Eastern Cape Local Government MEC, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, will sign agreements with municipalities that aims to speed up the response to service delivery issues.
Qoboshiyane will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in East London on Monday night, with all 45 municipalities.
He says the agreement will ensure that everone works together to improve service delivery in the Eastern Cape.
MEC Qoboshiyane also called on communities to work with Community Development Workers so that their issues can be communicated properly to their municipality and the Department of Local Government.
"CDWs are central in our ongoing efforts to build better communities; they are central in ensuring that we create the better life for all our people," he said.
"The Department and all 45 municipalities of the Eastern Cape in East London will sign the Memorandum of Understanding tonight. As the Department we will continue to work with the CDWs to respond to the needs and challenges of our people in line with President Jacob Zuma's call of improving service delivery to our people."
"The MoU is aimed at improving working relations between the Department and Municipalities through CDWs. The MoU will allow CDWs to report incidents and service delivery challenges direct to municipalities with immediate effect," Qoboshiyane said.
The MoU also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the Department and Municipalities as follows:
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT
4.1 The Department has the following roles and responsibilities:
(1) To supervise the CDWs at local municipal level, and appointment of CDW Local Supervisors at municipal level;
(2) To track or monitor the programme by developing and implementing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system, inter alia, performance agreements and any other tool for monitoring and supervision of employed CDWs;
(3) To convene periodic meetings with CDWs and consider the portfolios of evidence of work which must be submitted by the CDWs;
(4) To provide the budget to fund personnel, salaries, training and business travelling; to capacitate CDW and assist with their operational needs, inter alia stationery, IT equipment and transport.
(5) To advocate the CDWP within sector Departments and communities at large;
(6) To institutionalize CDW forums for uniformity;
(7) To develop publicity for the CDW Programme;
(8) To identify and secure infrastructural resources;
(9) Facilitate and convene CDW forums in all districts;
(10) To assist municipalities through capacitating the municipal officials dedicated to working with CDWs and CDW Local Supervisors;
(11) To capacitate the CDWs by rolling out learnership programmes and to comply with all the requirements of the Skills Development Act in respect of the CDWs.
Roles and responsibilities of the Municipality
The Municipalities have the following roles and responsibilities:
(1) To report service delivery blockages in the CDW programme to all three spheres of government as and when it is necessary;
(2) To facilitate and coordinate programmes at Local Level to ensure that ward committees and CDWs are able to work cooperatively in improving the lives of local communities and their access to services;
(3) To ensure that municipal councils adopt the CDW policy by way of resolution or by-laws;
(4) To provide office space within the municipality's premises to enable CDWs to perform their functions efficiently and effectively;
(5) CDWs must be integrated into Public Participation unit and must be convened by the Local Supervisor;
(6) CDWs must be accorded ex officio status in all meetings of the ward committee, which they must attend diligently and at which they must table reports in relation to their activities for the month. Such reports must constitute an integral part of the ward report and recommendations to be escalated to the municipality and relevant government departments;
(7) To ensure that Local Supervisors are available to support CDWs
(8) To monitor and evaluate the implementation of the CDW Programme
(9) To involve CDWs in all the municipal programmes and local Imbizos;
