Despite the collapsing service delivery in most of Gauteng’s municipalities, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the ANC-led coalitions around the province are improving the lives of residents.
He was speaking at the state of the province address (Sopa) in the south of Johannesburg on Monday evening.
“Let us face it; local government is the backbone of service delivery, and yet this is exactly where we are most challenged as government,” he said.
Ekurhuleni
Lesufi said he is concerned about the latest fallout between the ruling parties in the City of Ekurhuleni. But he says he had been assured that governance is stable.
“In our discussions with the leadership of the municipality, we have been assured that these governance challenges will be resolved without further delay.”
He also welcomed the municipality’s decision to take steps against municipal officials who were implicated in the hearings at the Madlanga commission. A number of officials in this municipality have been accused of colluding with criminal elements.
He said this municipality has invested in a new fleet that will strengthen service delivery, especially in areas like refuse removal, road maintenance, and law enforcement.
He also said this municipality demonstrated its commitment to reclaim hijacked buildings.
“Both Pharoe Park and Airport Park have been reclaimed through eviction and municipal enforcement operations,” he said.
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Tshwane
Lesufi said the governing coalition in Tshwane has no outstanding payments owed to Eskom and Rand Water.
“We congratulate them for their funded budget,” he said.
He also welcomed the decision taken by the Tshwane Mayoral Committee to reimburse municipal workers for their long-outstanding benefits.
“This firm resolution demonstrates the willingness of this municipality to respect bargaining council resolutions and expose those who were running the municipality before for lacking empathy on matters related to workers.”
“Over R1 billion in backdated salary increases will be returned to workers. Despite expecting an unqualified audit, the qualified audit status that they attained is an indication that they are on course to clean their books that were left in a mess by the previous administration,” he said.
Johannesburg
Lesufi said Johannesburg has a water crisis, but he says the three spheres of government have gotten together to make sure that all areas in Johannesburg receive clean running water.
“We welcome the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group intervention, which seeks to address service delivery failures, infrastructure decay and financial instability in Johannesburg,” he said.
Emfuleni municipality
Lesufi said one of the province’s worst municipalities, Emfuleni, unveiled 145 new fleet vehicles to accelerate service delivery.
“This includes vehicles for traffic and bylaws, waste, electrical and road maintenance,” he said.
He congratulated the DA-run Midvaal Local Municipality for continuing to be the shining municipality in our province, but most importantly for their “strong belief in integrated governmental relations and participation in provincial programmes.”
West Rand Municipality
Lesufi said the provincial government would like to assure the residents of the West Rand that the province is working with the municipality to resolve the ongoing difficulties caused by the sinkholes.
“Following the declaration by the national government, measures are underway to bring relief to this community.”
He said the full might of the law was demonstrated recently in the West Rand when all spheres of government confronted zama-zamas, who thought they could victimise and intimidate the community of Sporong.
“This was followed by a joint operation where 75 AK47 rifles and rounds of ammunition were recovered. This municipality remains the biggest beneficiary of the recently announced deployment of the SANDF.”
Lesufi congratulated the West Rand District Municipality for attaining its second consecutive clean audit.
“This municipality is not only performing well but remains a candidate for future development in the local authority sector.”
Sedibeng
Lesufi said it is public knowledge that the governing party is proposing changes in some municipalities under its control.
He said a motion of no confidence was tabled by the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania against the Executive Mayor of Sedibeng.
“These developments create governance challenges in the region. Discussions with the leadership of the affected municipalities are scheduled for later this week, in which all these matters may be resolved,” he said.
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