OPENING ADDRESS BY HON. PREMIER T S P MAKWETLA AT THE 2 ND SALGA PROVINCIAL MEMBERS' ASSEMBLY
8 March 2007, Adventura Resort, Badplaas
Programme Director, Honourable Councillor N. Ndlovu,
The Executive Mayor of Albert Luthuli Municipality , Honorouble Councillor E S Dlamini,
SALGA National Chairperson Mayor Amos Masondo in absentia,
Members of the National Executive here present,
The Chairperson of SALGA Mpumalanga , Cllr Speedy Mashilo,
And Members of the Provincial Executive Council,
Executive district and local Mayors,
Honourable councilors,
Municipal managers and officials,
Representatives from our Social Partners,
Representatives from Non Governmental Organisations,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am grateful for the invitation to be part of the opening of your 2 nd Annual Members' Assembly in the Province this year on March 8, International Women's Day. This Annual Members Assembly provides an opportunity for strategic reflections on progress we have made in advancing developmental mandates for local government in the Province. It also helps us to assess our collective leadership contributions, successes, failures and lessons learned in the uneven landscape we have traversed towards addressing poverty and improving the lives of all citizens in Mpumalanga .
This Annual Members' Assembly takes place against the background of the recently presented government programme for the year, SOPA, at the Opening of the Provincial Legislature.
Programme Director, our confidence in the Province to reach the destination we have set for ourselves derives from our knowledge that we have done it before, and we can do it again. In our day-to-day quest to deliver quality services and sustainable livelihoods to the people of Mpumalanga , we have learned valuable lessons that stand us in good stead to achieve more successes in the future. Despite challenges and weaknesses in some aspects of our work, we have posted remarkable achievements in critical service delivery areas such as the provision of free basic water, sanitation, and free basic electricity. We have delivered various programmes to extend the social security net for the poor.
We have scored achievements and learned valuable lessons in the eradication of the bucket toilet system. Our housing delivery programme has not performed to the level that we would have liked to see, given the human settlement needs that we have to address in the Province. However, the value of our experiences lies in the fact that we are now wiser. As we move forward, we understand that proper planning; sound programme management practices, effective monitoring and evaluation are critical success factors in undertaking major projects. Our capacity to manage intergovernmental institutional arrangements in the implementation of projects within municipalities has to be improved. Effective coordination and monitoring of projects is crucial to ensure that areas of underperformance are detected in time so that they are addressed.
Our work in creating growth opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses continues to create hope for those who want to participate in the mainstream economy. It is also encouraging that our targeted EPWP programmes in local government have accounted for significant contribution to the number of job opportunities created in the Province from the start of the programme in 2004 to the end of September in 2006. The empowerment of youth, women and disabled persons through EPWP infrastructure sector programmes has seen the Province impacting significantly in reducing unemployment in line with the 2014 vision of government. Indications are that we are on course to half poverty by 2014 provided we maximally exploit economic development opportunities offered by the Province, and accelerate government interventions aimed at creating jobs.
No-one would dare disagree with us if we say that, the lives of ordinary people in Mpumalanga have changed for the better over the last twelve years of our hard-earned democratic freedom. Despite challenges, we have over time, built confidence in the credibility of the Province to deliver to the expectations of the people of the Province. We have built credible institutions and governance systems in local government to engender public confidence in the governance of the Province by those entrusted to lead and serve the Province. To continue to enjoy the public confidence, there is a need to sustain and accelerate the implementation of the Five-Year Local Government Strategic Agenda to improve municipal governance, performance and accountability. Political leadership is required to provide direction and mitigate the strategic drifts away from the set targets in local government service delivery. Our collective resolve should aim thwart any deviant tendencies that foreground self-service and self-enrichment at the expense of the work ethos and values that put people first.
The progress we made in local government bears testimony to the leadership commitment and tenacity of those entrusted with the political and managerial responsibilities to ensure that government policies and interventions are implemented to improve the quality of life of Mpumalanga citizens. We thank you for the role that you have played, and we hope that this leadership commitment will be sustained as we engage in the implementation of the provincial ‘Big Five' flagship projects identified by the Executive Council for implementation. Part of this commitment will be manifest in the strategic choices that will be made in the allocation of resources towards identified provincial priorities. In the determination of fiscal allocation trade-offs, there is greater responsibility on local government leadership to focus resources on areas of potential maximum impact and demonstrable development outcomes as envisaged through the five flagship projects.
Having presented the programme of government in the State of the Province Address thirteen days ago, the discussions for this Assembly come at an opportune moment to create a discussive space for common thinking, leadership insight, and a shared vision on the implementation of the ‘Big Five' Flagship projects in order to bring about desired developmental outcomes in the Province. Our success in the implementation of these flagship projects will, to a large extent, depend on how effectively the capabilities of local government are harnessed mobilized to accelerate the implementation of ‘Water for All' by 2010, Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism, Accelerated Capacity Building as well as Maputo and Moloto Development Corridors.
In order to make the implementation of flagship projects successful, it is mission-critical to ensure that project definitions, scoping, and implementation plans encompass local government roles and responsibilities in the implementation of identified flagship projects. Furthermore, it is expected that Integrated Development Plans clearly articulate local government contributions to the flagships, and prioritize budgetary allocations to advance the implementation of the flagship projects. The implementation of flagship projects will require conscious, rigorous joint planning, and coordinated implementation among the key role players in the implementation process.
We must take this opportunity to restate and emphasise once again what we have said before, our province is composed by municipalities, to change the face of our province we need an effective and meaningful collaboration of all municipalities all the time, and cooperation of both local government and provincial government in order to deliver development.
As a flagship project, ‘Water for All' will require strong political and management leadership from local government to focus Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and other financial resources, project management and technical capacities on the delivery of water services infrastructure. Given the worrying trends of under-expenditure of the MIG, it will be essential to enhance engineering, programme and project management capabilities in municipalities to ensure that we are able to eradicate water services backlogs in communities. The deployment of requisite technical skills in local government to accelerate water infrastructure programmes will be prioritized by the Province. With the finalization of Water Blueprints in all Districts, it is necessary that plans are implemented once financial resources are made available. SALGA's support to municipalities in the delivery of this flagship project will make significant contributions to addressing capacity constraints, especially in low capacity municipalities.
Programme Director, there are numerous exciting prospects presented by the flagship project ‘Heritage, Greening Mpumalanga and Tourism'. It is a project that combines the elements of defining and recording Mpumalanga's heritage, enhancing biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and effective environmental management practices to create a ‘green' Province'. Heritage and greening the Province generate opportunities for developing and packaging tourism products to increase the Province's tourism market share. Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use allows the Province to conserve sensitive ecosystems, including sites of heritage significance.
The fascinating geology (deep history) of the Makhonjwa Mountains and the Komati Valley conceals one of the greatest treasures of all time – fossils of the very first life forms on planet Earth - the cradle of life.
The Greening Agenda entails a conscious decision to improve environmental management practices that will contribute to caring for our environment, keeping it clean and preventing degradation. The role of local government in implementing best practice models for waste management, pollution control and sustainable development is central to the success of this project. Visible mass mobilization and public campaigns on cleaning the environment, planting grass and trees will raise awareness for people to understand the benefits of caring for the environment. At local level, we need political leaders and managers to communicate messages and provide leadership to turn the vision of ‘Green Mpumalanga' into fruition. In each municipality, the implementation of sustainable environmental development practices should be prioritized. Of major concern, is the fact that in many of our municipalities, there is limited capacity to execute environmental management functions. This situation will have a negative effect on the implementation of the flagship, and it is important that it is addressed. Our focus on effective environmental management practices will enhance the health profile of our communities by preventing diseases resulting from poor waste management practices and pollution.
Comrades and Colleagues, heritage is about the people; it defines the essence of being, in the past, present and the future; it creates a people's sense of belonging to a defined nationhood; it is a thread of cohesiveness that tends to define common aspirations. Let me hasten to say that the heritage sites are located in our municipalities. It is therefore very appropriate for municipalities to engage communities to participate in the broader heritage debates and solicit inputs in defining the Provincial heritage. To benefit local tourism development and job creation, municipalities will need to work closely with other role players build tourism routes, infrastructure and develop marketing plans to promote heritage sites.
Our tourism must educate the traveler, provide funds for conservation, directly benefit the economic and political empowerment of local communities, and foster respect for different cultures and human rights. It should, because it is nature-based travel, adventure travel, environmental and ecological travel, scientific expeditions, cross cultural exchange, and earth restoration.
Two corridor developments form part of the flagship projects. In the case of Maputo Development corridor, the recent express political commitment by both the government of South Africa and Mozambique to develop the Maputo corridor, as well as the operational commitment by the railway authorities in both countries to invest in rail infrastructure is cause for hope. The fact that both railway administrations have appointed task teams to implement the commitment is real movement forward. As the logistics side of the corridor is turned around by these efforts, local government must interact with the process to identify economic development opportunities along the corridor. More importantly, private sector investment must be mobilized alongside public sector investments to implement programmes that will create jobs.
Regarding Moloto corridor, we are expediting the completion of the feasibility study with the intention of incorporating implementation into our plans for the next financial year in 2008/2009. Local government along the corridor, must input not only into the railway route but also into the economic development plans along the corridor.
It is a major achievement that all the Districts have held their Growth and Development Summits to devise strategies and key programmes for economic growth and development in the Province. This provides a perfect opportunity to identify specific areas of local government contribution to the implementation of flagship projects. Growth and Developments Summits should enable local government to define priority focal areas for private sector participation and contribution in the development of local economies.
Programme Director, we are aware that the achievement of bold targets that we have set for ourselves as government requires that we have requisite skills and capabilities, especially in our senior and middle management echelons. To achieve the objectives we have set in delivering programmes within local government, it is essential that we have the necessary leadership and technical skills to undertake the enormous tasks facing local government. To address capacity challenges, we have prioritized the ‘ Accelerated Capacity Building project as one of our flagship projects. This project focuses on enhancing the management skills for our senior and middle managers so that they have the requisite competencies to perform their jobs at required standard. Our managers in local government will have an opportunity to participate in this programme, and we are positive that this intervention will impact positively on skills development in local government. Our capabilities in the planning and delivery of infrastructure programmes need to be enhanced through the sustained deployment of requisite technical expertise in local government, especially in low capacity municipalities.
This Assembly will agree with me that SALGA's role in supporting municipalities to build necessary capacities will add a lot value in assisting the government to achieve its objectives and targets set in the Five Year Local Government Agenda. Strong and decisive political leadership will be crucial to give the strategic direction in work of government. I am confident that a shared vision and collective leadership efforts will give effect to creating a better life for the citizens of Mpumalanga .
I wish you well in your deliberations. I am optimistic that resolutions taken at this Provincial Members Assembly will enrich the implementation of government programmes in local government.
Thank You