Facilitator of the Session, Commissioner Prof. Magidimisha, Deputy Chairperson of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Prof. Tinyiko Maluleke, Distinguished Commissioners of the NPC, Director-General of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mr Mooketsa Ramasodi, Head of Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Dr Kefiloe Masiteng, Dean and Head of School of Applied Human Sciences at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Prof. Matshepo Matoane, Representative of the South African Local Government Association Representative of the Traditional Leaders Directors-General in attendance Panellists and Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning! I am excited to participate at this important dialogue on service delivery in our country and I am convinced that with the diversity and representativity of the participants today, we will have rich and constructive discussions.
As you all know, the quality and consistency of service delivery is how we would measure that Government is caring for its people. It is by providing these basic services that ease all our lives that we set the foundation for a good standard of living for each person. We also know what an impact it has when for some reason or the other, any one of the basic services that we so often take for granted, is not there.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Today's dialogue takes place at an opportune time when our country continues to preside over the G20, which is the first time this Group is convening on the African Continent. In this regard, the overarching theme for the G20 is entitled “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability". We believe that this overall approach, which speaks to our innate values as a country, will not only reaffirm South Africa's standing on the Continent and globally but can also be leveraged to improve the lives of our people.
Through our G20 Presidency, we will be able to demonstrate our consistency as a truly democratic country that strives to create a better life for all. We must remember that since 1994, the South African government has implemented numerous service delivery changes aimed at addressing the inequalities of the past and improving public services.
In this regard, through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) which we introduced in 1994, we have provided housing, water, sanitation, and electricity to previously disadvantaged communities, targeting specifically rural and township areas that had been previously neglected and excluded.
While we introduced policies to ensure access to basic sanitation and reduce reliance on pit latrines from that period, over time we expanded these policies to introduce the Free Basic Water Policy in 2001 and the Free Basic Electricity Policy in 2003 aimed at poor households.
To date, 89% of South Africans have access to water, 84% have access to sanitation, and 89.9% have access to electricity. Understanding the global impact of fossil fuels, since 2011, we have diversified our energy supply through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) (2011) to introduce diversified energy sources and encourage the use of solar and wind energy.
Distinguished Participants, Since the advent of democracy, we have provided over 5 million housing opportunities to our people. We continue to build infrastructure for roads, schools, and clinics. We are also reforming the education system so that there is greater equity. Accordingly, we introduced the National School Nutrition Programme, the No-Fee Schools Policy, and Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme so that students can become teachers in critical subject areas.
In addition, through our Primary Healthcare, we ensured free healthcare for pregnant women, children under six, and indigent communities, HIV/AIDS treatment, and introduced community health workers to improve services in rural and underprivileged areas.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Section 152 of the Constitution sets out the objectives and responsibilities of local government for ensuring sustainable service delivery to communities while section 195 requires public administration to be development-oriented and fair.
In addition to promoting transparency and accountability through the Batho Pele Principles, we understood that communities must be involved in the decisions that affect their lives. Beyond our founding legislation, we have enacted the Municipal Systems Act that requires municipalities to prioritise basic service delivery, including water and sanitation, promotes community participation, and requires municipalities to develop Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) to reduce service backlogs.
The Municipal Structures Act stipulates that services must be distributed equitably, and the Municipal Finance Management Act ensures transparent and accountable financial management in municipalities and promotes efficient use of resources for service delivery.
While these Acts provide a broad framework beyond the Constitution, we have ensured through Acts like the Water Services Act, the National Health Act, and the Housing Act that services are provided equitably and that responsibilities for this are assigned to municipalities.
Facilitator of the Session, Despite the gains that we have made over the last 30 years, we still face stubborn challenges in delivering services to our people. These include but not limited to the disparity between urban and rural areas. While services like healthcare, education, and transport are more readily available due to higher population density and infrastructure development in urban areas, people in rural areas often face challenges with access to these services because of the vast distances that must be covered.
When the National Development Plan (NDP) was adopted in 2012, it recognised the backlogs that remained as a result of our apartheid past. At that stage the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) was being discussed by Parliament. This Act requires the establishment of a National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) to address those remnants of the past. This Framework is expected to intervene in the national spatial development patterns by taking an overall approach including consideration of natural resource use and maintenance, ownership patterns, and access to land and other resources. Recently, we welcomed His Excellency, President Ramaphosa signing into law the Expropriation Act, which is a significant step in helping government to reach the goals of spatial planning in urban and rural areas.
In addition, our Government introduced the District Development Model (DDM), which is designed to improve the coherence of policy implementation and the impact of government service delivery.
In his 2019 Presidency Budget Speech, His Excellency, President Ramaphosa identified the “pattern of operating in silos" as a challenge, which led “to lack of coherence in planning and implementation and has made monitoring and oversight of government's programme difficult".
Under the DDM, all three spheres of government are expected to coordinate and integrate development plans and budgets and mobilise the capacity and resources of government and civil society, including business, labour and community.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Government has formulated the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) as the five-year programme of action for the 7th administration. The MTDP is the implementation plan of the three strategic priorities of the Government of National Unity (GNU), and is intended to guide government's action in pursuing the goals of the NDP.
One of the strategic priorities of the GNU is to build a capable, ethical and developmental state. To achieve this requires targeted interventions to resolve service delivery challenges. The MTDP aims to ensure this through targets that will enhance the quality of public service, thus providing the basis for more effective service delivery. The successful implementation of the MTDP requires effective service delivery which will not only improve the lives of our people, but will also enhance citizens' trust and confidence in government institutions.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The new democratic Government inherited the infrastructure backlogs, particularly in those areas where the poor live. This backlog disparity in terms of race and wealth was not limited to rural areas but over the past 30 years, we have made progress in urban areas to address the challenges.
We have made some progress because it is easier in urban areas, but we have not addressed the backlogs completely yet. Let us remember that we are still addressing the challenge of the disparity of wealth, which continues to be linked to race many years later.
These challenges are ultimately the responsibility of our local government sphere which is at the coalface of service delivery. When the White Paper on Local Government was introduced in 1998, it included the concept of “developmental local government" to reduce inequality in service delivery and encouraged municipalities to focus on poverty alleviation and service backlogs. Ladies and Gentlemen, In his State of the Nations Address few weeks ago, His Excellency, President Ramaphosa, announced that “professionally managed and ring-fenced utilities for water and electricity services' would be established 'to ensure that there is adequate investment and maintenance".
In this context, the President recognised that “Many of the challenges in municipalities arise from the design of our local government system". For this reason, we welcome government's proposal to develop an updated White Paper on Local Government and review the funding model for municipalities.
We know that in rural areas, some municipalities struggle with infrastructure for water supply, there may be corruption and mismanagement that affect equal distribution, and many rural communities still rely on boreholes and rivers instead of municipal supply.
Through the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP), focus will be on electrifying rural areas and informal settlements and finances municipalities to expand the national grid However, many rural communities still lack connection to the power grid, and some municipalities fail to implement Free Basic Electricity due to budget constraints, and load reduction and infrastructure failures disproportionately affect poorer areas.
Furthermore, there is the Social Housing Act and the Breaking New Ground Housing Policy that focuses on integrated housing to reduce backlogs and ensure low-income households have access to affordable rental housing, but many rural residents continue to live in informal or inadequate housing, and we have not addressed the construction mafia that delays housing projects.
Distinguished Participants, I have highlighted many of the achievements we have made since the advent of democracy to provide service to our people. Equally, I have also pointed out the stubborn challenges that still exist in providing services to our people.
Therefore, as we deliberate over the next two days in this important dialogue, I hope we will have frank and constructive discussions about the state of service delivery in our communities. Equally, we must come with innovative ways on how to resolve the challenges and obstacles to providing service delivery to our people. I want to stress that it is important that this dialogue should be about changing our trajectory rather than bemoaning our fate or defending our turf.
Facilitator of the Session, In conclusion, it is evident that the current situation cannot continue along this path. It is particularly relevant as we aim to effect the NDP's overall goals of reducing inequality, eliminating poverty, and addressing unemployment. Our rural areas must get special attention in terms of this triple challenge as they are worst affected. South Africa has committed not only to its own NDP but to the continent's Agenda 2063 and the United Nation's global Sustainable Development Goals.
In the spirit of these development plans, we must find innovative solutions. Solutions that consider our unique history, our natural resources, and our long-standing culture of overcoming obstacles so that we find our own path to addressing the challenges. Guided by our Constitution and uBuntu, we can collectively find solutions. Finally, I wish you all of the best in this dialogue in the next two days. Thank you!
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