Keith Blake, Ottery
One of the main complaints in South Africa by the majority of residents is the non-existence or lack of service delivery.
Whether you are rich or poor or in-between or whatever race, religion or political party you follow or if you are a plain “draad-sitter”, the one constitutional right or promise you want on your political plate is service delivery.
The big question is what is service delivery? It’s the most common phrase used especially now with our municipal elections taking place on Wednesday August 3.
It means to give or distribute, in line with financial allocated budgets, basic resources people depend on like land, water, sanitation infrastructure, housing, educational structures and honest people-orientated municipality staff or public servants.
These are the basics needs that the public servants must address.
This definition of service delivery is not to be used as a common term or as political jargon to please residents or to win votes. It is a very serious basic right for citizens.
Service delivery cannot be done just by saying it. The source, the engine, the implementer, the creator is the ward councillor, the ward committee, the different government departments, all under the command and control of the municipal manager, the mayor, the MECs and the premier of the provinces.
The ward councillors must keep their eyes and ears on their dedicated wards and be connected and as soon as an issue is identified, detected or reported then they must keep a close eye monitoring government departments or tender operators as the issues are addressed.
The only issues that will hamper or derail service delivery are non-caring, corrupt, dispassionate, lazy or arrogant public servants.
This time round, with warnings of the numerous service delivery protests all over South Africa, you the appointed public servants will have to dedicate yourselves to your most important job description and that is be the caring, incorruptible and passionate source of service delivery. I want to give a quote to emphasise this is not a common phase as pointed out but has all to do with good governance or business practice.
Don Alden Adams once said: “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought with money, and that is sincerity and integrity”.