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15 April 2009

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele has been rated best Premier in South Africa in an Ipsos Markinor Poll rating government leadership in the country.

According to the poll, Premier Ndebele received significantly higher ratings from voters than any of the other premiers. 73% of likely voters rated Premier Ndebele's performance as "very well" or "fairly well." The Premiers of Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the North West and Eastern Cape all received less than 50% favourability.

Responding to the poll, Premier Ndebele said: "Since 1994, when I was first appointed MEC for Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, I realised that it is important to listen to people and to try to put forward their interests. My greatest achievement in KwaZulu-Natal was far more than the delivery of houses and basic services such as water and electricity – it was bringing peace and stability to the province. You can achieve so much more when you create a peaceful environment. It allows you to work as a team. It was teamwork within the African National Congress (ANC) in the province and in government that saw KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) faring well."

The Ipsos Markinor Poll rating follows recent comments by the Auditor-General (AG), Terence Nombembe, who praised Premier Ndebele and the KZN Provincial Government for their commitment towards ensuring effective and efficient financial management of the various government departments in the province.

"KwaZulu-Natal is the only province in South Africa which has in excess of 45 municipalities – the province has 61 municipalities. The municipal audit outcomes and trends for the 2007/08 financial year is one of the best in South Africa. This is a very good success story of which KwaZulu-Natal must be extremely proud of. The national average percentage for audit completion is 75%, but KwaZulu-Natal achieved 98%," said Nombembe.

Nombembe said KwaZulu-Natal also faired well in terms of the audit outcomes and trends for provincial government departments, when compared to the other provinces in South Africa. Nombembe's positive remarks on the state of financial management in KwaZulu-Natal follows the landmark achievement by the province's education department, which is one of the largest government departments in the country, of moving from repeated disclaimers since 1994 to an unqualified audit report in 2007/08.

The KZN Office of the Premier also scooped the prestigious Southern African Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA) Annual Public Sector Reporting Awards for its excellence in annual reports. Of all national and provincial government departments in South Africa, the provincial Office of the Premier scored 92,25% against the overall average score of 86,34%.

Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 644 4050
E-mail: maistryl@premier.kzntl.gov.za

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
15 April 2009