The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the commitment by Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, to release reports about the government’s piloting of the so-called District Development Model.
What has piqued the DA’s interest in District Model, and its implications for how South Africa is to be governed, is our discovery of a ‘top secret’ government document proposing that the Model be used to establish permanent Command Councils with executive powers.
Yesterday, the DA asked why the government was going ahead with the District Model in the absence of documented information about its successes and failures in the municipalities where it has been piloted since last year.
How can the Development Bank of Southern Africa, appointed by Dlamini-Zuma’s department, proceed with compiling One Plans and other initiatives contemplated by the District Model if the government doesn’t even know if the pilot projects are working? And if there is evidence to show that these pilots are improving municipal governance and service delivery, why is this information being hidden from the public?
Although the District Model has featured in various speeches by President Cyril Ramaphosa and members of his cabinet, as well as in the recent ANC plan on economic recovery, nobody knows exactly what Model entails – heightening suspicions that it is an ANC trojan horse.
So at last night’s meeting of the parliamentary portfolio committee I asked Minister Dlamini-Zuma whether she will release reports on the progress of the District Model pilots in places like the OR Tambo and Waterberg District Municipalities.
While the Minister couldn’t furnish the portfolio committee with these reports by the end of the week, she did confirm that such reports do in fact exist, and would be made available within ‘reasonable time’.
This contradicts the reported remarks by the Minister’s spokesperson, Mlungisa Mtshali, that reports on the progress of the District Model pilots have already served before the portfolio committee. Presumably acting on the Minister’s instruction, Mr, Mtshali has also refused to comment on the ’top secret’ document.
The DA’s question about the ‘top secret’ document has been submitted to the President, and we look forward to his prompt response in accordance with the rules of the National Assembly pertaining to MP’s questions.
Once the Minister has made good on her promise to release the reports on the District Model pilots we’ll check whether the continuation of the Model is in fact justified as a genuine and attempt to improve municipal governance and service delivery.
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