By OBAKENG MAJE
North West Premier, Bushy Maape said he has confidence in the incoming councils that they will change the face of local government in the province. This comes after most municipalities in the province are regarded as dysfunctional.
According to the News24 Out of Order Index, calculated from a set of data painstakingly collated over the last two months, suggests that the crisis in the frontline of service delivery is likely to deepen.
The News24 Out of Order Index suggests a further 43 municipalities across the country are deep in the danger zone of collapse and the Greater Taung Local Municipality is one of them. The municipality failed to submit its annual financial statement as required by Section 126(1)(a) of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003.
“The 43 are municipalities which have not already been named in other officially published lists from the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department or the Auditor-General as being delinquent or under administration.”
However, Maape said the provision of services such as water, housing and roads will top the agenda of the province.
“Through the District Development Model government, we will attract investment and this will result in the creation of jobs. We are a predominantly rural province and we need to spend the little resources we have wisely.
“This includes putting systems in place to ensure the financial stability of municipalities. I am confident that the incoming councils will comprise people who are ethical and qualified,” he said.
Maape also implored the incoming councillors to be of service to the communities who have entrusted them with their votes and to fight the challenges of unemployment and poverty gripping many localities.
He further said his government has commissioned Taung Dam and this will allow residents to have access to clean and drinkable water.
“It is almost complete and residents will be allowed to get water from it. The dam has been commissioned and the project will kick-starts within two months. This will assist us to deal with lack of provision of water.
“The new cohort of councillors was selected through a rigorous process by the ANC. The ruling party had involved communities and requested those councillor candidates’ curriculum vitae (CVs),” said Maape.
He maintained that the new type of breed of incoming councillors is different from the older ones. Maape added that his provincial government will not allow parallel structures across municipalities.
“We saw parallel structures in Tswaing Local Municipality where there were two municipal managers, two mayors and two chief whips. So, we did not hesitate to dissolve that municipality. We cannot have parallel administration within the municipalities,” said Maape.
The Guardian 