NELSPRUIT – Water issues were the main focus of the mayor’s recent annual state of the municipality address at Mbombela Stadium. However, Cllr Cathy Dlamini urged people to remain patient.
“We have to implore and persuade our people to realise that they need to exercise a modicum of patience as these backlogs cannot be eradicated overnight,” she said. According to the mayor, MLM generates about 54% of its own revenue from property rates,and electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal tariffs.
“During the course of this financial year, it is expected that R1 billion will be generated from these. The community should take note that for the municipality to achieve all the service delivery objectives and priorities outlined in the integrated development plan, payment of municipal services are the most important factor because there will be no service delivery if the municipality does not have sufficient funds in the bank,” she said.
The municipality was recently awarded a loan of R160,2 million from the Development Bank of South Africa to co-fund the provision of bulk water infrastructure, acquire a new fleet to replace old and dilapidated fleet that is becoming very expensive to operate and maintain, upgrade electricity substations and networks, provide households with electricity, upgrade sewerage treatment works, build waste disposal sites and establish new townships.
Dlamini admitted that the municipality had under spent on capital expenditure relating to infrastructure development in the past. “However, I want to assure our communities that measures have been put in place to ensure the spending on capital projects will drastically improve in the next financial year,” she said. These include strengthening the planning capacity of the technical services department by appointing planning consultants to expedite implementation and filling of critical positions within the department.
According to Dlamini, MLM’s internal audit and risk management units and audit committee are fully operational. She added that the municipality was adopting a conservative approach to revenue and cash flow projection on the advice of national treasury, “due to unfavourable and unstable economic conditions and rising inflationary pressures, and the slow growth pace on the global and national economy”.
In conclusion, the mayor promised to deliver. “We will deliver on our mandate and we dare not fail you. By working together we can and will succeed in meeting the common objective we have set ourselves as a municipality – to build a better life for all.”
