Committee oversight visit report: consideration

PUBLIC WORKS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
23 May 2007
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT VISIT REPORT: CONSIDERATION

Chairperson: Mr F Bhengu (ANC)

Documents Handed Out:
Committee Report on Department’s Strategic Plan
Draft Committee Programme for Second Term 2007
Draft Committee Report on KwaZulu-Natal visit [available soon at Tabled Committee Reports]

SUMMARY
The Committee managed to discuss only its upcoming visit to KwaZulu-Natal, and postponed the rest of the items on the agenda for the next meeting. Members raised issues addressed in their oversight visit, which included crime and lack of infrastructure within KZN.
 
MINUTES
Draft Committee Report on KwaZulu-Natal visit
The Chairperson asked the Members to give their highlights of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) oversight visit.

Mr L Maduma (ANC) indicated that the visit was a success, and showed the importance of conducting such oversight visits. The Committee encountered many issues that required urgent attention, and if the visit had been conducted in 2006 then many of those problems would have been resolved by now. He complained about the infrastructure in the places they visited and singled out an incident where one clinic was broken into and property stolen and another clinic that did not have medical facilities. Crime was one of the key issues he was concerned about in KZN and more especially in Dondotha, which was one of the sites the visited. He showed his frustration on high levels of crime in that area, which caused police officers to escort them when visiting it. He said that he felt like an outsider in his own country because of high levels of crime and that they were told if they were not escorted by the police their vehicle would be hijacked. He was also troubled by locals who were losing confidence in government’s ability to combat crime.

The Chair asked Mr Maduma whether the KZN province was doing something about the infrastructure in that area, especially roads.

Mr Maduma replied that he did not recall hearing anything about roads improvement but the issue of clinic development was. He proposed that there should be satellite police station in rural areas because it is unfair for those communities to go 6km to Empangeni police station to report criminal activities. Secondly, there should be departmental integration in KZN so that service delivery can be efficient and he added that collaboration between departments can help to create jobs and reduce crime.

Mr Maduma also mentioned a school in KZN which was occupied by squatters. He noticed that there were politics at play in KZN which hampered service delivery.

The Chairperson asked Mr Maduma if those people were staying on the land before the school was built.

Mr Maduma replied that they were staying there, but were doing so illegally.

The Chairperson asked whether they were provided with shelters.

Mr Maduma replied in the affirmative. They however refused to stay in those shelters and insisted on staying in the school.

The Chair raised the matter of the intergovernmental forum and its importance in combatting crime and social injustice in communities. Crime hampered service delivery, poverty alleviation and infrastructure development.

Mr Maduma seconded the Chair’s statement.
 
The meeting was adjourned.