Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 17 Mar 2022
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
PLENARY (VIRTUAL)
The Council met at 14:02.
The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: In keeping with our tradition and practice, allow me to begin by bowing to my right and bowing to my left. Hon delegates, before we proceed I would like to remind you of the following; that the virtual sitting constitutes a sitting of the National Council of Provinces, that the place of the sitting is deemed to be Cape Town where the sitting of the National Council of Provinces is, that delegates in the virtual platform enjoys the same powers and privileges that apply in a sitting of the National Council of Provinces, that for the purpose of a quorum all delegates who are locked in the virtual platform shall be considered present, that delegates must switch on their videos if they want to speak, that the delegates should ensure that the microphones gadgets are muted and must always remain muted, that the interpretation facility is active and that any delegate who wishes to speak must use the “raise your hand” function or icon. Having said that, now hon members, we move to notices of motion.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Ms S SHAIKH: Thank you very much hon Chairperson and greetings to yourself and hon members. Hon Chairperson, I hereby move on
behalf of the African National Congress that at its next sitting: The Council debates the success of the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the past few years; and that the unit has made confiscations to the value of R1,7 billion since 2002 in 48 matters referred to it by the Special Investigative Unit.
Mr E M MTHETHWA: Thank you very much, hon Chairperson. I
hereby move on behalf of the African National Congress that in
its next sitting:
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The Council debates the numerous complaints about racist
practises in the property sector, including race specific
requests from landlords. The Western Cape seems to be a
hotspot of these racist practises with 15 complaints
already in the past few weeks.
Mr D R RYDER: Thank you very much, hon Chairperson. Before I
start let me say a happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you all the
members here and everyone watching. God bless all ...
[Inaudible.] ... I hereby move on behalf of the Democratic
Alliance that in its next sitting:
The Council debates the impact of inflation increases on
bulk water, bulk electricity supply on consumers and
municipalities and their financial viability.
Ms M N GILLION: Thank you, Chairperson and greetings to
everybody in the House. Chairperson, I hereby give notice on
behalf of the African National Congress that in the next
sitting:
The Council debates the impact of sex scandals and
accusations levelled against former member of executive
council, MEC; Albert Fritz, of the Democratic Alliance
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and the attempt to cover up by the premier and the effect
of this horrendous crime against vulnerable and poor
young women.
Mr S ZANDAMELA: Thank you, Chairperson. I rise to move on
behalf of the Economic Freedom Fighters that in its next
sitting:
The Council debates the inadequate provision of basic
services in rural municipalities, including the delivery
of water and sanitation of which it has been a clarion
call for our people for decades.
MOTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
TAXI VIOLENCE AND KILLINGS IN KWAZULU-NATAL
(Draft Resolution)
Ms S A LUTHULI: Chairperson, I hereby rise on behalf of the
EFF to move without notice:
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That the Council-
(1) notes the high rise...
IsiZulu:
... yohlame nokubulawa embonini yamatekisi oluqhubekalayo
lapha KwaZulu-Natali; (Translation of IsiZulu sentence
follows):[of taxi violence and shootings which continue
unabated in KwaZulu-Natal.]
(2) yazi ukuthi lezi zibalo zokubulawa kwabantu zandisa
izibalo lapha eNingizimu Afrika ikakhulukazi embonini
yamatekisi njengoba ziziningi izigameko kulesi
sifundazwe ikakhulukazi ezindaweni zasoTongaat eVerulam
okuyiNyakatho yeTheku ukubulawa kwabanikazi bamatekisi
kanye nabashayeli; (Translations of IsiZulu paragraph
follows): [further notes that there exists a growing
crisis of contract killings in the country, especially
in the taxi industry, as there have been several
incidents in the province, in the North of Durban in
particular, Tongaat and Verulam, where either a taxi
owner or a driver was gunned down]
English:
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(3) acknowledges that this has generated a series of hitmen
available for hire, and when conflict in the taxi
industry is sparked, it spills over to affect the
safety of commuters, bystanders as well as local
government officials;
(4) further acknowledge that the rights and freedoms which
the Constitution entrenches for all citizens, are
threatened every time a citizen becomes a victim of
such crimes;
IsiZulu:
(5) ikubhekisise ukuthi lobu bugebengu buyanda lapha
eNingizimu Afrika njengoba kungajeziswa muntu; futhi
[Translation of IsiZulu follows: [recognises that
criminals triumph in South Africa as they go by
unpunished; and]
English:
(6) calls on the government to display leadership and put
an end to taxi violence.
Thank you, Chairperson.
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Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
CONGRATULATIONS TO JUSTICE RAYMOND ZONDO
(Draft Resolution)
Ms A D MALEKA: Chairperson, I rise on behalf of the ANC move
without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with appreciation the appointment of Justice
Raymond Mnyamezeli Zondo as the Chief Justice of the
Republic of South Africa;
(2) further notes the general respect that Justice Zondo
enjoys among different quarters of South Africans for
his legal expertise; and
(3) congratulates Chief Justice Zondo in his appointment
and wish him well in his new leadership role.
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Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
XENOPHOBIA FUELLED BY CERTAIN NATIONAL GROUPS
(Draft Resolution)
Mr D R RYDER: Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, I hereby move
without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes the rise of nationalist groups in Gauteng
mobilising xenophobic sentiment;
(2) notes the opportunistic populism of certain emerging
political parties fuelling the xenophobia;
(3) acknowledges the long and co-operative relationship
that South Africa has with our continental neighbours;
(4) embraces the diversity of cultures that make up our
rainbow nation;
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(5) calls upon the Minister of Home Affairs to move swiftly
to eliminate red-tape, backlogs and corruption within
the department;
(6) further calls on all those living within our borders,
whether born here or not, to co-operate with one
another and pursue a life of harmony; and
(7) condemns the xenophobes and xenophobic organisations
for these senseless attacks.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
AN INVESTIGATION OF CORRUPTION RELATED CASES IN FREE STATE BY
THE NATIONAL PROSECUTING AUTHORITY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M DANGOR: Chairperson, allow me to rise on behalf of the
ANC to move without notice:
That the Council-
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(1) notes the successes of the National Prosecuting
Authority, NPA, in hunting down and prosecuting
corruption related cases in the Free State;
(2) also notes that according to the report by the head of
the NPA in the Free State, Adv Navilla Somaru, there
are currently 8 cases involving the Departments of
Agriculture, Health, Education and Human Settlement
with strong prospects for successful prosecution; and
there are a number of cases already concluded with ten
people found guilty and sentenced;
(3) acknowledges that this demonstrates the successful
efforts of renewal of the criminal justice system; and
(4) congratulates Advocate Somaru and her team for these
successes and wish them well in their further
investigations.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
CONGRATULATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN CRICKET TEAM
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(Draft Resolution)
Ms N NDONGENI: Chairperson, I hereby move without notice on
behalf of the ANC:
That the Council-
(1) notes with appreciation the good results achieved by
the South African Women Cricket team in the World Cup
currently being played in New Zealand;
(2) further notes that the South African team has won all
four games they have played so far, improving their
chances to play in the semi-finals; and
(3) congratulates the team for their good results so far
and wish them all the best in their upcoming matches.
Thank you, Chair.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
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SERVICE DELIVERY CHALLENGES IN SOL PLAATJE MUNICIPALITY
(Draft Resolution)
Ms D C CHRISTIANS: Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, I hereby
move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes that during a Ministerial Briefing Session on
Water and Sanitation on the progress in eradicating
the gaps in the provision of water and sanitation, this
past week, the Minister, Senzo Mchunu indicated that
he was unaware of the infrastructure maintenance woes
of the Sol Plaatje Municipality, but would investigate
the matter promptly;
(2) notes that on 21 April 2021 Premier Zamani Saul
released a press statement on behalf of the provincial
government stating that they are concerned about the
service delivery challenges facing the Sol Plaatje
Municipality, and the resultant discomfort and anger
amongst residents in the city;
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(3) further notes the Premier indicated that an amount of
R500 million would be allocated as follows, amongst
others:
• R180 million for road maintenance to deal with
potholes;
• R 20 million to address water and sewage leakages;
• and R15 million towards cleaning the city
(4) notes with concern that none of the above has been
resolved;
(5) notes with further frustration that various national
stakeholders have tried to intervene in the city’s
further deterioration. The President has visited the
city indicating his disgust at the deterioration. The
Deputy President visited the city and added his
displeasure, and recently the Public Protector and her
deputy were in the city about the damaged sewer plant
infrastructure;
(6) also notes that the residents of Kimberley have now
taken to social media and are posting pictures of the
massive amount of potholes, fresh water leakages,
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sewage leakages and general dirt spread in and around
the city;
(7) further notes that during a recent Sol Plaatje Council
meeting the municipality’s CFO indicated that they
never received a cent of the R500 million, he further
indicated that if the Premiers office administered the
funds they should indicate what work and where it was
done in the city;
(8) also notes that a recommendation was made by the
municipality during this meeting to investigate what
happened to the R500 million, as no visible work had
been done in the city. During this meeting it also came
to light that R4,5 million was paid directly to a
supplier
who
was
not
registered
to
do
road
infrastructure work. Additionally, the municipality
owes Eskom R458 million and the water board R2 million;
and
(9) urges that the Premier of the Northern Cape, Zamani
Saul, be called before the Standing Committee on COGTA
with the necessary reports of the expenditure of the
R500 million. That the Premier give a full report on
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why the money has not been allocated to the
municipality for urgent infrastructure repairs in the
city and that he gives account to the residents of
Kimberley of the R500 million and the rapid further
decline of the city.
Thank you.
Motion not agreed to.
NERSA APPROVES 9,6% TARIFF INCREASE FOR ELECTRICITY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr A ARNOLDS: Chairperson, I hereby rise on behalf of the EFF
without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes the recent decision taken by the National
Energy Regulator of South Africa, Nersa, to grant a
9,61% increase to the cost of electricity;
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(2) further notes that South Africans have a right to
access to electricity. Electricity has become an
integral part of daily life, is important for the
survival of citizens and has made daily living a
little more efficient;
(3) acknowledges that in the midst of high levels of
unemployment, a dwindling economy and unprecedented
increase to the cost of living, an increase in the
cost of electricity is a cruel addition to the misery
of the poor;
(4) further acknowledges that the hike in the cost of
electricity, is a source of frustration for many
South Africans who also have to navigate through
other price increases, including the cost of food,
water and petrol;
(5) recognises that the increase comes in a context where
the nation is still subjected to rolling blackouts
and insecurity around electricity supply; and
(6) calls on the government to protect the ordinary
citizens of South Africa, for it must not be the
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responsibility of ordinary people to rescue Eskom
from blatant mismanagement by paying more for a basic
need such as electricity.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
ANGRY RESIDENTS FED UP WITH CRIME
(Draft Resolution)
Ms M BARTLETT: Chair, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes that angry residents fed up with crime took the
law into their own hands when they attacked three
suspected robbers on Monday 14 March 2022;
(2) also notes that one suspect died on the scene and
another on the way to hospital while the third was
receiving medical treatment;
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(3) further note that the three men were attacked in Social
Distance informal settlement in Mfuleni, Cape Town
after they were found with stolen items; and
(4) calls on the community not to take the law into their
hands but instead work with the police to fight crime
in areas.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the
Constitution.
THE RATE OF INCREASE IN CRIME
(Draft Resolution)
Ms H S BOSHOFF: Chair, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with concern the release of the quarterly crime
statistics in Mpumalanga which shows a highly
concerning incline of rape cases in the province;
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(2) also notes that three of Mpumalanga’s police stations
are now among the top 30 in the country with the most
cases of rape reported;
(3) further notes that according to the quarterly report,
for October to December 2021, the police stations in
Masoyi, Kabokweni and Pienaar are the rape capitals of
Mpumalanga;
(4) furthermore, notes that at the Masoyi police station,
45 rape cases were reported, at Kabokweni police
station, 45 cases were also recorded and at Pienaar
Police Station, 42 cases of rape were recorded;
(5) recognizes that the report has also placed Kabokweni,
Delmas and Mkhondo amongst the top 30 Police Stations
across the country which saw major increases in
reported cases of rape compared with October to
November 2020;
(6) notes that other serious crimes in Mpumalanga have also
increased; and
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(7) further notes that under a Democratic Alliance
government, the livelihoods of the citizens would be at
the forefront, and every necessary step would have been
taken to rectify these problems to allow for these
citizens to live in a safe and crime free country.
DEBATE ON STATE CAPACITY: BUILDING A DEVELOPMENTAL STATE TO
TAKE THE LEAD IN BUILDING A BETTER LIFE FOR All
The MINISTER OF CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL
AFFAIRS: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson for
the NCOP, MECs here gathered, Chairperson and members of the
select, committee hon members, distinguished guests, thank you
for the opportunity to participate in this debate which seeks
to explore the measures we should undertake in building a
developmental state to take the lead in building a better life
for all.
This is an important debate that will contribute to enhancing
our understanding the role of the developmental state in
securing a better quality of life for all.
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The need for the developmental state is best characterised by
the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, which says
and I quote:
Our history has been a bitter one dominated by
colonialism, racism, apartheid, sexism and repressive
labour policies. The result is that poverty and
degradation exist side by side with modern cities and a
developed mining, industrial and commercial
infrastructure. Our income distribution is racially
distorted and ranks as one of the most unequal in the
world – lavish wealth and abject poverty characterise our
society.
According to the RDP, the South African developmental state
must and I quote:
Integrate growth, development, reconstruction, and
redistribution into a unified programme.
For the RDP, the key to these linkages is
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An infrastructural programme that will provide access to
modern and effective services as well as the training of
all people.
The South African developmental state, therefore, has the
obligation to meet basic needs whilst opening up previously
suppressed economic and human potential in urban and rural
areas.
In this outlook, the pursuance of basic needs and human
development spurs economic growth and not vice versa.
Therefore, the ANC believes in more state and not less state.
We are believers in the philosophy advanced by Professor Omano
Edigheji which holds that and I quote:
No development state, no development.
Our views are also aligned to the Constitution, which in part
says and I quote:
We, through our freely elected representatives, adopt
this Constitution as the supreme law of the republic so
as to – improve the quality of life of all citizens and
free the potential of each person.
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Our Constitution further recognises that the three spheres are
distinctive, interdependent, and interrelated spheres of
government which need to collaborate, integrate, and co-
ordinate. Sections 152 and 153 assign developmental duties to
the local sphere, which are to provide democratic and
accountable government for local communities, ensure the
provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner,
promote social and economic development Promote a safe and
healthy environment, and encourage the involvement of
communities and community organisations.
Hon Chairperson, additionally, in Chapter 7, the Constitution
calls on the national legislature to provide legislation and I
quote:
For a role for traditional leadership as an institution
on matters affecting local communities.
In advancing all these objectives of the local sphere of
governance section 154 calls on and I quote:
the national government and provincial governments, by
legislative and other measures, to support and strengthen
the capacity of municipalities to manage their own
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affairs, to exercise their powers and perform their
duties.
However, that we aspire to be a developmental state, does not
mean we are one. We must fulfil four basic conditions and
criteria to become one. First, the developmental state, must
have a long-term vision and a plan by which it mobilises all
of society. As South Korean economist, Dr Ha Joon Chang, says
and I quote:
The Korean economic miracle was the result of a clever
and pragmatic mixture of market incentives and state
direction.
Secondly, the developmental state must be in possession of
sufficient legitimacy and mobilisation capacities to capture
the imagination and inputs of the citizenry. Thirdly, it must
be in possession of the necessary technical capacity and
capability as well as systems to implement its short - and
longer-term objectives. Finally, the state must be trusted,
ethical, and professional.
Chairperson, the National Development Plan, NDP, establishes
an overarching long-term developmental vision to eliminate
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poverty, reduce inequality and create jobs by the year 2030.
The plan is supported by medium-term objectives, as contained
in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, as approved by
the National Houses of Parliament.
However, in reviewing the NDP, the National Planning
Commission was of the view that the plan does not tackle its
objectives with sufficient rigour and detail. Taking that
into consideration, as well as the conclusions of the 25-year
Review of Democracy Report, which found a lack of horizontal
and vertical integration and co-ordination, government
developed the District Development Model, DDM, to enhance our
way of doing things. The DDM through the District and National
One Plan and Budget complements the Invest Rural Masterplan,
which we reported on in the strategy session of this House. As
we said then, this is an important and transformative
initiative driven by the national and provincial Houses of
Traditional and Khoisan leaders, which will radically change
the face of rural South Africa, if properly implemented.
In implementing the DDM and Invest Rural Strategy, we have
interrogated the endowments of each district and have found
commonalities such as talented people, land, sunshine and at
times unique endowments. We have also found that old practices
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such as breeding cattle, goats, and sheep, still exist in
rural South Africa. However, we must explore ways to modernise
these practices and make them more profitable and economically
viable for the people. We have also found that some old
practices are also dying, these include the growing food and
vegetables, if we see a loads of land lying farlow which used
to be productive. Again, we must modernise and encourage our
communities to return to the field as this is key to feeding
the nation and continent.
After all, the true measure of a developmental state is the
societal and transformative impact it has. In this regard, and
to address youth unemployment, we have partnered with the
National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, in Mpumalanga as a
pilot to remodel the Community Works Programme, CWP. Thus, far
we have enrolled 27 626 vulnerable and youth participants in
three districts and in 19 sites. These participants engage in
ventures such as agriculture, construction, maintenance,
teacher support, as well as homebased and auxiliary services
in the context of the CWP.
The developmental state cannot succeed outside a skills
revolution. Which is why we want to remodel the CWP, so that
it does give the young people who participate to gain portable
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skills which will allow them to get jobs or create jobs. The
developmental state cannot succeed outside a skills
revolution. It must therefore address the growing and
concerning 9,1 million young people who are not in education,
employment, and training. By addressing these, we can also
close the national skills gap and requirements of
municipalities. For instance, South Africa has one artisan per
2 000 citizens as opposed to the global norm of one artisan
per 30 citizens. So, we can still far just with artisans.
Therefore, we have deployed 94 professionally registered civil
engineers, electrical engineers, and town planners to the 44
district municipalities.
To complement this and promote youth empowerment whilst
supporting these deployed professionals in all the districts,
we have also enrolled 144 newly qualified and unemployed young
graduates, whom we inducted just two weeks ago. These young
professionals are in the fields of town planning, project
construction management, environmental management, as well as
civil and electrical engineering.
In addition to this, we have recruited 39 young people into
the Municipal Support Agent, MISA, Experiential Learning
Programme. These young people come from the provinces of the
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Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, Northwest, and Western
Cape and will utilise this opportunity to earn technical
qualifications in areas such as plumbing, whilst also
supporting municipalities with operations and maintenance.
Through the MISA Apprenticeship Programme, we have recruited
an additional 89 young people from all the provinces, to give
them on-the-job training so that they too may qualify as
artisans. These graduates, experimental learners participants,
and apprentices are working with municipal officials to plan
and complete projects, so that they too may receive their full
qualifications and professional registrations. Some of the
municipal officials they are working with may have left the
education system long ago and due to work pressures, they
would have not had the time to learn or adapt to new
technologies.
In this regard, we have already trained 519 municipal
technical support staff, in all our municipalities, through
short-term and technical refresher courses. Given our history
as a country that deliberately undereducated and recruited
people as cheap labour, we have provided qualifications to 52
general workers under the Recognition of Prior Knowledge
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Framework, in the provinces of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Free State,
Limpopo and Northwest.
We are also conscious that we must close the long-term skills
gap in the municipalities as well as in the infrastructure,
built and environmental sectors, so that our nation may meet
its aspirations. In this regard, MISA is currently supporting
15 municipalities with the assessment of their technical
capacity gaps. This will result in finalisation of individual
and institutional capacity development plans.
As part of our contributions to the infrastructure sector, we
have this year, issued an additional 90 bursaries under the
MISA Bursary Scheme. The bursaries have been provided in the
areas of infrastructure management, engineering, town
planning, project management, and environmental management.
These students join the 160 students, we have recruited since
the start of the programme 2-years ago.
Chairperson, we are also acutely aware of the capacity
limitations of municipalities that are not strictly confined
to the technical areas. Thus, the department is currently
undertaking a nation-wide online skills audit for all
municipalities which incorporates the necessary competency
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frameworks for the different occupational streams for all
municipal staff below the management echelon.
As we have said before, the developmental state must drive a
particular agenda. At a local level we believe that agenda
must capacitate municipalities to play a greater economic
developmental role. This will enable municipalities to attract
the necessary capacities whilst raising sufficient revenues.
We must also deemphasize passive service provision. It must
promote active citizenry and locate the role of municipalities
in the active promotion of efficient local markets and
inclusive growth. For us this is the core subject of the
social compact exercise alluded to by the President in the
state of the nation, sona.
Gradually, we are working towards shifting the attitudes and
culture of those who serve the public, including public office
bearers. To create the will to serve and promote good ethics
in the three spheres. We are collaborating with National
School of Government, in the delivery of ethics training
modules. Already they have inducted the new councils. These
councils will also be subject to the revised and mandatory
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code of conduct, which insulates the local administration from
political influence.
To complement this, in September we promulgated the Local
Government Municipal Staff Regulations. These set uniform
standards and procedures for municipal staff establishment,
recruitment, selection and appointments, performance
management, and transfers of municipal employees. These
regulations also introduce a Competency Framework which is the
first step in ensuring that we have the right people in the
right jobs. Thus laying the foundations for a more
professional public service in all spheres in the co-operative
governance sector.
Chairperson, our history requires that South Africa develops
its own unique brand of a developmental state. There can be no
doubt of its utility and the societal leadership role it must
assume. It must have the capability and capacity to lead and
mobilise all of society behind a common agenda.
Our experiences at a local sphere tells us that such a compact
must have a local soul. Consequently, the role of the local
sphere is critical in delivering the promise of a better
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quality life. The local economic development dimensions of
that promise, are also critical.
It is therefore our firm view that our collaboration with this
House will enable us to consolidate our base, as we move
faster, with determination, towards securing a better-quality
life for all. To do this, we will this year undertake an
important and inclusive 21-Year Review of Local Government. It
is our sincere wish that this House will participate and guide
us as we undertake this exercise, for it is only a
developmental local government that can turn our aspirations
of a developmental state into a reality. I thank you for your
attention.
Mr X NQATHA (Eastern Cape): Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon
Ministers, Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Deputy Ministers
present, Members of the NCOP, my colleagues, hon MECs from
other provinces, Premiers, hon Members of the Provincial
Legislature, all government and parliamentary officials,
leadership of SA Local Government Association, SALGA, and
distinguished guests, on behalf of the home of the legends, I
wish to convey greetings to everyone on the plenary of the
NCOP.
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It is our singular honour to take pride in this important
debate in building a capable developmental state to take lead
in building a better life for all. Hon Chairperson, this
debate is important in the context of renewing both our
country in the aftermath of the disastrous Coronavirus, like
global economic crisis that broke out in 2008, the end of the
global mineral commodity super cycling in 2011 and the global
shots, the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic has worsened what
was fore ready a crisis high level of unemployment, poverty,
and the associated crisis of reproduction, where households
are barely able to meet their day to day needs.
Under these conditions, hon Chair, people cannot be
surrendered to the wills of the market. A developmental state
that asserts national interests that intervenes in the
interest of the majority, is a precondition for our country’s
ability to overcome the crisis; a developmental state is
usually associated with high economic growth, and an example
would be Japan, in the 1950s and 80s, South Korea in the 1960s
and 90s, and China since the 1980s, and Brazil since 2000.
All these are examples of developmental state, both of which
grew at phenomenal rates. Today, is perhaps an opportunity to
assess our progress once again about how far we have gone on
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the journey we undertook to build developmental state in South
Africa. We would like to argue, hon Chair, that for any
progress, it must be always be prime aged and be measured on
the basis of how the lives of the majority are improving. The
key question today is, whether our state has sufficient
capacity to achieve the inspiration of building a
developmental state.
It is perhaps important to start from the beginning and ask
ourselves, how we shall see when we have achieved this noble
goal of building a developmental state. At early stages of
this debate, we upgrade on common features of the
developmental state as a country. Our own organisation’s 52nth
Conference of the ANC, agreed on the features which the
developmental state must have.
The first of those is that, the developmental state must have
necessary intellectual capacity to plan and monitor
socioeconomic transformation, must articulate vision and
engender and analyse the balances of processes for the same
possibilities and option, that is the state that values
education, which is an opposite of what happen during the
state capture period, where there is an erosion of the value
of education. Secondly, the developmental state must have the
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coherence, planning and capacity to ensure an integrated
strategies and priorities are resourced and implemented.
Thirdly, a developmental state must have administrative and
technical capacity to implement policies and strategies.
Fourthly, it must have the capability of mobilising and
disciplining capital in the national interest, that is
asserting national interest against the whims of the market in
the interest of the majority. The other fifth pillar is that
it must be embedded in the alliance with progressive popular
forces to avoid capture by narrow political elites and
parasitic elements, and avoid drifts towards authoritarianism.
These are the key features of the developmental state that we
agreed to on our 52nd Conference of the ANC. It goes back
therefore that, as we measure how far we have gone, as we
renew our country to deal with the damages of state capture
network, we have got to build on these elements, we have got
have mobilised people to be part of changing their own
condition, we have got to have the ability where the cross
section of the South African population and are mobilised
behind this vision.
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A few years ago, our country, South Africa, adopted the
National Development Plan, NDP, Vision 2030, which constitute
a broad framework around which development must be taken.
According to the NDP, I quote:
The national plan must attack the plight of poverty and
exclusion, while nurturing economic growth, at the same
time, creating a virtuous cycle of expanding
opportunities, building capabilities, reducing poverty
involving communities in their own development and
dealing with the rising standards.
The NDP provided a broad vision of overall economic and social
development, which integrates the economy geographic, social,
environmental and government’s element into their coherence
framework, with the NDP’s vision, the critical instrument
which drives government medium-term policy agenda, include the
new growth path and the associated national infrastructure
plan, and the industrial policy action plan. These are the
instruments that seeks then to drive the vision of the NDP.
Therefore, the NDP is the economy strategy designed to shift
the trajectory of the economic development, including true
identified jaguars of job creation, which includes the
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industrial policy action plan to guide the reindustrialisation
of South Africa’s economy, to ensure that we reverse, in our
case, the outward migration of our people in the Eastern Cape
to other areas because of it being rural.
Therefore, this strategy must help us to reverse the legacy of
migrant labour system, to ensure that the people of the
Eastern Cape will create conditions through the
industrialisation of our province, to thus compels the people
of the Eastern Cape who want to go home, and leave Gauteng,
and leave the Western Cape and other provinces, because
conditions have been changed because of the interventions of
our government.
The NDP, therefore, is a critical pillar in building the
developmental state, as it is required to have a coherent plan
in the coordinating capacity, to ensure an integrated strategy
and to ensure that, priorities are resourced. It is quite a
very important thing that we would like to highlight in the
debate, the importance of developmental state, that priorities
are reversed, that some of the developments, as we deal with
the crisis, are not contributing positively, whether it is
about austerity measures, whether it is about parties and
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social expenditure, that will not be a solution to the crisis
that we are facing.
The NDP is calling the mass resource priorities, not cutting
on expenditure on these priorities. The local sphere of
government is playing its part to ensure that its quorum in
the planning and mobilised various sectors of society to
achieve the broad national goals, and therefore, achieve
developmental state. President Ramaphosa, in the state of
nation address, pronounced the need, a year ago or so, to
pilot the District Development Model, DDM, and one of the four
municipalities which were identified, including our own
district municipality, O R Tambo, here in the province.
In terms of the DDM, the districts and metros are the land
rescripts for all government plans and private sector
investment where they are landed, and DDM is designed,
therefore, to increase the scale and the space to
intergovernmental planning coordination through cooperative
government and IGI. Among other things, it seeks to achieve
the following, it enables rational and justification for
priorities, projects or action intervention, one budgeting and
spend in a single space a long-term trajectory.
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Also, it makes it possible to agree on one plan that will
elaborate on transformative areas that will also inform the
master plan, for instance now, in case of the new coastal
African city in the part of Port St Johns, which we refer to
as the eastern sea board initiative, under the leadership of
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. It also seeks to mobilise
stakeholders to commit funding on agreed commitments and
projects in a particular defined area.
Hon Chairperson, one plan of all districts are visionary and
transformative framework, population in each district and the
backlog ... [Interjections ... Oh, hon Chair, it is privilege
for us for having participated in this debate as we take
forward the work of the developmental state, let us be
reminded of the wise words of Amilcar Cabral that:
We must always bear in mind that the people are not
fighting for ideas, for the things in everyone’s head,
they are fighting to win material benefits to live better
and in peace, to see their lives going forward, to
guarantee the future of their children.
Thank you, hon Chair.
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Mr I M SILEKU: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members,
fellow South Africans, contrary to what the Ramaphosa faction
in the ANC wants us to believe, the collapse of good local
governance did not commence with the Zuma era. In 2009, the
Dinokeng Scenario team, led by Mamphela Ramphele, Archbishop
Njongonkulu Ndungane, Bob Head, Graça Machel, Vincent Maphai
and Rick Menell, stated in its conclusion, and I quote: “We
have a weak state with declining capacity to address our
critical challenges.”
They warned that, and I quote: “The ANC did not understand
what was needed to run a democratic state and that leadership
across all sectors became increasingly self-interested,
unethical and unaccountable.”
Make no mistake, those were signs of state capture and
systemic corruption and whilst most sectors became concerned,
not the ANC; they committed to cadre deployment, cronyism and
tenderpreneurship.
The ANC extended the gap between rich and poor and weakened
the vital abilities and honest intensions of municipalities to
serve the people with good municipal services. As a result,
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we, the good people of this land, are reaping the sour fruits
of local government implosion where the ANC governs.
Over the years, there were good plans, facilitated by the ANC.
I ask the state capturing political elite, what happened to
the RDP, Gear, Asgisa, the New Growth Path, NGP, and the NDP?
The ANC loves to show off a shiny new policy every few years,
a shiny election tool that brings no tangible long-term
benefits for the millions of desperate South Africans. Now
they still blame apartheid, Covid-19 and even the war in
Ukraine for South Africa’s governance decline and the
subsequent lack of funding to govern municipalities properly.
The theme of this debate is, building a developmental state to
take the lead in building a better life for all. I remember
when this was an ANC election slogan and it seems these days,
the only ones enjoying this better life is ANC cadres. And
then we have the Minister of Cogta, who has tasted absolute
power and now does not want to relinquish it. There is no
justification for extending the State of Disaster when we are
recording single digit deaths. The time has come for you to
step out of the Covid-19 limelight, Minister.
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Afrikaans:
Die enigste lig aan die einde van die tonnel, is dat die ANC
besig is om homself te vernietig, deur sy praktyk van
baantjies vir boeties en die verryking van sy eie elite en dat
hy in 2024 met die volle mag van die mense se woede en
verwerping, gestraf sal word.
English:
Is it possible for the new government of 2024 to turn
municipalities around and to rescue municipalities? Is it
possible to once again, serve the people with good services?
It is, and yes we will. I read a brilliant article by Dr
Michael Falkow: Good local governance at a time that it is
needed most. He speaks about the four pillars of effective
local governance: values and ethics, transformational
leadership, innovation and co creation and strategic planning.
These pillars will result in public trust, civic oversight,
transparency, accountability and sustainability. These pillars
are embedded in the DA and these pillars form the backbone of
good local governance in municipalities where the DA governs.
Afrikaans:
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Gaan kyk maar na die Wes-Kaap en spesifiek ook na
munisipaliteite soos Mosselbaai en Midvaal.
English:
A key reason why municipalities fail is that incompetent
cadres and politicians do not understand the real problem, ie
the structural collapse in local governance. The report, The
end of the road, compiled by Dr Tracy Ledger and Mr Mahlatse
Rampedi notes that the actual problem in municipalities are
structural.
Capacity building is a pie in the sky as the cadres have no
will to be developed as real municipal functionaries. In 2018-
19, R100 million was spent on consultants in a frantic last
attempt to correct accounting failures in municipalities.
Dr Ledger and Mr Rampedi pointed out that limited attention
was paid to structural impediments, indicating that fiscal
frameworks cannot be funded as the good people cannot afford
the basic cost of services such as electricity and water.
This is a vicious cycle. Consumers, rich and poor, cannot
afford services as the prices of these services include the
cost of state capture and corruption.
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As a result, municipalities cannot raise sufficient income and
become less dependent on the National Treasury. But, here is
the thing, National Treasury is actually cutting transfers to
provinces and municipalities in a frenetic attempt to reduce
the budget deficit, which can expose the country’s fiscal
framework as useless.
We can create a capable network of local governments if we
restore values and ethics, transformational leadership,
innovation, co-creation and strategic planning.
Afrikaans:
Voor dit kan gebeur, moet die volgende egter gedoen word: ons
moet fokus op oplossings vir strukturele gebreke; die praktyk
van kaderontplooiing moet gestop word; korrupsie moet gestop
word; die gebrek aan munisipale kapasiteit moet gestop word;
en in 2024 gaan die ANC gestop word. Ek dank u.
Mr T S C DODOVU: Hon Chairperson, can I request that I be
muted in respect to my video, please?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Yes, we want to hear you, yes.
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Mr T S C DODOVU: I wanted you to see my face. The host has
disabled my video. Can the host correct that please?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: ... [Inaudible.] ... well the
Table will have to assist but in the meantime please switch
... [Inaudible] ... video.
Mr T S C DODOVU: ... [Inaudible.] ... see you on, hon Chair.
Hon Chairperson of the NCOP Hon Amos Masondo, hon Minister of
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, CoGTA,
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, hon MECs from different provinces,
Chief Whip of the NCOP hon Seiso Mohai, representative from
the SA Local Government Association, Salga, permanent and
special delegates, ladies and gentlemen, on 19 June 2019 at
the start of the sixth democratic Parliament when President
Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the state of the nation address. He
identified seven key priorities for the sixth administration;
building a capable, ethical, and developmental state was one
of these seven priorities. It is our firm belief that the
achievement of these priorities will constitute an important
milestone in addressing the triple challenges of unemployment,
poverty and inequality, and to put our country on a trajectory
of sound political stability, economic prosperity and social
justice.
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In the context of what the ANC stands for, our primary role
must remain to mobilise all of our people for fundamental
change and social transformation. We, as the living bearers of
an unbroken legacy, are more than 110 years of struggle for
unity, non-racialism, nonsexism, democracy, and prosperity in
our land. We must continue to advance this cause in order to
realise these strategic objectives of our struggle.
To achieve all of this, the government has, during the sixth
administration, adopted a district-based approach to
development called the District Development Model, focusing on
the 44 districts and eight metros to speed up service delivery
and ensuring that municipalities are properly supported and
adequately resourced. As we assess the state’s capacity to
fulfil the developmental objectives of our society.
The focus of my debate this afternoon will be all about local
government where the stumbling blocks are glaringly exposed.
Indeed, it is in this sphere of the government where the task
of social transformation has proven to be complex, protracted
and stubborn than was initially anticipated. Therefore, all
spheres of the government must build on the work that has
already begun to address the problems of poor governance,
inefficiency, and financial sustainability.
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The building of a capable, ethical and developmental state is
one of the cornerstones to deal with these challenges and to
realise the vision encapsulated in our National Development
Plan. To date, as we speak, there are many challenges facing
our municipalities requiring urgent attention. These
challenges, if left challenged, will not only make us a failed
state but will destroy the moral fabric of our society and the
solid foundation we have built since 1994.
Central to these challenges are political governance and
leadership problems with lead to financial instability, and
always costs service delivery to our communities, leading to
further instability, protests and the collapse of the
municipalities. In its assessment on the state of the
municipalities in 2021, the national Department of Co-
operative Governance and Traditional Affairs found that
infighting in councils, intra-political divisions in caucuses
and external political interference in councils led to the
vulnerabilities and even the collapse of the municipalities.
And when the municipal councils are not meeting regularly,
when they take unlawful decisions, when there is a lack of
oversight by the councils on the administration, when the
council committees are dysfunctional and when you have
councillors unduly interfering in administration, especially
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on staff appointments and tenders, these governance problems
in municipalities are exacerbated.
Even at this stage, if there is no consequence management,
especially on corruption, maladministration, nepotism and poor
performance, the crises afflicting the municipalities shall
not be resolved. The municipalities are also vulnerable as a
result of the increasing, accumulated and unauthorised,
irregular, fruitless at wasteful expenditure. What compounds
these problems is that some municipalities are able to collect
revenue while others continue to adopt legally unfunded
budgets where their expenditures explain exceed their incomes.
The municipalities in the rural parts of our country are the
most affected by all of this. They are cash strapped because
of a low tax base and lately because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which continues leaving dire consequences for all of us. As a
result, such municipalities are unable to provide the minimum
basic services to the people, and also are unable to pay
timeously their creditors, including Eskom and water board
utilities. To compound these problems, corruption, and other
acts of financial malfeasance have generally collapsed
municipalities. As such, these municipalities are unable to
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implement infrastructure projects, leading to delays,
incomplete projects and municipal grants diversions.
As a result, all of these communities experience neglected and
rundown infrastructure, potholes, sewer spillages as well as
water and electricity losses. Therefore, as a result of this,
the need for fundamental renewal and rebuild of local
government has gotten bigger. And the demand for accountable,
responsive and efficient local government has escalated. We
need to consolidate development through reliable and quality-
based services such as water, electricity, better roads and
houses, and increase the state’s capacity to address the
devastating incidents such as uncollected waste, sewer
spillages, potholes and water flows from pipe bursts.
The government must engage other partners to support key
infrastructure backlogs and maintenance. There is a plan to
maintain an equitable share of resources in line with
constitutional and intergovernmental mandates to support the
stabilisation of local government finances. In addition, the
following must be addressed as a matter of urgency, the
government and co-ordination framework offered by the District
Development Model and the resourcing of local government
structures to be taken forward urgently. Also to address the
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uneven state capacity leading to an uneven performance in
local, provincial and national government. As President
Ramaphosa accepted the forewords of the ANC election
manifesto, we faced a moment in history where we must choose
between the path of division, conflict, destruction,
inequality, and exclusion, and the path of unity, hard work,
development, inclusivity and shared prosperity. We choose the
path of unity, hard work, development, inclusivity and shared
prosperity.
In order to strengthen the capacity of local government, as
the ANC, we have adopted the Local Government Barometer as a
quarterly monitoring and evaluation instrument. A report card
to have an update on the degree to which we are monitoring our
commitment made in our local government manifesto. Also to
record progress and address the challenges in governance. But
we are using this Local Governance Barometer, as well, to
monitor whether the ANC councillors and the local government
leadership are living up to the pledge to ... [Inaudible.] ...
outside before the local government elections. In conclusion,
we say, the communities need councillors who will be fiercely
committed to fulfilling their aspirations. They need
councillors who understand the demands of the revolution
without needing clarity and, therefore, work selflessly for
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the betterment of local communities. These communities need
councillors who will never lose sight of their people, their
beliefs, fears, joys, aspirations, dreams and hopes.
And taking this particular way forward, it will be quite
important to ensure that we strengthen the capacity of the
government to achieve all these particular objectives that we
have set for ourselves.
Standing here. Bickering here, like hon Sileku is doing, will
never take our country forward. It is their agenda to ensure
that they identify whatever they think in their own
imaginations that are problems afflicting the ANC. We are
committed to what we are saying. Even the plans we and the
councillors have adopted clearly demonstrate that, as the ANC,
we will forge ahead. We will resolve whatever problems we are
experiencing and ensure that, indeed, and genuinely so, we
present a better life for all of our people. This politicking,
as I indicated, is nothing but a waste of time, and to ensure
that they deal with the ANC. And they will fail as they have
failed in the past. Hon Chairperson, thank you very much.
Mr M A DUKWANA (Free State): Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon
Masondo and other Presiding Officers. Hon Minister, Dr
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Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chief Whip of the NCOP, hon Seiso
Mohai, Deputy Ministers present, MECs, other representatives,
hon members and delegates from provinces.
The NCOP represents a central focal point from whence to
direct the work of the democratic state, both through
legislation and various accountability mechanisms enshrined in
our Constitution. The NCOP has the ultimate possibility to
propel the march towards building a better tomorrow for all
our people, to improve the quality of their lives and to
ensure that the executive operates within the purview of
existing legislative framework, brought about by years of
struggle.
In a sense, members of the NCOP symbolise the collective
aspirations of the people of our country; majority of whom
live in dire conditions borne out of centuries of systematic
exclusion and oppression. Our people look to this institution
and other interventions which centre their plight, and
privilege their socioeconomic advances.
The responsibility that resides here extends beyond what any
other South African could shoulder in a lifetime. The people
of our country expect all of us to crack the whip, in order
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for the rest of us to do right for them. They expect this hon
House to ensure the executive delivers on its mandate of
securing better lives for our people. The NCOP remains a
tribune that protects the rights of our people against
economic deprivation, gender oppression and racism. It is thus
unsurprising that not many people live to contribute towards
the country’s developmental path at this level. For me
personally, as indeed many of our people, there could be no
better place to participate in the debate on South Africa’s
developmental trajectory than in these chambers.
I must indicate from the onset that participating in this
debate, is arguably one of the most unnerving challenges in my
life as an activist. Perhaps in part because there is no
universal understanding of what constitutes a developmental
state. And so one traverses a heavily contested terrain
characterized by many competing ideas and indeed,
contradictory conceptual apprehensions. At a basic level,
there is universal agreement that the developmental state is
charged with the responsibility of directing economic activity
in such a way that the endowments of the country, both human
and capital benefit the people as a whole.
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With the assistance of a multiplicity of stakeholders, the
developmental state must use legislation and various
mechanisms to leverage economic opportunities in ways that
combat poverty and put all our people in good stead as
envisaged in the Freedom Charter. Of necessity, all social
formations like government, business, organised labour and
civil society must be mobilised into a coherent whole to
achieve developmental objectives.
However, some quarters insist out of sheer convenience that,
the state must not play a central role in marshalling economic
opportunities, in order to defeat poverty and build a better
tomorrow for our people. Interestingly, this sentiment is
limited only to countries in the Southern Hemisphere. It would
seem there are standards for developing economies and the rest
of the world. As Gunnar Myrdal argues I quote:
The prior existence of advanced nations changes the
context of late comers. It can produce backwash effects
that retard development in the latecomers or it can
provide very useful lessons for the late comer.
For us in the ANC, the most invaluable lesson we learn in the
context of struggle is that all challenges, no matter how
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mighty can be overcome if there is unity of purpose. Because
of our colonial and apartheid past, this unity of purpose must
take shape across the diverse racial and ethnic formations,
class backgrounds and within cultural and religious groups.
The idea of a developmental state is not a completely new
concept on the African soil. What constitutes the content of a
developmental state is captured succinctly in the ideas of
former President of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, who located the
genesis of social progress within the context of an attitude
of mind. He argued that it is an attitude of mind that
determines the success or otherwise of any country more than
the lofty and well sounding ideas we often bog ourselves down
with. Thandika Mkandawire argues that:
Developmental states are not an end in themselves, but an
instrument for attaining particular goals in this case
catching up, rapid economic transformation and growth.
So, what matters in the collective aspiration and intent
to develop.
From the standpoint of the ruling ANC, the 2007 Strategy &
Tactics located the South African developmental state within
the context of four important and interrelated features;
interstate in our conditions should be its strategic
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orientation: an approach premised on people-centred and
people-driven change, and sustained development based on high
growth rates, restructuring of the economy and socioeconomic
inclusion.
The second attribute should be its capacity to lead in the
definition of a common national agenda and in mobilising all
of society to take part in its implementation. Therefore, such
a state should have effective systems of interaction with all
social partners, and exercise leadership informed by its
popular mandate.
The third attribute should be the state’s organisational
capacity: ensuring that its structures and systems facilitate
realisation of a set agenda. Thus, issues of macro
organisation of the state will continue to receive attention.
These include permutations among policy and implementation
organs within each sphere, allocation of responsibilities
across the spheres, effective intergovernmental relations and
stability of the management system.
The fourth attribute should be its technical capacity. The
ability to translate broad objectives into programmes and
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projects and to ensure their implementation. This depends
among others on the proper training, orientation and
leadership of the public service and on acquiring and
retaining skilled personnel. But what do these mean in
practical terms hon Chair? It is thus unthinkable that any
human and social progress can obtain without singlemindedness
which galvanises our society into a common vision. We shall be
doomed to fail as a society if we fail to give meaning to our
developmental trajectory and locate our people at the centre
as key drivers. It is the people as a whole who wield the
necessary temperament and strength to sail this beautiful
country of ours to the pinnacle of development path.
Whereas, our government has since 1994 channelled enormous
resources towards resolving apartheid legacy challenges of
poverty, indecent accommodation, degrading sanitation, second
rate healthcare and general exclusion from modern life; we
need to appreciate the necessity of building sustainable
growth for future generations. There is a correlation between
thorough economic growth and meeting service delivery needs of
our people, who are growing impatient of delays in improved
quality of life.
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It is necessary to reverse the legacy of the apartheid past
and restore the humanity of our people. On the other hand, we
need to be build a resilient economy that contributes towards
growth. In a sense, we must ensure the living standards of the
poor are improved immediately by providing basic services such
as water, sanitation, housing and so on; whilst at the same
time ensuring there is sustained economic growth. In this
regard, educating our people should decidedly be an apex
priority. The importance of this balance cannot be
overemphasized.
In its effort to achieve a developmental state, the ANC
historically committed itself to a reconstruction and
development programme, at the centre of which was a drive to
fundamentally transform the economic complexion of South
Africa. The ANC government understood that without directing
the tempo of economic transformation, it would have failed to
use its electoral support to change.
IsiXhosa:
Ndiyabulela mhlekazi.
English:
Thank you.
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Mr M S MOLETSANE: Chairperson, hon members and the Minister,
the EFF have, since inception, stood at the forefront of the
struggle for state development and the building of our country
to its fullest capacity so much that the development of the
state ... [Interjections.] [Inaudible.] ... seven cardinal
pillars of the EFF ... [Interjections.] ... for the state is
well-placed to drive the economical and industrial development
of its people.
Chairperson of the session, we have to acknowledge that as a
country we are at an all-important turning point of our
democracy. We face a number of challenges which should point
us towards the direction of a developmental state.
For ours, is a state heading for failure. Our country stands
far removed from our concept of development state. It has
swayed away from the direction of economic development and our
capacity continues to deteriorate.
Government has failed to create jobs, increase skills levels
or tackle poverty. We live with large income inequality which
are worsened by settlement patterns, which sees the poor
communities living on the outskirts of town in informal
settlements and in remote rural areas.
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The current condition of our people is of a society where
thousands face severe problems in accessing even the most
basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and
refuse removal; with public services worse among those areas
where the majority of our black population resides, causing an
ever-rising tide of protests.
Under the leadership of the ruling party we have struggled
with these structural challenges, which require socioeconomic
and industrial change. The Zondo Commission findings bear
testimony to this.
As our inequality is widening, racism and xenophobia are at an
all-time high.
With graduates sitting at home unemployed, corruption remains
a serious challenge as it cripples the ability of a state to
pursue its commitments to economic development by draining
resources away from economic development goals.
The loss of revenue has had tremendous consequences for the
economy including negative impact on economic growth, lost
jobs and the explosion of public debt. These consequences
affect the most economical marginalised and poor.
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These conditions, which we speak of, are not surprising as the
former liberation movement has surrendered its developmental
responsibility to the private sector; which has, on countless
occasions, demonstrated that it has no obligation to develop
South Africa and has long proven this. Yet the ruling party
remains hell-bent on the privatization of South Africa as it
continues to sell off key stakes of state-owned enterprises,
SOEs.
We know this from the most recent opportunistic move to
finalise the partial privatization of SA Airways and from
their deliberate collapsing of state-owned enterprises such as
Eskom, the Post Office, Denel and Transnet.
It is, therefore, of utmost importance that we commit to
building and maintain much needed infrastructure for the
social and economic development of any nation is facilitated
by the provision of adequate and functional infrastructure.
Such development can only come about through placing the state
at the centre of its development; for states by their nature
shape the development.
The development of a state, therefore, cannot be left to
market forces as the leader of the ruling party has suggested,
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but rather the state should be built to such capacity that it
does not fall victim to state capture.
It is important that now, more than ever, for the state to
play a central role in the socioeconomic development of the
country so we may transform our country from poverty to an
advanced economy as the structure of our economy has not
changed much since democracy.
What is needed is a needed shift to a capable state which will
improve the quality of work and use its capacity to drive
local industrialisation and development of the economy.
A capable state as envisioned by the EFF is, therefore, not a
minimal state indifferent to the suffering and injustices
faced by its people, but rather it is a state which intervenes
and provides for conditions which shall guarantee the
fundamental right of all its people.
But above all, what is required in South Africa is a shift in
leadership to a decisive one which understands how state
procurement and service can boost the creation of jobs; a
leadership which will rescue state-owned companies from the
control of the private sector.
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For it is the state which should act as a vehicle through
which to transform the economy, create jobs and provide long
denied needs, including the land and housing. It is the state
which should play a leading role in strengthening growth and
spreading prosperity for all South Africans. It is the state
which should deliver on jobs and basic services. It is the
state that must deliver houses, roads, schools, hospitals,
dams, airports, railways and sewerage disposal plants.
For the development of public infrastructure would improve the
standard of living of our people as infrastructure promotes
economic growth, reduces poverty and improves service
delivery.
We ought to unite to build state capacity and free the ruling
party from the chains of privatization.
For building a state capacity through a capable state is one
of the many steps towards economic development of our people.
I thank you, Chair of the session.
Mr S HLOMUKA (KwaZulu-Natal): Thank you very much, Chair of
the session, greetings to yourself, greetings to Minister Dr
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, greetings to leaders of the NCOP, hon
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members, Deputy Ministers, MECs, we want to observe the
protocol. It is widely accepted that there is a deep and
worsening problem with state capacity and that this is having
a significant impact on our society and economy,
reconstruction and development, the effectiveness of every
government department and entity and, ultimately, on the
delivery of basic services of communities.
The Medium-Term Strategic Framework of 2019 to 2024 defines a
developmental state as one that:
Aims to meet people’s needs through interventionist,
developmental, participatory public administration
The definition also states that:
building an autonomous developmental state driven by the
public interest and not individual or sectional
interests, embedded in South African society and leading
to an active citizenry through partnerships with all
sectors of society.
This definition indicates that, in order to build the capacity
for an effective, efficient and accountable developmental
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state, we need to ensure that leaders and senior officials of
state institutions are able to plan and implement sustainable
development projects, use research methods and collect and
analyse data to assess the priority needs in each community.
Ensure that their institutions maintain a focus on the public
interest and not individual or sectional interests. Use a
participatory approach to planning and implementation and
develop an active citizenry.
To maintain good intergovernmental relations and practice co-
operative governance and integrated development planning in
all spheres, which the President launched and the Minister
have already spoken about the District Development Model, DDM,
which was launched by the President. Even here in KwaZulu-
Natal, the President launched the DDM and the Minister. There
is a number of districts to ensure that we launch this DDM and
also the implementation of it. Also, to enter into effective
and appropriate partnerships with all sectors of society, from
small private sector enterprises to large international
corporations.
Each sphere of government in South Africa has different
responsibilities in building the capacity of a developmental
state. While national government is seized with the
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responsibility of setting the agenda through various
instruments including the National Development Plan and most
recently the District Development Model with its focus on
integrated development planning, budgeting and implementation.
All the spheres of government must stand together and must
budget together and also implement. It is important that one
sphere must know what is happening in another sphere. That is
why we are encouraging that we implement the District
Development Model.
The provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal has a distinct role
to play in ensuring that while building its own capacity it
also supports the building of capacity in local government or
municipalities. Local government is at the coalface of service
delivery and is very often regarded as the government,
particularly in the not so affluent communities. It thus
becomes critical that both the administrative and political
leadership is well capacitated to deliver on their mandate.
As the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional
Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, we have conceived a robust capacity
building programme to ensure that our local government sphere
in the province is equal to the task bestowed upon them. This
started with the skills audit which sought to understand the
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level of education of our councillors and officials with the
experience in local government and training needs amongst
those officials and councillors.
As at 4 March 2022, a total of 1 230 which constitute to 78%
of councillors were audited. The department has commenced the
data analysis and report writing phases. Further to that, we
have partnered with SALGA and other stakeholders in rolling
out sector based councillor orientations workshops aimed at
inducting and orientating new and returning councillors about
their responsibilities as well as the pertinent legislation in
the local government space, as the hon Dodovu has indicated
that the division in the caucus has also serious implications
in the administration. After these workshops we even brought
down even further by capacitating the municipal portfolio
committees including Municipal Public Accounts Committee, MPAC
Chairs and committee members as well as speakers through peers
of our programme of ... [Inaudible.]
The sector based councillor orientations workshops commenced
on 8 to 10 March 2022 at the Zululand District Municipality
and the surrounding local municipalities under Zululand. There
were 148 councillors and four Amakhosi that participate in
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this programme and we are very grateful that at least 90% of
councillors of Amakhosi have attended this workshop.
A Provincial Capacity Building Plan for 2021-22 was developed
and implementation thereof is monitored. There are 102
programmes being implemented for municipal officials,
councillors and traditional leadership, through the Provincial
Capacity Building Plan as indicated earlier. About eight
stakeholder engagements were held where the whole 54
municipalities have been visited by myself and senior
officials of the department and other department of the
provincial government. Just to come there and we will take
them through on how government works and to capacitate them.
Stakeholders engagements were also entered into during the
2021-22 financial year. Namely; the memorandum of agreement
with the National School of Government was finalized and
signed. The implementation plan was drafted. The memorandum of
understanding with University of KwaZulu-Natal has been
finalized and signed as well. The partnership includes the
capacity building projects, and the capacity assessment of the
districts to implement the District Development Model was
conducted and 10 district reports were prepared, including the
metro, which is eThekwini.
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An implementation plan was developed and the following
capacity building initiatives were undertaken: DDM workshops
were held in districts to enhance the understanding of DDM. I
have already indicated that the Minister has visited more than
three districts in KwaZulu-Natal in ensuring the
implementation of DDM in all municipalities.
The District Development Model Integrated Development Planning
alignment sessions were held in 10 districts as I have already
indicated. Further capacitation of councillors on DDM is
currently underway through the Integrated Councillor Induction
Programme and sector based councillor orientation workshops,
as I indicated earlier.
The department has implemented peer learning sessions for
municipal administrators. A total of three sessions covering
areas such as sound financial management, Unauthorised,
Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure, UIFW and
governance and critical areas of their roles and
responsibilities of senior management and all also the roles
of the process administrators.
Through the stakeholder engagement with the National School of
Government, 178 municipal officials have enrolled for the free
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open e-learning programmes. These programmes include
Introduction to Strategic Human Resources Management,
Introduction to Financial Management and Budgeting,
Introduction to Leading change, Introduction to Policy
Formulation and Implementation Introduction to Strategic
Planning, writing for government and Know and Live your
Constitution.
We have also employed experts in various fields to the
municipalities to hold the hand of municipalities. We have
deployed financial experts. We have deployed project managers.
We have deployed engineers to assist all 54 municipalities in
KwaZulu-Natal. We are grateful that most municipalities have
welcomed that.
We must raise the disappointment that recently we have
received a letter from the Deputy Mayor of Zululand to happens
to be an EFF ... who registered with the provincial government
that he was mistreated by the Mayor of Zululand by calling the
drivers to say that they must drop the Deputy Mayor on the
road. And we feel like that will cause another division in
that municipality and it means that the district will not be
able to function very well because there will be instability
which will also cascade to administration. This is why we are
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calling for all political parties to ensure that they tolerate
each other, especially those who are ... [Inaudible.] ...
Thank you very much, Chair and thank you for your time. [Time
expired.] [Applause.]
Mr N D MASEMOLA (Limpopo): Chairperson of the National Council
of Provinces, Madam Chairperson of the session, hon Minister,
Dr Dlamini-Zuma, MECs from various provinces of our country,
representatives of SA Local Government Association, Salga, hon
members of the National Council of Provinces, comrades and
colleagues and fellow South Africans, we are sent to this
great platform for debate today, and as such is our
appropriately occasion for profound engagement on matters of
policy and legislative progress made towards building a
developmental state positioned to respond to the needs of our
people.
We do so, Madam Chair, just over a month since His Excellency,
the President of our country, Ma?amela Cyril Ramaphosa
reminded the nation that building a capable, ethical and
developmental state means and contains to be a priority of
this government. Continuously therefore is provinces in this
regard honestly assess and rollout programmes to give impetus
to the cause of national significance thus sharpening the
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livers of power to serve the people better. Through that we
continue to provide the people with the services they so much
expect from their democratic government. Similarly, we are
pushing hard and rolling out social and economic
infrastructure programme for the benefit of the people on
whose behalf we are speaking here today as their public
representatives.
Madam Chair, the inclusive political institutions based on the
political power obtained by the ANC is hard to resist or deny
its impact on the social transformation agenda. There is a
broad coalition of mines and front for creative endeavours and
efforts in building a developmental state, which is not a
conjuncture to be announced.
And that is understood as a dynamic process characterised by
confluence of factors, including interplay between existing
institutions opportunities to be created for the people
notwithstanding challenges related there to which of course
are subjected to significance contingences develop for the
purposes of the outline plans because the state institutions
exist precisely to serve the people of our country.
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Understandable, therefore Madam Chair, from the articulations
made at various platforms by the President, the Ministers and
premiers, all that emphasise are resolved and work will
continue to do instantly and in capacity of the state, and
therefore, advance unapologetic learn agenda towards
realisation of a developmental state.
Clearly, the essence of developmental state finds its primacy
in the overarching known to the public and particularly the
values enshrined therein, which obligate government to ensure
complete and comprehensive attention to the socioeconomic
conditions ... [Inaudible.] ...
Actually, Madam Chair, a Freedom Charter remains the
fundamental document that shapes our philosophical and
concrete political approach on matters of policy and
legislation, therefore, directing our national efforts to the
transformation of the state so that its capabilities would be
used in the interest of development and progress and decisive
intervention to better the lives of our people in the country.
Beyond any reasonable doubt, therefore, Madam Chair, the
developmental state to display: Firstly, strong state
intervention and have effective regulation an impactful
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planning based on technical capabilities and all what it is
required to make sure that all the agreed plans find
expression completely on the ground. It should have strong
political leadership that is oriented towards growth and
development and continued to combat the gracious extractive
features in the economy because they retard prosperity and it
tore the nation from an inclusive path of development. Hence
the ANC is hard at work to pursue reconstruction and
development of this country through important programmes for
reconstruction and development of our country.
Political and executive leadership is required characterised
by dialectical thinking for appropriate management of complex
matters confronting society. Existence of relevant structures
handled by capable bureaucracy to advance its development
goals at significant, cohesiveness and effectiveness so much
primary for the efficiency of the entire system. Unambiguous
calls clarity on legislative frameworks and centrality of the
people which foreground the legitimacy of the state.
This developmental state to the cleaning and design model that
enforces and promote integrative approach and ensure resilient
physical strength for the success of its plans and progress
hence the President launched a District Development Model at
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an important platform for integrative processes at a level of
planning implementation and as well as monitoring.
Prudent management of fiscal resources and stabilisation of
the monitoring policy contend to be an important process that
the developmental state would have to display without any
failure. Heightened professionalisation of the public service
has professional continuous development of our provincial
administrations across the country. And of course, including
in our provinces as well continues to remains a fundamental
plan to peruse without any failure.
A dynamic engagement and involvement of the citizens an organs
of civil society on matters of their government remains
essential and continues to be at a centre of this democratic
state that perused an agenda towards development of this
aspired state characterise by this important attributes. Hence
a capable state is expected to have human resource capacity,
institutional strength, sharpen business processes and proper
technological platforms to deliver on the macroeconomic
strategy of the country.
The capacity to fight maleficence leads and emulsification and
direct resources accordingly for maximum input and as well as
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development of our people. This developmental state should
make sure that it continues to provide quality education,
adequate healthcare services, safety and security,
comprehensive social services and of course, safety and safe
social spaces advance the agenda for social cohesion and build
the nation that is characterised by nonracialism and
nonsexism, prosperity and as well as unity.
The attention and support that is so much required by
municipalities given their strategic location in the equation
of leadership and as well as service delivery. Their
capacities and effectiveness paramount to the successful
implementation of economic programmes and economic
development, and therefore, provide opportunities for the
people of our country to actually survive and mitigate their
socioeconomic difficulties.
This developmental state would have to ensure strengthening
implementation of public procurements strategy essential for
the promotion and development of value chain system that will
advance a redistributive agenda for the people of this country
to enjoy the services without any failure.
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Hon Chairperson, we fully understand the intransigent
contradictions inherent in society and a threats to the
national democratic revolution being poverty, unemployment and
as well as inequality. These challenges require relentless
efforts to rebuild the economic position of the state
accordingly to grabble with all that in the interest of
prosperity. Evidence of public debate brought in the last
quarter of 2021 brought positive outlook of the country’s GDP
as shown resilience physical capacity and as well as
monitoring strength amongst serious difficulties.
It is worth noting, Madam Chair, that contributions of key
sectors of the economy in the context of Limpopo remains
mining, agriculture, manufacturing amongst other sectors of
the economy.
The provincial economic recovery plan is articulated by the
hon Premier, Chupu Mathabatha, focusses the province amongst
other things on agro-processing and industrialisation,
infrastructure rollout, implementation of mega
industrialisation projects, Musina-Makhado SEZ and peruse bulk
SEZ as well. Establishment local government complex in
Sekhukhune, completion and extension of agro-processing and
pack houses across the province, an expansion of
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commercialisation ... [Inaudible.] ... as activities that will
bring opportunities for the people of our province. With these
few words, we are more than very certain, hon Madam Chair,
that as a province, and as a country, capable state truly
ensures credibility and respect for the people, and therefore,
deepening an understanding of what constitute government and
as well as government. I thank you so much.
Mr N M HADEBE: Hon Chairperson, the hon Minister for Co-
operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana-
Dlamini-Zuma, MECs, members of the National Council of
Provinces, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, for too long we have
looked at South Africa in isolation and not to how external
forces are influencing the development of South Africa.
For us colleagues, the fact is that at the grass root level
our people are suffering due to the ill-gotten gains and
decisions taken by individuals in government. For instance, if
you look to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, we as
government have an increase of the cost of living, which is
hitting the most vulnerable hardest. Given the current debt
that the government has accumulated which accounts for almost
20c per rand that is spent there is little retrieve that
government can offer in the way of lessening the burden of all
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South Africans and continue our growth. And let me state
before government commits to more loans that money is given
through loans are not properly allocated out through
programmes. The difficulty is that information of the flow of
money is a very highly guarded secret. This provides the
breeding ground for networks and associations of corrupt
officials which has lasting effect on our communities.
Communities often do not see at all or sometimes in a very
small part the benefit of these loans but are committed to
paying for them.
It is very unfortunate that certain Members of Parliament have
sought to misconstrue the outcry of the IFP when raising our
concerns regarding the fragile state of our socioeconomic and
political climate. There is in fact, and I quote from the
IFP’s National Spokes Person, hon M Hlengwa, and I quote:
“Need of recovery and newness.” Then why colleagues we
tolerate an unnecessary strain on our economy when government
itself has admitted that we are struggling to come out of the
burden imposed by Covid-19.
It is only rational that such a decision taken by Russia to
invade Ukraine was not taken into consideration with impact it
may have of building the economy and state capacity of its
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Brics partners. Our public officials in government have
abandoned their own party believes and act levels of treason
when they offer a defence and do not condemn violence or
agendas that have real hash consequences of the citizens of
South Africa, especially the poor and vulnerable.
As we have seen ... [Inaudible.] ... the state has captured
and so has our development. If we are serious about our
development, we must not shy away of the uncomfortable
decisions that have been taken. If we are able to reconcile
our differences when it comes to service delivery and
development, we will ensure that South Africa take its own
development for the people of this country. I thank you, hon
Chair.
Mr D R RYDER: Before I became a councillor I served on the ward
committee where I lived. What I saw then was provincial
government reaching out with a project to build a much needed
taxi rank in the neighbourhood. There was great fanfare, and
a ribbon was cut. The politicians posed for photographs and
everyone walked away.
Except that there was this one problem. The taxis didn’t like
where the rank was situated. It was away from their normal
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route and inconvenient for them. The commuters also didn’t
like it. It was away from the busiest shopping area and
necessitated walking and exposed people travelling at odd
hours to crime and criminals.
The result was a white elephant. A useless project, costing
millions, conceptualised and delivered by the state with no
real understanding of what the people wanted. With no real
understanding that, no matter how much the state tries to push
its ideas, the market, the people will decide.
This is the inherent problem with a Developmental State Model.
The state thinks that they know what people need and want. But
the state is made up of conservative officials, informed by
outdated thought, and guided by questionable politicians with
questionable agendas.
The state should not be centralising control to drive
development. The state should be making sure it creates an
environment where development can happen through
entrepreneurship, through opportunity makers and through
hustlers.
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This week the auctioning off of broadband spectrum or
bandwidth finally opened. The auction has been in the
pipeline since 2010, and the broadband rollout has been
mentioned in each of the past 11 State of the Nation
Addresses. Go back and check. I did!
Let me emphasise the importance of the auction. Internet
access and connectivity are key drivers of the economy.
especially in rural areas, Hon Mkiva. Access to the internet
enables more and more people to participate in the economy.
Regional GDP can jump by 8% upon the introduction of cell-
phones. Doubling broadband speed adds up to 3% to GDP. It
broadens access, it brings opportunity and it creates wealth.
There are numerous studies confirming that increased access to
the internet and faster speeds work together to reduce
inequality.
And so we see that the much mentioned Gini-co-efficient has
been exacerbated by government’s ineptitude. And let no person
stand here and blame the other role-players. It has been
government itself that blocked and delayed the release of
spectrum for years.
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The Communications Ministry (Telecommunications and Postal
Services) has been the key procrastinator. And then of course
the terms of the auction when it was finally released was
designed to be so controversial that there would undoubtedly
be legal challenges.
Conspiracy theories abound that this was done on purpose to
allow time to migrate TV signal from analogue to digital.
process that is still not complete, and is now also being
A
challenged legally because government has not procured enough
set top boxes in sufficient quantities to cater for the
demand.
Hon members, we are frankly sick of hearing from each other
the phrase “Am I audible?” The impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on our economy could have been partly mitigated had
we had sufficient internet connectivity and cell phone access
across the country. Instead, people were forced to work from
home, with poor network, and poor productivity and work
outcomes as a result. We have all experienced this.
So instead of doing the basics to drive development, the state
has bungled the project from the start.
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This is not a developmental state. It is quite the opposite.
Policy uncertainty and the inability to implement plans have
been proven to be non-developmental.
The most frightening words a person in the private sector can
hear is “Hi, I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
Now we want to further entrench the developmental state, as if
the poor people of South Africa deserve more hardship and more
inequality.
Just look at the infrastructural decay around cities and towns
throughout South Africa. The Deputy President admitted it
yesterday. Our infrastructure is going backwards. How can you
even contemplate development when you cannot even cope with
current demand?
Let the state concentrate on its constitutional imperatives.
Focus on building roads, providing clean drinking water and
electricity supply that is consistent and reliable. These are
the basics. Make sure your people are housed and healthy. Let
us to protect the fruits of our labour by reducing crime. Then
you will find that development will follow without the need
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for the state to drive it. Create a conducive environment.
That is the role of government.
As South Africa looks to a deepening economic crisis we need
real support from government. The only developmental plan
that the ANC had was development through state sponsored jobs.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms W NGWENYA): As you conclude hon
member. I’m not saying conclude now, I’m saying as you
conclude, continue.
Mr D R RYDER: The only developmental plan that the ANC has was
development through sponsored. The only development that the
ANC has achieved effectively over the past 28 years is the
development of a Public Sector Wage Bill that even the Unions
agree is unsustainable and the development of monstrous debt
that we are struggling to service.
Get back to basics government. You cannot afford to be
reaching outside of anything beyond your mandate. I thank you.
Ms S SHAIKH: Hon Chairperson, the Minister of COGTA, MECs, hon
members of the NCOP, fellow South Africans, allow me to
contribute to this debate on the very important aspect of
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gender equality and the economic inclusion of women within a
capable developmental state.
The legacy of economic exclusion in South Africa bears the
imprint of colonial and apartheid policies. Equally, the
effects of decades of economic and racial exclusion are still
evident today in our society. As a result, South Africa has
become one of the most unequal societies in the world.
The exclusion of millions of black people and women in
particular from owning land, property and meaningful
participation in the economy, was structural in order to
maintain the foundations of apartheid and entrench the system
of patriarchy that has oppressed women of all races, but more
severely black women.
These structural challenges and their consequences are evident
today and have given rise to many of the socioeconomic crises
that South Africa faces today. There is a correlation between
the effects of the historical exclusion of women from the
economy, and the high levels of unemployment.
The inability to find a job increases the vulnerability of a
black woman in Heideveld, in Cape Town. It makes her more
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prone to be involved in a dependant relationship which in many
circumstances may be abusive leading to incidences of gender-
based violence and femicide. The exclusion of millions of
women in townships, small towns and villages from the
mainstream economy has given rise to many challenges that our
children and youth are facing.
Women’s economic exclusion gives rise to high levels of
inequality, denying women equal opportunities to empower
themselves and support their families, many of which are
headed by single parents. Research indicates that in South
Africa there are approximately over 45% single mother-headed
households. All of these factors aggravate the second pandemic
that we are faced with as a country: the scourge of gender-
based violence and femicide.
But, it is not all doom and gloom. Guided by the philosophy of
the developmental state, which is an activist state that
intervenes strategically in the economy and society; the ANC
government is hard at work is changing the reality faced by
millions of women and children in our country.
The developmental state is characterised by the creation of
initiatives and pathways to end economic exclusion of people
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in general and women in particular. Government is hard at work
in creating this environment to transform society to be more
inclusive and truly democratic.
Through legislation such as the Employment Equity Act, to
which the DA and Freedom Front Plus are opposed to for obvious
reasons, aims to mitigate the disparities created by apartheid
in the economy. We have already made progress in government in
the mitigating of the gender parity gap by employing more
women in senior management position.
Today, there are more women that occupy senior management
positions in government than before. However, we note that
there is still more to be done particularly in the private
sector. Government departments such as Employment and Labour
should intensify their efforts to enforce greater compliance
with this and other transformative legislation.
In 2021, our gender parity gap was 0,78 placing us 18th out of
156 countries globally. While this is a welcome improvement
from 2016 figure of 0.76, it is only a slight reduction. Much
more still needs to be done in this regard. Statistics South
Africa revealed that the labour market in South Africa was
more favourable to men than women, and black women were the
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most affected with an unemployment rate of 41% in Quarter 2 of
2021.
This was partly due to the impact of Covid-19 lockdown
measures which impacted women dominated sectors most severely.
It is thus important that we use our oversight mechanism as
parliamentarians to ensure that legislation such as the Women
Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill are properly implemented
in the private sector as these pieces of legislation promote
equality between men and women in the work place.
Noting that Gender Based Violence and Femicide is a
consequence of economic exclusion of women, South Africa has
made progressive strides in addressing this scourge. As South
Africans we have to challenge the shameful narrative that our
country is the most unsafe country for a woman to live.
We cannot accept the situation where our country’s
Constitution promises equality and justice for all, and
Parliament has made progressive laws such as the Criminal and
Related Matters Amendment Act of 2021, Domestic Violence
Amendment Act of 2021, the Criminal Law, Sexual Offences and
Related Matters Amendment Act of 2021, among others, which are
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all aimed at fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and
femicide in our country
Fellow South Africans, the onus lies with each and every one
of us to challenge toxic masculinity behaviours and norms in
our workplaces and communities. If we are to truly deal with
the challenge of GBV&F, we cannot tolerate that each and every
year the statistics of GBV rise and women grow more fearful in
society. A democratic developmental state as envisaged in the
National Development Plan cannot flourish if so many of its
citizens live in fear and in real danger of being harmed by
their fellow citizens.
A democratic developmental state understands that women
empowerment is critical in restoring the agency of women and
giving women back their power. When a woman is able to sustain
herself and her family her agency is restored. She has the
power to provide for herself and her family. She has better
chances at accessing healthcare for herself and her family. We
therefore must call on government to ensure that women and
children have access to health care and that their needs are
catered for.
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The vision of the Freedom Charter has always been that of a
healthy nation, nourished and well educated youth, high levels
of human development, including health and education services.
Those of us from the African National Congress are committed
to see this vision being realised in our lifetime. We call on
government to continue with creative initiatives and
programmes that support public mass employment, such as the
Presidential Employment Stimulus, which has created over
500 000 (five hundred thousand) employment opportunities.
We are proud that 54% of these opportunities were taken by
women and 84% percent were taken by youth. Government must
continue to bring about structural reforms to support both
women and youth. It must continue to mainstream women
empowerment in all sectors of the economy including
agriculture, technology, construction and entrepreneurship to
name a few.
Government must continue to create funding for women owned
SMMEs in partnership with the private sector such as the Women
Empowerment Fund, Seda, and South African Women in
Construction. We understand that the most disadvantaged women
in our country are women in rural areas. If we are to achieve
economic inclusion, people from various corners of our country
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must have access to opportunities where they live. The
empowerment of rural women therefore becomes imperative.
There are many women that are dependent on the informal
economy to make a living. Supporting this economy is crucial
so that women can be able to sustain themselves and provide
for their families. The Township and Rural Entrepreneurship
Programme supports people in these sectors and the programme
aims at supporting small enterprises to participate in the
rebuilding and restructuring of the economy; improve quality
and competitiveness of small enterprises for both domestic
supply and export markets, and seize opportunities in various
sectors availed by the COVID-19 pandemic through the entire
value chains.
As we commemorated International Women’s Day earlier this
month, we must continue to struggle for an equal opportunity
country for all, a country and an economy that are inclusive.
The inclusion of women benefits the entire nation and brings
us closer towards attaining our goal of a developmental state
as envisioned in the NDP. I thank you.
Mr I MEYER (Western Cape): Hon Chairperson, good afternoon
everybody. Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon members, hon
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Minister and hon MECs from other provinces, ladies and
gentlemen, for 27 years we have been debating the topic of a
developmental state in South Africa. Now, we have the results
and the evidence of the developmental state. It is a captured
state. South Africa is increasingly becoming a failing state.
Chairperson, how civil servants milk the state? There is
R60 million grab. These are the headlines that greeted South
Africans on 13 March 2022. The story of the extent to which
more than 1 500 civil servants, officials were enriching
themselves at the expense of the taxpayer took me back to
another media report, this this time the Financial Mail dated
24 August 2020. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter to ANC
members about corruption and I quote from the Financial Mail:
Today, the ANC and its leaders stand accused of
corruption. The ANC may not stand alone in the dock, but
it does stand as accused number one.
It is clear from the letter that the President of South Africa
and the ANC, recognises the scale of corruption, often
associated with cadre deployment. He admits that the capture
of state institutions by public interest facilitated by
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politicians and officials at the highest level had indeed
occurred in South Africa.
However, he also states that based on the evidence of the
Zondo Commission:
There was a disturbing level of grand corruption, where
individuals were placed in various institutions to
manipulate procurement and other processes to siphon off
massive amounts of funds for a network of politicians,
public servants and business people.
The President then describes the effects of a wide scale
corruption in South Africa as devastating and detrimental to
the general South African public who have been robbed of money
that may have been allocated to improve public transport,
better infrastructure for the poor, the reliable and
affordable electricity, the emerging black farmers and the
broader development of our country.
With reference to South Africa’s castro state-owned
enterprises, the President admitted that many of them had been
left and I quote:
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Dysfunctional and some virtually destroyed. It has caused
huge damage to the economy and the capacity of the state.
It is against this background that I rise to participate in
this debate on building a developmental state to take the lead
in building a better life for all.
Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, the premise of this debate is
that the state has the capacity and the requisite skills to
lead. This cannot be further from the truth. We do not have a
capable state in South Africa. The sixth building blocks of a
capable state are just not present.
There is more than enough evidence to show that we have
expediently aloud standards of governance to drop. The proud
vision of a capable state is under threat and in fact it is
destroyed.
A capable state has the rule of law, competent,
accountability, integrity, innovation and has a deep respect
for the citizens of South Africa.
Hon Chairperson, none of these pillars appear to be solidly in
place.
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The President’s letter highlights that we do not have the rule
of law, but the rule of lawyers in South Africa. That is why
the President appoints commissions of inquiries. That is not
the rule of law, that is the rule of lawyers. We do not have
competence, instead we have cadre deployment. We do not have
accountability, but Ministers failing to appear before
standing committees, portfolio committees and select
committees. They avoid accountability.
We do not have integrity, but gross dishonesty. We do not have
innovation, but banality, the inability to fix our ports to
build a profitable SA Airways, SAA, and establish a Home
Affairs Department that embrace the Fourth Industrial
Revolution is testimony to the malice that has crapped into
our state institutions.
The government that does not respect for its citizens, but
contempt. The ANC places its interest ahead of the citizens.
The party’s interests. The citizens do not matter. Their
attitude is one of the party first and the citizens last.
Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, if we can imagine for a second
that the state is a car, a fully functional and well
maintained. A roadworthy car has a steering wheel and a
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competent driver. A steering wheel is of no value if its
ability to respond to the driver is hampered by the driver’s
inability to point the vehicle in a clear direction.
Likewise, the lack of a clear policy direction affects the
state’s ability to deliver services to our people in a
coherent way. A vehicle without direction becomes a weapon of
destruction when its breaking system is failing. No matter how
much the driver may try to bring the directionless vehicle to
a stop, it will continue to gain momentum and create havoc.
This is what corruption and incompetence are doing to the
state. Unfortunately, no matter the number of investigations
to dish the reports, threats and promises, the driver of this
vehicle, the President of the Republic of South Africa and the
ANC, are incapable of stopping this runaway train of
corruption and a network of patronage.
The situation is worsened because the runaway vehicle’s
windscreen is covered in mud. The window wipers are not
working. The driver has no vision. Without window wipers, he
cannot clear his windows.
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The state under the leadership of the ANC is visionless and
cannot rectify the situation. The blind is being led by the
blind.
Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, the state, is led by a
directionless, visionless, brakeless, incompetent ANC
government. It is creating devastation and destruction at its
headless downhill taking the economy and jobs with it.
The ANC-led state is incapable of building a developmental
state to take the lead in building a better life.
As the editor in chief of the Mail and Guardian recently put
it and I quote:
South Africa is not a failed state, but we certainly are not
passing, at the moment. If no one is up for the “shock”
therapy, it will take to jolt us out of our current
trajectory, it will not be very long before we are one.
Until we do so, the notion of a developmental state is
nothing, but wishful thinking. As Paul Dennis Ryder just
mentioned that just like the delusional notion that the ANC
will rule until Jesus Christ comes.
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Hon Chairperson and hon members of the NCOP, we cannot provide
a continuation of that journey, but we can provide a jewel
required to put South Africa on a new path. Do so, by
supporting the DA motion of the no confidence against the
Cabinet on 30 March 2022. If you support or motion of no
confidence in the Cabinet of President Ramaphosa, you will
prevent South Africa from becoming a failed state.
If you oppose this motion of no confidence in the Cabinet of
President Ramaphosa, you are responsible for supporting a
failing state. Now is the time to save South Africa. For 27
years, this House has listened to speeches of a developmental
state. It is now or in ashes. The burning of Parliament is the
state of the nation.
South Africa is now a failing state. Many municipalities under
the ANC are a failed state. Let us stop talking about the
developmental state and start fixing the basics as the hon
Ryder said. Fix the water problems in Limpopo. Fix the
sanitation problems in the North West. Fix the electricity
problems across South Africa and fix the refuse collection all
over South Africa. These have all collapsed in the ANC
municipalities. Stop talking. Stop cadre deployment. Stop
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corruption. Stop the ANC in 2024, as the hon Isaac Sileku has
just mentioned.
Hon members, this is the time, there are moments in history
where you need to be historically correct and not politically
correct. So, I call on the members of the NCOP to do the right
thing and support the motion of the DA.
As I conclude, I call on members of this NCOP to do the right
thing. Do not be politically correct, become historically
correct and stand with the people of Ukraine and stand with
the DA motion. Please vote in our motion of no confidence to
remove an incapable state. Thank you, Chairperson.
Mr M A P De BRUYN: Hon Chair, by definition, a developmental
state needs to focus primarily on economic growth, quality
education and investment in industries, which sounds all good
on paper, but unfortunately, it is far from normality in South
Africa. Economic growth is not near expectations, educational
standards are worsening yearly and our industries are
suffering under unrealistic policies such as BBE and
affirmative action, altering growth and job creation.
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According to the NDP, the aim is or was to illuminate poverty
and inequality by 2030, but clearly, this objective failed, as
poverty and unemployment is on the rise yearly. This is
clearly showing that the governing party is cannot fulfil its
mandate to ensure development in South Africa.
State-owned enterprises that is supposed to be one of the
biggest pillars of expanding state capacity and development in
South Africa have changed into a mountain of debt of almost
R700 billion in mid-2021, due to corruption, a lack of skills
and incompetent officials in top positions, as a result of
cadre deployment.
Afrikaans:
As die ANC regering werklik ernstig is om ’n ontwikkelde Suid-
Afrika te bewerkstellig, in belang van elke burger, sal hy
dringend op die basiese beginsels van goeie en verantwoordbare
regering moet fokus, in plaas daarvan om net op sy eie interne
belang te fokus.
Miljoene Suid-Afrikaners, wat tot beskikking en bereidwillig
is, is desperaat vir werksgeleenthede en voortuitgang, maar
krepeer as gevolg van die regering se onvermoë om die
poteniaal van ontwikkeling te benut.
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English:
If you truly want to better the lives of all, start investing
in our citizens, empower them with skills and quality
education, ensure economic growth, so that industries and the
private sector can thrive, in order to create jobs and wealth.
Root out corruption and ensure a public service that is
accountable and productive, invest in service delivery and
infrastructure, so that the economy can heal and attract more
investors that can contribute to the development of our
country.
Afrikaans:
As daar voldoende fondse in die ontwikkeling van industrië
belê word, korrupsie en kaderontplooiing uitgeroei word en
genoegsame samewerking met die privaatsektor is, sonder om
hulle te kniehalter met onrealisties beleide en wetgewing sal
daar werklike hoop vir ontwikkeling en voortuitgang in Suid-
Afrika wees, sodat almal daaruit kan baat. Ongelukkig gebeur
die teenoorgestelde tans.
Ontwikkeling ten bate van almal in Suid-Afrika staan gebuk
onder ’n oneffektiewe en korrupte regering, te danke aan die
ANC.
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English:
Government needs to admit its failure in this regard and step
up to the plate, to put its citizens’ needs before the needs
of the ANC. Until then, developing South Africa in the best
interest of all will remain a distant dream, at the cost of
all in South Africa. Thank you.
Mr T J BRAUTESETH: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members,
and fellow South Africans, we are pleased to note that the
Minister addressed us without sunglasses or a mask. Maybe it
is an indication that the State of Disaster nearing an end. We
will never know. The hon Minister Dlamini-Zuma is correct in
saying that this debate is founded on the premise that somehow
South Africa can replicate the Asian miracle of the late 1970s
and 1980s in realising the pipedream of the developmental
state.
A close analysis of the Asian Tiger countries before they
embarked on this path some 45 years ago reveals that the
following elements were present: clear policy and objectives;
independent institutions; a strong, competent bureaucracy; a
weak civil society; efficient management of state and nonstate
economic interests; elevated levels of education and training
to give these countries a competitive edge; a cohesive social
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compact; a subdued labour force; economic stability and; the
prudent use of state assets positioned to target certain
industries identified to create competitive advantages.
On the polar opposite, and conveniently not mentioned by the
Minister, the following is the reality in South Africa: we
have policy uncertainty with officials floundering between
Gear, the New Growth Path and the ambitious NDP; as
highlighted in the Zondo Commission, state capture has
permeated every strata of government machinery; due to the ANC
policy of cadre deployment, we have a weak bureaucracy,
lacking the competency required and deeply involved in
politics due to loyalty to the mother ship that deployed them;
we have a powerful, well-resourced civil society, the
government has failed to manage the economy properly and thus
have failed to pick winning sectors and create collaborative
relationships between the state, SOEs, big business, and
labour; the government has failed to create an optimal human
capital pipeline; the governing party has allowed racial
mobilisation, resulting in ever increasing civil unrest and
labour protest action; and all of the factors above have led
to disastrous macroeconomic instability.
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The proponents of the developmental state here today argue on
an aspirational basis, much like the speeding bullet trains
and the new shining cities that the President is so fond of
contemplating.
What South Africa needs now is an enterprising state, not a
developmental one. We need a state that is inclusive and
eradicates the divide between insiders and outsiders; reduces
the size of the state, in order to reduce the fiscal drain on
the state; focuses on horizontal industrial policy that
creates an investment environment; formulates an economic
empowerment policy benefit the greatest number of people not
the politically connected; emphasizes welfare which helps
people out of poverty, and not trapped by the state; includes
the voices of the unemployed in labour policy; deals with
corruption decisively; enables provisions for lifestyle
audits; develops a skilled civil service is developed
underpinned by merit-based appointments and enables businesses
to provide goods and services in traditionally government
monopoly areas.
This is the course we should take. Not pipedreams that will
never reach fruition.
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There is little credibility in the hypothesis that the
developmental state model can be made to work. This lack of
credibility is highlighted by some of the speakers here today.
Whilst the DA speakers, hon Sileku and hon Ryder have, during
their time as deputy mayors and councillors produced 11 clean
audits between them, the ANC are not so fortunate.
It is frankly quite laughable to have hon Dodovu, hon Masemola
and hon Hlomuka participate in this debate. Hon Doduvu hails
from the Northwest where he was previously the MEC for Cogta.
How many section 139 interventions have there been in the
North West? Anyone? I will tell you - 13 municipalities and 10
provincial departments have been placed under administration.
Hon Doduvu could not develop his way his way out of a paper
bag.
Hon Hlomuka has done absolutely nothing to improve the lot of
residents in Msundusi, also under administration, and has been
utterly missing in action during the water crisis in the Ugu
district, much to the dismay of the residents there. I doubt
hon Hlomuka can spell developmental state, much less implement
it.
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Finally, the hon Masemola is more concerned with humiliating
elderly residents of Leeuwfontein on social media, than do his
actual work relating to roads and infrastructure.
With actors like these, it is no wonder that little progress
has been made. The ANC should simply submit defeat, move aside
and allow the DA to implement a plan that will work. I thank
you.
Mr Z MKIVA: Chairperson, let me start off by saying good
afternoon to you and good afternoon to the members. Thank you
for the opportunity. I want to set the tone by saying
following from what the speaker has just said. There is policy
certainty in our country. This policy certainty is informed by
the ANC’s position. That certainty is informed by our
thinking, the way we act and the way we do. It is important to
tell the opposition quite clearly that we are not in
government and in office because of love of power, but because
of the power of love. Our people have given us the
responsibility to serve and service them because of the trust
they have in us.
The ANC remains committed to the vision of building a capable
and developmental state as articulated in the National
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Developmental Plan, NDP, described as a state that is
inundated with the capacity to formulate and champion social
compacts mobilising different stakeholders, both market and
nonmarket based and lead them towards a developmental path to
resolve the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and
inequality.
We are fully aware that the project of building a
developmental state has been most elusive in the local sphere
of government. The 2019 General Household Survey, amongst
other things, confirms that while there has been an overall
improvement in access to basic services there were still some
notable challenges that needed the state to respond. For
example, it said that access to water in the period from 2002
to 2019, had grown from 84,4% to 88,2%. This increase was much
more notable in the Eastern Cape which is one of the most
rural provinces in our country. Despite these notable
improvements, access to water in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Free
State had in fact declined. This is confirmed by the
experience of the people of Moluti-A-Phofung Local
Municipality in the Free State. For the past decade the
community has had to rely on water tankers for the supply of
water. They also travel long distance to fetch water from the
river. This water crisis has drastically raised the cost of
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doing business in this municipality, and as a result had a
negative impact on job creation.
In Limpopo, the water crisis is more vivid in Vhembe District
Municipality which supplies water to Makhado, Collins Chabane
and Musina Local municipalities. In these areas there is a
visible lack of water infrastructure and this has had an
impact on health care facilities and made it difficult to
respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ANC supports the ongoing interventions which have been
instituted by the departments of Water and Sanitation and Co-
operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. In many
distressed municipalities these departments are making these
interventions including those that we are not mentioning
today. In line with the approach proposed in our theory of the
developmental state, we should ensure that all stakeholders
are mobilised to ensure that no one is left behind in the
provision of water and other basic services.
Hon Chair, at the heart of our programme for economic
transformation must be a strong emphasis on integrated and
inclusive rural economy. Rural areas are still characterised
by the apartheid-colonial spatiality where they were meant to
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be economically inviable spaces and many households are still
trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Today, rural
communities still face challenges that reinforce their
marginal status, these include communal land tenure system, a
degraded natural resource base, limited resources, reliance on
rain for agriculture, lack of access to capital, poor
supporting infrastructure, limited access to information and
knowledge of how to manage a business and limited access to
markets in general. The ANC has always been consistent in the
perspective that a vibrant rural economy has many carry over
effects on employment, reduction of inequality and poverty and
food security. In order to achieve transformation in our rural
economies, we must first acknowledge the indigenous
communities that live in those spaces, their resilient
knowledge systems or African wisdoms and the objectives of the
developmental state.
As part of the social compacts that must be formed with
stakeholders of development we must tap into the social
infrastructure in indigenous communities. This will obviously
through working relations with traditional leadership ensure
that we move to the next step. Traditional leaders still play
a crucial role in most of our rural communities as custodians
of land and water resources of indigenous communities to
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ensure fair and equal access. It is undeniable that
traditional leaders possess the required social capital to
bridge the gap between government and various community
organisations such as churches, traditional medicine
practitioners and small farmers. All these stakeholders attend
izimbizo and deliberate on issues of resource management, co-
operation between the institution of traditional leadership
and government. A lack of understanding and co-operation as
well as ignorance about the culture and traditions of all
South African people could result in our transformation agenda
being frustrated in the rural areas. We are trying to say here
that the rural communities of our country are pretty much part
and parcel of our society. Therefore, we should always try to
strike a balance between what we do in urban spaces and in
rural spaces so that no community of South Africa is left
behind when we talk transformation. This is why we must strive
to harmonise relations in municipalities between local
councillors, traditional leadership and the indigenous
communities.
In 2019, the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act was
promulgated into law in this country which is a very positive
step. This was a milestone for our democracy because it was
premised on rectifying the historical marginalisation of the
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Khoi-San indigenous communities who suffered as a result of
colonial oppression. You will recall that oppressors or
colonisers arrived in the Western Cape and the first people
that they interfaced with were the Khoi and San people.
Therefore, thois is indeed a milestone that for the first time
now they will be part and parcel of the mainstream institution
of traditional leadership. That is a positive that has been
gained through the positive leadership of the ANC. This Act
provides a code of conduct for members of the national house,
provincial houses, local houses and traditional and Khoi-San
councils. It ensures that our traditional leaders conduct
themselves in a manner that in sync with democratic values and
the Constitution. Furthermore, the Act ensures the
participation of traditional leaders in municipal councils.
This we hope will go a long way in harmonising relations
between elected representatives and traditional leadership.
Following the 2021 local government elections there is a lot
of subsequent things that have happened wherein tradition al
leaders will still be constituted as part and parcel of te
municipalities. They are expected to play a very critical
role. We are already seeing traditional leaders participating
in these councils and playing a role in shaping the
developmental agenda together with elected representatives.
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Hon Chairperson, the ANC supports the ongoing interventions
aimed at improving service delivery across the country. Our
priority is turning around the situation in the identified 64
dysfunctional municipalities and ensure that good governance
and service delivery are restored. Access to water and proper
sanitation is one of the critical areas of intervention in
these distressed municipalities. We are focused on building
water infrastructure as it can already be seen in
municipalities such Moluti-A-Phofung, where the Sterkfontein
Dam Water Treatment Works is being upgraded from 10 to 20
Mega-liters per day. This project is expected to be completed
by end of April this year.
The ANC calls for the prioritisation of the municipal
infrastructure grant in the 2021-22 budget of the Co-operative
Governance and Traditional Affairs, COGTA. We believe that
addressing infrastructure backlogs in water and sanitation,
roads and community lighting will able us to cement a very
good foundation upon which municipalities can be able to drive
economic transformation.
We should also promote agricultural development through land
reform. The ANC-led municipalities are already releasing land
parcels to widen access for small scale and household farming.
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The state should provide support for farmers to ensure that
they are able to access markets for their own communities and
community produce. The state must also provide support to
ensure the development of skills in agriculture which in the
long run will allow for the upscaling of production. This
should be strategically done through the Community Works
Programme among other programmes. We welcome the new re-
modelled Community Works Programme which address the
challenges which had previously dampened the effectiveness
such as delays in the payment of stipends, poor financial and
project management and the undue removal of participants. The
Community Works Programme remains one of the most strategic
interventions put in place to ensure that we fight off poverty
in the most impoverished communities of our country, create
employment safety net and empower participants to acquire new
and useful skills which will allow them access better
employment opportunities. The importance of the Agrarian
Revolution Programme in the Eastern-Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal,
Limpopo, North West and Free State should be emphasised in the
context of rural development.
Hon Chairperson, in order to ensure that we transform the
economy and make it more inclusive we need to ensure that all
sections of society participate in the digital space,
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irrespective of whether they be located in the rural or urban
areas. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution new
economies are emerging. It is therefore a source of inequality
that internet access is skewed in favour of the urban areas.
The 2019 General Household survey confirmed this when it
revealed that 64,7% of South African households had at least
one member who had access to or used the internet either at
home, work, place of study or internet cafés. Access to the
internet using all available means was highest in Gauteng, 74,
6%, Western Cape, 72% and Eastern Cape, 55%. We need to change
this by enhancing telecommunications in the rural areas as
this will allow them to participate in new economy and even
access global markets. We cannot overemphasise that. We need
to invest in the infrastructure so that we can begin to lay
way leaves in the rural spaces of our country. We must not be
shy when we talk about the rural communities. That is our
added advantage as a country. We should use it as a blessing
rather than a curse. That is our antiquity, that is our
uniqueness and the sooner we begin to invest in the manner
that we are doing as the ANC government, the better we are
going to see even better results so that we can have a balance
of smart cities and smart villages. Thank you so much,
Chairperson.
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The MINISTER OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL
AFFAIRS: House Chairperson, I would like to thank all the
participants who have made inputs. And in my five minutes, I
will just deal with a few. One of the members was asking what
happened to the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP.
The RDP is being integrated even in the Greater Tzaneen
Municipality, GTM as we speak, so the RDP is still alive.
And, let me just educate a bit, hon member who says, I enjoy
absolute power. In the ANC we work as a collective. In the
ANC-led government we take decisions as a collective. So, the
process of dealing with the pandemic, there’s the National
Coronavirus Command Council, NCCC, then from the NCCC matters
go to the Presidential Coordinating Committee, which also has
premiers who participate in that and then eventually go to
Cabinet which takes the final decision.
Let me also say that when we say that the taxi drivers did not
use taxi rank that was built for them. That’s precisely what
apartheid was doing, thinking for the people, giving them
inferior education, inferior housing and telling them where
they should live, where they should do what. That time is
gone, we consult with the people. The taxi drivers were
teaching you how a developmental state, how a democratic state
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must behave. You can’t just build a taxi rank without
consulting the people who are going to use that taxi rank. So,
I hope the lesson that they taught you, will leave with you
and will improve what you do in future.
I also want to just say that we are being told that in the
Western Cape, there is honey and milk and we being told it’s
the best place. But let me just give you one example. In the
Western Cape, the Nyanga Township in 2019 had a population of
200 332 people, but the police that were deployed there were
only 161 per 100 000. And then Camps Bay, which had 5524
people, the deployment there was 887 per 100 000 people and
you can’t tell me that, that’s good governance. That’s racism,
it’s not good governance. Of course the people who live in
those areas, like Camps Bay, Hout Bay, you name it they may
agree with you. But people who live in Khayelitsha, Mitchells
Plain and other places have a different story. So, the
developmental state seeks to give a better life for all
without discriminating.
So, I think you must disabuse yourself of this thing of cadre
deployment. You think we don’t know what’s going on in the DA.
And you were very quick to deny when the letter came out,
showing how you do your deployment. So please just give us a
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break. People who are deployed, they must have a
qualification, must be interviewed, must have competence. If
thy happen to be cadres, why not? So, as long as people are
competent, it shouldn’t matter that they are cadres, but it’s
only when people who are not competent, who are not qualified,
who don’t have a capacity, then we can talk about that. Not
that the person is a cadre per se, there’s nothing wrong with
that.
Let me also thank the ANC speakers who have highlighted a lot
of progress but at the same time saying - because we are not
shy to say where things are not right. Because, we are the
governing party and we don’t have the monopoly of ideas,
that’s why we are embarking on the district development model,
DDM. Because the DDM is not only the three spheres of
government but it involves everyone. It involves the
traditional leadership, it involves business, it involves
women, youth – everyone has a say in how development should
happen in their area, how the economy should grow in their
area and DDM brings everyone in the DDM forum. It’s not
exclusive of government [Interjection.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): As you conclude
Minister.
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The MINISTER OF COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL
AFFAIRS: Yes, as I conclude, thank you very much. And I just
want to say to the DA, they must go and fix what’s going on in
Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Cape Flats and stop making
noise here, where there are lot of problems in their own
areas. Thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon members, that
concludes the debate. Allow me to thank the Minister, Dr
Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and
Traditional Affairs and all our Members of Executive Council,
MECs, for availing themselves for this very important debate.
The House officially adjourned. Thank you very much.
Debate concluded.
The Council adjourned at 17:04.
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