Draft Community Charter

Discussion Draft

I. INTRODUCTION

On this FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the adoption of the FREEDOM CHARTER we are gathered here to place before the people of Gauteng, South Africa and the World the vision for our communities. We gather here to take bold initiatives to secure the future of our families and children in stable, secure and peaceful communities.

A. The Challenge for the Future

The challenge before us is:

• to transform our racially separated communities by drawing strength from the richness of our diversity, by building communities that reflect our Gauteng provincial metro -

UNITY IN DIVERSITY;

• to transform financially unviable local authorities by putting to work the wealth produced by all residents with a common tax base throughout the local authority area;
• to transform economically dependent communities by releasing community energy through local economic development;
• to transform the "CULTURE OF NON-DELIVERY OF SERVICE" by effective, efficient, cost-effective and customer-oriented service provision;
• to transform communities in despair by building community pride and ownership that allows harmony between people and communities, by building an atmosphere upon which peace and security can thrive.

B. Transformation of Our Aspirations to Reality

The decades-old aspiration of the people of South Africa expressed in the Freedom Charter that the "People shall Govern" and "The People shall Share in the Country's Wealth" has been transformed into a Reconstruction and Development Programme of a democratically elected government. The RDP is a programme to meet basic needs, build our economy, develop our human resources, build our nation and democratise the state and society. In short, it is a programme to transform the state including local government and the society including communities. Today we are gathered here to implement that programme. Gathered here to commit ourselves as people from communities together with our churches, our trade unions, our organisations to join in partnership with government to unite and build our communities. It is a commitment that is borne out of the spirit of our heroes who sacrificed for a developmental society which is founded on democracy, accountability and transparency.

C. Our Community Needs

We are gathered here to reiterate our needs as follows:

• 1.5 million of us have inadequate or no housing;
• 1 million of us have no or little work;
• the ones who have despaired have turned to crime and made our communities unsafe;
• our streets have been turned into rubbish bins through neglect and incompetence;
• our taxis and trains are beyond our wallets and have no facilities;
• food is fast becoming a luxury because of its price.

It is our aspiration that the clauses of the Freedom Charter such as "There shall be Work and Security" or "There shall be Houses, Security and Comfort" or "There shall be Peace and Friendship" are brought to fruition in our daily lives and in our communities.

II. LOCAL GOVERNMENT

We believe that the role of a democratically elected Local Government is:

• to represent the interests of all of its people in communities, in particular people within marginalised communities;
• to be open, transparent and accountable to the communities who have elected it;
• to be committed to implementing development in an integrated approach;
• participatory democracy including in all facets of the development process;
• to implement development efficiently with systems which guarantee against corruption and incompetence,

The competence of a local government should be measured not on the accumulated wealth of its richest citizen but the quality of life of its most marginalised.

We believe that Local Government should undertake a developmental approach that releases the energy and dynamism of its communities by creating conditions which are conducive to development. Local Government should base its approach on "Some for All" as opposed to "All for Some". The "Some for All" must be a seed that can be nourished by the energies of community people and yield a sapling which would flourish and become a mighty tree laden with fruit.

We believe that Local Government besides being the access point for communities into the government bureaucracy, must take responsibility for the provision of basic services such as the provision of water, sanitation, electricity and cleansing. It must take cognisance of not only the quantity but also the quality of the service it provides.

III. COMMUNITIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY

We believe that civil society, in particular the organs of civil society have a key role in creating a better life in communities. These organs such as the churches, the trade unions, other community based organisations are woven into the fabric of our communities and have been an integral part of the process of democratisation of the society. These organisations continue to bring strength to our communities and must be included in the development process. One sector, in particular, has been viewed with suspicion by the majority of communities, namely business, Commerce and industry is the lifeblood of any society and with our growing democracy we welcome business to share the responsibilities and fruits of our communities in a developmental society.

It is our responsibility as people and civil society in our communities to do the following:

• express our pride in our communities by ensuring that our communities have houses, water. sanitation, roads, lights and electricity;
• express our commitment to building and sustaining our services through our constructive, creative and financial energies;
• make our communities safe for our children and ourselves by building community policing forums and breaking the conspiracy of silence that was necessary to survive before our foundling democracy;
• participating with our governments to Facilitate development; to create transparent, open and accountable government; to never again allow local officials to be corrupted;
• to rum our energies to creating economic growth and jobs in our communities by supporting local home industries, local trade and local development projects; by investing in our communities;
• to ensure that our children have opportunities and facilities for education, recreation, cultural growth in our communities;
• to ensure that we have opportunities and facilities for a healthy communities.

IV. COMMITMENT TO A PARTNERSHIP

We, members of communities, civic organisations, religious bodies, trade unions, business and civil society, join with our governmcnt to declare: that our bonds of a common habirac our unity in our diverse heritage: our pride in our country and our common vision of a democratic and prosperous future lead us to commit ourselves:

• to open, transparent, accountable and democratic and local govemance:
• to harness the energies of all our peoples in building our nation in our communities through the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme;
• to ensure the delivery of services like water, sanitation, roads, cleansing, emergency services, clinics, library and recreational facilities;
• to organise capital, human energy and creativity to collectively uplift the marginalised in our communitiessuch as our informal settlements, rural settlements, our strife-tom communities and our townships.

We collectively and individually pledge our partnership between community, civil society and government and with our united strength:

• we shall heal the wounds of the past;
• we shall build houses and serviced communities;
• we shall release our creative energies for local economic growth and jobs;
• we shall create local peace, stability and security;

AND TOGETHER

• we shall build safe communities for a

BETTER LIFE FOR ALL!

June 1995