Government determined to turn around struggling municipalities in North West

The national executive, working with provincial government is determined to arrest the current situation and turn the Ditsobotla Local Municipality as well as other municipalities in the North West. 

This, so that municipalities can once again deliver consistent services and enjoy the respect of communities.

This was the commitment made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his opening remarks

at the engagement between the National Executive and the North West Provincial Executive Council, held in Rustenburg, on Friday.

President Ramaphosa stressed that elected leaders have a duty to serve the people above personal interests, warning against the erosion of basic rights through poor service delivery.

“We were all elected to serve the people and not our own interests. Failure to deliver services is an infringement of the basic rights of residents and our citizens more broadly. No one should go more than a day without running water while there is a deafening silence from the municipal offices about when the water will be restored,” the President said.

President Ramaphosa addressed the issue of water, following recent water protests in several communities, including Westbury and Coronationville in Gauteng, where residents took to the streets demanding consistent water supply and accountability from municipalities. 

“We must remind ourselves of the National Treasury’s 2024 provincial socio-economic review which points to an increase in the percentage of people living in poverty. It also points to a drop in the number of households with access to basic services like water,” he said. 

The President noted that while the North West provincial government has made strides in growing public infrastructure, communities continue to suffer due to instability and recurring interventions in municipalities, with Ditsobotla Local Municipality being the most recent to be placed under administration.

The President highlighted the need to recognise that fiscal constraints are holding back a number of projects and programmes, particularly at a municipal level.  

However, he called for municipalities to be responsive to the needs of communities, stressing that maladministration, poor governance, and corruption cannot be excused. 

“If a municipality is put under administration, we need to know what the elected representatives and municipal officials are doing to earn their salaries. And we need to ask ourselves whether the salaries that they are paid are value for money and whether they are doing their work,” President Ramaphosa said. 

The engagement in Rustenburg forms part of a series of consultations between the national executive and provincial governments, aimed at strengthening cooperative governance under the Government of National Unity.

North West becomes the seventh province to host such an engagement following similar meetings in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape.

President Ramaphosa urged all spheres of government to act decisively to restore community trust and accelerate delivery, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure. 

He further pointed to opportunities in the province’s Green Hydrogen Masterplan, describing it as a driver of inclusive growth and industrialisation that could benefit not only the North West, but also the national economy and the continent at large.

“Premier Mokgosi, working together with your executive council and the municipal leadership here, I am confident that we can drive development in the Platinum Province. In this effort, no person, no community and no industry should be left behind,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za