Ethekwini Municipality Budget Policy Statement by Mayor, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda at the Durban City Hall, 29 May 2020
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ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT BY MAYOR, CLLR MXOLISI KAUNDA AT THE DURBAN CITY HALL, 29 MAY 2020 Theme: “Year of Unity, Socio Economic Renewal and Nation Building”. Madam Speaker: Cllr Weziwe Thusi KwaZulu-Natal Premier: Mr Sihle Zikalala MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs: Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: Mr Sipho Hlomuka Deputy Mayor: Cllr Belinda Scott Chief Whip: Cllr Sibongiseni Mkhize Chairpersons of Committees EXCO Members Chairperson of the District House of Traditional Leaders: Inkosi Mlaba and all Traditional Leaders present Acting City Manager: Mr Sipho Cele Councillors Business Sector Leadership Interfaith Leadership Leaders from the Organised Labour Members of the Media Residents of eThekwini Municipality Sanibonani, Good Morning! Today we come together to recommit ourselves to the people of eThekwini Municipality that we will spare neither strength nor effort to build a city that belongs to all who live in it, inspired by the ideals of the Freedom Charter which remains our guiding document for socio-economic change. 1 Madam Speaker in a time of uncertainty, despair and anxiety let me perhaps begin with the words of one of Africa’s greatest sons and revolutionaries Amilcar Cabral when he said: “Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies when they are told, Mask no difficulties, mistakes and failures. Claim no easy victories.” Madam Speaker, following the consideration of the magnitude and severity of the COVID- 19 pandemic outbreak, a National State of Disaster was declared under Section 3 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act 57 of 2002). This pandemic presents unprecedented challenges for the City of eThekwini and the rest of the global community. The COVID 19 pandemic also presents us with unique opportunities to utilise this national state of disaster to accelerate our resolve to embrace the 4th Industrial Revolution. Ours as the City is to leverage the New Normal to lay a solid foundation for the evolution and reindustrialization of the City’s economic trajectory. His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed us during his State of the Nation Address to establish an Infrastructure Fund and a new approach to building infrastructure. This new approach enjoins us as the City to build a new social compact with the private sector, organised labour and communities. Our social compact must identify critical interventions to build a professional public service and a City capable of playing a transformative and developmental role in realizing the vision of the National Development Plan and the District Development Model by 2030. Our New Normal will require collaboration between all sectors of society and strong leadership by government. In a society with deep social and economic divisions, neither social nor economic transformation is possible without an effective government intervention. Under this new normal, the city must provide the institutions and infrastructure that enable the economy and society to flourish. It is in this context that together with our social partners we have developed a post COVID- 19 Pandemic Economic Recovery Strategy. A key and central pillar of the Economic Recovery Strategy will be the implementation of our Radical Socio-Economic Transformation Programme. 2 Section 217 Sub-section (2) of the Constitution provides for the implementation of a procurement policy framework that allows for; • Categories of preference in the allocation of contracts and • The protection and advancement of persons - or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination - in particular the Youth, Women, Military Veterans and People with Disability. As we embark on the decisive implementation of the Economic Recovery Strategy, we are charged with the responsibility to foster increased collaborations with strategic institutions such as; National Treasury to improve our governance and financial performance outcomes. Research and Academic institutions to improve our understanding of the New Normal and to build a youth-driven skills revolution demanded hereof. Private Sector organizations to improve the speed and effectiveness of how we deliver services. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to declare that our vision for the New Normal is to use the national disaster as a catalyst to drive the integration of the City into provincial, national, global supply and value chains in line with section 217 of the constitution. It is in this context that we are tabling our 2020/21 Budget Policy Statement. The African National Congress declared 2020 as the “Year of Unity, Socio Economic Renewal and Nation Building”. Under this theme, regardless of our political affiliation, we are called upon to unite for a common goal of defeating COVID-19 pandemic and to accelerate the radical socio-economic transformation. 3 This pandemic has once more reminded us of the urgency required to reverse the skewed socio-economic patterns in our society occasioned by the legacy of apartheid, in elevating this history of apartheid legacy, I’m reminded by former president Thabo Mbeki words, when he said: “Gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience. Our strength as a people is not tested during the best of times. We should never become despondent because the weather is bad, nor should we turn triumphalist because the sun shines.” Madam Speaker, it is our utmost believe that the unity of purpose that liberated us from apartheid, will once again set us free from the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore incumbent upon us, united in our diversity, to improve the quality of life of all our citizens and tap into their potential to grow our economy and create jobs. As an economic center of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and an economic gateway to Africa, eThekwini has a strategic economic and geographic position which we must utilize, not only to advance our regional economic growth but to unite our people and draw multitudes of those who were previously marginalised into the mainstream economy. Madam Speaker, our primary objective has been to stabilize the municipality and significant strides are being made to accelerate service delivery, creating a positive investor climate and improving governance in the city. We have also been encouraged by the people of eThekwini and all our stakeholders who have welcomed the plans we are implementing to turn around the city. The Integrated Development Plan public consultations have assisted us to understand the need to increase the speed and effectiveness of our service delivery programmes and as such, we want to affirm to the people of eThekwini that the 2020/21 financial year will be characterised by radical service delivery actions. Madam Speaker, it is important to note that the tabling of this budget policy statement of our city coincides with Africa Day Celebration this week. On this day, Africa celebrates 4 successes and achievements in the fight against colonialism and apartheid. It is also a time for reflecting upon the common challenges that the continent faces in a global environment such as poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic. This virus has had a devastating impact not only on the economy, but also on people’s livelihoods as they continue to lose jobs and their source of income. We want to assure our residents that we are handling this pandemic with necessary care and capability that it requires. COVID-19 ECONOMIC IMPACT AND RADICAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSFROMATION INTERVENTIONS The COVID-19 pandemic economic impact is worsened by the following underlying socio- economic challenges: High unemployment rate; Low technical skills base; The intermediary status of the economic sectors dominated by black businesses such as the Performance Arts Sector Over-reliance on tourism sector; The monopolistic nature of our economy; Low manufacturing capacity base and; Unreliable Energy Supply Our Key Focus Sectors to drive Socio-Economic Recovery will be: Improving our Manufacturing Capacity base. Agriculture and Agro Processing - Through our Radical Agrarian Socio-Economic Transformation (RASET) Programme. Ocean Economy - We must elevate our Port City Industrialization plan. Information Communications Technology – the time to migrate to a smart city is now. Renewable Energy and Energy Reforms. 5 Tourism Development – the Post COVID-19 Economy will create a new way of doing tourism and we need to take advantage of the transformation opportunities in this sector. Health Care – the pandemic has taught us that we must radically transform our health system. Transport and Logistics – through our Port City industrial developments, the transport and logistic sector has growth prospects. Our interventions as a City to drive socio-economic recovery are as follows: Through the collaboration with our Special Economic Development Zone, we must actively increase manufacturing capacity by participating in equity equivalent deals to attract investment and support local manufacturers. A minimum of 30% percentage of the city’s procurement spend must be utilized to establish a sustainable social solidarity economy driven by social enterprises. Introduce Infrastructure Procurement Reforms to drive Emerging Contractor Development Programmes. We must establish a Supplier Payment Dispute Unit to pay Suppliers within or less than 30 days and manage all payment disputes processes. Implement an aggressive