Faster service delivery is adding to the impatience of those still awaiting services and fuelling protests, government claimed on Friday (22/06/2012).
"Sometimes success puts pressure on government,” Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told a news briefing in Pretoria on government’s administration cluster.
Citing successes in service delivery, she said 85 percent of households had electricity, 74 percent had access to potable water, and 84 percent had access to sanitation.
"That means that those who do not have electricity become very impatient.”
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi said faster delivery was comparable to a movable object ”that attracts more attention than something standing still”.
The two ministers said 23 districts encompassing 108 priority municipalities with the highest backlogs in basic services, the biggest financial woes, and highest number of informal settlements had been identified for "targeted support and focus”.
These included several areas with traditional communities, Dlamini-Zuma said. Listing steps taken to improve delivery and governance, she said 80 percent of municipalities had established public accounts committees and 4773 officials had received administration training at service delivery points.
Government also planned to review some 300 sections of legislation that it believed might be hampering service delivery.
With a view to improving infrastructure, R47 billion would be spent over the next three years in South Africa’s 12 major cities. - Sapa
