PREMIER'S ADDRESS
The honorable Chairperson,
Mayors of different towns,
Councillors,
Comrades,
Leaders of different organisations,
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you for affording me the opportunity to join you in this important gathering, to discuss issues that relates to the delivery of services, as per the mandate by the people of this country.
This serves as a beginning to honor the commitment we made during the opening of the Legislature, that the government is committed to deliver on our election promises.
We made the solemn pledge that we shall not fail our people.
Chairperson, this can only be achieved through a consultative process with the leaders at local level, to ensure people centered development as required by polices of the democratic government.
Community participation in governance is key to sustainable development. It is against this background, that we are gathered here today.
Let me start off by thanking you for the sterling role you played during the June elections. Through your support and hard working, the people's voice in your area was able to be head, very loud and clear.
I want to thank particularly the comrades in the African National Congress, COSATU, the SACP, SANCO, and other democratic structures, you were able to ensure that the ANC gets a mandate to govern this country and ensure that the lives of our people improves.
The government accepts the challenges of the overwhelming mandate it has received and it is determined to do better. This mandate reflects the confidence of the people of South Africa in the process of change, in the effort to build a better life for all.
Particularly the poorest of the poor are confident that together we can change conditions of life for better.
In my opening speech at the Legislature on July 6 1999, on behalf of my colleagues in the Executive council we committed ourselves to:
- Speeding up delivery of basic needs and developing human resources, to ensure sustainable development.
- Building the economy and creating job opportunities for our people.
- Transforming the state to meet the requirement of democracy as the system of the government of the day.
- Building a better Africa and a better world.
Our success in our promises shall be measured by our ability to draw a map that is clean, a map that has no stains, and a map that will rid our community of all the social ills that threaten the very fabric of family life.
If we need to create an environment that is crime free, then community policing shall have to be the priority.
Our streets are littered with criminals who snatch people's bags and pick pocket our people at month-ends. People who break into people's houses and take anything they happen to lay hands on.
This should be the issue that has to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
The criminal activities going on around us could be attributed to the mass unemployment that continue to plague our communities. If this has to be the way we interpret , the course. of this crime rate, then the unemployment crisis has to be taken up very seriously.
We call on all business, churches, political organisations, civil society structures and professional bodies to unite against both unemployment and crime. By addressing these problems we will be creating conditions for economic growth in our areas.
We promised that in terms of speeding up the delivery of basic needs and developing human resource, we would accelerated our programmes of poverty alleviation, recreation, housing, welfare, health care and education.
We will continue to support and monitor programmes aimed at improving the status of women and disabled people and youth in our Province.
But then you must remember that in order to deliver services, the local government needs funds. Therefore payment for services is the key source of revenue, to improve conditions of roads, water and electricity and health care serves.
The pre- 1994 political rationale for excessive boycotts and non-payment of rent and services does not exist anymore. But yet in some areas the culture of non-payment is still alive and kicking.
Your areas are by and large rural and underdeveloped, due to apartheid legacy. Most of our people were relegated to the most and parts of the country, damped there after being used and abused by the captains of capital in the big cities and towns.
Therefore it is imperative for local government representatives to be critical of strategies in place to improve service delivery.
It has come to my notice that some of the TLC's are on the verge of collapse.
But I have full confidence that local government councillors and the MEC for Local Government and Traffic, Comrade Fish Mahlalela will be able to join forces and remove any obstacles towards efficient service delivery to the constituencies you serve.
There are areas which may still not receive the level of services which you have hoped they would receive. And yet you fmd yourselves caught up in a vicious cycle.
Without payment,services cannot be improved; on the other hand, one is inclined to say that the only service worth paying for are those that meet the required standards.
Paying of services is an investment to our collective future because it provides the oil to move the wheels.
Local government cannot deliver effectively without the support of the people. Our support for transformation can in part be measured through our willingness to pay for services which we utilise.
Even with limited resources, the programme to provide houses, water, electricity, better education and other services will be speeded up. Greater attention will be placed on ensuring better quality and sustainability of these programmes.
Better conditions will be created for an economy that grows at a faster pace: an economy that creates jobs, ensure worker rights and provides even more resources for expansion of the programme to improve people's lives.
The face of apartheid cities and rural settlement will be changed through intergration programme of rural development and urban renewal. Particular attention will be given to needs of youth, women, and the disabled.
Much greater effort will be put into improving safety and security of the citizens. Serious and violent crimes will receive special and decisive integrated attention from the criminal justice system.
These objectives will be achieved through firm leadership on the part of government.
The operations of government will be streamlined, better coordinated, and more efficient. Laxity, laziness, arrogance and corruption will be relentlessly.