Thusong Service Centres advancing local government ‘s developmental agenda

- By Topsy Musi

Eastern Cape, 10 June 2009

Conference delegates visiting the Thusong Service Centre Stand	Conference delegates visiting the Thusong Service Centre Stand	Stand number 10, celebrating the 10th year Anniversary of the Programme in style. From left Mr Ndlelantle Pinyana, Mr Michael Currin, Ms Vuyokazi Dube and Ms Zandi Zingisane

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA), held its National Members Assembly (NMA) on 10 and 11 June 2009 in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape Province. The NMA is the highest decision making structure of SALGA in between the National Conference. It is a constitutional event that takes place annually and except for holding elections, exercises the authority of SALGA between National Conferences. The NMA’s core membership is derived from the Political Heads of municipalities and its focus is on issues of strategic nature in the local government sector.

The 2009 NMA came at a critical time as the nation has just successfully held its fourth General Election and the newly elected President Mr Jacob Zuma has been sworn into office and outlined the Government’s Programme of Action for the year.  A central programme in the overall implementation of these programmes is the Thusong Service Centres.  Thusong Service Centres offer government, at different levels the opportunity to render services in an integrated manner under one roof. The programme, now in its tenth year, is coordinated by Government Communications (GCIS) and has proven to be critical in accelerating service delivery, especially at local government level.  Municipalities play a significant role as they have to establish these centres in line with local development priorities as encapsulated in their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). They have to appoint Centre Managers and also monitor the quality of service delivery by all service providers representing various spheres of government. As such the Thusong Centre serves as a key access point in the quest for quality service delivery locally.

The Buffalo City NMA provided the programme an opportunity to show case the benefits that the Thusong Programme offers to South African citizens in order to improve their quality of life by ensuring that they acquire 

• Access to information and services in the proximity of their homes
• Access to integrated services under one-roof
• Access to economic and skills development opportunities
• Two-way communication and community participation between government and citizens in the form of communication campaigns such as Izimbizos, workshops, road shows, exhibitions, etc.

Over 500 delegates visited the Thusong Service Centre stand to acquire information about the programme.  Questions raised included the following: What is the process of establishing the centres?  Who owns the centres? Who funds the centres? What services are rendered at Thusong Service Centres? Who is allowed to render services at these centres? How do Thusong Centres assist in creating employment? Who can I contact for more information relating to my own province?  A well trained team comprising of National and Provincial GCIS officials provided valuable information to delegates. These questions were also answered in a radio interview conducted on site and broadcasted via a satellite connection to ten Community radio stations reaching out to 3 million people all over the country. 

Words of acknowledgement were also received from councillors who provided a positive testimony of a changing experience Thusong Centre have brought into their communities. “These Centres provides a true model for integration of services that cuts across all spheres of government, my municipality is in the process of establishing one”, said the Mayor of Moqhaka Municipality,  Cllr Alina Mantebu Mogosi.