Date: 20/08/2009

Source: Democratic Alliance

Title: DA: Doman: Speech the DA MP in the debate on local government

Speaker/Voorsitter-

Elke ideologie en gepaardgaande beleid word deur die harde werklikheid van die praktyk getoets. Kommunisme en apartheid het nogal lankgeneem om deur die praktyk ontbloot te word.

Die ideologie van die Nasionale Demokratise Revolusie van die ANC waarvolgens kaders ontplooi word as burgermeesters, raadslede en top amptenare met die gepaardgaande luukshede en uitspattige vergoeding te midde van totale onbevoegdheid in baie gevalle het minder as nege jaar geneem om deur die praktyk ontbloot te word as ‘n stelsel wat nie dienslewer nie.

In die negentiger jare met die geleidelike transformasie is goeie munisipale diens gelewer, maar sedert 5 Desember 2000 na die eerste volle demokratiese munisipale verkiesing is die Nasionale Demokratiese Revolusie voluit toegepas en swak dienslewering het dit nou ten volle ontbloot as ‘n stelsel wat nie kan werk nie.

Therefore the DA fully agrees with the topic of this discussion: it is a governance problem and it is brought about by an ideology that demonstrated that it can not deliver and will lead to more protests.

Therefore we also agree with President Zuma's pronouncements last week that the ANC will no longer wait for the laws of the country to kick in but will hold its mayors and councillors personally accountable and remove those who transgress or do not perform.

This view and the very fact that we at long last are allowed to have this debate in Parliament -- which the DA has been calling for since last year -- bodes well for a possible turn around strategy of municipalities.

But we must start by acknowledging it is a governance problem and do something about it. Stop deployment and let the local people decide. Hold individuals responsible and do not allow them to hide behind the collective. In this way individuals will never perform but rather cement their position by appointing buddies and awarding contracts to well connected friends.

At the moment at municipalities it is more important what your position in the party is than what your obligations are to the public office position you occupy. This is when the governance at municipalities goes all wrong: a mayor who does not act on the wrongdoing of an official because the official is higher in the ANC. And right there you have the collapse of discipline and performance at the municipality.

Or the other way round -- where mayors and councillors meddle in the domain of officials and actually force them to do illegal things just because they believe that they are politically untouchable.

Or an MEC does not act against the non-performance or even corruption of an Executive Mayor out of fear for political retaliation.

And the governance shortcomings are further demonstrated in what is a priority at many ANC run municipalities -- an expensive mayor car, overseas trips, large advertisements in papers, excessive spending on community projects which only benefits a few, and the changing of street names. And all of this instead of aiming to deliver the basic services that should be the core function of a municipality.

It is a governance problem which must be sorted out by the governing party within their own ranks -- or else poor service delivery will more and more show up the shortcomings of this ideology.

But apart from this governance problem I want to state categorically that a municipality needs skilled and dedicated officials to deliver services. Even if councillors are failing dismally, if a municipality has competent and hardworking officials, a decent level of services will be delivered.

It is common course that the implementation of the National Democratic Revolution -- whereby cadres must occupy all positions of influence -- has led to an exodus of skills and experience out of local government.

To get service delivery back on track as a short term measure, interventions in a substantial number of municipalities will be necessary to allow for the appointment of competent administrators.

In this regard some achievements have also been registered with partnerships with the private sector whereby professional and technical experts have been parachuted in to assist municipalities.

Baie munisipaliteite het so ‘n slegte naam by profesionele mense dat hulle weier om direk vir ‘n munisipaliteit te werk en eerder verkies om bv. die Ontwikkelingsbank by ‘n munisipaliteit geplaas te word.

Volhoubare opleidingsprogramme op die langtermyn is ook nodig om kundigheid te verbeter. Maar die hele kultuur wat tans by Munisipaliteite se werkershoops aanwesig is, sal omgedraai moet word sodat daar groter toerekenbaarheid, hardwerkendheid, beloning vir uitnemendheid, trots op skoon oudits en op hoë standaarde sal wees.

It would no doubt make for scary reading were anyone to study what has happened to each of our municipal managers over the last decade. The list of those who were prosecuted for corruption and maladministration is endless -- not to mention those who simply ran away to avoid prosecution. And a number of them have just continued their bad habits in other municipal positions.

In this regard the DA welcomes Minister Shiceka's strong stand all over the country against corrupt officials. We agree that South Africa has a skilled shortage and, in particular, municipalities in the rural areas are battling to attract professional and technical people, but if the prevailing culture at many municipalities is not turned around service delivery will be poor. The time is long overdue for municipalities to appoint on merit.

Municipal IQ found that by mid July this year, 24 major protests have been recorded. This is close to the entire total for either of the last two years - 27 in 2008, 31 in 2007 - and is likely to exceed the peak of 35 in 2005.

Minister, the DA supported the budget this year because we believe under your leadership the budget and its programmes can make a difference for the better. But then we must address the real issues that are hampering service delivery-two of which I have addressed today.