MEDIA ALERT: COGTA COMMITTEE TO VISIT GAUTENG MUNICIPALITIES TO ASSESS STATE OF SERVICE DELIVERY

The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements, will over the course of this week undertake an oversight visit to Gauteng Province municipalities to assess their current levels of functionality and their ability to deliver quality services to the people. The oversight visit by the committee is necessitated by the importance of the local government sphere in delivering quality services to the people.

“We have over time witnessed consistent negative municipal audit reports that negatively impact abilities of some municipalities to deliver services. Also, after the 2019 Local Government Elections there has been an increase in political instability within this sphere directly impacting on service delivery. Effective oversight will be critical to strengthen this sphere and ensure quality services to the people, ” said Mr China Dodovu, the Chairperson of the committee.

This oversight visit programme was prioritised by the committee and scheduled to take place earlier, however, it had to be postponed due to clashes with other parliamentary activities. The committee has noted that this is an opportune time to conduct it.

The committee will visit Emfuleni Local municipality, Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg and City of Tshwane respectively. Emfuleni Local municipality had various interventions aimed at improving service delivery, the committee will use the visit to assess the impact of those interventions. Both Ekurhuleni and City of Johannesburg Metropolitan municipalities have experienced political instability over time, and that created a negative environment which is antithetical with the promotion of service delivery.

The committee will also assess the extent to which this political instability has affected service delivery to both municipalities and see the need for further interventions. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has in the recent past raised challenges with its financial position and various service delivery issues that led to its dissolution previously. The recent outbreak of Cholera in the municipality has called for urgent attention to challenges facing the municipality.

The committee is driven by its preoccupation that the municipalities exist to deliver services to the people and that must take place.

Source: Parliament of South Africa