President Cyril Ramaphosa asserts that mayors are a bulwark against all sorts of corruption and play an essential role in promoting ethics and integrity in municipalities.
The President stated that mayors were elected to serve the people of South Africa, and he has the utmost trust that they completely comprehend and respect this responsibility.
Thursday, at the East London International Convention Centre, President Ramaphosa delivered the keynote presentation at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) Council of Mayors Conference.
The President stated that a determined and collaborative effort is required to address the growing public dissatisfaction with service delivery.
“As mayors, you have a significant burden. You are responsible for ensuring that your respective councils are not just functioning and fulfilling their mandates, but also cohesive.
“As political leaders, you must ensure that your administrations are stable and free of political meddling. This implies you must lead by example and refrain from engaging in the identical behavior for which you seek to chastise others, as stated by the President.
He urged the Mayors that they must lead the nation’s transition to renewable energy sources, efficient water usage and management, effective solid waste management, climate-proof infrastructure construction, and green transportation.
“We are all acquainted with these fundamental actions, and we all agree that they must be prioritized. The question is why these steps have not been implemented successfully.
The President stated, “The reality is that we cannot return to the fundamentals as long as local government is viewed by many as a territory for patronage, political squabbles, and personal enrichment.”
The President emphasized that among the several lessons we have learnt from the floods and the COVID-19 outbreak, the necessity to return to fundamentals stands out.
First and foremost, local government must prioritize the people and their interests. Secondly, facilitating the delivery of municipal services to the correct quality and standard. Promoting good governance, openness, and accountability is the third objective. “Fourth, assuring solid financial management and accounting, and lastly, bolstering institutional resilience and administrative ability,” stated the President.
When local government fails, the President said, it is not just service delivery that fails.
“It is not simply that the aspirations of our people are not being met. Local government failure has a direct and material influence on economic growth and employment. We cannot realize a prosperous South Africa where everyone’s life is enhanced without a robust economy,” he stated.
He noted that when roads are in terrible condition, people cannot get to work and goods cannot reach markets.
When vital social infrastructure is not maintained, he explained, children cannot travel to school, people cannot receive medical care, and households frequently lack water and power.
“As national and provincial governments, we are challenged to examine how we might use the constitutional and legislative tools at our disposal to make local government more effective in addressing these difficulties and serving the people,” he stated.
In light of the challenges faced by municipalities, the President deemed it necessary to remind Mayors and Executive Mayors that the White Paper on Local Government stipulates that developmental local government requires political leadership to provide, among other things, community-wide vision and leadership.
By proposing a vision for the local region, forming coalitions of shared interests, and fostering the growth of a robust civil society.
Local leaders can actively develop their capability to make policy decisions by gaining a deeper awareness of the local area’s dynamics, predicting changes, and learning from prior experience, as he explained.
The President stated that transparency and accountability are of the utmost importance.
“This requires leadership in order to generate possibilities for community accountability.
Increased accountability ensures the Council’s actions match the expectations of the community, enhances the Council’s legitimacy, and strengthens local democracy, he said.