Lekwa Local Municipality 2013/14 - Co-operative Governance and ...

the gas chambers, conducted experiments on human bodies without their consent and mercilessly killedpeople for being different from them. Equally, in our times, it is skilled people who steal government funds andthus prevent the delivery of social services to the needy”.Moral Regeneration must aim at making our education system foreground moral formation as one of its corefunctions both in theory and in practice!The FamilyThe family in all its cultural and religious manifestations is an important agent of socialisation and a majorinstrument for nurturing values, attitudes and behaviour.Moral Regeneration must aim at strengthening the family unit!Riches and PovertyUnquestionably, poverty is seen as a serious threat to moral regeneration. This does not mean that the poorare immoral; often the poorest people display deep moral integrity. It is the growing gap between the rich andthe poor and worsening levels of poverty that are immoral. These create conditions within which moral decayin communities and neighborhoods flourishes.Moral Regeneration must aim at combating poverty and reducing the inequality gap!Crime and CorruptionThe prevalence of crime and high levels of corruption manifests a deep loss of respect for human life, aprofound lack of patriotism and care for others and sickening degree of greed and selfishness.Moral Regeneration must aim at combating the root causes of crime and corruption in all their manifestations!ReligionReligious belief and practices is another key agent of moral formation. Given the diversity of religious beliefsystems in our communities and the propensity of formal religion to proselytize, the power of religion as anagent of moral renewal is weakened.Moral Regeneration must aim at fostering greater religious tolerance and cooperation for moral renewal!The MediaThe media is generally negative when reporting about moral issues. Media economics are seen to dictate thatgood news do not sell, whilst negative news does. Therefore, in pursuit of commercial imperatives, the mediais likely to concentrate on news that sells (which are often negative) at the expense of good news (news thatdo not sell). This fuels perception that the country is generally immoral!Moral Regeneration must aim at ensuring that the media does also carry positive stories of moral courage andrenewal7.10 OVERSIGHT COMMITTEESThe oversight role of Council is an important component of the financial reforms and it is achieved through theseparation of roles and responsibilities between Council, the Executive (Mayor and Executive Committee) andadministration. Good governance, effective accountability and oversight can only be achieved if there is a cleardistinction between the functions performed by the different role players.Non-executive Councillor’s are required to maintain oversight on the performance of specific responsibilitiesand delegated powers that they have given to the (Mayor). In other words, in exchange for the powers inwhich Council have delegated to the Executive, Council retains a monitoring and oversight role ensuring thatthere is accountability for the performance or non- performance of the municipality.The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) vests in Council specific powers of approval and oversight.• Approval of budgets218 | P a g e