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Speech by MEC Nkwinti at the Annual General Conference of the ECLGA
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Housing and Local Government

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 SPEECH BY MEC GUGILE NKWINTI
 AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERNCE OF THE ECLGA
 14-16 FEBRUARY 2001



Chairperson of this Session;
 Chairperson of the ECLGA, Comrade Bethe;
 Members of the Executive Committee of the ECLGA;
 Leadership of the ECLGA;
 Leadership of SALGA in attendance at this Conference;
Honoured guest;
 Ladies and gentlemen; and Comrades.

I feel greatly honoured to have been invited to address this Conference at a crucial time in the evolution of our treasured democracy. In 
June 1999, our nation conducted its first national and provincial elections since the ground-breaking constitutional transfer of power to 
the black majority in April of 1994. Local Elections 2000 [LE2000] marked yet another critical milestone in the consolidation of the 
democratizing processes. Coupled with the demarcation of municipal boundaries, which brought about the so-called wall-to-wall 
municipalities, LE2000 ushered in a completely new ball-game to the governance of our democratic republic. This new ball-game demands 
commitment, dedication, resources, skills [i.e. political, managerial and technical] and diligence. Without these qualities, which by no 
means exhaust the list of requirements, our dreams of a better life for all South
Africans will be aborted.

In preparing this presentation, I gave special consideration to four sources, namely:

* the resolutions of the ANCs 50th national Conference, held at Mafikeng in December 1997;
* the ANCs Strategy And Tactics document, 1997
* the ANCs National General Council Report, 2000; and,
* the ANCs January 8th Statement 2001.

Resolution One on the Transformation of Local Government [Mafikeng 1997] states the following:

The creation of developmental and structured sphere of local government; the formulation of minimum requirements for the establishment of 
individual municipalities; and, accordingly, a substantial reduction in the number of municipalities from the existing number of 842.

Addressing the question of the Transformation of The State Machinery, the Strategy And Tactics [1997] has the following to say:

Our programme includes changing the management and other echelons of this machinery to ensure that they are efficient, effective and 
productive in carrying out their functions. It entails introducing a new orientation in the provision of service to society, rooting out 
corruption and introducing a new organizational culture and motivational values.

The Report of the National General Council (NGC) makes the following points about the object of Local Government Transformation:

To effectively implement the new system of local government which plays a key role in the fight against poverty; guarantees equity in 
municipal service provision and actively promoting social, economic and spatial integration. This is part of our overall objectives of 
transforming the state, deepening democracy and meeting basic needs.

Finally, the January 8th Statement makes direct reference to mayors and councillors when it says:

We would, also, like to remind them of the critical importance of the sphere of government of which they are in charge. We draw their 
attention to the powers given it to work to improve the lives of all our people, across the boundaries that had been created by the 
apartheid system.

Ladies and gentlemen, these have been, and must continue to be, our strategic guidelines and parameters in the management of the evolution 
of democratic governance. We have a shared vision of a developmental local government, as enshrined in the constitution of the democratic 
republic. Differences in the methods and processes of achieving this vision should not be allowed to stall the progress we have been 
making, and must continue making. This developmental role in our system of government is unique to the local sphere of government. The 
other spheres must assist and support the local government sphere fulfil its developmental role.

 In pursuit of this shared vision, and in carrying out our constitutional obligations, our provincial and national spheres of government 
have collaboratively crafted some strategic pillars for local government transformation, namely:

* the transformation path;
* strategic management of the transition;
* modeling ; and
* implementation.

The strategic path has three phases, which are:

* Amalgamation;
* orationalization; and,
* institutional design.

The strategic management of the transition has five core administrative and technical tasks, namely:

* financial management;
* human resources management;
* engineering and planning;
* legal services; and,
* generic management.

It is the intention that each and every municipality would have these functions as the core of its administrative and technical support to 
social service delivery. In the medium to long-term, such posts, which are regarded as critical and strategic to efficient, effective and 
economical service delivery, must be held by persons who are not only capable, but also committed and loyal to the cause of fundamental 
change in our society as a whole.

It has become important that, in charting our way forward, we should be a bit scientific in our approach, hence the use of models. A model 
is a simplified version of the reality it seeks to explain. That is much more so in social inquiry because of the dynamic nature of 
society. The Department of Housing Local Government and Traditional Affairs has developed a developmental local government model, which has 
six core business elements, namely:

* Social development;
* Infrastructure development;
* Sustainable service delivery;
* Sustainable environmental management;
* Economic development; and
* Community empowerment.

 Based on this model, two other models have been developed, which are:

* Developmental local government finance; and
* Developmental local government organization

In addition to these models, the Department, in collaboration with other stakeholders in the transformation of local government, has 
produced guidelines for Interim Integrated Development Plans and Municipal Staff Establishment; and, we have summarized and simplified the 
Municipal Systems Bill.

That is the amount of planning we have done thus far. What is left now is implementation; and, that is your task, ladies and gentlemen. The 
mayor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality characterizes the challenge very well when he says:

 It is difficult to build a bridge over a full and running river, with people rushing in to cross.

Of course, there are many challenges which we cannot exhaust at this stage because most of them will emerge with practice. There are, 
however, a few that are already sticking out like a sore thumb:

* having the calibre of professionals who are not only capable, but people who are committed and loyal to the cause of fundamental social 
change. We need to develop succession plans urgently, where these people are unavailable at present.
* Building institutional capacity within the municipalities themselves. The simple example here is that of rules of procedure, and internal 
arrangements within the municipalities themselves. The new Councillors and staff have no knowledge of these, let alone understanding them. 
How can they drive the transformation with institutions to which they are alienated? The playing field is not level at all. These must be 
aligned to the constitution of the country and the local government legislative framework.
* The role of organized labour in institutional designs needs to be clarified. Ours is a developmental approach to service delivery. As 
such we cannot ignore the fundamental question of changing the old ways of relating to one another as stakeholders in the workplace. Labour 
is a critical motive force in the delivery of services. We may ignore it in the determination of the mode of service delivery only to our 
own peril.
* Meeting the deadline of 31st March 2001 in producing Interim IDPs. Failure to do so has enormous implications on the legitimacy of our 
budgets for the year 2001/02. It is a legal requirement that these budgets must be based on these Interim IDPs. What happens if we do not 
comply with the law?
* Financial management capacity is the single most complex challenge facing us. A look at audited statements of the majority of our 
municipalities reveals shocking breaches of procedures and the law. We need to turn this situation around, but we lack the requisite 
capacity.
* The transformation agenda cannot be driven by bureaucrats alone. Yet, we do not have the resources at present to have all committee 
members full-time on the Council. We are working hard on having Councillors paid from the national fiscus so that this situation may be 
corrected. In the meantime, we are assessing the capacity of each municipality with a view to motivating for at least all Mayors and 
Speakers to be full-time. This view has been adopted, in principle, by the Executive Council of the Province.
* The division of powers and functions is one other challenge. The Premier has asked all provincial departments to submit powers and 
functions they intend devolving to local authorities by the 31st March 2001. This process is important in the determination of a host of 
issues, including the alignment of the members of PR Councillors to those of wards.

 We must conclude by saying that all is not lost. This is our time, and these are challenge of our time. Each and every generation before 
us was faced by challenges of its time. It must have felt just as we may do, that the stage we are in right now would never be reached. 
With their sweat and blood, however, we are where we are today. Let future generations say the same about us, when they enjoy a better 
life.

Thank you !!!

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