President Cyril Ramaphosa says new laws will be put in place to enhance accountability at municipal level.
He was addressing the closing session of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in the Ugu District Municipality in southern KwaZulu-Natal.
Members of Parliament spent the week in the province in a bid to take Parliament to the people with the aim of accelerating service delivery for communities in the province.
The hearings focussed on various issues such as social services, infrastructure and economic development, agriculture, land reform, rural development, safety and security, and human settlements also featured.
Ramaphosa says a recent audit shows that maladministration, a lack of financial control and corruption are some of the causes of poor service delivery across municipalities.
“All of these affect local government’s ability to provide basic services people need to lead lives of quality and dignity that is why we should welcome the new laws we’re putting in place. Laws that are going to enhance accountability. Amongst others, the laws will disallow municipal officials from holding political office, it defines competency criteria for appointments of municipal managers.”
Concerns around infrastructure and road safety also emerged:
#sabcnews #sabckzn President Cyril Ramaphosa says as part of strengthening local government performance, they are striving to entrench the District Development Model as an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to government planning and implementation.
— Fanele Mhlongo (@FaneleMhlongo1) November 18, 2022
Despite some chaos that had erupted, the president delivered his closing remarks:
Ramaphosa added: “One of the most important ways we are doing this is through the program to the people of our country…this is the key outreach council of the NCOP, 28 years since the democratic parliament sitting in Cape Town. This week, taking Parliament to the people has come in this Ugu district for the first time. Our ministers are here to respond and resolve the concerns of our people.”
On Monday, Ugu District communities addressed service delivery issues with the NCOP:
