Pretoria - The President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) has taken a decision to promote and champion the rights of older persons.
The PCC, which is the statutory body in which the President meets with premiers and the leadership of the South African Local Government Association, was on Thursday briefed by Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini on the need to promote and prioritise the socio-economic rights and the living conditions of older persons.
During the meeting, it was agreed that premiers will champion the rights of older persons and will also decide what mechanisms to put in place to ensure that this is done.
President Zuma had promised older persons during the Older Persons Day annual party last year that he would ensure that their rights are championed by government.
The PCC also discussed the frontline service delivery monitoring visits conducted by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency during 2012, where a total of 215 service delivery facilities were visited, with an additional 20 return visits to 29 facilities that had been visited in 2011.
During the visits, citizens were asked to score certain aspects of service delivery. Feedback included complaints and compliments to management, visibility and signage of service delivery facilities, queue management and waiting times, and cleanliness and comfort of institutions.
The President has emphasised the need for departments in all spheres of government to improve performance in those areas.
The PCC also discussed compliance with the Cabinet directive to pay suppliers within 30 days. The report shows that the number of invoices not paid after 30 days declined during the course of 2012.
However, despite the decline, there was still a large number of invoices not paid. The national departments reported approximately 33 000 invoices worth almost R600 million as being paid after 30 days.
The provinces reported approximately 34 000 invoices worth R1.6 billion as having not been paid within 30 days. – SAnews.gov.za
