Picture: North West MEC for Public Works and Roads, Elizabeth Mokua
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
13 October 2026 – North West MEC for Public Works and Roads, Elizabeth Mokua has dismissed a video clip circulating on social media by Moja Love’s Zimoja Daily, which she said is misleadingly linking her to service delivery challenges in the City of Matlosana. In a statement, Mokua said the video falsely attributed municipal responsibilities to her department, clarifying that its mandate is limited to provincial roads and immovable state assets.
She further stressed that municipal services such as water, sanitation and refuse removal within municipal boundaries fall outside her department’s responsibilities. Mokua added that the misinformation is not only irresponsible, but it confuses the public, distorts accountability and undermines genuine efforts to address service delivery where it is most urgently needed.
“I would also like to clarify that the R299 million mentioned in the video relates to equitable share funding temporarily withheld by the National Treasury in July 2026, from 13 municipalities in the province, including the City of Matlosana, as part of compliance processes under the Municipal Finance Management Act.
“I would like to emphasise that the funding matter was a National Treasury process with no link to the Department of Public Works and Roads. Despite the clarification, my department continued to support service delivery in Matlosana and the wider Dr Kenneth Kaunda District through its provincial programmes,” she said.
Mokua said in September 2026, her department distributed 3 500 bags of asphalt to the City of Matlosana Local Municipality for pothole repairs, with a further 2 500 bags still to be delivered. She said her department is also recruiting 100 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) beneficiaries from the municipality to work as litter pickers under the Clean Cities campaign, launched by the Deputy President in 2025.
“An additional 155 local residents are being recruited through the Itirele routine road maintenance programme to clean road reserves and culverts and cut grass along provincial roads. The participants are expected to be deployed to various sites by the beginning of November 2026.
“The department had undertaken pothole repairs and road blading on various municipal roads through the provincial Thuntsha Lerole Accelerated Service Delivery Programme. These initiatives also form part of the department’s intervention under Section 154(1) of the Constitution, which requires provincial and national governments to support and strengthen municipalities’ capacity to manage their own affairs,” said Mokua.
While acknowledging residents’ frustrations over service delivery, she called for accurate information and urged communities to direct complaints to the relevant authorities. Mokua said they respect the constitutional right of communities to raise genuine service delivery concerns.
“However, we strongly caution against the deliberate dissemination of inaccurate and misleading information that falsely links the Department of Public Works and Roads. We reaffirm our commitment to delivering and maintaining provincial road infrastructure for the benefit of North West residents,” she said.
