Pretoria – The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has welcomed the Budget Vote delivered by CoGTA Minister Des van Rooyen, saying it is encouraged by the upward positive trend of service delivery which restores human dignity.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Van Rooyen presented the budget in the National Assembly on Tuesday, and will today speak in the National Council of Provinces.
He said the Back-to-Basics (B2B) programme targeting distressed municipalities is beginning to bear fruit as the situation with these municipalities was steadily improving.
“The transformation journey of local government since 1994 has led to the improvement of living conditions, including alleviation of poverty by providing social security through the provision of free basic services.
“SALGA welcomes the implementation of the second phase of the B2B programme and calls for all the municipalities of South Africa to embrace the execution of the 10-Point Plan, which is designed to vastly improve the state of local government,” said SALGA.
It said it fully agrees that local government should be in the hands of the citizens. One of the key elements of the 10-Point Plan is fostering more positive community experiences.
“SALGA welcomes the announcement by the Minster to develop ward-based service delivery dashboards and implementing Ward Improvement Plans that ensure basic services such as the cutting of grass, ensuring working streetlights and the timeous fixing of water leaks.
“Local government has always been about entrenching democracy by touching lives of people through the direct election of public representatives,” said the association.
SALGA noted the consistent upward trajectory in the delivering of services recorded over the 15 years of democratic local government, which it said should never be overlooked.
From the Budget Vote, it noted that the number of households increased from 10.8 million to 15.6 million between 2002 and 2014.
“The local government sphere has matched this with a concomitant escalation in the delivery of basic services. The provision of water infrastructure rose from 61.3 percent to 90 percent.
“The provision of free basic water services rose from over seven million citizens in 2007 to over 11 million in 2013. Access to basic sanitation services increased from over 62 percent in 2002 to over 79 percent in 2014.
“Water and sanitation percentages have exceeded the targets set by the Millennium Development Goals. Local government has seen improved fiscal governance through improved audit outcomes, increased capital expenditure in roll out of infrastructure,” said the association.
More recently, said the association, other excellent stories on local government are evident in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, which in less than a year ago turned things around through good governance.
“From being faced with a R400 million budget deficit, the City now sits with almost R2 billion in holdings,” said the association.
Another municipality with a B2B success story is Makana Local Municipality in Grahamstown.
“Rhodes University was shut down several times due to water stoppages that the municipality experienced. Through the intervention of the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), the water supply has been reinstated in a sustainable manner,” said the association.
In his address in the National Assembly, CoGTA Deputy Minister Andries Nel commended SALGA Chairman Thabo Manyoni and the association’s leadership for continuing to discharge its constitutional mandate of representing organized local government and being at the forefront of implementing the Back to Basics programme.
Deputy Minister Nel also commended SALGA Chief Executive Xolile George for the fourth successive clean audit achieved by the association. - SAnews.gov.za
