Thank you, Chairperson. Eighthly, both the Cabinet and the President's Co- ordinating Council, PCC, fully endorsed the LGTAS.
Ninthly, it will succeed because of the unprecedented co-operation of the national, provincial and local governments in ensuring its implementation.
Tenthly, the LGTAS is a much more politically driven process than previous attempts, with officials playing a much smaller role and consultants being excluded altogether.
Eleventhly, and very importantly, for the first time we are fully acknowledging, as the Minister said, that we cannot have a one-size-fits- all approach to municipalities. Within the LGTAS national framework, municipalities are developing their own municipal-specific turnaround plans. The Minister has just said that 82% have done so.
Twelfthly - if there is such a word - the municipal-specific turnaround plans are being inserted into the annual review of the Integrated Development Plans, IDPs, being done every year. These plans are based on the performance assessment of municipalities done last year and will provide a framework for the municipal budgets to come into effect on 1 July.
Thirteenthly, municipalities have to get the support of stakeholders and residents for their draft turnaround plans between now and 1 July.
Fourteenthly, the 2011 local government elections are looming and we are all, whichever party you belong to, not least councillors and officials at local government level, under pressure to deliver.
So here is all this potential. Will we realise it? It depends on all of us, not just Cogta (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs); not just local government ... The theme of the turnaround strategy is "Local Government is Everybody's Business". We have said the state alone cannot deliver; we all need to take responsibility in whatever way for the success of the LGTAS.
Most municipalities have done their specific turnaround plans, but we need to consider the quality of these plans. We need to improve them over time. We need to monitor their implementation. You as Parliament have a crucial role to play. Your visits to the municipalities are welcomed by the executive and our Ministry in particular. We need to monitor the implementation. But obviously we need to ensure that implementation takes place in a way that recognises the specific needs and conditions in each municipality. But implementation must take place.
We are clear: Unless the LGTAS is collectively owned by the people, it will not succeed. We need to reach out to everybody, not least the leaders of the service delivery protests, and give them a stake in the LGTAS. We are essentially saying that this is a do-or-die turnaround strategy. It doesn't matter which party you come from, when you open your tap and the water is murky, or when you flick a switch, as the Minister said, and the light doesn't come on, whether you are Harry Oppenheimer or an unemployed vagrant, we all sink or swim at local government level. We can have our differences, but this turnaround strategy is here to stay.
I want to tell you, Mr Groenewald, I'm amazed. You must tell me how it's possible for me to prepare a speech in 1998 and anticipate what the Minister was going to say 10 years later. [Laughter.] Despite being Marxist and a historical materialist, I have never, ever understood that I had such foresight. [Laughter.] But let me tell you the differences between now and then. Then, Mr Groenewald, we were not talking about a Co-operative Governance White Paper; and we were not so committed to ensuring that we dealt with corruption; we were not then talking about many of the things the Minister talked about today. There was no such local government turnaround strategy.
But, comrades and friends, I want to say in short that LGTAS is here to stay. It's the only show in town. Take part in it. Make it a success in your own interest, your children's interest and your grandchildren's interest, including you, Mr Groenewald. Thank you. [Time expired.]