Budget speech by the Minister of Local Government, Anton Bredell

Speech by Anton Bredell, Minister of Local Government Environmental Affairs and Development Planning on the occasion of the 2018 Budget Speech, Vote 14 – Local Government on 27 March 2019

Agbare Speaker,
Agbare Premier,
Provinsiale Kabinetskollegas,
Lede van die Wetgewer, 
Departementshoofde en eregaste,
Dames en Here

Goeie Middag.

Die Weskaapse departement van Plaaslike Regering het verskeie pligte en mandate maar die een ding wat alles onderskryf, die fondasie van ons bestaan is om die lewens van al ons inwoners in die Wes-Kaap op te hef en vir mense beter geleenthede en beter toestande te skep om ‘n beter toekoms te bou.

Vanjaar is die laaste jaar van twee ampstermyne in die stoel van minister van plaaslike regering en daar is ‘n aantal lesse wat ek geleer het. Daar is ook baie ervaring wat opgedoen is en daar is baie waarskuwings om te rig.

Eerstens, ons kan nie begin tensy ons uitlig hoe die Weskaap deur die meul is oor die afgelope paar jaar nie. Daar was eers die elektrisiteitskrisis en toe die enorme droogte wat steeds met ons is. Ons het in die departement met verskeie rampe gewerk, onder meer Wupperthal se brand, die Knysna brande om maar enkeles te noem.

En nou het die wiel skynbaar gedraai en soos wat ek hier staan is die land weer in n elektrisiteitskrisis waarvan die einde onbekend is.

Die kans is al groter dat die land afstuur op n nasionale ineenstorting van die kragnetwerk.

Ek vir een glo nie ons gaan sover gaan nie, ek vertrou Eskom sal deur die beurtkrag wat hy toepas, seker maak die netwerk stort nie in duie nie, maar ek moet sê ek is versigtig optimisties hieroor.

Ek het ook nooit gedink ons gaan n Fase 4 beurkrag sien nie en nou praat Eskom al van fase 8.

Agbare Speaker

Dit wil voorkom dat daar steeds in plekke van die land onsekerheid is oor vir wie mense moet stem op 8 Mei vanjaar. Daar is baie geraas daarbuite dit is seker, en glo my ek praat nie net van die generators wat almal moet aansit om Eskom se beurtkrag te omseil nie.

Ek praat van ander partye soos die ANC se geraas en leë beloftes.

Leë beloftes want die party het in die afgelope 9 jaar ons land tot op die randjie van die afgrond bestuur.

Die party se hoof verkiesingsbeampte in die Wes KAap bruikoevert Ebrahim Rasool het dit dan self erken net nou die dag hier in die Kaap.

Dat die afgelope nege jaar onder die ANC katastrofies was.

Ek stem.

Nou wil die ANC hê ons moet hulle vertrou met nog n termyn.

Dan stuur hulle mense parlement toe wat van ernstige korrupsie en ander kriminele oortredings verdink word.

Cyril Ramaphosa is kamtig die nuwe besem weat skoon vee maar mense vergeet hy was hoeka die man wat in 2014 aangestel is om Eskom reg te ruk.

Hy was aangewys as die hoof van die Eskom Warroom.

En kyk waar het dit ons gekry.

Vandag sit ons met fase vier beurtkrag en moontlikheid vir tot fase 8 beurtkrag in die voortuitsig.

Dit is mos n skande?

Dinge is eenvoudig anders waar die DA regeer.

En ek moedig mense aan om nie die DA se woord te glo nie, toets ons aan die onafhanklike verslae van die Ouditeur general en Statistiek SA.

Daar is andere ook.

Maar ek lig twee dele vir U uit agbare speaker.

Die afgelope tien jaar het die Weskaapse regering nie een sent aan vermorste of verkwiste uitgawes gehad nie.

Daar was verder in die afgelope jaar slegs R44 miljoen se onreelmatige uitgawes opgetel.

Ander provinsies is die bedrae in die miljarde.

In die wes-kaap bestuur ons mense se geld korrek.

Ons steel nie van ons mense nie, ons bou.

Tien jaar gelede het net die Stad Kaapstad van al 30 munisipaliteite in die Weskaap n skoon oudit ontvang.

Teen 2017 het 21 van ons munisipaliteite skoon oudits ontvang.

Landswyd was daar slegs 33 in totaal uit 257 munisipaliteite.

Ons is trots daarop dat ons tot 82% van ons provinsie se 2018 begroting bestee het aan dienslewering onder ons armste gemeenskappe.

Dit sluit in besteding aan openbare hospitale en skole en ander sleutel infrastruktuur sowel as sosiale dienste en behuising vir ons armstes.

Ons provinsiale regering het verlede jaar altesaam 83% skoon oudits ontvang verlede jaar oor ons departemente.

Die naasbeste provinsie was Gauteng met 52%.

Dis eenvoudig n feit dat as n mens op die data oordeel, is daar geen vergeleke tussen provinsies nie.

Speaker

The Provincial Minister for Finance Dr Ivan Meyer, earlier this year tabled the Western Cape Budget. This year’s budget is focused on the Consolidation for Maximum Citizen Impact.

The total budget provides for job creation initiatives and the creation of a more safe and more secure environment wherein our people reside.

This department of Local Government oversees 30 municipalities in the Western Cape including the metro.

The department has been allocated R982 million over the three year 2019 MTEF period.

Over the period an additional amount of R29.8 million has been allocated to both the Provincial Treasury as well as the department towards strengthening the support interventions in our municipalities meant to enhance municipal oversight and governance.

However, for the one year moving forward the budget is R 335.4 million. This money will be going to supporting and strengthening the capacity of our rural municipalities in fulfilling their developmental mandates.

Agbare Speaker

Ek wil noem van ‘n geleentheid verlede week in Wellington waar ek n nuwe water herwinningsaanleg geopen het.

Die Drakensteien munisipaliteit hanteer die vuil en riool water vir ses gemeenskappe in sy munisipale grense, meer as 250 000 mense.

En die druk om die gemeenskap te bedien met die diens het oor die jare net toegeneem

Wat gebeur in ANC beheerde rade of in Eskom?

Die bestaande infrastruktuur word bloots gery tot dit ineenstort.

Op die oomblik moet die weermag in Gauteng die Vaal rivier probeer skoonmaak en red na al die menslike afval wat vir jare toegelaat is om die rivier te besoedel.

Nie in die Weskaap nie.

Hier glo ons in ou lesse soos herstel en onderhoudswerk en opgraderings. Die projek in Wellington het R305 miljoen gekos en n klomp jaar geneem om te voltooi maar weet U, dit het die kapasiteit vir die Drakenstein munisipaliteit om met afval water te verwerk, vergroot van die bestaande 6 Megaliter per dag tot 16 Megaliter per dag.

Weer is dit n voorbeeld van daad by die woord voeg.

Agbare Speaker

Die Weskaapse regeirng glo beleggings in infrastruktuur sal lei tot werkskepping. Ons is noodwendig deeglik bewus van die kleiner dorpe se finansiële uitdagings wat dikwels beteken dat die sommige dorpe eenvoudig nie altyd geld het vir dié soort werk nie.

En dit is waarom die provinsie instaan om sulke dorpe te ondersteun waar ons kan.

Ek moet vra dat municipaliteite nie moet ophou met instandhouding nie. Sit daardie geld opsy. Belê in julle infrastruktuur en die res sal volg.

As ons goeie infrastruktuur het, lok ons beleggings en daarmee saam skep ons werk en versker ons n beter lewe vir almal.

Honorable Speaker

A key priority for this department is embedding good governance.The Management Performance Assessment Tool is an assessment of management practices within departments which is conducted by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.  The areas assessed are Strategic management, Governance and accountability, Human resource and financial management. In this regard, the Department has institutionalized good governance as part of its day to day operations. This is evident as the Department was rated the best performing department in the Province on compliance, as indicated by the results released by DPME in 2018.  This was further solidified by the Premier of the Western Cape during the Service Excellence Awards 2018, awarding the Provincial Department a Gold Award for the Best Ethics Department, an award given by the Office of the Public Service Commission.

As part of strengthening citizen interface, the Department supported municipalities with a training programme on Integrated Community Development Planning (ICDP training) to public participation officials from municipalities in the Western Cape. The focus was to train and build the capacity of municipal public participation officials, using various topics and modern approaches to public participation. The accredited training course was offered through the University of Stellenbosch.

The Thusong Programme has been tailored to ensure that citizens of the Western Cape Province can seamlessly access a wide range of integrated services in one location irrespective of where they live. For the past year the focus of the outreach events was on the farming and rural communities reaching over 50 farms, and rural nodes.

In addition, 4 emergency interventions were implemented in support of communities affected by the impact of drought, social unrest and fires including recently at the Wupperthal fire where this department led the rebuilding process and relief efforts. It was remarkable at the time to see how – within a matter of days – power, water and communication was restored to the community despite the severe challenges.

In the Western Cape the Back to Basics Programme was implemented during 2015, at 10 of the most vulnerable municipalities in the Province, with the aim of providing support to address challenges in the respective municipalities.  To date, 2 Municipalities have successfully exited the Programme, namely Cape Agulhas in the 2017/18 financial year and Swellendam in the 2018/19 financial year. 

In 2015, following the intervention notices in Oudtshoorn Municipality, the Department implemented a Back to Basics Support Plan, aimed at addressing challenges highlighted during the intervention process. Oudtshoorn Municipality is on track to soon exit the programme.

During the year under review, the Department in partnership with the Hanns Seidell Foundation conducted a Winter School Programme for councillors, where the focus of the Winter School was on ethical and responsible leadership. 

Regarding the Municipal Property Rates Amendment Act, 2014 the Department received accolades from the Department of Cooperative Governance for the best performing Province in terms of monitoring and supporting municipalities with the implementation and compliance of the MPRA.

Coordination of drought response in the Province

The Department of Local Government is the lead Department, responsible for the co-ordination of the drought response in the Province. Working with various stakeholders, during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years, the Department developed an Integrated Drought Response Strategy which adopted a two-pronged approach to ensure domestic water security in all towns within the Western Cape. The approach focused on reducing water consumption through water conservation and demand management programmes, while simultaneously increasing the availability of water through water supply augmentation programmes. 

Amongst others, municipalities were supported with financial and technical support in order to augment water supply in various drought stricken towns.

The Department’s engineers and project managers conducted drought assessments in all municipalities in order to determine the extent of the drought and the risk to water security. Geohydrologists were appointed, in each district to support municipalities with the geophysical investigations and borehole siting as well as the supervision of drilling and testing of boreholes in the Province.

High risk towns still include Beaufort West, Laingsburg and Kannaland. The Department is currently providing these Municipalities with dedicated professional support and technical advisory services. Several interventions were identified for each Municipality to mitigate the risk of experiencing water shortages.

A fire, flood and drought awareness campaigns was also conducted in 80 schools in the Central Karoo District area reaching a total of 35 258 learners over the past year.

Honorable Speaker

When it comes to the drought, we are not out of the woods yet although we certainly are much better off than we were a year ago.

Still, I want to take this moment to reiterate the call to continue to save water in our province.

We must be wary of complacency and we must seek – all of us – to adapt to long term behaviour change when it comes to water and in general the way we live.

I want to end off by thanking my head of Department, Graham Paulse who has done incredible work this past year. I also want to thank our disaster management entities and every member of the department who I havent named.

Thank you for the efforts and support.

With those few words

I thank you.