Question NW726 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
31 March 2022 - NW726
Groenewald, Mr IM to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether, in light of the announcement regarding the implementation of the District Development Models at a further 23 districts made by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, during the State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020, service delivery and good governance has been successfully restored at any of the 23 districts; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The District Development Model has been rolled out in all the district and metro spaces as a way of institutionalising Intergovernmental relations. The roll out in these districts is centred on the development of the One Plans for all district and metro spaces. The One Plans identifies key diagnostic issues as well as the vision, key strategies and implementation commitments to be implemented by all spheres of government in each district and metro space. The One Plans specifically focuses on Governance and Financial Management which is critical in ensuring municipal institutional stabilisation and red tape reduction to attract and retain investment. There is also the focus on integrated service provisioning which is meant to contribute to ensuring the provision of dependable services to households and business in each district and metro space.
To date, 42 One Plans have been finalised and submitted to DCOG. The Department is in the process managing the One Plan quality assurance process which will entail the assessing the One Plans and determining if they were developed in line with the guidelines provided. This process will ensure that feedback is provided to all three spheres of government on the gaps identified and recommendations on the improvements of the One Plans.
Furthermore, the deployment of National Ministers and Deputy Ministers by the President as DDM Political Champions remains an important element in providing oversight of the implementation of the DDM at district and metro level. The political Champions have played a critical role in unlocking bottlenecks in the implementation of critical projects across various districts and ensure improved service delivery.
Through the DDM approach, DCOG working with other departments have facilitated the process to develop Municipal Support and Interventions Plans for the 64 municipalities identified as dysfunctional.