Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PRETORIA2546
2009-12-10 12:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pretoria
Cable title:
SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA'S HOTLINE FAILING TO OVERCOME
how-toVZCZCXRO2474 PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUEHSA #2546 3441220 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 101220Z DEC 09 ZDK FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0582 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 7421 RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 1488 RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9777 RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 002546
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA'S HOTLINE FAILING TO OVERCOME
HANG-UPS
Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 002546
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA'S HOTLINE FAILING TO OVERCOME
HANG-UPS
Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).
1. (SBU) The South African government admitted on December 2
that the presidential hotline, launched in September with
great fanfare, is failing to handle thousands of callers
seeking to register complaints with the administration.
President JACOB ZUMA established the telephone hotline as a
way for the public to lodge complaints dealing with poor
service delivery and corruption by public officials.
However, ZUMA last week admitted, "The presidential hotline
is not able to handle the call load at this stage."
2. (SBU) Only 9,190 of the 30,650 calls to the hotline
between September 14 and November 27 were resolved. The
government said provincial administrations have been the
slowest in responding to complaints registered with the
hotline, with only 18 percent of the calls resolved during
the past three months. National government departments fared
somewhat better, with 33 percent of the calls resolved. The
government said that most complaints to the hotline dealt
with crime, housing shortages, unfair labor practices,
difficulties with banks and insurance companies, breaches of
contracts signed by government departments, and requests for
funding. The administration noted, "Even if we were to scale
up the number of call agents, we can only do so up to a
certain limit -- given that resources are limited." Despite
limited resources, however, ZUMA reportedly has urged all
Premiers and Ministers to take steps to address complaints
and "ensure all inquires transferred to them for
investigation are responded to urgently and efficiently."
3. (C) COMMENT: Poor responses by national departments and
local and provincial governments to complaints to the
presidential hotline are undermining one of Zuma's biggest
domestic initiatives. Zuma's personal popularity probably
will not falter in the short run because of this shortcoming.
Indeed, many commentators give him positive marks at least
for trying, and compare this favorably with the Mbeki
administration's notorious deafness to criticism. In the
longer term, however, the continuing failure by national
departments and local governments to address citizens'
complaints adequately -- a failure which has helped spawn
hundreds of service delivery protests across the country in
recent months -- threatens to damage the African National
Congress's prospects in the 2011 local elections. END
COMMENT.
GIPS
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA'S HOTLINE FAILING TO OVERCOME
HANG-UPS
Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).
1. (SBU) The South African government admitted on December 2
that the presidential hotline, launched in September with
great fanfare, is failing to handle thousands of callers
seeking to register complaints with the administration.
President JACOB ZUMA established the telephone hotline as a
way for the public to lodge complaints dealing with poor
service delivery and corruption by public officials.
However, ZUMA last week admitted, "The presidential hotline
is not able to handle the call load at this stage."
2. (SBU) Only 9,190 of the 30,650 calls to the hotline
between September 14 and November 27 were resolved. The
government said provincial administrations have been the
slowest in responding to complaints registered with the
hotline, with only 18 percent of the calls resolved during
the past three months. National government departments fared
somewhat better, with 33 percent of the calls resolved. The
government said that most complaints to the hotline dealt
with crime, housing shortages, unfair labor practices,
difficulties with banks and insurance companies, breaches of
contracts signed by government departments, and requests for
funding. The administration noted, "Even if we were to scale
up the number of call agents, we can only do so up to a
certain limit -- given that resources are limited." Despite
limited resources, however, ZUMA reportedly has urged all
Premiers and Ministers to take steps to address complaints
and "ensure all inquires transferred to them for
investigation are responded to urgently and efficiently."
3. (C) COMMENT: Poor responses by national departments and
local and provincial governments to complaints to the
presidential hotline are undermining one of Zuma's biggest
domestic initiatives. Zuma's personal popularity probably
will not falter in the short run because of this shortcoming.
Indeed, many commentators give him positive marks at least
for trying, and compare this favorably with the Mbeki
administration's notorious deafness to criticism. In the
longer term, however, the continuing failure by national
departments and local governments to address citizens'
complaints adequately -- a failure which has helped spawn
hundreds of service delivery protests across the country in
recent months -- threatens to damage the African National
Congress's prospects in the 2011 local elections. END
COMMENT.
GIPS