The Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Namane Dickson Masemola undertook an accountability and assessment oversight meeting to Ngaka Modiri Molema District in NW Province under the theme – “Every Municipality Must Work”. This meeting stands as one of the important milestones in the the work being done by CoGTA to turn around municipalities experiencing challenges.
The Deputy Minister met with the North West Province Premier – Mr Lazarus Mokgosi, CoGHSTA MEC – Mr Gaoage Oageng Molapisi and Finance MEC – Ms Kenetswe Norah Mosenogi, including Mayors, Speakers, Chief Financial Officers and Technical Directors of the District and its five (5) constituent local municipalities (Ditsobotla, Tswaing, Ratlou, Ramotshere Moiloa and Mahikeng). The Leadership of the Province welcomed the visit of the Deputy Minister as it is a catalyst that sets the tone for addressing head on the challenges facing our municipalities.
The engagement responded to the challenges raised by the state of local government report produced by DCoG and the local government audit outcomes report released by the auditor-general in August 2024 which painted a grim picture of the state of municipalities.
This District Development Model (DDM), the Ministerial visits to priority Districts encourages an all-of-government and all-of-society approach to governance, emphasising the need for collaboration and coordination in an effort to ensure service delivery at the local level.
The challenges identified from the presentations included, but not limited to the following
* Corruption which compromises effective governance in municipalities and ultimately service delivery.
* Poor leadership on various government programmes contributes to challenges in service delivery. Hence Deputy Minister called for strategic leadership in municipalities.
* The issue of skills was also raised looking at shortage of skills to work on various service delivery programmes of government, including in supply chain management (SCM), this leading to delays in service delivery. The meeting urged that qualified people should be appointed to lead the work in municipalities.
* The dilapidated infrastructure was also raised as one of the challenges which inhibits effective service delivery challenges. Some prefers new infrastructure over maintaining existing one.
* The challenges with projects that are not completed suggest that there is no sufficient oversight which might lead to delayed or no completion of projects which can assist in the delivery of service.
* The other key challenge that became clear from the discussions was poor financial management which can negative affect on service delivery. Mismanagement of finances has a ripple effect on the entire service delivery chain. The passing of unfunded budgets was described as the worst mistake which will gradually move the municipality to being dysfunctional.
* Government has to ensure responsiveness in engaging communities on matters related to service delivery. Municipal officials can through their responsiveness lead to service delivery improvements.
The discussions on the above and other perennial challenges which frustrate service delivery and the effective and efficient functioning municipalities will contribute into an action plan that will be continually monitored for implementation. There is a need to move towards an ideal municipality anchored on the provisions of our constitution. Deputy Minister emphasised support through the implementation of section 154 of the constitution.
From the presentations and discussions it was clear that there are challenges that requires action in an effort to set the municipalities on the path to improved delivery of services.
The Inputs of principals placed emphasises on a need for a Local government that works for the people and delivering services required by communities. It is within this context that discussions that ensued today with Ngaka Modiri Molema District focused on identifying areas of support necessary to municipalities and how government could enhance the delivery of services as per the mandate.
Deputy Minister called for effective policy implementation that can lead to service delivery. There is therefore a need to support these municipalities especially those under administration – “Tswaing; Ramotshere and Ditsobotla. In addition, a concern was raised that none of the municipalities in the district received a clean audit and it is important to work towards proper financial management.
The Deputy Minister called for different thinking to take opportunity of the work that is done to better the lives of our communities. He spoke to the importance of delivery of basic services, sound financial matters, governance and administrative matters which are critical to the effective and efficient functioning municipalities.
The collaborative nature through the DDM approach, was a key highlight of the engagement, with all stakeholders agreeing that working together is crucial to ensuring that municipalities are functional and effective in driving local development.
“The matters raised today arise and fall on leadership, hence the need to do better for our communities so that we can deliver on the needs of communities.”, said the Deputy Minister.
Deputy Minister Masemola made a commitment for an ongoing engagement with Municipalities to ensure that they deliver on their constitutional mandate and in line with a constitutional obligation for national and provincial governments to support municipalities through legislative and other measures, ensuring they have the capacity to perform their duties effectively.
Our turnaround strategies must impact our municipalities for the better.
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