By
Hon Mrs Thembeni Madlopha Mthethwa, IFP MPL
KZN Legislature
Madame Speaker, the Inkatha Freedom Party welcomes the report on the NCOP Week that took place between 21 and 24 July 2015.
This report highlights many challenges faced by residents of those areas that were visited. One of the biggest challenges that came up was that related to the drought that we are faced with. The lack of rainfall is a natural phenomenon which we do not have control over. But the other challenge is a man-made one that was imposed upon the residents and that is the ANC/NFP coalition in many municipalities across our province. This unholy marriage was doomed even before the honeymoon started.
On page 96 the HOD of COGTA states :
“There are 18 municipalities that are co-governed by the ANC and NFP and this brings with it its own challenges in the governing of municipalities which include inter and intra political demands and tensions and poor political administrative interface.”
Surely these and other related challenges should have been foreseen but unfortunately political expediency overshadowed the needs of our people. Now due to the infighting between the local alliance partners our people are suffering. The Hon MEC Dube-Ncube is aware of the infighting that I speak of as she is aware that her department has had to intervene in many dysfunctional municipalities. There are examples of municipalities where administrators had to intervene and in some cases unsuccessfully. There is also the example of Mtubatuba Municipality where the administration had to be dissolved and election had to be held at great cost across all wards in that municipality. While this happens our people are left with little or no services.
Madame Speaker, we note from the AG’s report that there has been an improvement in the audit outcomes in most municipalities. While this might be the case, we also note that there is still a need for stricter financial controls and better management in the procurement of services.
Allow me to draw your attention to Ndwedwe Municipality and specifically item 16.8 on page 124 of the report that refers to
“The Suspension of Municipal Managers while being paid a full salary, while the acting municipal manager is also being paid the same salary is also a waste of money which could have been used for community development.”.
Madame Speaker, this is a wilful waste of tax payer’s money and it must not be allowed to continue. How can COGTA allow this squandering of public funds to continue while our people are crying out for municipal services? The fact that municipal managers are receiving full salaries while on suspension for extended periods of time shows that the ANC has deployed cadres who are wholly incompetent. When these cadres are suspended, the ANC does not have a way out and are therefore forced into keeping them at home on full pay from the public purse. This is inexcusable and must be stopped immediately.
Another issue on the same page recorded under item 16.9 is that of the Mayoral Imbizos. Madame Speaker, this report voices the opinions of our people on the ground and they are saying
“There is a waste of time and money in conducting Mayoral Imbizos and community members don’t get the opportunity to ask questions”
Madame Speaker, the people on the ground are voicing what we in the IFP have been saying all along and that is that these imbizos, provincial or mayoral are a waste of time and money and are nothing more that roadshows for the ANC’s inflated ego. These imbizos do not benefit our people in the long term.
There are numerous examples of community protests across our province and this is a clear message that people are dissatisfied with service delivery. This certainly goes against the theme of “Advancing the Developmental Agenda of Municipalities for a Better Life for our People”
I Thank you.
Contact: Mrs Madlopha-Mthethwa MPL,071 884 3844/ 079 114 3015
