Chairperson, allow me to tender my apologies for inconveniencing the NCOP before I deal with my response to the questions asked by hon Ntwanambi.
Government has had numerous engagements with organised local government, represented by Salga, on the recent service delivery protests and many other issues that are of interest to all of us.
A few weeks ago, President Zuma and various Cabinet Ministers met with premiers from all the provinces, mayors of metros, and the Chairperson of Salga as well as senior officials from the three spheres of government. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways in which the three spheres of government can work together in a co-ordinated fashion to speed up the delivery of services and to address the concerns of citizens so that we can prevent the eruption of similar protests in future.
Other leaders of government, especially the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration, have been visiting municipalities, particularly those affected by protests, to find out about problems faced by communities and, together with the affected communities, to discuss solutions for dealing effectively with problems experienced.
We consider Salga and other institutions of local government to be important partners in addressing problems faced by our people and accelerating service delivery. In due course government will present a comprehensive strategy on how to address problems in local government. We hope Salga and other role-players, in government generally and society at large, will join us in addressing the problems and uplifting the quality of life of all of our citizens. I thank you.
Discussion between government and other social partners and stakeholders regarding improvement of quality of services rendered by municipalities
2. Ms N D Ntwanambi (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether there has been any discussion between the government and other social partners and stakeholders such as civil society and the private sector to work together towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the quality of services that are delivered by municipalities; if so, (a) which stakeholders were engaged, (b) what issues were highlighted and (c) what plans were established; if not,
(2) whether government considers this necessary; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, when can such an initiative be expected? CO30E