By BAKANG MOKOTO
In a concerted effort to transform the state of the municipalities in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the North West Provincial Treasury, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), have joined forces to drive meaningful change and improvement in municipalities.
The North West MEC for Finance, Kenetswe Mosenogi said the aim of this collaboration is to amplify the successes achieved so far and eliminate silo operations that have hindered effective collaboration in the past. Mosenogi saud the District Development Model (DDM) framework, which emphasises coordinated planning and service delivery, serves as the foundation for these collaborative efforts to foster an integrated and effective local governance that benefits all citizens.
“We appreciate the efforts of the past administration for their unwavering commitment to strengthen local governance and improve the quality of life for all citizens. The current commitment builds on the progress that has been made to date, rather than starting from scratch.
“However, there is a concern regarding municipalities that continue to adopt unfunded budgets because this is impediment to service delivery to the citizens of this province. We cannot overemphasise the importance of municipalities implementing funded budgets,” she said.
Mosenogi further said a funded budget is a critical step towards financial sustainability, as it ensures that municipalities have the necessary resources to deliver quality services to citizens. She added that they will work closely with municipalities to ensure that they have the capacity to prepare and implement funded budgets.
“That will enable us to provide reliable and efficient services to citizens, invest in infrastructure development and maintenance, create jobs and stimulate local economic growth and improve their creditworthiness and access to funding.
“The collaborative efforts will focus on supporting municipalities in implementing the Financial Recovery Plan, which is a critical component of improving the finances of municipalities and supports the objectives of DDM,” said Mosenogi.
According to Mosenogi, the Financial Recovery Plan is designed to help municipalities overcome their financial challenges and achieve financial sustainability.
“We firmly believe that by working together, we can overcome the challenges that our municipalities face. Through cooperation, shared vision, and unwavering commitment, we will strengthen local governance and improve the quality of life for all citizens as this will foster greater collaboration and coordination between different spheres of government thereby promoting inclusive and participatory governance that involves all stakeholders, including traditional leaders and local communities.
“These collaborative efforts build on the process already started between CoGTA and Provincial Treasury of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would clarify the role of each department and do away with duplications. The structured arrangements would also include SALGA,” she said.
The Guardian 