service delivery

Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane, says the province needs to lay the foundation for positive ‘generational change’ and recognise that countries and regions that had focused on long-term plans were now reaping the benefits.

Speaking at the launch of a discussion document about the long-term development plan, ‘Gauteng: 2055’, which has been opened for public comment, Mokonyane stated the need for the province to move beyond its focus on delivering services that meet residents’ immediate needs.

President Jacob Zuma has acknowledged that his administration's poor service delivery at a business function, days before his administration releases its mid-term review report.

Zuma has reached the halfway mark in his five-year term and has outlined in the report - which expected to be released on 30 May - the progress made on the government’s five key priorities: education, health, job creation, rural development and the fight against crime.

Gauteng Health MEC, Ntombi Mekgwe, has urged NGOs awaiting payment from the department to check whether the outstanding funds reflect on their bank balances.

In a press statement, the department, which paid R63 million to 318 NGOs, points out that, “In the past two weeks, the department has made significant progress in settling outstanding payments to all service providers."

NGOs whose payments do not reflect should call the department's contact centre on 011 355 2222/7633/7650/7636.

The Gauteng Health Department has reassured NGOs that render services to the department that they will get money owed to them this week.

Department spokesperson, Simon Zwane, points out that although some NGOs were paid earlier this month, others did not get the money due to them because of technical problems experienced with the payment run.

Some academics believe large sections of the government that are institutionally ineffective or dysfunctional are the result of what they call ‘value-driven system’ of government.

Professor Karl von Holdt, an academic from the University of the Witwatersrand and a commissioner on the National Planning Commission, states that many South Africans’ lives remain largely untouched by the dismantling of apartheid.

Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane, delivered the state of the nation address in which she focused on the need to accelerate delivery with strong emphasis on concrete deliverable, in Mamelodi, Pretoria.

Mokonyane addressed some of the controversial issues, including the state of the health department, the renaming of Pretoria and the contentious Gauteng toll roads.

Mokonyane promised to implement a ‘comprehensive turnaround strategy’ for the provincial health department to make the delivery of public health services more efficient.

Prominent Limpopo businessman, Tom Boya, says that ‘all is in order’ to repay R125 000 a month to the provincial government after his company built sub-standard RDP houses.

His company, which is no longer appearing on the list of restricted companies issued by the National Treasury, agreed to pay R1.5 million to the provincial department of local government and housing to clear its name.

The department's spokesperson, Dieketseng Diale, points out that, “The department has thus far recovered R750 000 from Legae Consortium.