Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma says he is satisfied with what government has achieved in the past 20 years but accepts that some people will complain about the level of service delivery in some parts of the country.
Zuma was speaking during a live broadcast interview at the radio studios of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) on Tuesday morning.
The interview was aired on more than 60 community radio stations across the country. Listeners were encouraged to call in to ask Zuma any question on any matter they were concerned about.
It was a rare opportunity for community radio listeners and some used their time with the first citizen to voice their opinions on several issues, while others simply commended the State of the Nation Address Zuma delivered last Thursday.
Throughout the one-hour interview, Zuma reflected on the speech he gave on Thursday night, saying it mirrored what the country had achieved in the past 20 years, though there were still many challenges.
Zuma reiterated what he told the nation last week, that the past 20 years had meant that democratic South Africa had to undergo a lot of social reconstruction following decades of oppressive rule. He also said South Africans had the right to speak out where they felt that basic services were too slow to reach them.
“Given the fact that this damage to our country was done for centuries, in 20 years we have made a difference and many people in this country can feel that, and we are saying we have changed. We have made South Africa a country where people feel good to live in,” Zuma said.
“We are continuing working and we have been saying given the evidence of what we have done, let us work together to move South Africa forward.”
But Zuma said he doesn’t believe that the recent spate of service delivery protests, which have been seen in several parts of the country, were an indication of a failing state.
“The claim is that government is failing, that’s why people are protesting... That is not necessarily true. There are many factors that lead to things [happening] this way…” said Zuma.
He said South Africa had achieved a lot in the past 20 years.
“For instance we have delivered water to 95 percent of people and the five percent can no longer wait. It doesn’t say we have failed to deliver… If so many houses have been built in [a certain] part of [a] community, people will say, ‘Why not here? We want them now’.”
The President said the good delivery record of government led people to have high expectations, and this had led to an increased impatience.
“People are saying that to us when we meet them, that we are delivering there, why not here.”
A caller from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape asked the President whether corruption and corrupt government officials were contributing to the frustration and service delivery protests.
Zuma agreed that corruption was affecting service delivery but said government was acting against corrupt individuals.
He said 1 542 government officials were dismissed from their posts after they were found guilty. More than 140 were fined three months’ salary, up to 204 officials were prosecuted and 20 were demoted.
“There are specific protests that point to the failures of councillors and government people, and where these people have been directly implicated, we have acted. I am also aware that some people are not doing everything they can on behalf of government to ensure that delivery takes place,” added Zuma. – SAnews.gov.za
