Mr Speaker and hon members, 85 events were held during the government Public Participation Week, which took place from 9 to 15 November 2009. Apart from Ministers and Deputy Ministers, provincial and local executive members in all provinces actively participated during this period, over and above their usual planned public engagements.
There was, unfortunately, less participation from members of Cabinet than usual, as the week had to be postponed from the last week of October, and many Ministers had already incurred prior engagements. Issues raised included service delivery challenges, crime, allegations of corruption, unemployment, drug abuse and the state of the roads. A number of events were planned, taking into account matters raised at previous public engagements and complaints logged with the presidential hotline.
A particular highlight of the week was the extent to which issues were solved on the spot, as service delivery drives of government took place together with the events. It was clear that government programmes to address concerns in these areas are not being implemented as swiftly as expected, hence the need for constant feedback and ongoing public participation processes of this kind. There is also a need to improve co- ordination between the provincial and national spheres regarding matters of concurrent jurisdiction.
A number of issues raised by communities were attended to on the spot, as some research had been conducted before the events to identify the issues that communities were likely to raise. Those issues not attended to or resolved on the spot were documented for further action. This process is being overseen by intergovernmental structures and action taken by the relevant departments is being monitored through monitoring and evaluation units in the Offices of the Premiers. Overall, provincial directors-general are responsible for monitoring the feedback and resolution of issues raised during public participation events and taking up the matters with the appropriate departments where necessary.
Over and above the strengthening of intergovernmental relations and public liaison structures in all departments and spheres, the Minister in the Presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation will also add impetus to our efforts. This is a direct response to lessons learnt from this and previous public engagements. Government is also emphasising the need to give regular feedback to communities on all issues, whether resolved or still being processed. I thank you. [Applause.]