INLSA

KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize. Picture: Jacques Naude

Political heads, including the premier, MECs and mayors, should lead by example and be at the forefront of efforts to promote good governance at the various levels of government where they serve, Premier Zweli Mkhize has said.

Mkhize was speaking at the start of a three-day provincial cabinet lekgotla in Durban on Wednesday, where the review of supply chain management (SCM) regulations was among the issues topping the agenda.

He said it was no longer acceptable that whenever supply chain problems arose, these were blamed on officials.

The premier said this issue should be elevated to that which is closely watched by political heads.

“The champion of good audit outcomes has to be the premier, it has to be the MEC, it has to be the mayor. The top leader must actually be the top champion (of clean governance),” Mkhize said.

The cabinet lekgotla was attended by MECs, district mayors and heads of departments. Mkhize said the province felt a need to tighten up on supply chain management regulations.

This was despite the province generally showing improved audit outcomes.

“There are a lot of mechanisms. But what we are looking for is what else… We can’t let our guard down, so we need to say to our team: what else can we do to strengthen this fight?” he said.

Mkhize said it was not unusual to review SCM regulations.

“They are always reviewed because they are about ensuring fairness, competitiveness, transparency, value for money and quality of service. At any one time if we think there are weaknesses, we have to think of how we tighten the whole process and the regulations. It’s not something that would ever be considered as closed in terms of the discussions.”

Another issue to be discussed at the meeting was positioning KZN for the infrastructure projects announced by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address.

The outcomes of the discussions would also inform what was to be contained in the State of the Province address, to be delivered by Mkhize on Tuesday next week.