Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni used her post-Budget Vote outreach activities in Cape Town to urge South Africans to take greater responsibility for the country’s development, saying government cannot drive change alone and that communities must work in partnership with the state.
The Minister made these remarks on Thursday after taking part in outreach activities themed “Love Your Street” in Cape Town, where she joined community members in Manenberg and Khayelitsha Ward 87 to pick up litter, sweep streets, paint a community hall and plant trees.
Beyond the local clean-up campaign, the Minister’s remarks served as a broader appeal to South Africans to reclaim a culture of shared responsibility.
She argued that the country’s most pressing social problems – from crime to gender-based violence and femicide – can only be tackled effectively when communities organise themselves, work with public institutions and refuse to stand by as bystanders.
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“During the struggle, when government did nothing for us as communities, we made sure that we drove our own development. It’s that spirit that we need to bring back. We can’t sit and expect everything from government.
“Government needs partnership. Most of the challenges we face in our communities can be resolved if communities are involved in solving them and are supported by government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector,” Ntshavheni said.
To help tackle crime, she encouraged residents to cooperate with the police and other law-enforcement agencies by identifying criminals or joining community policing forums and neighbourhood watches.
She added that public servants have a particularly important role to play in building communities.
With 1.2 million public servants employed by the government, Ntshavheni said they have a significant responsibility in community building and in serving the nation.
“They are the ones who deliver services. If each of us does a small part in that capacity as public servants, we can go much further,” she said.
The outreach brought together officials from the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Brand South Africa, Statistics South Africa and the Media Development and Diversity Agency.
The programme began in Manenberg, where public servants and residents cleaned a designated area, planted trees and turned the exercise into a friendly competition to see whose tree would show the strongest growth.
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The delegation also visited Manenberg Police Station, where, at the invitation of station commander Brigadier Naidoo, they planted what he called “a tree for peace”.
The afternoon leg of the programme moved to Khayelitsha, where the team painted a community hall built by residents and joined a street-cleaning campaign.
Ntshavheni said the visit highlighted the importance of backing local volunteer efforts with practical support, including leaving some of the equipment used during the activation behind so that residents could continue the work.
“This afternoon, we concluded the programme in Khayelitsha, one of the oldest townships. We started by painting this community hall, and we also came to clean the streets here.
“We would also like to thank the ward councillor for mobilising volunteers. He explained to us that they had only 15 brooms and 15 spades for this programme.
“So we left behind the equipment we brought so that they could continue the work,” she said.