With South Africa’s municipalities buckling under myriad challenges, President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that local government is “the axis on which our entire economy turns” and that it must now “rise anew from the ground up”.
The President delivered an address at the closing session of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Taking Parliament to the People programme, held in the Matlosana Local Municipality in the North West province.
He did not mince words about the scale of the crisis, declaring that poor municipal performance is not just a service delivery problem but a direct threat to jobs, investment and national prosperity.
“Local government is critical in ensuring that people have water and sanitation, electricity, roads, clinics and community services. Local government is critical in determining where companies choose to establish their offices, factories, shops and outlets.
“When companies choose to close down and move elsewhere because of poor services, jobs and livelihoods are lost and the local economy suffers. When local government works, when municipalities are well-managed and deliver on their mandates, cities, towns and villages thrive,” President Ramaphosa said.
As such, the President added, local government isn’t just a platform for development, but it is the “axis on which our entire economy turns”.
“We are determined that local government must rise anew from the ground up. Municipalities must be able to fulfil their role of building inclusive communities, expanding opportunity and upholding the dignity of all.
“To do so, it is not enough to merely paper over the cracks. Simply allocating more budgets or hiring more people is not enough, important though these may be. We have to fundamentally transform the way local government works and how it is structured. The structures developed in the past may not serve us anymore.
“We have to change how local government coordinates with national and provincial government for proper planning. We have to relook at the manner in which accountability and consequence management has been enforced in instances of non-performance,” he said.
Furthermore, government must “reclaim the constitutional spirit that is meant to guide all the affairs of local government”, where the citizenry is central through consultation and active participation in decision-making.
The President told the gathering of the draft White Paper on Local Government that proposes four major reforms, including binding intergovernmental coordination, stricter financial accountability and the professionalisation of municipal appointments.
“When there have been failures, municipalities have been able to blame each other. The aim now is to create a system where roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability are clear.
“The second issue is to make intergovernmental coordination binding, in line with the Constitution. The different spheres of government will be expected to work together on resolving problems at local level instead of in silos.
“The third issue is to reform and tighten municipal finance systems. Municipalities will be held to a stricter account on how and where they spend public money, particularly on maintaining essential infrastructure. The draft White Paper also proposes an overhaul of municipal billing and revenue collection,” President Ramaphosa explained.
The fourth challenge will be to “bring local government into the digital age” through digitisation and strengthening of data systems that are “able to facilitate and monitor service delivery”.
Rooting out corruption, ingraining accountability
The President reiterated government’s stance that corruption will not be tolerated, vowing that there will be “tougher consequence management for corruption and maladministration”.
“We must declare the days of patronage and factional politics in local government over.
“The days of those with political ambition colluding with corrupt business people to loot municipalities are over. We can no longer allow municipal infrastructure to be deliberately ruined so that preferred private companies can take over critical functions like providing water.
“This is the people’s government. Our task is to make it work for the people. Not for politicians. Not for connected businesspeople. Not for vested interests,” he warned.
Now, the President added, meaningful participation with citizens will be a hallmark with communities, businesses, civil society organisations and traditional leaders roped in as meaningful partners in rebuilding municipalities.
“Meaningful public participation in local government must be a structured partnership. We are going to be looking at the different ways in which all of society can play a more direct role in shaping how local government is administered.
“Our country has entered a new era of hope and promise. Our economy is recovering. Investors are increasingly seeing South Africa as a favourable place in which to do business.
“Over the past few years, we have faced moments where our resolve has been sorely tested, including a global pandemic and an energy crisis. By working together, we have been able to weather these storms and emerge stronger,” the President stated.
Citing the recent flooding events in the country and how South Africans pooled together to assist those in need, the President said this proves without doubt that “we will fix local government so it can assume its rightful place as the beating heart of our democracy”.
“We must take our people’s concerns back to our offices, our legislatures and our councils, and act on them. When the next session of Taking Parliament to the People comes around, we must be able to show what we have done.
“This is about restoring confidence and trust in our government and our democracy.
“A government based on the will of the people is the promise of our democracy. It is the promise of our Constitution. And as all South Africans, we must be determined to honour it, now and into the future,” President Ramaphosa concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
