We meet here today to deepen our resolve, streamline our strategies and strengthen our programmes to address the deep-seated challenges across the local government sphere.
It is important for us as we discuss the challenges of local government that we remember what the drafters of our constitution who through the broad and rigorous consultation processes envisaged what the role of local government should be in the state architecture we constructed.
Constitutional Mandate of Local Government
Our constitution established local government as a distinct sphere of government alongside national and provincial government with the responsibility to promote democratic governance by bringing government closer to our people and give communities a say in decisions that affect their lives.
The objects of local government in terms of Section 152 of the Constitution include:
- Providing democratic and accountable governance.
- Ensuring sustainable service delivery.
- Promoting social and economic development.
- Promoting a safe and healthy environment.
- Encouraging community involvement.
Local Government as the Frontline of Service Delivery
Local government is effectively the frontline of service delivery — it is responsible for and meant to deliver our key objective of a better life for our people by ensuring that they have the basic necessities that can improve their lives through the provision of water, sanitation, electricity distribution, waste management, roads, housing approvals, and community facilities.
Municipalities are also meant to play a central role in infrastructure development such as roads, street lighting, and public transport systems.
The citizens of our country expect quality service delivery that should have an impact on their daily lives. It is this that determines our peoples trust in government.
Local Government and Economic Growth
One of the key functions of our municipalities is to promote economic growth by creating conducive environments for investment and business development. Therefore, through LED initiatives, local government entities are expected to support job creation, especially in our cities, towns, townships and rural areas.
The dictum “of the people, for the people, and by the people” is best expressed at local government level as it is the closest level of government to citizens ensuring direct participation in governance.
Political tools such as Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) including the development of budgets require community consultation, ensuring people’s needs shape municipal priorities. Ward committees and public meetings strengthen participatory democracy.
Local Government as a Developmental Agent
In reality municipalities need to act as developmental agents, addressing poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Local government structures are expected to implement social protection programmes for indigent households an intervention which should address one of our key priorities of reducing the cost of living.
Provision of housing support, and community upliftment initiatives are the terrain and responsibility of local government.
Local government should be the rock bed of ensuring accountability through elected councillors who represent communities working together with a professional and capable civil service cohort.
Municipal oversight structures should vigilantly monitor budgets, service delivery, and corruption. They should also work to avoid corruption. Transparency in local decision-making should strengthen trust in government, political parties, elected leaders, the democracy project and reduce alienation of citizens.
Building Resilience and Social Cohesion
Municipalities are central in responding to emergencies and disasters such as floods, fires, or pandemics. Municipalities should have effective disaster management plans, capabilities and defend and support communities against climate change and environmental challenges.
Local government plays an important role in nation building by engendering a sense of belonging and shared identity amongst citizens through the provision of various services such as spaces for entertainment, cultural expressions and sports for all communities.
Local government should play a role in social cohesion, reducing any form of tensions in communities by addressing inequalities and providing platforms for dialogue at grassroots level.
The Auditor-General’s Perspective
The Auditor General in characterising the role of local government has said:
“The South African Constitution envisaged that citizens will live in cities, towns and settlements where they have access to clean water, sanitation, electricity, refuse services, and good roads and infrastructure. A country where their elected representatives in council will ensure that the rates and taxes they pay and the funds provided by national government for basic services and infrastructure development are accounted for and used for their intended purpose.”
The role of local government, as set out in our constitutional architecture and correctly described by the Auditor General, therefore sets a blueprint of what type of local government the people of South Africa expect.
Progress Since 1994
Local government is where citizens first and most frequently interact with government. It is the sphere of government which has the most direct impact on peoples’ lives by delivering quality basic services and safe, affordable public or social infrastructure.
The ANC has, over the last 30 years, largely succeeded in widening access to basic services and improved lives of millions of people across the country.
Racially-based access to services such as water, sanitation, houses, transport, health and others have been removed from the statute books. Despite this real progress, certain apartheid economic and spatial legacies still influence how people experience and interact with government.
Current Challenges Facing Local Government
An examination of the current state of local government in South Africa paints a truly concerning picture.
Successive studies, both internal and external, place the blame for dysfunctional and ineffective local government largely on political parties be it parties that have outright majority to run councils or be they be in coalition governance arrangements.
Too many of our municipalities fail to deliver even the most basic of services, either due to incapacity or mismanagement.
This failure can be so severe that water and sewage can be found running through the streets and into our people’s houses causing placing the people at risk of disease. Compounding these failures are the frequent delays in repairing municipal infrastructure and various complications with providing emergency measures during such breakdowns.
The Urgent Task Before Us
It is quite clear that given the state of our municipalities our immediate task must be to focus our attention on stabilising municipalities and ensuring that there is a rapid delivery of quality services to our people. This is what this NEC has been called for.
We need to be forthright in dealing with this challenge. We also need to move beyond diagnosis and come up with radical solutions that will address the challenges of local government.
Root Causes of the Crisis
Various reports by the Auditor-General, COGTA, ANC internal research and the views of ordinary South Africans highlight political divisions and instability as well as governance and administrative failures as being amongst the main drivers of local government challenges.
Officials who are meant to assist citizens are often not capable of addressing peoples’ concerns or are working against the people. Sometimes, even elected representatives are involved in criminal activities and working against the people.
There are instances of a number of people in our local government structures who are involved in acts of criminality or stealing from the people. This is betraying the sacred duty entrusted to you.
One of the key problems identified as debilitating the functioning of our municipalities is the continued practice of unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as well as corruption.
The lack of accountability and consequence management structures and processes is widespread. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of institutional capability for credible performance.