less loyal to your particular movement or your ideology.
In the Western Cape government we have developed a system whereby every minister is held accountable based on their own performance. The model we have developed is based on each ministry obtaining the highest points of excellence. Our people deserve the best quality service and as provincial ministers we must be held accountable. In other words, I challenge voters to fire me as well if I don't deliver.
Everybody, irrespective of their political affiliation, has a right to access all the services. This should never be dictated to you by any political party. No government is without its fair share of challenges. Officials are appointed to ensure that services are delivered to all the people, but if they are not fit for that purpose, the only ones losing out are in fact ordinary people like you and me.
When councillors are not qualified to do the job as public representatives, they should be replaced! We must stop the practice of appointing friends, girlfriends and party loyalists to jobs that they are not able to do! [Applause.] They need the necessary skills to be effective in the job that they are appointed to do. Otherwise, the ordinary man in the street will suffer.
Madam Chair, you can choose to put up with the lack of service delivery and continue to protest and toyi-toyi or you can use the democratic power of your vote and opt for an alternative government, which has earned the reputation for excellent service delivery for all the people.
It cannot be right for a community to burn their only library in the area down. It cannot be right for a community to burn motor vehicles that enter certain areas because of a lack of service delivery. It cannot be right for a bus full of innocent children from Khayelitsha - in our own township on their way to a music camp - to be injured by stone-throwing people, with a small group of them completely traumatising those children! It cannot be right for people to attack one of our vehicles transporting matric exam answer sheets from hundreds of matriculants of Khayelitsha. In our democracy we have legal channels through which aggrieved citizens can channel their grievances.
Where the law has been broken, where police and private vehicles are destroyed, the law must take its course and the guilty person must be brought to book. In this regard, we must also hold the police accountable to arrest the perpetrators and have them prosecuted. As a country we cannot afford to have our country slip into anarchy. South Africans must use their votes - not stones - to effect a change in government if it is needed. The power is in your hands.
The Western Cape government fully supports co-operative governance between each of the distinct spheres of government, in order for the people of this country to really benefit from service delivery of the highest standard. Each sphere of government needs to focus on their core area of service delivery, and once this has been achieved we will truly see our Constitution in action. I thank you. [Applause.]