12 June 2002
More Integrated Governance for Greater Delivery
In shaping our state, we have, we pride ourselves, broken out of the mould of unitary versus federal, and forged our own unique, innovative, system of co-operative governance. And in the last two years and more, we have taken this further.
We increasingly speak of integrated governance, not just co-operative governance. And the imperative is simple: the need for accelerated delivery and development. We must push back the frontiers of poverty, said the President - and indeed we must.
To do this effectively, we have to have more integrated governance. This is perhaps one of the most salient messages to emerge from our recent study tour of municipalities.
For all the weaknesses, municipalities have made strides towards linking governance and planning through Integrated Development Plans. In time they will improve the links between IDPs and budgets.
But provincial and national departments, say municipalities, ignore IDPs in their plans, programmes and budgets. Of course, IDPs may lack quality. If so, provincial and national departments have to assist municipalities to improve them.
Provinces, moreover, should develop provincial growth and development plans which should be shaped by and shape IDPs. The Portfolio Committee believes that legislation should be considered to ensure greater co-operation from national and provincial departments on implementing IDPs. The pending Intergovernmental Relations Bill should seek to address this among other issues of integrated governance and planning.
It is in terms of the need for more integrated governance towards accelerating delivery and development that the Portfolio Committee approached the Ministry's and Department's budget. Our report appeared in the ATC of 10 June.
We feel the Department is more directed and focused these days. And it spent a remarkable 99,6% of its budget over the past financial year.
Of the R22,8 million unspent, R 8,9 million constituted the allocation to the "Cultural Rights Commission", which is to be established in this financial year.
Co-ordination and coherence were key themes of the Department's budget presentation to us. The Committee certainly welcomes the rationalization of the different grants offered to local government.
The Local Economic Development Plan and Social Plan Grant is to be incorporated into Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme next year. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant will be a new grant from this year. The Local Government Transitional Fund will be incorporated into the local government "equitable share".
Local Government capacity-building is to be incorporated into the Municipal Systems Improvement Programme in 2005/06.
The Committee welcomes the 60% increase in "equitable share" allocated to local government, from R 3,9 billion to R 6,3 billion. There is also a 33% increase in the CMIP grant. These increases will enhance the capacity of municipalities to deliver services, including free basic water and electricity.
The more effectively and productively municipalities use this money, the stronger becomes their case for increases in the "equitable share" and other transfers from national government. And it is clear that municipalities will not be able to effectively fulfill their constitutional mandate without significant increases in funds from the national fiscus.
More money alone is not the answer. The capacity of municipalities has to be significantly developed. This means greater co-ordination of all the capacity-building role players within a commonly accepted framework that the Department is urged to finalise as soon as possible. The Department also has to contribute to rescuing the Local Government SETA, which has been a persistent failure.
Crucial to effective service delivery and development is the proper implementation of the new division of powers and functions between district and local municipalities to come into effect on 1 July. Both our study tour and budget reports draw attention to the considerable challenges in this regard and we urge the Department to attend to them.
The Committee welcomes the more recent progress in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programmes. We are to visit the nodes next year. While recognizing the difficulties, we feel these programmes have to be more effectively implemented. For the programmes to be successful integrated governance has to work, and the more integrated governance works the more the programmes will be successful.
These programmes reinforce the need for a single public service for the country, instead of the present system in which municipal officials and staff are not included. A single service will allow the movement of officials from one sphere to another. We welcome the progress towards realizing this.
The Committee also welcomes the Department's commitment to focusing more on provincial government. Understandably, the main focus until now has been on local government. The Department's support programmes for provincial government to strengthen integrated governance are welcome.
To ensure more effective integrated governance it will also be important to provide greater clarity and certainty on what precisely the powers and functions of each sphere are and in what sense they are distinct from and overlap with each other. We need to ensure that the distribution of powers and functions serve to advance delivery and development. The Committee feels that the Department-led review of powers and functions of each sphere should be speeded up.
Of course, integrated governance is not advanced just through the Department's Intergovernmental Relations sub-programme, but the Committee notes with concern that the allocation to this sub-programme has been decreased by 13%.
Partnerships, of course, are key to integrated governance - not just among the spheres of government, but also between the state and key actors in society. This is what underpinned last week's Growth and Development Summit.
Integrated governance is also crucial to advancing economic growth and job creation. The Department's Local Economic Development, SMME and other related programmes and projects need to be emphasized more.
The LED Fund has R 120 million to disburse. 26,7 million will be allocated to rural nodes to promote agriculture and tourism. 3000 temporary jobs will be created in this financial year. The Department needs to assist municipalities more to implement LED and locate this in the context of the decisions taken at the Growth and Development Summit.
The majority in the Committee feels that the Department is coping increasingly better with its responsibilities, even if many challenges persist. As MPs, we also need to do more to ensure the implementation of policies and programmes.
We thank the Ministry and Department for their co-operation. In particular, we congratulate the new DG, Ms Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, on her appointment and note the effective manner in which she has assumed leadership of the Department. We thank too all the officials of the Department and the parliamentary liaison officers. Also, our appreciation to our Committee secretaries, Mr Llewellyn Brown and Ms Bulelwa Madikane and our regrettably only part time, research assistant, Mr Chris Sibanyoni.
082 553 0174