Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma says he would like people’s experience of local government to be a pleasant one.
Delivering his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Tuesday evening, President Zuma said government had listened to the complaints and proposals of South Africans over the past five years, relating to the performance of municipalities.
“I would like to share with you now, our plan of action to revitalise local government. We have evaluated all our municipalities. We have inspected their financial management, how they work within legislative processes as well as their ability to roll out projects and to address capacity constraints.
“We have also looked at how they respond to service delivery protests. There have been many successes in many municipalities. However we face a number of challenges in others,” he said.
President Zuma said assistance will be provided to a number of municipalities, with at least 100 numerous projects, mainly in water and sanitation, to be started and completed over the next 12 months.
- In Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, the Development Bank of Southern Africa has approved funding to develop infrastructure.
- In Umzinyathi District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, funding will be provided to develop infrastructure projects covering mainly the electrification of households. The local municipalities to be serviced include Msinga, Umvoti and Nqutu.
- In Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, funding will be provided for infrastructure development projects covering water provision, sanitation, and electrification. Local municipalities involved include Mbizana and Ntabankulu, catering for a population of about one million people.
- In Lukhanji Local Municipality, government will reorganise its administration and implement support plans for the provision of water and electricity.
- In OR Tambo District municipality, government will stabilise the administration and organisational structure and fast-track the implementation of the Presidential Intervention Plans.
- In Mbashe Local Municipality, government will implement waste management plans and address ground water contamination issues.
- At Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in the North West, national government will provide support and work with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to resolve financing for water and sanitation infrastructure.
- The City of Joburg in Gauteng will be assisted to resolve problems with the billing system.
- In Moqhaka Local Municipality in the Free State, government will assist with the eradication of the bucket system and open toilet challenges.
End to Bucket System
The President announced that an Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Service Delivery had been established, led by Minister Pravin Gordhan, to eradicate the bucket system throughout the country.
The Ministers of Planning, Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Transport, Home Affairs, Public Enterprises, Energy, Rural Development and Land Reform, Health and Basic Education will also be part of the Task Team.
Response to rapid urbanisation
He said his new administration will also focus on the response to rapid urbanisation.
“South Africa is becoming an urban country. By 2011, almost 63% of our population were residing in towns and cities and this trend is expected to continue over the coming decade. Our government’s Integrated Urban Development Framework will be finalised by 30 July 2014.”
He said the plan would set out a policy framework on how the urban system in South Africa can be reorganised so that cities and towns can become inclusive, resource efficient and good places to live in over the next 20 to 30 years.
Municpalities performing well
President Zuma highlighted eleven municipalities which stand out for consistent good performance in audits, expenditure on municipal infrastructure grants and service delivery. They are the Nkangala District Municipality, Cacadu District Municipality, Zululand District Municipality, Umzinyathi District Municipality, Ilembe District Municipality, Knysna Local Municipality, the West Coast District Municipality, Matzikama Local Municipality, Mossel Bay Local Municipality, Breede Valley Local Municipality and Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.
He added that the local government- based Community Work Programme will be expanded to provide a million work opportunities by the end of 2019. – SAnews.gov.za
