The government is banking on its service delivery track record, particularly in black communities, to persuade voters to return the party to power in the upcoming general elections.
Statistics South Africa’s report on the government services that black people can access post-democracy is another weapon the ANC has to convince voters to vote in its favour.
ANC national executive committee (NEC) member Parks Tau, who is also the deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, told the media on Tuesday that “there’s a record of the ANC and its performance”.
Tau said service delivery was about “the number of people that did not have access to potable water, did not have access to decent sanitation, did not have access to houses, and did not have access to electricity”.
“And we quantify and say to the people of South Africa: This is the ANC’s record in ensuring access to basic services for our people.
“This is a significant issue because you cannot simply decide to ignore the fact that this government has delivered housing to the people of this country, particularly the poor.”
He said the ANC government was committed to its people, adding that no one should be denied access to water, sanitation, and electricity because they cannot afford it.
That is why the government introduced measures like free basic water and free basic electricity so that even low-income households could access water, sanitation, electricity, and so on, said Tau.
Plan to collapse cities
Regarding service in the metros, particularly in Johannesburg, Tau said the ANC had long warned that after taking over the administration, the DA was on a mission to collapse the cities.
“We said the finances of the City of Johannesburg are progressively deteriorating and will impact services delivered by the city because the Democratic Alliance is collapsing the city.”
He said the same was happening in Tshwane, and when the ANC wins back these metros, it will have to take tough financial decisions to turn the situation around.
The ANC NEC Lekgotla identified 30 priority municipalities, and among those were the metros “because of the challenges that are being experienced”.
“We need to provide direct support and ensure that we are able to assist these metros and mitigate the pressure that these municipalities are facing,” he said.
Drive to repair potholes
Regarding the intervention plans to repair potholes and maintain roads, Tau said the ANC agreed to reprioritise budgets in municipalities, including the grants, noting that the process has already started, but the ANC wanted it accelerated.
The report on loadshedding prevention measures, he said, had given the ruling party hope, but local municipalities’ involvement as electricity distributors needed to be increased.
He said municipalities could contribute towards mitigating loadshedding effects on the demand side because the local government was the primary electricity distributor.
“Of course, there’s Eskom distribution. But local government is a huge player in this regard. So we’ve also identified measures to enable local governments to contribute towards reducing the impact of loadshedding.”
Tau said the government was clear that it must remain the primary provider of basic services to citizens.
He said: “We cannot risk a situation where people do not have access to services based on commercial decisions.
“So that might help with basic services being provided by the government in particular, which is a position that we have already pronounced as the ANC.”
However, he said, the government also had the appetite to mobilise an array of partners in the implementation of programmes, including the private sector.
