Dlodlo speaks on good governance
DEPUTY Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo held a public engagement programme on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and Open Government Partnership (OGP) at the Thobi Kula Indoor Sports Centre on Friday.
The engagement, which was the first of its kind in the Eastern Cape, was attended by people from all municipalities.
Speaking about the theme “APRM and OGP: Putting people at the centre of service delivery through open government and public participation,” Dlodlo said both APRM and OGP have similar objectives to advance good governance through the promotion of transparency, empowering citizens, fighting corruption and harnessing new technologies to strengthen governance.
“The objectives of the two initiatives are uniting factors. At the centre there is an emphasis on citizen engagement, which manifests in the fact that both programmes are developed through a multi-stakeholder process, with the active engagement of citizens and civil society.”
Dlodlo said 33 countries out of 54 in Africa were part of APRM and 65 countries are part of OGP which South Africa will lead late this year. “There is something we are doing right, which leads to 65 countries wanting us to lead OGP. Through their municipalities people can come on board and say what they want to see in APRM.
“We need civil society and organisations to be part of this in order for us to put together the country’s action plan.”
She called on councillors to hold ward meetings to ensure that information was transferred as part of government’s plan to involve people in decision-making.
“We must not attack foreign nationals. Some of us took refuge in their countries with some of them dying in their houses while protecting us.”
Dlodlo condemned people who vandalised buildings during service delivery protests. “Protests can not be right when you protest for a road and burn a school. The constitution states that you have a right to protest but your right must not infringe the rights of others.”
In the African Union summit recently, Agenda 2063 was adopted with the aim of having a prosperous Africa. “The aspirations and information that each government must do is enshrined in the policies developed by government and has to be implemented by all.” Part of Agenda 2063 was to alleviate the inequality between women and men in Africa.
“It was a successful summit but was not reported on by the media as the focus was on the sideshow of Sudan president Omar Al Bashir.” The summit aimed to ensure that women and the youth were empowered.