25 May 2004
Madam Speaker
Madam Deputy Speaker
Honourable President
Honourable Deputy President
Honourable Ministers
Honourable Deputy Ministers
Honourable Members of Parliament
The Public at Large
I would like to speak to you about Local Government. I will be responding to the President's address to the first Joint Sitting of the Third Democratic Parliament on the 21 May 2004. I will speak on issues that emanate from the Freedom Charter, launched in 1955 at Kliptown.
The People of South Africa, Black and White have always longed for a programme of governance that is free of injustice and inequality.
When they converged at Kliptown in 1955 they said: There shall be houses, security and comfort!!
By this they wished for improved surroundings at Local Government Level, and good quality of life, whose indicators are: (Free) Basic Services, like electricity, clean water, clean surroundings, recreational facilities etc.
In 1955 they longed for low-rental payment, today a billing system for rates and services that is reasonable and compassionate to the poor and vulnerable is necessary and must be implemented by local government. e.g. The Indigent Policy.
In 1955 the people wished that the slums would be demolished, and that new-suburbs would be built where they lived, with adequate transport, lighting, playing fields, clinics and crèches etc. Today these services must be provided as part of local development strategy and as a component of the expanded public works programme at local level.
After celebrating 10 years of democracy we need to intensify our delivery.
The President's Imbizos and the ANC door to door revealed that there are many problems at Local Government Level therefore the locals is expected to play a proactive role in social economic and material development of local communities. At local government level the disparities in South African society are distinctly noticeable between rural and urban areas and between townships and suburbs. Attention to these disparities often takes race into account but not gender.
The Municipal Structures Act explicitly defines gender equity as a developmental outcome this makes the empowerment of women a local government responsibility. In rural areas, which are where, most of the poor women and children are, there is little easy access to such basic services on running water in home, sanitation and fuel. The average time of people residing in these areas is consumed on water and fuel collection poverty stricken people, those who are in the 2nd economy as espoused by the President are found in rural areas or in townships and are mostly women. Therefore there is a need for a detailed programme to respond to the challenges of this second economy. The expanded public work programme intended for urban renewal and inter-grated sustainable rural development programmes at local government level should take the initiative of the following:
1. Training our people in Horticulture and landscaping and employ them so as to improve the environment in the township so that the people who reside in these areas should be afforded an opportunity to own shopping centres and they provide the shopping centres with goods and services e.g. women in baking can provide cakes and those who are able to manufacture clothing to be the ones that market their projects.
2. These beautiful malls should be built within the townships and rental should be made affordable for our people to be able to have access to the market.
3. Building social and economic infrastructures e.g. Construction and Building. Any construction that takes place in our communities should take a conscious decision of capacitating our people by training them to build bridges and become qualified road constructors. This should be done in conjunction with the Department of Labour.
4. Re-arrangement of social patterns should be in line with our non-racial objectives. Clinics and schools should be built within the townships. This makes it convenient for patients to access treatment on time without having to travel long distances and at the end be denied treatment because they come from somewhere in Soweto.
In pursuing the development of local economics public private partnership should be formed between municipalities, metros civil societies (e.g. Women's groups and private sector (e.g. Bank) for further development at local level. It is a known phenomenon that traditional governance is male dominated. Involvement of women at traditional leadership at decision making level is critical so that issues affecting women and children should receive attention at all times. Mobilising of all sectors of public at local level including participation in ward communities and giving them direction is of utmost importance.
Job creation means that local government should be charged with a responsibility creating a data of skills within the communities, and tap on the undiscovered potential within the communities in their respective wards. Capacitating all the people will enable them to establish their own businesses.
In the ANC when we speak about creation of jobs we do not mean the stereo typed notion of boss and slave. We mean creating areas of work and train people for them to be able to establish their own businesses.
Honourable Madam Speaker, it is great pleasure to be part of South Africa a Nation that had so much perseverance in the bid until the time arrived for South Africa to host the Soccer World Cup 2010. This means there is great challenge for all of us to commit to unity in changing the bad attitudes of other fellow South Africans. One has hope that this country will host this Soccer World Cup successfully because of our history of hosting successful events in South Africa, such as WSSD, Aids Conferences, Racism Conference, you name them.
Madam Speaker let me complete this debate by assuring our people who gave us the mandate to govern that we are definitely on the correct track. The 1955 mandate given to our leaders that The People Shall Govern, we hope to fulfil. This is what the African National Congress means when it calls for the PEOPLE'S CONTRACT.
THANK YOU.