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Municipalities of the North West municipality have improved people’s lives as people are getting access to basic services.
North West recorded an increase in the number of households using electricity for lighting, cooking and heating over the period 2001/07. Figures from Statistics South Africa and the Department of Local Government show that the proportion of households using electricity for lighting in the North West was above the national average.
Figures also show that the proportion of households having access to piped water increased from 86,6% in 2001 to 89,9% in 2007. This was slightly above the national average (88,6%).
Some of these figures demonstrate beyond doubt that the negative image of North West municipalities is not consistent with reality. The majority of our municipalities are focused on the critical task of creating a better life for all our people.
As a province, we have also registered significant progress in our efforts to provide sanitation services to our people. Through our bucket eradication programme, we succeeded in eradicating 13 115 pre-1994 buckets by the end of 2008/09 financial year. Provincial municipalities will have to pay focused attention on the post-1994 buckets.
In addition, refuse removal is improving significantly across the province. The proportion of households whose refuse was removed by increased from 40,1% in 2001 to 54,8% in 2007.
These figures demonstrate that, contrary to perceptions in the media, the North West is not only about potholes, corruption and protests. The people and leadership of the province are committed to delivering a better life for their people.
The challenge is to sustain this progress and address remaining areas that require improvement.