President Jacob Zuma says great strides have been made in delivering basic services to South African communities in the past 14 years.
Zuma was speaking on Thursday during the second Presidential Local Government Summit held at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. A focused action plan “Out of this summit must emerge a focused action plan, to strengthen local government by getting the basics right,” said Zuma. He added that the local government, together with other spheres of government, must provide basic services efficiently and effectively, and in a caring manner. Progress in basic service delivery Zuma said there has been progress in basic service delivery in various municipalities, and that the recent report on the non-financial census of municipalities confirmed that the services rendered by municipalities have reduced poverty. “The report focuses on basic services, namely water services, electricity services, sewerage and sanitation services, and solid waste management services offered by the 278 municipalities across the country.” The report showed that 11.8 million basic water services are provided to households, with 5.3 million receiving free basic services. Of the 11.8 million who receive basic water services, 2.5 million benefitted from indigent support.10 million consumer units are receiving sewerage and sanitation from municipalities in South Africa, and 31.1% of the consumer units have access to free basic sewerage and sanitation.
“These are just a few examples of positive developments mentioned in the report,” said Zuma. Going back to basics Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan said the summit aimed to highlight successful achievements by municipalities and come with solutions for issues that needed intervention. According to Gordhan, too many municipalities fail to do the basics for their communities, and the summit was about going back to basics and serving communities better. The minister urged municipalities to only hire engineers and other technicians who will construct the best infrastructure developments that will last more than 20 years. He added that municipalities should maintain infrastructure properly and timeously to enable state properties to last longer. “Our motto should be: No service failures,” said Gordhan. (adapted from SAnews.gov.za)
