By Nangamso Mabindla
9 June 2005

THE South African government is committed to improving the delivery of services to benefit the country's residents.

This is according to Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who was in the Eastern Cape this week with several cabinet ministers to attend a national Presidential Imbizo aimed at establishing direct communication between the government and its people.

During the visit, the ministerial team toured various areas that are hampered by a lack of service delivery, to listen to people's complaints. On the itinerary were Keiskamahoek in the Nkonkobe District Municipality and Cofimvaba in the Chris Hani District Municipality.

In Duncan Village C Section the ministers went on a door-to-door listening campaign, to hear first hand people's concerns. They also stopped at Mdantsane, to look at the progress of the urban renewal programme in that township.

People's concerns included a lack of proper sanitation, slow housing delivery, education issues and slow service delivery in rural areas. Zuma said service delivery problems were not only a local government matter, but also a provincial and national one.

"The government will look at ways to tackle issues around service delivery. We will also need to work together as the three spheres of government to deliver services to our people," he said.

Asked about the recent housing problems in places like the Nelson Mandela metro and the Amalinda Forestry Housing in Buffalo City, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said her department was aware that people had complaints about the slow delivery of houses.

"We are looking into this issue and we treating it as a matter of serious concern. It's important to note that the government is taking steps to solve this matter. But, it is also important to note that this is not a housing problem but a service delivery problem," she said.

However, there was hope for improved service delivery for people countrywide. The municipalities' Integrated Development Plans allowed the public to voice their concerns to the local authorities.

The Eastern Cape's Provincial Growth and Development Plan was also "pro-poor", and aimed to improve people's lives.

Andrew Murray, the chief executive of the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council, said the provincial government was looking at moving poor people from being dependent on social grants to being able to earn their own incomes.

"Eighty-seven percent of the province's budget goes to social grants; we want to focus more on economic growth. If we can grow the economy, then people will be able to afford things like proper housing," he said.

Through its growth and development plan, the provincial government aimed to create jobs, grow the economy and eradicate poverty in the next 10 years.