SACP Western Cape response to DA Spokesperson`s letter in Cape Times, 21 April 2011
24 April 2011
It is rather interesting to hear a fiction made by Lindiwe Mazibuko of the DA on the Cape Times of 21 April 2011, as we speak there is a report released by South African Cities Network (www.sacities.net) on the State of the Cities Report, on Wednesday, the 20th April 2011, whereby the DA run City of Cape Town is ranked second in the country, with major service delivery protests, for the period between 2004-2010. This report further compared levels of satisfaction for the periods 2003/04 and 2007/08 in relation to water and sanitation, refuse removal, electricity, affordable housing, cutting crime and creating jobs, it acknowledged that service satisfaction in 2003/04 was at 55, it had declined in 2007/08 to 50 (declined by 5), if one looks at these years in 2003/04 the ANC was running the City of Cape Town BUT in 2007/08 it is the DA coalition that runs the City of Cape Town, illustration by these figures is that there is a degree of dissatisfaction with services rendered by the DA run municipality.
Its worth also taking back Lindiwe Mazibuko to the report by the Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning: Mr Anton Bredell (in the Western Cape), who is also a DA representative in the administration, it seems as if Lindiwe Mazibuko deliberately undermines the Minister`s intelligence, by agitating that the City of Cape Town is the best run municipality, whilst the view and the report of the Minister is to the converse, clearly placing ANC municipalities in the province far ahead of the DA run City of Cape Town. Lindiwe Mazibuko is free to approach the Minister and get the report so that she can speak with authority, I have no reasons to doubt the report titled "Consolidated Annual Municipal Performance Report 2008/9", released on the 8th December 2010, which gives a factual picture on the performance of municipalities in the province.
In assisting Lindiwe Mazibuko I will cite another section in the same report that deals with key performance indicators (KPI), for the period ending 30 June 2009, let`s start by water delivery, DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 2/3 whilst ANC run municipalities, such as Drakenstein, Overberg, Eden etc also received the same points, on electricity delivery DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 2/3 whilst ANC run municipalities, such as Drakenstein, Overberg, Eden etc also received the same points, on services backlog, DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 1/3, meaning which backlog is huge, whilst ANC run municipalities, such as Central Karoo, Eden outperformed the City of Cape Town with 3/3, clearly illustrating that they have addressed the backlog, on the provision of free services DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 3/3, and all ANC run municipalities received 3/3, its lie that the City of Cape Town is the only municipality that delivers free basic services, of course this is with the pressure of national government, through pieces of legislations like Local Government : Municipal Systems Act ( Act No 32 of 2000) amongst others, not out of the political gesture of the DA. Spending on capital budget, DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 3/3 whilst ANC run municipalities, such as Drakenstein, Cape Winelands, Breede Valley, Breede River/Winelands, etc received the same points.
On the overall performance of municipalities in the province in terms of this area of service delivery, DA coalition in the City of Cape Town received 2.1/3, whilst ANC run municipalities, such as Cape Winelands and Overberg Districts received 3/3. Now we do not know what Lindiwe Mazibuko is talking about when the DA run provincial administration has issued a report on the performance of municipalities in the province with ANC municipalities being the best case studies in the province.
Mosheshe Mvalo
SACP Deputy Provincial Secretary
021 888 5119
082 411 0418
mosheshe.mvalo@live.co.za
