16 February 2007

In his State of the Nation address delivered to parliament on Friday 9 February, President Thabo Mbeki emphasized the stubborn capacity constraints in local government. Expressing concern about the many senior management and professional vacancies, he cited the alarming statistic that, in September 2006, 27% of all municipalities did not have municipal managers.

Throughout the speech, the president highlighted issues relating to the quality of life of normal South African citizens. He pointed to progress that has been made in providing access to electricity, water and sanitation, with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal in respect of basic water supply well in advance of the global target. The infrastructure and other programmes that are informed by the preparations for hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup and coordinated initiatives to improve safety and security were commended for the successes that have been achieved.

Looking ahead, the President challenged all citizens to "roll up our sleeves and get down to work" in building a better South Africa. He said local government should pay particular attention to the priorities for the year ahead. These include:

• Increasing the pace of housing delivery and developing public private partnerships to deliver sustainable human settlements.
• Improving planning for integrated public transport systems, speeding up the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit schemes, commuter rail infrastructure projects and regulatory support for the taxi recapitalization project.
• Continuing to reduce the causes of non-natural deaths such as road accidents and murder and improve community safety and security.
• Developing programmes that facilitate investments in infrastructure (particularly ICT, transport and energy).
• Aligning planning instruments across the spheres of government and completion of the pilot alignment projects by the end of 2007.

The president also emphasized the need to improve monitoring and evaluation of public programme outputs and outcomes. He spoke about the need to define the poverty matrix and develop data on households living in poverty so that interventions can be targeted, and the need to improve analysis of crime trends to improve crime prevention and combating interventions.

The need for collective action and partnerships was a theme in the address; and the President concluded by reminding us of the importance of working together to realize the dream of a good life in a free land. This is a common responsibility we all share.

• To read the full transcript of the State of the Nation address, click here.