Programme Director, allow me to express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity given to me by this august body to share a few perspectives with you.
This conference takes place against the backdrop of truly exciting times for all of us in particular, for Local Government practitioners like yourselves. The country will be celebrating and reflecting on significant milestones.
On 5th December, the county will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of democratic local government. Therefore your theme, 10th Anniversary of the Current Municipal Governance Dispensation becomes even more significant.
Again in December the country will be reflecting on the 1st anniversary of the adoption by Cabinet of the Local Government Turn Around Strategy, (LGTAS). A document that has become a blueprint through which government and the country as a whole seeks to take the trajectory of Local Government to a new and higher level by 2014 and beyond.
As you may be also aware, in 2011, the country will be holding its fourth democratic local government elections.
What do all these significant developments mean for the country in general and specifically for Local Government and the ILGM?
Only one seminal and profound message: Local Government has turned the corner and is indeed beginning to work better and smarter!!
Furthermore, these developments are also a true testimony that our democracy, which so many sacrificed for, including paying the highest prices over decades, is truly deepening and enduring. Indeed the ANC-led government policies are bearing fruit and making a difference over the lives of millions of our people.
Programme Director, we have just come out of the most successful Soccer World Cup spectaculars, the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I am certain that we will all agree that its resounding success, which is lauded not only by FIFA but even those skeptics who never thought Africa could pull it off. We need to always remember that that resounding global success could not have been possible without the tremendous contribution of Local government, especially the host cities. You, ladies and gentlemen, were a critical element of that success!
Working together, stadia were completed on time and the matches went smoothly; the provision of water, sanitation, electricity, and waste management by Local Government reached an unprecedented level for both the visitors and the citizenry of country. The hospitality of our nation was unleashed across cities, towns and villages in a united manner never seen before. All that was made possible to a great extent due to the diligent work of our Mayors, Councilors and officials working closely with the provincial and national spheres of our government and perhaps most importantly, with the public as a whole.
May I also hasten to say that the public protests that had been mushrooming throughout the country during the beginning of the year, have significantly dropped. This is a signal to the growing public confidence in government and local government in particular. This is evidence of the fact that if we work together we can indeed do more for our people.
Creating an enabling legislative and policy environment for local government to improve service delivery functioning in a highly professional manner. It is from that perspective that we as CoGTA have given priority attention to the Municipal Systems Amendment Act which we have seen through NEDLAC and would like to see passed by parliament as soon as possible.
Ensure that critical posts in particular Sec 57, are filled as a matter of urgency, these include municipal managers, chief financial officers, town engineers, human resource executives, communication executives, and perhaps even more importantly, that the law enjoins them to concentrate on the delivery of services and not be allowed to occupy public office in political parties.
Ensure that we strengthen municipal financial management systems such that by 2014 the vision of Clean Audit is realized.
Work in partnerships to address the huge infrastructure backlogs which are currently negatively affecting service delivery amongst municipalities.
Foster partnerships with all the various stakeholders including labour to ensure that our municipalities are better enabled to deliver.
Programme Director, I have no doubt that if we deliberate more meaningfully on all these matters over the next three days of this gathering and come with concrete proposals, the ILGM would not only have lived up to its founding vision and mission, of being the centre of excellence of Local Government management and capacity-building in South Africa and Africa, but it will be contributing even more meaningfully our shared and common vision of a better life for all in the next coming decade of democratic Local Government. Local Government is Everybody's Business, Be Part of It!!!