ANC TO STEP UP SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE EASTERN CAPE

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape yesterday (2 February 2010) ended its three-day lekgotla with concrete steps to step up service delivery and strengthen a mass mobilisation campaign in the run-up to the 2011 local government elections.

The lekgotla, which follows the recent ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Johannesburg, resolved to:

·         Address issues of water scarcity by implementing innovative intervention plans.

·         Improve municipal grant expenditure.

·         Improve by 5% the quality of this year's matric results.

·         Engaging communities on concerns, building ward participation and intensifying civic education, to avoid service delivery protests.

The Lekgotla also called on councillors to submit themselves to quarterly performance evaluation. Members of Parliament (MPs) and provincial legislatures (MPLs) are to beef up their constituency work to ensure visibility.

Planning, evaluation and monitoring of the provincial Government service delivery and other programmes - currently residing within the Office of the Premier - are to be strengthened and used to measure delivery and implementation by allocating resources and support to benefit society.

As we come out of the Lekgotla, we reaffirm our commitment to put the interests of the people of the Eastern Cape first by ensuring growth, development and improved service delivery in the province.

Our quest for development and relevance is based on our pursuit of a better life for our people, through the promotion of accountability and community participation in the governance of the province.

This year our focus will be on key priority areas, which will include speeding up economic growth, creating more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods, rural development and land reform, infrastructure development, health and education.

Education

On education, the lekgotla resolved to ensure that there should be:

·         Adequate infrastructure, funding, adequate staffing and that appropriate policies are in place.

·         Community involvement in support of education.

·         Drive to fight corruption and ensure implementation of proper procurement policies

·         Adequate learner support material, stepping up of school security.

·         Adequate resources for rural schools and a healthy moral environment at centres of learning.

·         Implementation of programmes and dealing with crises in higher education.

Health

On health the lekgotla resolved to:

·         Clarify the strategic objectives for health.

·         Resolve budgetary problems, ensure adequate staffing, performance and rationalise procurement.

·         Ensure adequate transport, particularly in rural areas where this has to be done equitably.

·         Encourage community participation in healthcare and ensure proper maintenance of facilities.

·         Speed up introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.

Social transformation, peace and stability

On social transformation, peace and stability, the lekgotla resolved to ensure that:

·         The province gets value for money in housing delivery.

·         A provincial housing summit is held to examine the status of human settlement in the province and provide solutions to challenges.

·         Housing delivery is integrated with other social development programmes.

·         Speed up the revival of school sport.

·         The 2010 FIFA soccer world cup is utilised as an opportunity to revive sport in schools and communities.

·         All eligible entitled children access the child support grant.

·         A more effective social safety net, which includes the rollout of the "Food for all Programme.

·         Society and communities are involved in campaigns to fight against crime and corruption.

Local government

On local government, the lekgotla resolved to ensure to:

·         Fully implement the Local Government Turn-Around Strategy in the Eastern Cape.

·         Develop the accelerated service delivery programme, which should to identify quick wins that require minimal additional resources but would have a wide impact and benefit on our people.

·         Forge a compact between local government and organised labour to ensure that our accelerated service delivery programme succeeds.

·         Develop fiscal interventions towards building a profitable, sustainable and clean local government.

·         Address problems, which are undermining the integrity and functioning of municipal councils through the political-administrative inter-face.

·         End high levels of mistrust between mayors, chief whips and speakers.

·         Strengthen the effective functioning of ward committees and community development workers (CDWs) in municipalities.

·         Establish the political and organisational renewal programme to eradicate political infighting that is crippling municipalities in the province.

·         Develop a new type of public sector cadre in local government, who has a caring and professional attitude to deal with communities.

·         Enforce and build intergovernmental relations in all spheres of government.

·         Develop planning and beef up ANC provincial organising and campaigns machinery for the 2011 local government elections.

Economic transformation

On economic transformation, the lekgotla resolved to:

·         Come up with short-term crisis interventions, especially in the automotive sector.Develop the non-automotive sub-sector.

·         Build State capacity for increased intervention in the economy.

·         Revive economies of small towns.

·         Develop infrastructure.

·         Speed up rural, land and agrarian reform.

·         Work with business and labour to create decent jobs.

Organizational renewal

On organisational renewal, the lekgotla resolved to:

·         Go to basics on leadership renewal.

·         Intensify cadre development and political education.

·         Build strong branches and a campaigning ANC

·         Improve the financial viability of our structures.

·         Strengthen and modernise our administration.

·         Strengthen the alliance and the mass democratic movement (MDM).

·         Enhance the internal and public communication capacity.

·         End corruption, conflict of interest and business interests of ANC public officials.

The 10-point program for local government

On the 10-point programme for local government, the lekgotla resolved to:

·         Commit itself to intensify and speed up efforts on service delivery in the areas of access to water, sanitation, electricity, waste management and roads.

·         Strengthen local economic development in municipalities through support by national and provincial government, and state owned enterprises (SOEs).

·         Forge intergovernmental planning around the integrated development plans of municipalities.

·         Deepen and refine the ward committee model in municipalities, something that should commence this year.

·         Collectively fix and attend to the immediate administrative, institutional, financial and problems of municipalities.

·         Radically improve inter-governmental relations in all spheres of government and departments.

·         Intensify the fight against corruption, nepotism and all forms of mal-administration in local government.

·         Support moves for the adoption and implementation of a single cycle of elections for national, provincial and local government, something that will greatly improve our system of governance and service delivery.

·         Improve relations between the municipalities and the party.

·         Defend and consolidate the unity and coherence of the ANC and the Alliance - a precondition for the success of the local government turn-around programme.

Statement issued by Mlibo Qoboshiyana, African National Congress Eastern Cape Spokesperson, February 3 2010

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