Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Taking Parliament to the People , ‘Ensuring a People -Centred Local Government Towards Building Better Communities’ , Spirit Word Church, Stilfontein, North West

Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane,
Premier of North West province, Mr Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Premiers,
Mayors,
Traditional leadership present,
Delegates to the National Council of Provinces,
Fellow South Africans, 
 
Dumelang. Goeie môre. Sanibonani. Molweni. Avuxeni. Lotjhani. 
 
Good morning, 
 
It is a pleasure to be here in the North West for this important event. 
 
Taking Parliament to the People gives effect to the promise of our constitution that was signed into law thirty years ago. 
 
Our constitution declares that all South Africans have the right to participate fully in the life of our nation, that they should have a say in the way they are governed and that they should participate fully in all decisions that affect them. 
 
Just as millions of South Africans were part of drawing up the Constitution itself, participatory democracy is the foundation of the open, free, tolerant society we are striving to build. 
 
In 1994, our vision was to build a People’s Parliament that represents the people, where their voices are heard and that broadly reflects their will. 
 
Taking Parliament to the People is an integral part of that vision. 
 
Before we begin the order of proceedings today, we wish to pay tribute to the lives that have been tragically lost in the flooding in several provinces. 
 
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, with those who have lost their homes and with those whose businesses have been damaged. 
 
This natural disaster is a stark reminder of how vulnerable we are as a country and as a continent to the forces of nature and to the growing impacts of climate change. 
 
It calls on us to strengthen our emergency and disaster preparedness systems. 
 
We have to step up investment in climate resilient infrastructure. 
 
Most of all, we have to be regularly engaging with communities to keep them informed and empowered to respond effectively when such events occur. 
 
Over the past few days there have been a series of public engagements where we have been able to hear first-hand from our communities about the challenges they are facing. 
 
Elected officials are expected to report back to communities on what they are doing to address these challenges. 
 
I am pleased to hear that these engagements were well-attended and were vibrant and productive. 
 
What emerged from these engagements is that local government needs to be at the centre of our efforts to build a South Africa of equality and dignity for all.
 
In February this year, in the State of the Nation Address, I outlined our plans for the year ahead to give effect to the strategic priorities of the Government of National Unity. 
 
I outlined how we are driving inclusive economic growth that creates more jobs by expanding the productive capacity of our economy and attracting more investment. 
 
We are working to tackle poverty and address the high cost of living that is putting strain on individuals and households, particularly the poor and vulnerable. 
 
We are building a capable, ethical and developmental state that is able to deliver the basic services that are our citizens’ right. 
 
We are building a state that treats every South African with courtesy and respect, and that is free from corruption and mismanagement.
 
We have prioritised measures to address the water crisis affecting many municipalities across the country.
 
The National Water Crisis Committee has been established to coordinate the efforts of all departments and spheres of government.
 
We are dealing with the immediate challenges in the most affected municipalities, while changing the way that water infrastructure is funded and managed.
 
Two weeks ago, we held a historic meeting of all the mayors in South Africa to discuss the challenges facing municipalities.
 
At that meeting, we outlined the National Water Action Plan, which outlines the focused actions we will take to address the crisis.
 
We were encouraged by the enthusiastic and committed support of all mayors and all provinces to this critical work.
 
During the course of this week, our Ministers, MECs and Mayors have been engaging with communities on the specific initiatives to be rolled out, aligned with these strategic priorities.
 
What I wish to emphasise today, as we have done a number of times in the past, is that local government is where our ability and capability to achieve all these national priorities will be put to the test. 
 
Local government is the engine room of development. 
 
It is where national policies and provincial programmes are translated into action.
 
Local government is critical in ensuring that people have water and sanitation, electricity, roads, clinics and community services. 
 
Local government has a vital role in determining where companies choose to establish their offices, factories, shops and outlets.
 
When companies choose to close down and move elsewhere because of poor services, jobs and livelihoods are lost and the local economy suffers. 
 
When local government works, when municipalities are well-managed and deliver on their mandates, cities, towns and villages thrive. 
 
That is why fixing local government is among the foremost priorities of this administration. 
 
Even as local government faces serious challenges today, it has been one of the most effective instruments of transformation since the advent of democracy in 1994. 
 
Municipalities have helped expand access to water and electrification to communities that had been deliberately excluded under apartheid, including in the most rural reaches of the country. 
 
Local government has supported the delivery of millions of homes and helped built clinics, roads and other critical infrastructure. 
 
The Community Work Programme has created pathways for work, livelihood support and dignity for millions of unemployed South Africans. 
 
Local government will be a critical enabler of the most ambitious infrastructure build programme in our country’s history. 
 
Over the next three years we will be investing R1 trillion rand to build energy, water, transportation, logistics, IT and essential other infrastructure. 
 
This massive programme will create jobs, support local businesses and supplier development, and develop new value chains. 
 
We are on a concerted drive to attract investment into our economy. 
 
These potential investors need to know that they are bringing their investments to places that have reliable basic services, are well regulated and managed, and that are safe and secure. 
 
As such, local government doesn’t just support development. It is the axis on which our entire economy turns. 
 
We are determined that local government must rise anew from the ground up. 
 
Municipalities must be able to fulfil their role of building inclusive communities, expanding opportunity and upholding the dignity of all. 
 
To do so, it is not enough to merely paper over the cracks. Simply allocating more budgets or hiring more people is not enough, important though these may be. 
 
We have to fundamentally transform the way local government works and how it is structured. The structures developed in the past may not serve us anymore. 
 
We have to change how local government coordinates with national and provincial government for proper planning. 
 
We have to relook at the manner in which accountability and consequence management has been enforced in instances of non-performance. 
 
Above all, we have to reclaim the constitutional spirit that is meant to guide all the affairs of local government, where citizens are consulted and actively participate in decisions. 
 
A week ago, we released the reviewed draft White Paper on Local Government.
 
The changes proposed in the draft White Paper affect residents directly. 
 
They impact on people’s daily lives.
 
I therefore urge all South Africans to be part of the consultation process that is now underway.
 
The first issue we are addressing with the White Paper is governance arrangements. 
 
For decades, the district-local split has led to duplication, extra cost and overlapping powers and functions. 
 
When there have been failures, municipalities have been able to blame each other. The aim now is to create a system where roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability are clear. 
 
The second issue is to make intergovernmental coordination binding, in line with the Constitution. The different spheres of government will be expected to work together on resolving problems at local level instead of in silos. 
 
The third issue is to reform and tighten municipal finance systems. 
 
Municipalities will be held to stricter account on how and where they spend public money, particularly on maintaining essential infrastructure. 
 
The draft White Paper also proposes an overhaul of municipal billing and revenue collection. 
 
The fourth issue is to bring local government into the digital age. 
 
We are going to be focusing on digitisation and strengthening data systems that are able to facilitate and monitor service delivery.
 
Appointments to municipal offices are going to be professionalised and there will be tougher consequence management for corruption and maladministration. 
 
The people of South Africa want to see councils fixing potholes and delivering water, not fighting over gets one or another tender. They are also tired of being passed over for opportunities in favour of those with political connections. 
 
We must declare the days of patronage and factional politics in local government over. 
 
The days of those with political ambition colluding with corrupt business people to loot municipalities are over. 
 
We can no longer allow municipal infrastructure to be deliberately ruined so that preferred private companies can take over critical functions like providing water. 
 
This is the people’s government. Our task is to make it work for the people. Not for politicians. Not for connected businesspeople. Not for vested interests. 
 
Communities, businesses, civil society organisations and traditional leaders are our partners in rebuilding local government. 
 
For too long municipalities have gotten away with saying that they are committed to public participation because they placed an ad in a newspaper, had a public hearing or because they have a complaints line. 
 
Meaningful public participation in local government must be a structured partnership.
 
We are going to be looking at the different ways in which all of society can play a more direct role in shaping how local government is administered. 
 
Our country has entered a new era of hope and promise. 
 
Our economy is recovering. Investors are increasingly seeing South Africa as a favourable place in which to do business. 
 
Over the past few years we have faced moments where our resolve has been sorely tested, including a global pandemic and an energy crisis. 
 
By working together, we have been able to weather these storms and emerge stronger. 
 
Just as we have seen in recent days with South Africans opening their hearts to the victims of the floods, we are a resilient people capable of overcoming even what seem like insurmountable challenges. 
 
That is why I have no doubt that we will fix local government so it can assume its rightful place as the beating heart of our democracy; where lives are improved and transformed. 
 
As the National Council of Provinces, as the National Assembly, as provincial and local government and across the entire apparatus of the state, let us ensure that Taking Parliament to the People doesn’t end here. 
 
We must take our people’s concerns back to our offices, our legislatures and our councils, and act on them. 
 
When the next session of Taking Parliament to the People comes around, we must be able to show what we have done. 
 
This is about restoring confidence and trust in our government and our democracy. 
 
A government based on the will of the people is the promise of our democracy. 
 
It is the promise of our constitution. 
 
And as all South Africans, we must be determined to honour it, now and into the future. 
 
I thank you.