Hon Chairperson, I would like to ask the NCOP a question: What are we going to leave behind for our children? Will they have municipal infrastructure that gives them clean water, or that which will make them sick? Will we pass on the values of honesty, hard work and transparency; or will we set an example of selfish and corrupt behaviour?
We must think about these things because we are building or laying the foundation for our children. This foundation can allow them to fulfil their potential or prepare them for failure. I know that local government is closest to the people. We must get it right so that we can be proud of what we leave behind for our children.
Last year, we committed ourselves to a number of deliverables. I am pleased to report that all of them have been delivered. All municipalities complied with the property rates Act; we have exceeded our target for anticorruption training and support; 19 municipalities have improved performance management systems; our integrated development plan, IDP, learnership has been completed; the accountability of our community development workers has improved; our councillors have undergone leadership and code of conduct training; and municipal spending of capital budget has improved.
This is just the beginning. In the coming year we will build on our successes. We must look after our investments, roads, pipes, and sewerage plants which supply us with basic services. We must maintain what we have built in infrastructure and appoint schooled technical people in our municipalities. We are currently busy completing our master plan which will tell us what to build; how much it will cost; how many people must be trained to operate it; and how we will fund and implement it.
It will help us to build for our future and to build for our children. In addition to the master plan, the department will assist municipalities to develop a register of all their assets such as the roads, pipes and sewerage plants that I have mentioned. This register will include information on the age of a particular asset, and when it should be replaced.
We know that we can only maintain infrastructure if we have the right skills. So we will be doing an audit of all the technical skills in municipalities and, together with our partners in the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, we will develop a long-term plan to build those skills in municipalities.
We must not only build new infrastructure, but we must also build people. I asked earlier whether or not our children will have clean water in the future. A more important question is: Will they have water in the future?