Good Afternoon, Mhlali
“Never doubt what a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can do to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead.
Those, Mhlali, are words I encourage you to keep in mind as we continue our efforts to build a better South Africa. Indeed, we are changing the country, one submission at a time. Last year, you signed our petition on the DTIC Credit Regulations. The Minister withdrew the regulations. That is what organised citizen voice looks like when it works.
I am so excited and grateful for those of you who have made substantive submissions in our follow-up survey on Fixing Municipalities. These submissions build on the foundation laid by the 347 received last year, when we joined hands and told government what we want for our municipalities.
From what we told government, solutions from five of the fourteen groups of recommendations are now part of the revised Draft White Paper on Local Government, which is open for public comment. Thank you so much, and congratulations to you all. Our follow-up survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and it shows you what you originally asked for, what government actually proposes, and we ask about the extent to which you are satisfied with the proposals.
You have already proved that ordinary South Africans, engaging constructively and from an informed perspective, can change government policy. We are asking you to finish what you started. Our window is very short, so please urgently take the time to make yourself heard by sharing your views on the following link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/fQ6Nsyj7Ta
You can also read our latest newsletter, which gives a little more detail on the following link: https://fightingforbetter.substack.com/p/your-voice-is-again-needed-to-fix
The survey closes at midnight tomorrow, 27 May, so we can timeously submit to COGTA on the following day. As always, please also share this with anyone you know who cares about where our country and their municipality are going. The more voices we bring, the harder we are to ignore.
Best Regards
Sabelo Chalufu
Founder: Better Governance Initiative NPC