14 January 2001
Over the weekend, all mayors of municipalities in the Northern Cape Province publicly committed themselves to implement the ANC Manifesto commitment to provide a free basic amount of water and electricity to all.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Northern Cape Province and nationally welcome this public declaration by these Northern Cape mayors.
This commitment is a challenge to all local governments throughout the country to take immediate steps to realise these commitments. As the SACP in the Northern Cape Province and nationally, we commit ourselves to use our weight and position in the ANC-SACP-COSATU alliance for the realisation of this commitment.
This commitment also points to the need for ongoing struggle for cross-subsidisation, and increased funding levels from national government to local government. The SACP calls on national government to use the 2001 national budget to mobilise and direct sufficient resources to provide these basic free services to all.
As the SACP we believe that provision of free basic services is not possible without a strong and democratic local government driving service provision and local economic transformation. It is only democratic and developmental local government, and not the profit-driven private sector or privatised state assets which will meet the basic needs of our people. Therefore, the SACP calls for the consolidation of the public sector in order to ensure long-term sustainability, and expansion of the scope and amount of free basic services provided to all. This will also require mass mobilisation and struggles in order to direct, discipline and roll back private capital in the provision of municipal services.
Also linked to local government transformation is popular participation by ordinary people in local government budgeting, governance and local economic development. This includes councillor accountability and inter-action with the people themselves through quarterly people's forums and other public participation meetings in all local government wards and villages. This mass mobilisation is the key to unblock blockages to local government transformation and ensuring that local government transformation ces in favour of the poor and working people in society. In this regard, the SACP calls on all local governments to take immediate steps to establish strong and vibrant Ward and Village Committees in every locality.
CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information & Publicity - South African Communist Party
Tel - 011 339-3621/2 Fax - 011 339-4244
Cell - 083 651 0271 Email: sacp1@wn.apc.org