Date: 24/03/2004
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government
Title: L Msengana-Ndlela: Workshop on Municipal Infrastructure Grant
ADDRESS BY MS LINDIWE MSENGANA-NDLELA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, TO A NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT, Caesar's Palace, Kempton Park, 24 March 2004
Chairperson
Government officials from the national and provincial departments
Municipal Managers
Municipal Chief Financial Officers
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today, officials in all the three spheres of government are meeting to sharpen government's efforts towards the reconstruction and development of our country.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES - R15 BILLION
At the centre of our deliberations today will be a focus on infrastructure development and its relation to service delivery, particularly at the sphere that is closest to our people, the local sphere of government. Whilst our approach during these deliberations will be informed by policy, it will be equally informed by the need to implement such policies with greater efficiency, effectiveness and integration. This integrated and collective approach to implementation is what our people require from the administrative arm of government.
Gathered here today are representatives of this administrative arm of government that is ready to ensure that our people, in all the 284 municipalities, will benefit from a total of approximately R15 billion for municipal infrastructure over the next three years, that is from 2004/05 to 2006/07.
THE PAST TEN YEARS, SINCE 1994
Judging from our government's past performance in the last 10 years, I have no doubt that our administration, in all three spheres, has the capability and capacity to progressively rollout one of the biggest infrastructure initiatives on the African Continent, and for that matter, internationally. This we will achieve despite massive backlogs in service delivery that were a result of South Africa's apartheid legacy.
Chairperson,
There could be, the danger in some quarters, of viewing infrastructure as a normal administrative task for government officials and an end in itself. In South Africa, we have taken a distinct path, which continues to focus on the impact of infrastructure provision. Our infrastructure programme has its origins in the Reconstruction and Development Programme that we have consistently pursued since 1994. When we look at the road that we have travelled in the past ten years, we recognise that significant strides have been made in infrastructure provision. According to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry during the launch of the National Water Week, 22 to 28 March, a decade ago around 14 million people did not have access to potable water. We have now reached the 10 million landmark of South Africans who have access to clean water. Some 21 million people did not have access to a basic level of sanitation. Facilities have now been made available to 6,4 million people.
Other infrastructure provision includes:
* Electricity that has been connected to 4 million homes or institutions
* A total of 1,6 million houses have been built since 1994.
THE FUTURE, FROM 2004
Our emphasis on infrastructure, particularly at the local sphere of government, has to do with two critical areas. Firstly, the provision of basic services to our people and secondly, the commitment of our government to create conditions for sustainable local economic development. This emphasis was recently pronounced by President Thabo Mbeki in the State of the Nation Address, February 2004, when he said:
"We have already identified the challenges posed by the Second Economy, which economy constitutes the structural manifestation of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation in our country. We must therefore move vigorously to implement all the programmes on which we have agreed to ensure that we extricate all our people from the social conditions that spell loss of human dignity".
This commitment was further emphasised by the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Mr Sydney Mufamadi, during a Government Communication and Information System Parliamentary Media Briefing (10 February 2004) where he stated that: "In the process of constructing infrastructure, jobs will be created, some permanent, others temporary. The permanent jobs will arise out of the continuing need for infrastructure maintenance".
This initiative on municipal infrastructure will also deepen the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme, which primary focus is on labour intensive methods of construction.
Over the next Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) will be implemented to deliver in the following areas:
* Basic municipal infrastructure and community facilities
* Roads, pipelines, trenches and sidewalks
* Water services
* Electrification
* Sport and Recreation
* Local Economic Development.
In view of the importance of the utilisation of these funds for the intended purpose, this grant will be conditional in nature. Chairperson, the nature of this grant points us to the responsibility we hold in all three spheres of government. A responsibility which is grounded in ensuring that we accelerate the delivery of services, particularly to the poor and at the same time create conditions for economic development.
The MIG is meant to facilitate and ensure more effective and integrated service delivery over the next 3 years. As part of government's longer-term strategic planning it will rationalize infrastructure transfers to local government. This new system of transfers is aimed at being more simple, predictable and equitable. It is about:
* service delivery
* a holistic sustainable infrastructure delivery mechanism
* local economic development.
EXPECTED ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PROGRAMME IN THREE YEARS TIME
By 2007 we must have intensified our efforts to integrate the provision of municipal infrastructure. During this period we should be able to implement an action plan that will address the following six elements:
* Municipal Services and Economic Development: Increased levels and quality of basic services delivery.
* Governance and community participation: Increased participation of Ward Committees, the deployment of Community Development Workers, the setting up of a government-wide Call Centre and the first phase of an e-Government Gateway.
* Public Private Partnerships: Continued enhancement of Public Private Partnerships in local economic development programmes.
* Systems and capacity building: These, on the one hand, relate to municipal organisational culture and service orientation and, on the other, to financial management systems.
* Monitoring and evaluation: In the past few years we have seen the benefits of freedom for our people and we will need to jealously guard the goals of reconstruction and development in our country. We will therefore need to monitor and evaluate the progress and the impact of MIG as we continue to improve our quality of service, and
* Communication: Improved and ongoing communication about MIG programmes at local level. Communication needs to empower communities to participate in these economic development initiatives.
It is within this context that we present to you the following documents for discussion:
Firstly, the MIG Policy Framework which provides for a detailed guide on the design of the grant mechanism, the funding structure, and the institutional arrangements for 2004/05 to 2006/07 financial years (Annexure A).
Secondly, we are presenting to you a simplified introductory guide to the programme, which can be used by councillors, officials, Ward Committees and key stakeholders in the rollout of MIG (Annexure B).
Thirdly, in view of the need for clear and systematic implementation, we also present to you a guideline document on the MIG programme management structures. This document will assist stakeholders in the process of project management as well as long-term evaluation.
In conclusion, Chairperson, the words "consolidation" and "integration" will be used today because I hope we are committed to their meaning. Each and every participant in today's programme has a role to play, not only in this workshop but also more importantly in each and every municipality, in each province and in each national department. I call on you to strengthen the administrative arm of government as we continue to increase our efforts to serve our people.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
24 March 2004
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government
Title: L Msengana-Ndlela: Workshop on Municipal Infrastructure Grant
ADDRESS BY MS LINDIWE MSENGANA-NDLELA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, TO A NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT, Caesar's Palace, Kempton Park, 24 March 2004
Chairperson
Government officials from the national and provincial departments
Municipal Managers
Municipal Chief Financial Officers
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today, officials in all the three spheres of government are meeting to sharpen government's efforts towards the reconstruction and development of our country.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES - R15 BILLION
At the centre of our deliberations today will be a focus on infrastructure development and its relation to service delivery, particularly at the sphere that is closest to our people, the local sphere of government. Whilst our approach during these deliberations will be informed by policy, it will be equally informed by the need to implement such policies with greater efficiency, effectiveness and integration. This integrated and collective approach to implementation is what our people require from the administrative arm of government.
Gathered here today are representatives of this administrative arm of government that is ready to ensure that our people, in all the 284 municipalities, will benefit from a total of approximately R15 billion for municipal infrastructure over the next three years, that is from 2004/05 to 2006/07.
THE PAST TEN YEARS, SINCE 1994
Judging from our government's past performance in the last 10 years, I have no doubt that our administration, in all three spheres, has the capability and capacity to progressively rollout one of the biggest infrastructure initiatives on the African Continent, and for that matter, internationally. This we will achieve despite massive backlogs in service delivery that were a result of South Africa's apartheid legacy.
Chairperson,
There could be, the danger in some quarters, of viewing infrastructure as a normal administrative task for government officials and an end in itself. In South Africa, we have taken a distinct path, which continues to focus on the impact of infrastructure provision. Our infrastructure programme has its origins in the Reconstruction and Development Programme that we have consistently pursued since 1994. When we look at the road that we have travelled in the past ten years, we recognise that significant strides have been made in infrastructure provision. According to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry during the launch of the National Water Week, 22 to 28 March, a decade ago around 14 million people did not have access to potable water. We have now reached the 10 million landmark of South Africans who have access to clean water. Some 21 million people did not have access to a basic level of sanitation. Facilities have now been made available to 6,4 million people.
Other infrastructure provision includes:
* Electricity that has been connected to 4 million homes or institutions
* A total of 1,6 million houses have been built since 1994.
THE FUTURE, FROM 2004
Our emphasis on infrastructure, particularly at the local sphere of government, has to do with two critical areas. Firstly, the provision of basic services to our people and secondly, the commitment of our government to create conditions for sustainable local economic development. This emphasis was recently pronounced by President Thabo Mbeki in the State of the Nation Address, February 2004, when he said:
"We have already identified the challenges posed by the Second Economy, which economy constitutes the structural manifestation of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation in our country. We must therefore move vigorously to implement all the programmes on which we have agreed to ensure that we extricate all our people from the social conditions that spell loss of human dignity".
This commitment was further emphasised by the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Mr Sydney Mufamadi, during a Government Communication and Information System Parliamentary Media Briefing (10 February 2004) where he stated that: "In the process of constructing infrastructure, jobs will be created, some permanent, others temporary. The permanent jobs will arise out of the continuing need for infrastructure maintenance".
This initiative on municipal infrastructure will also deepen the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme, which primary focus is on labour intensive methods of construction.
Over the next Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) will be implemented to deliver in the following areas:
* Basic municipal infrastructure and community facilities
* Roads, pipelines, trenches and sidewalks
* Water services
* Electrification
* Sport and Recreation
* Local Economic Development.
In view of the importance of the utilisation of these funds for the intended purpose, this grant will be conditional in nature. Chairperson, the nature of this grant points us to the responsibility we hold in all three spheres of government. A responsibility which is grounded in ensuring that we accelerate the delivery of services, particularly to the poor and at the same time create conditions for economic development.
The MIG is meant to facilitate and ensure more effective and integrated service delivery over the next 3 years. As part of government's longer-term strategic planning it will rationalize infrastructure transfers to local government. This new system of transfers is aimed at being more simple, predictable and equitable. It is about:
* service delivery
* a holistic sustainable infrastructure delivery mechanism
* local economic development.
EXPECTED ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PROGRAMME IN THREE YEARS TIME
By 2007 we must have intensified our efforts to integrate the provision of municipal infrastructure. During this period we should be able to implement an action plan that will address the following six elements:
* Municipal Services and Economic Development: Increased levels and quality of basic services delivery.
* Governance and community participation: Increased participation of Ward Committees, the deployment of Community Development Workers, the setting up of a government-wide Call Centre and the first phase of an e-Government Gateway.
* Public Private Partnerships: Continued enhancement of Public Private Partnerships in local economic development programmes.
* Systems and capacity building: These, on the one hand, relate to municipal organisational culture and service orientation and, on the other, to financial management systems.
* Monitoring and evaluation: In the past few years we have seen the benefits of freedom for our people and we will need to jealously guard the goals of reconstruction and development in our country. We will therefore need to monitor and evaluate the progress and the impact of MIG as we continue to improve our quality of service, and
* Communication: Improved and ongoing communication about MIG programmes at local level. Communication needs to empower communities to participate in these economic development initiatives.
It is within this context that we present to you the following documents for discussion:
Firstly, the MIG Policy Framework which provides for a detailed guide on the design of the grant mechanism, the funding structure, and the institutional arrangements for 2004/05 to 2006/07 financial years (Annexure A).
Secondly, we are presenting to you a simplified introductory guide to the programme, which can be used by councillors, officials, Ward Committees and key stakeholders in the rollout of MIG (Annexure B).
Thirdly, in view of the need for clear and systematic implementation, we also present to you a guideline document on the MIG programme management structures. This document will assist stakeholders in the process of project management as well as long-term evaluation.
In conclusion, Chairperson, the words "consolidation" and "integration" will be used today because I hope we are committed to their meaning. Each and every participant in today's programme has a role to play, not only in this workshop but also more importantly in each and every municipality, in each province and in each national department. I call on you to strengthen the administrative arm of government as we continue to increase our efforts to serve our people.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
24 March 2004
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