The second day of the National Council of Provinces' planning session commenced with inputs from Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who gave a broad outline of government’s undertakings in the remaining year of the sixth administration.
He remarked that the National Assembly and the NCOP should consider whether they have provided sufficient oversight or ensured that the executive is accountable for the findings of Parliament’s oversight and recommendations. “We are interested to hear your response on that,” he said.
He welcomed the ongoing relationship between the NCOP and the South African Local Government Association, which has facilitated the delivery of basic services to the people. This synergy, he pointed out, has been replicated by government through its inception of cluster systems meant to harmonise coordination and collaboration in critical areas of service delivery.
But another question to be asked, he added, is whether government has improved the quality of people’s lives. The task at hand is far greater than government can do alone. For instance, in dealing with the land issue one has to balance the imperatives of property rights with the right to land for the landless majority, the Deputy President said.
The deputy president is also convinced that the District Development Model can help the government to respond rapidly to service delivery demands, drive development and ensure that government commits resources in a more coordinated manner.
Also participating in the session, the Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ms Maropene Ramokgopa, highlighted the role Covid-19 has played in emphasising the importance of coordination between government departments, entities, the private sector and civil society. As per the National Development Plan, co-ordination would improve the functioning of public institutions through coherent alignment in planning and implementation of fiscal management policies. This would also address problems arising from political interference in the running of municipalities, misalignment of budgets and fragmented learning across all spheres of government.
She went on to blame rolling black-outs on a lack of coherent and coordinated planning and timely implementation of critical interventions meant to sustain economic infrastructure. “Loadshedding has led to a 20% increase of food prices. This shows the significance of planning and timely implementation of maintenance to our critical economic infrastructure.”
She urged the NCOP to play its role in exercising oversight over government planning and implementation of critical projects and policies in line with the objectives of the NDP.
One of government’s priorities in this Medium-Term Strategic Framework is to ensure that “credit finance and economic start-ups are made available for small businesses in the digital economy to facilitate inclusive economic growth, said the Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Stella Ndabeni, who also participated in the session. Not only that, her department will ensure that such businesses are linked with their relevant markets, she vowed.
Part of her department’s resolve is to engage provinces to cut red tape to enable small businesses to form business forums aimed at localising their content and to develop cooperatives. The District Development Model would be one of the vehicles to shoulder these initiatives. A pilot project is currently underway in KwaZulu-Natal to determine the operability of these initiatives, she said.
Abel Mputing
31 March 2023
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