The KwaZulu-Natal government and various role players are meeting to craft a programme of action that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Premier Thami Ntuli, during the opening of the provincial cabinet lekgotla on Tuesday, said the gathering will produce a smart programme of action with the level of detail that will enable the government to deliver services and implement consequence management for nonperformance.
The cabinet lekgotla is attended by mayors, senior departmental managers, advisory bodies and executives of provincial public entities and national state-owned companies.
“For the longest time, the democratic state has been accused of failure to implement its very progressive policies. Therefore we must adopt this project management approach so that we can hold each other accountable — and the citizens of our province can also hold us accountable,” he said.
“If we outline the programme of action in addressing housing backlogs, as an example, such a programme should be able to articulate the extent of the challenge, communicate the solution, express how many houses will be built, when, and what interdependencies need to be in place for that goal to be achieved.
“We must go further and say how we will measure our performance, how we will intervene where we see targets not being met, and what means of consequence management we will invoke for non-performance.”
New management approach to ensure accountability for KZN: premier Ntuli
Project management style 'will ensure parties hold each other accountable'
The KwaZulu-Natal government and various role players are meeting to craft a programme of action that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Premier Thami Ntuli, during the opening of the provincial cabinet lekgotla on Tuesday, said the gathering will produce a smart programme of action with the level of detail that will enable the government to deliver services and implement consequence management for nonperformance.
The cabinet lekgotla is attended by mayors, senior departmental managers, advisory bodies and executives of provincial public entities and national state-owned companies.
“For the longest time, the democratic state has been accused of failure to implement its very progressive policies. Therefore we must adopt this project management approach so that we can hold each other accountable — and the citizens of our province can also hold us accountable,” he said.
“If we outline the programme of action in addressing housing backlogs, as an example, such a programme should be able to articulate the extent of the challenge, communicate the solution, express how many houses will be built, when, and what interdependencies need to be in place for that goal to be achieved.
“We must go further and say how we will measure our performance, how we will intervene where we see targets not being met, and what means of consequence management we will invoke for non-performance.”
The premier highlighted that it was the responsibility of the lekgotla to come out of the meeting with a plan that will lift the province out of economic despair.
“We are encouraged that there will be a renewed focus on reviving our rail system. This should be the foundation upon which we build economic recovery of the small towns and rural areas, so that we move the heavy cargo off the road and decrease road accidents while saving money on repairing roads damaged by heavy loads.”
The gathering, said Ntuli, would also engage on strategies to reduce youth unemployment and consolidation of funds for impactful support for young people in starting and managing businesses, including building a safer province.
“The fact that in some quarters KwaZulu-Natal is regarded as the capital of hitmen, where a person’s life is not valued, should not only embarrass but propel us to seek collective solutions to alter this narrative. It is for this reason we have incorporated community safety and liaison under the office of the premier because we want to add much-needed impetus to the fight against crime.”
Ntuli said the lekgotla was the first opportunity for partners in the government of national unity to work together. “Therefore how we handle it will most likely determine how serious we are about the lives of the people who placed us here.”
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