Vryheid’s new acting MM hopes to regain public trust
Having had seven years in senior management, Mr Zulu said that, although the responsibility of being both director of Development Planning and acting municipal manager would be a great challenge, he is equal to the task.
Sine Thwala
BORN and raised within the AbaQulusi Municipality, new acting municipal manager (MM), Dalisu Zulu, says that he is just as keen on seeing improvement in the municipality as every other local.
This was the impression that was given by the new acting MM as he addressed municipal staff members at the staff meeting that was held at Cecil Emmett Hall on Monday.
Having had seven years in senior management, Mr Zulu said that, although the responsibility of being both director of Development Planning and acting municipal manager would be a great challenge, he is equal to the task.
The meeting was said to be long overdue, as the previous acting MM should have done this meeting where municipal staff members were officially introduced to the councillors, just after the elections in August last year.
“The purpose of this day is to form a good working relationship between employer and employee,” said the new acting MM.
Addressing the staff members, Mr Zulu said that he had been given three months by council and that although it may not seem like a lot of time, he was hoping that through working together, the municipality could regain the public’s trust.
“We need to bring about a radical turn around within the municipality and restore its dignity,” he said.
Admitting that he was aware of the fact that he could not resolve all the issues within municipality, but that he hoped to work together with the staff members to settle some matters.
“For example, the unpaid service providers issue is one that needs urgent attention as workers cannot work because they do not have certain equipment, which the service providers refuse to provide until their money has been paid. This in turn has a negative impact on service delivery,” he said.
In conclusion, Mr Zulu said that there were COGTA recognised issues within the municipality that had to be dealt with accordingly. He thanked the executive council members for giving him this opportunity and urged staff members to work with him to improve AbaQulusi Municipality.
