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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng notes with great concern that the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile has once again failed to implement the urgent measures needed to rescue the collapsing Gauteng municipalities.

This information was revealed in the Gauteng Department of COGTA’s annual report for the 2019/2020 financial year.

According to the annual report, three municipalities namely, Emfuleni Local Municipality, Merafong Local Municipality and Lesedi District Municipality were earmarked for functional statutory council committees. However, the target was not achieved because the research on the functionality of the statutory council was not finalised.

The department had a target to support Merafong Local Municipality to develop the Capital Expenditure Framework (CEF) together with the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) levers and this target was not achieved. The department states that this target was not achieved because of the challenges to appoint the service provider.

Furthermore, the department failed to meet its target to support Emfuleni with repairs and maintenance of the sewer pump stations. This target was not achieved because the department missed the deadline to transfer funds to the implementing agent namely the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (ERWAT).

The reasons given for the department’s failure to meet its target relates to project and financial management, in which it seems the department is incapable and inefficient.

It is high time that MEC Maile prioritises fixing the challenges facing these municipalities that were caused by his own cadres.

The residents of these municipalities continue to suffer as service delivery has collapsed and these municipalities are facing serious cash-flow problems. This department is failing to support our local and district municipalities which are plagued by enormous challenges ranging from failing to settle their water and electricity debts, and some are bankrupt and unable to pay employees’ salaries.

This department lacks a political leader to drive the core mandate of the department; MEC Maile is incompetent and must be held accountable for his department’s failures.

We will continue to put pressure on MEC Maile to ensure that those targets that were not met in the previous financial year are prioritised during this financial year. We will also continue to monitor the work done by this department to ensure that they provide much needed support to our municipalities.

Issued by The DA