Durban - Amid the chaos and political bickering by coalition partners in several municipalities, the Department of Cooperative governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in KwaZulu-Natal says it has identified five key areas of intervention.
This was said by the province’s MEC for Cooperative Governance Sihle Zikalala while addressing a gathering of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) in Empangeni on Friday.
Among the areas he has identified and where he intends to work with the Salga to lend a helping hand is the hiring of people with skills and having councillors who place people above the narrow interests of their political parties.
The MEC said a lot could be achieved for rural communities through working with Salga.
Among them, he said was working with the Ingonyama Trust which owns vast tracts of land across the province.
“As Cogta, we are keen to receive your report and recommendation on how collectively we can promote spatial planning that integrates traditional authorities. We are aware that you have explored, for instance, how working better with Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB), KwaZulu-Natal could unleash pro-poor rural development.
“We do not doubt that your proposals will receive greater support from the ITB as well as His Majesty the King (Misuzulu KaZwelithini) who last week at Moses Mabhida Stadium spoke passionately on rural and economic development for KwaZulu-Natal,” Zikalala said.
On the five key points of intervention and collaboration, Zikalala said the stabilisation of the local government sphere was key, since there are efforts to derail it.
“The priority is for us to stabilise the sphere of local government within our province.
“The instances of intimidation and murder of public representatives and municipal workers are a blight on our province and demonstrate that there are forces that are hell-bent on compromising the sphere of local government at any cost.
“We cannot allow these rogue elements to subvert the democratic gains that we have made within this space. Acts of criminality must be stamped out,” Zikalala said.
Zikalala also told the same gathering that they understand that while some councillors need protection, the SAPS was delaying concluding risk assessments and they are working on getting the matter resolved.
“We also understand that before any form of protection is given to a councillor or municipal official, comprehensive risk assessments need to be done by the competent agency of the state which in this case is the South African Police Service.
“We have noted the concerns raised by municipalities on the issue of the slow turnaround in the conducting of these assessments and we commit ourselves to work closely with our police to expedite these processes,” he said.
Zikalala also said there is a need to professionalise the local government sphere, and as such, parties must deploy the best to be councillors.
“The second issue is the professionalisation of the sphere of local government within our province. This is an important issue which requires all of us to pay close attention to it, especially since local government is at the coal face of service delivery.
“Our communities rely on the services rendered by municipalities, which means that a dysfunctional municipality has disastrous consequences for residents.
“This also speaks to the calibre of people that become councillors, we need to have councillors who understand the seriousness of the position they occupy and the responsibilities that they carry. If this is not looked into, we run the risk of having the stature of our municipalities undermined and the public losing confidence.
“Political parties also have a responsibility on this matter as they have a responsibility to ensure that criminals do not infiltrate their political systems and cause chaos at the local government level,” he said.
Furthermore, Zikalala said municipalities should be helped with the capacity building so that they effectively deliver services to people.
“We have to help our municipalities to build their capacity to deliver service to our communities as outlined in the constitution. This is both a simple and a complex task,” he said.
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