Deputy Chair of the National Council of Provinces, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Premier of the Northern Cape, hon MECs who are here today, hon members, distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen, we feel honoured to meet today under the theme "The role of the National Council of Provinces in co-operative government and intergovernmental relations: Unlocking the synergy for collective effort." It is an opportunity to reflect on our current performance and opportunities lying ahead.
The National Council of Provinces is the creation of our Constitution as one of the two Houses, allowing equal provincial representation to ensure a balance of interest between provinces. The Constitution went further and created three spheres of government, namely national, provincial and local government, and clearly directed that all spheres must operate in an intergovernmental and co-operative manner.
Since its establishment, the NCOP has continued to perform well in executing its mandate and function with regard to national and provincial Bills, annual Appropriation Bills and budgets. Allow me to provide the House with the executive summary of the state of performance in our province with regard to service delivery and local government. Access to water is at 97%; sanitation, 69%; electricity, 87%; and access to refuse removal, 76%.
With regard to the state of local government, our assessment is in line with the recent state of local government assessment report, and the following points are highlighted. We are faced with serious leadership and governance challenges, including weak responsiveness and accountability to communities; weak financial management; high levels of indigent households affecting the financial position of municipalities; insufficient technical capacity to fast-track infrastructural projects; and limited financial support from provincial government to municipalities.
Deputy Chairperson, in line with the national developmental priorities as outlined by our President, our premier tabled the provincial state of the province address with clear outcomes for each sector department, and was later followed by the MEC for finance, who tabled our provincial budget, which is linked to our outcomes.
The National Council of Provinces is a collective voice of the people to ensure that service delivery promises are achieved within the allocated time and budgets. The NCOP has a role to play in highlighting required interventions and interprovincial co-operation to achieve the national priorities.
It can also serve as a platform of performance appraisal for provinces and local government, a platform for communicating service delivery achievements and challenges. It can also play a role of intervention with regard to resource allocation and reallocation where necessary.
In conclusion, in achieving its enhanced role the NCOP must consider improving on its interaction with provinces and local government by adopting a more proactive role. I will also suggest that the NCOP should facilitate and create performance monitoring sessions for the provinces and local governments on a quarterly and biannual basis.
The provinces and local government must come and present their achievements, challenges and required interventions. The National Council of Provinces must also have more regular provincial visits to get a sense of what is being done in provinces and by local government.
I am sure that by creating the above enhanced role for the National Council of Provinces, we will be able to unlock the synergy for collective effort on intergovernmental performance and co-operation on resource allocation, leading to the creation of a better legislative framework. I thank you.