House Chairperson
Hon Members
Exactly a year ago when I addressed this house on COGTA Budget Vote Debate, I said that as parliamentarians working on COGTA portfolio Committee, our role
“is to ensure that the Local government, as a key catalyst for social and economic development, remains the primary point of contact for citizens to receive services, as the main interface between the government and the public.”
I further stated that the ANC envisions developmental local government system that promotes reconstruction and development of our nation. The work we have done so far in this Seventh administration has not deviated from this commitment. This Budget Vote Debate is proof that our commitment to work hand-in-hand to realise the vision of efficient and effective local government goes beyond political party lines. There is consensus that we need to make local government work.
In the previous weeks we have witnessed disturbancing occurrences within the space of local government. A number of officials whose work is pivotal to reshaping local government have perished in the hands of criminals. Ekurhuleni Audit Chief Mpho Mafole (may his soul rest in peace) was killed just after few months in the job. He had a vast experience in the auditing field having worked for over a decade in the Auditor General’s office. As COGTA we deem his death as a serious setback in our fight against corruption and to our vision of fixing dysfunctionality in local government. Many others have perished in the local government space which places a duty on us to rethink the entire ecosystem of governance in local government. We call for the protection of those in the front line in the fight against corruption, the whistle blower, the investigator, and the honest public servant who will refuse to be corrupted. Something drastic has to be done to encourage those who are committed to the fight to solder on.
Another crisis that has become our nightmare are the frequent and persistent climate change disasters, the common one in South Africa being floods. The recent deaths of people in the Eastern Cape because of heavy rains causing floodings is another tragedy we must confront. In the Portfolio Committee meetings, it has been made clear that our understanding of and response to disasters has not yet been to the standard required, particularly how to deal with the aftermath. Climate Disasters in general lead to displacements and homelessness, disrupt livelihood of people. Disasters also lead to rural-urban migration, challenges social cohesion and strain on infrastructure as a result of rapid unplanned migration.
We need to ensure that we develop early warning signs systems to mitigate against disasters, particularly by utilizing and enforcing by-laws preventing settlements in flood-planes. We must deal decisively with the effects of apartheid spatial planning by making land available to the people especially in city centres and urban areas as a way to mitigate impact of disasters. Thirty years on, this apartheid to spatial injustice has still not been addressed.
The speed and processes of releasing disaster funds must be improved, and this must be done in an equitable way that does not undermine urgency and need. For instance, as the PC we have raised concerns around the allocation of R948 Million disaster grant funding to the Western Cape while R709 million was shared among three provinces. Let alone that there are still communities that remain left out from this assistance after they were affected many years ago. I make emphasis because of the need for a coordinated and well-planned climate change response.
The ANC in its vision of achieving spatial justice through spatial integration and planning passed the Expropriation Act as a tool to achieve this goal. Why are municipalities not using this act to improve the lives of our people. Municipalities must make use of the Act to deracialize cities they govern. In the Western Cape for instance, land has been made available far outside of the urban centers making it difficult for the working people to commute to work because it is expensive and takes much longer. This is not spatial justice but spatial exclusion which perpetuate the apartheid spatial planning policies. To assist in this process, the Municipal Demarcation Board is pivotal, but the lack of resources for its research, spatial information and intelligence development must be addressed.
The status of functionality and governance in municipalities is still a huge challenge. The picture painted by the Auditor General Report is a terrible indictment to the executive and parliament and all spheres of government. The degree of dysfunctionality of municipalities impacts negatively on economic development especially to Small Businesses and employment creation as well as sustainability of municipality and ability to ensure service delivery. Afterall economic development is an outcome of functional local government. Local government must be fixed– Full stop. The Portfolio committee will now undertake a more aggressive approach on oversight role, involving joint accountability at provincial and local government levels, emphasizing on consequence management and reversing negative audit outcomes.
As the ANC, we envisage that strengthening developmental local government will enable social and economic transformation to eliminate the legacies of apartheid, by eradicating poverty, inequality and unemployment through ensuring local economic development and improved municipal service delivery which are crucial for South Africa to expand economic participation, reduce crime and counteract unemployment trends in line with the National Development Plan.
The committee has expressed the need for COGTA Department to demonstrate more success in the implementation of the DDM beyond pilot sites. Recent studies have shown that the success of the Operation Sukuma Sakhe, on which the DDM was developed, was based on simultaneous implementation of five convergent principles, namely: cooperative government, intergovernmental relations, integration of services, good governance and democratic participation by the communities in matters that affect their lives. These principles help to resolve the challenges of multi-level governance in a governance model such as ours in south Africa.
R 410.9 billion has been allocated for COGTA over the MTEF period. Almost 97 percent is earmarked for intergovernmental transfers and for support to entities. It will be to the benefit of local government if the spending of this budget is streamlined with the broader vision of government of growing the economy and creating jobs. It is matter of concern that the budget for Community Works Project (CWP) has been reduced. CWP Programme is not only a financial commitment but also a strategic investment in South Africa’s future. It addresses immediate socio-economic challenges while laying the groundwork for sustainable development and community resilience across the country. We urge the department to address various issues that plague this programme, such as non-payment of implementing agents and resolving court issues, widespread disgruntlement leading to unionization of CWP. There should be consultation with Department of Labour in this regard.
The advent of the coalition governments has created instability and frequent changes in municipal leadership such as in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg. Legislation needs to be rapidly processed to stabilise the management of hung municipalities and ensure predictability in local government.
Our approach to coalitions must be matured and not be driven by party politics of individual whims and egos. We urge the department to fast-track this legislation as we need local government participants to understand that they are working of the people.
The ANC is deeply committed to strengthening and supporting the institution of Traditional Leadership and addressing the matters of Khoi-San communities. We welcome the formation of the Forum of South Africa’s Majesties and the Portfolio Committee will soon be seeking audience with the Forum. We urge the Department to act swiftly to address disputes that arise in Kingship succesion. The issue of AmaMpondo Royal House of Eqaukeni requires urgent attention.
Traditional structures need to be empowered to play a role in community development and enhancement of service delivery and promotion of rural development in cooperation with the three spheres of government. It is our view that local economic development, spatial justice and viable municipalities are an outcome of an active traditional leadership authority. Therefore, we want to share this important responsibility of uplifting our people, boost local investment and empower SMMEs through the maximum functionality of local government.
The ANC support this Budget vote.
Thank you