By Shaun Benton
SEVENTY percent of South Africa's population is currently provided with free basic water, a representative of the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) told a parliamentary committee here today.
Spelling out progress to date, Patrick Flusk of the DPLG told the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government that 61 percent of South Africa's poor received free basic water.
Using statistics that put South Africa's total population at 46 553 296, and its population of indigent people at 29 378 792, Flusk said that a lack of registration of indigent people, and the verification of this status, was hampering delivery to the poor.
Even so, a national indigent policy would be able to serve only as a guide, as he outlined the different criteria used to define poverty, said Flusk, who is deputy director-general of the Free Basic Services Unit within the DPLG.
These include the absence of capital such as land, access - or lack of it - to natural resources, social and intellectual capital and the "climate of democracy and security necessary to enhance the capabilities of the poor and excluded".
Currently, only 64 percent of South Africa's municipalities provide free basic electricity, he said, adding that lack of capacity within municipalities remained a challenge.
However, this challenge was being addressed by Project Consolidate, an "integrated intervention strategy" which was helping municipalities deal with billing systems to ensure payment for use of services above the free basic level, better communication with the people they serve, increased infrastructure and improved local economic development.
Project Consolidate reflects a "high-level commitment" to the process of delivery as well as its outcomes, and looks at all the problems in a coordinated way, identifying what support is needed from other spheres of government, he said.
Tebogo Kebotlhale, the municipal manager of Naledi Municipality in North West Province, was also in parliament to make a presentation to the portfolio committee.
He told BuaNews that to enhance the delivery of free basic services, "the critical thing is the synchronisation and integration of budgets and budgetary processes between the three spheres of government - municipalities, the provinces and national government".
This would also enhance the "practical implementation" of the Integrated Development Plan, he said. Delivery "won't take place in the cosmos - it will take place in a jurisdiction for which a municipality is responsible", he asserted.
By 2012, basic essential services - such as water, sanitation, electricity, waste removal and even access to housing - should be available to all of South Africa's population.
This is the target government has set itself, Mr Flusk told the portfolio committee.
By 2010 a target of sanitation for all has been set, and 2008 has been set for provision of water to all.
Ultimately, the focus of government nationally and locally is to first ensure universal access to essential services before focusing on providing a fuller range of services, such as community services and emergency services, Flusk stated in the presentation.
The Free Basic Services policy is intended not only as a social safety net but also as a platform from where people can eventually reach further services, he said.
For this, the effective governance and administration function of municipalities is essential. The failure of municipalities results in institutional poverty, the portfolio committee heard.
Source: BuaNews
Presentation for Seminar
