President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered councillors across the country to act quickly on water and sanitation problems in their communities, giving them just 48 hours to respond to the issues.
Speaking at the GoldRush Dome, FNB Stadium, where the ANC held a national roll call for councillors on Monday, Ramaphosa emphasised the need for councillors to set an example and approach service delivery with urgency.
He emphasised that councillors should not ignore water leaks and sewage running in the streets, saying they should treat community problems as they would in their own homes.
Ramaphosa told councillors that they must be the first to know when problems arise in their communities and act swiftly.
Councillors get marching orders
“Your marching orders today are that when there is a water leak, when there is sewage in the streets, you must be the first to know, and you must do something about it within 48 hours,” said Ramaphosa.
“You must get to a point where you say, ‘I am not going to sleep until this sewage water or water leak is attended to’.
“If people do not have water, you must ask yourself why they don’t have water. It must never come from the newspapers; it must come from you.”
Ramaphosa also raised wider service delivery concerns such as sanitation in informal settlements, refuse collection, vandalism, and theft.
He urged the councillors to work with the police on vandalism and theft, also highlighting that these are matters that need follow-up and identification of where they happened and how to avoid the crime from happening again.
On infrastructure, Ramaphosa said municipalities must focus on fixing potholes and maintaining roads.
He encouraged councillors to adopt a culture of being well-informed about their communities, comparing it to Cuba’s local government system.
“The people of Cuba had the most beautiful system. Their leaders at the local government level know everything that is happening; even as a face that is not familiar in the environment appears, they will immediately know. Anything that happens, moves, or shakes is something they know.”
South Africans are understanding
Ramaphosa stated that councillors should always be the first to know about any events in their communities, from deaths to crimes.
“One of the defining features of apartheid inequality was the use of disparities in access to basic services; by ensuring that every South African, especially the poorest and most marginalised, receives quality basic services, we are making significant progress in reducing inequality.”
“Since 1994, we have made significant progress in expanding basic services to many people; however, it is essential that we sustain and further enhance this progress.
“Everyone must have decent housing and every house must have water, sanitation, electricity, and refuse removal. Homeowners must also have their title deeds.
“If we can do all these things, you will find that South Africans are quite amiable, they are quite understanding, and they get satisfied when we provide services to them.”
