Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the state’s biggest problem is its fixation on local government problems without outlining and implementing tangible changes to remedy those issues.
“We often spend a great deal of time diagnosing the problem and painting a picture of what a poorly run municipality looks like,” he said.
However, the government should “focus on what an ideal municipality should look like and how to build such municipalities across the country”
The president was delivering the closing address at a National Council of Provinces (NCOP) sitting in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday.
The NCOP has been sitting in the Ugu District Municipality this week with members of Parliament and members of the provincial legislature.
It spent the week visiting various sites and conducting public meetings where residents were able to draw attention to service delivery challenges.
Residents shared, among others, their frustrations with poor service delivery, water shortages, crime and some police stations.
Ramaphosa reiterated that his administration spent much time deliberating some of the key elements that make up an ideal municipality, which include “a vibrant economy, places where tourists want to visit, inter-connected communities and skills and training hubs”, but added that it was about time that there was a shift towards implementation.
“Such municipalities provide good access to health, education and recreational facilities,” he said.
He added that in an ideal municipality, not only are residents able to lead lives of quality and dignity, but local governments become magnets for investment.
Ramaphosa added:
He spoke about the importance of demonstrating that even after 28 years since the first democratic sitting of Parliament in Cape Town, the National Assembly continues to be responsive and determined to make a difference in the lives of South Africans.
“This week, [the] Taking Parliament to the People [programme] has come here to the Ugu District Municipality for the first time. They are here to respond to your concerns and tell you what they are doing to resolve them,” Ramaphosa said.
The engagement follows izimbizos the president conducted in the North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Northern Cape this year under the theme “Leave No One Behind”.
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