Attention broadcasters: English and Afrikaans audio clips attached.
Today’s Standing Committee on the Western Cape Department of Local Government’s (DLG) 2021/2022 annual report proved once again that the Western Cape Government prioritises the wellbeing of all its citizens. The Department not only achieved 97% of its performance objectives, but did so while spending more than 98% of its budget, and achieving yet another clean audit.
The 2021 Local Government elections meant that the Department took an active role in training and providing support to many newly-formed municipal governments. Across all 30 of the province’s municipalities, the DLG provided specialised legal, accounting, training, and communications support to ensure that municipalities had the necessary tools to govern cleanly, and guarantee meaningful service delivery to their residents. The Annual Report clearly demonstrates how the Western Cape was able to achieve the country’s best municipal audit reports earlier this year, in which the Auditor General praised the Province’s “firm leadership tone and strong control environment.” As has become the norm, the department itself also received a clean audit, and did not incur any irregular expenditure over the reported period.
The DLG also exceeded its targets in providing strong Disaster Management support to the Western Cape’s municipalities as the effects of Covid-19 and climate change played out over the financial year. This included responding to the horrific 2021 Table Mountain Fire, as well as the floods in George in November. The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre achieved or overachieved 100% of its performance objectives, once again proving why it is considered one of the best Disaster Response units on the continent.
The Department also made strides to bring service delivery into the heart of communities through the Thusong Programme, which saw almost 1.4 million government services rendered to citizens over the reported period. The Thusong centers also allowed for valuable socio-economic projects to be conducted, including the Youth Clean and Green Ambassadorship in Theeewaterskloof and the SMME Kickstart in Hessequa.
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Local Government Derrick America says: “While often taking place in the background, the work that the Department of Local Government does is essential to the functioning of our Province, and I am so pleased to see that the DLG continues to prioritise the wellbeing of citizens at every turn. By ensuring that municipalities are well-run, cleanly-governed and supported in areas such as disaster management, we ensure real positive change in the lives of our citizens.
The DA in the Western Cape congratulates the Department on another year of excellent service to our citizens.”