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‘Capable state not possible without accountability – Ramaphosa
The president says public servants must be prepared to face the consequences of poor performance.
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
President Cyril Ramaphosa says achieving an effective developmental state requires a strong emphasis on accountability throughout all spheres of government.
Ramaphosa on Monday delivered his opening remarks at the ANC’s lekgotla, which is being held at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.
The governing party’s national executive committee (NEC) also concluded its two-day meeting on Monday.
‘Service of our people’
In his speech, Ramaphosa indicated the lekgotla would discuss issues such as ANC renewal, transforming the country’s economy, energy crisis and load shedding as well as gender-based violence (GBV).
He said the ANC was focused on building “a safe and secure environment for all South Africans”.
“This requires capable, sophisticated and independent law enforcement agencies which can fight complex and organised crime as well as great attention being paid to the socio-economic determinants of crime as part of an effective prevention strategy,” he told ANC NEC members on Monday.
The ANC president stressed that government must work for the people and highlighted the importance of the public sector’s role in service delivery.
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He pointed out the ANC has made progress in reducing poverty and expanding basic services to more people across the country.
Ramaphosa also said the strengthening of law enforcement agencies was one of the measures that has been taken to improve the lives of citizens.
“All of these measures must be underpinned by a capable state that has a cohort of professional dedicated civil servants, with the skills and resources to deliver comprehensive services to all citizens in our country and also have the capability of maintaining public infrastructure,” the ANC president continued.
Watch Ramaphosa’s address below:
Ramaphosa added: “A capable developmental state will not be possible without insisting on accountability across all parts of the state, and indeed across all institutions of the society.
“It should be that any person who is given a task in the service of our people must perform that task diligently and to the best of their ability. They feel bound by the responsibility they have been given and must be prepared to face the consequences of poor performance or even any actions of impropriety or malfeasance”
Local government
Furthermore, Ramaphosa highlighted how local government was a vital part of a capable state.
“Yet many municipalities continue to experience financial as well as operational crises. Bold and urgent intervention is needed to improve local government service delivery. To date, interventions have been desperate and poorly coordinated with limited effect.”
The ANC president emphasised the need to improve the performance of South Africa’s municipalities.
“When the Auditor-General issues her reports she finds that many of our municipalities have huge shortcomings and many of them have become dysfunctional.”
The Auditor-General previously revealed that 66 municipalities were dysfunctional as a result of political instability, poor governance and financial management.
According to the municipal audit report, only 38 out of the 257 municipalities, and two out of the eight metros, achieved clean audits in the 2021/2022 financial year.
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