Madam Chairperson, there are many cynics in the country who argue that Parliament should not have to set up a committee and send nearly 40 MPs to nine provinces to establish the causes of service delivery protests - many of them very violent - that have plagued our residential areas in recent times. The sceptics argue that the whole exercise was mere window dressing, a waste of taxpayers' money, and that nothing will come of it.
This negative posture becomes even more worrying when one takes into account a finding by D Powell, in an article in The Magazine of Local Government of October 2009, entitled, "What is wrong with local government?" I quote:
Local government is the least trusted of all public institutions in the country and that has been the case since the first municipal elections in 2000.
The message is quite clear. We dare not prove the cynics right, because many of our people feel that they are being left behind and they do not believe that the government hears their pleas for improvement in their living conditions. In order to restore some of the trust that the people have lost in local government and in Parliament, it is very important that the work of the ad hoc committee does not become yet another exercise in futility. To fail the people will be to deepen their frustrations and anger, and to erode even further whatever little faith they may still have in local government.
It is important to remind this House of the many individuals and organisations that came to this Parliament when we invited them to do so, to tell us about their problems. We have to remember how seriously the people took our call, as manifested in their sincerity and their faith in our ability to redress their anguish as they engaged with us in the many public gatherings we attended with them.
How can we redeem ourselves? Firstly, we must recognise that party politics, a core element in democracy, is the most divisive of all institutions in a democracy. However, while we still have the current system, we must strive to take party politics out of municipal administration. How distressing it was to learn that one municipality was dysfunctional and had been placed under administration because of interparty rivalries and, even worse, because of factionalism within the governing party. In one instance, a house of a former mayor was torched, allegedly by members of her own party. This act of violence has not done anything to enhance the quality of life of the people involved.
To ensure that a municipality can deliver on its mandate, local government must employ people for their skills, experience, potential and, most importantly, their fitness for purpose. It is a very simple mandate, involving efficient, prompt, top quality service delivery and clean governance, with officials held accountable at the pain of consequences.
I do believe that all of us in this House now acknowledge that cadre deployment and jobs for incompetent pals and close relatives have failed the country. A new approach is needed, where we can employ the best skills we have from all our people in this country, regardless of their political party affiliation.
Colleagues have touched on some of our experiences during oversight visits around the country. Two incidents stand out for me. They show what could happen when we stop caring about the people we claim to serve and let greed drive our behaviour.
During a visit to the Eastern Cape, our team went to the township of Komga in the Great Kei Local Municipality. There we saw RDP houses that were said to have been built around 1998-99. The four-walled structures were built of very poor quality material, and had only one door and two small windows, one at the back and one in front. The houses have no flooring and no dividing walls. I could not help but ask myself how we could do that to our people.
On a trip to Nala Municipality in the Free State we visited Monyakeng Township. The Monyakeng sewer treatment works was being constructed and yet household toilets were connected to the water system. The waste had nowhere to flow but into the street, causing very serious health hazards for the residents. One grandma called us to her house to show us her brand new blocked toilet. How could anyone do something like that to our people?
In conclusion, Madam Chairperson, this House and the Minister for Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs must ensure that the work of the Ad hoc Committee on Co-ordinated Oversight on Service Delivery produces positive outcomes for all the people of our communities, particularly for those areas with serious problems which were visited by the committee. We must restore trust and confidence in our municipalities. They are the forefront of local administration. Their success is the success of this nation. There is no more time to waste. I thank you. [Applause.]