Madam – Mediocrity, incompetence and corruption has no place within the municipality!
The former deputy president of America, Joseph Robinette Biden, once said ‘Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It’s self-defence. It’s patriotism.’
If it were up to me, I would solemnly declare that those who live off municipal coffers be deemed as criminals against humanity.
For the greater part of last year, and in the beginning of this year, the municipality has relentlessly implored its residents to join deafening calls to fight corruption and bring culprits to book.
If we don’t interrogate malfeasance, incompetence and corruption, then we might as well close shop and live in a lawless society.
However, as a municipality, we’ve committed ourselves to walking this path, no matter how uncomfortable it makes the crook.
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History will judge us harshly if ever we turn a blind eye to corruption or abandon any efforts of retrieving tax payer’s monies which were embezzled through dodgy dealings.
Municipal funds which are channelled to wrong places rob the ‘gogo’ from getting the better life which this administration has promised her.
Corruption deprives our residents from getting proper basic service delivery.
We are well aware that our efforts are being challenged in the form of bedlam and anarchy. We’ve touched a very sensitive nerve but we remain resolute in our commitments of not failing our residents.
It’s only now that those who milked the municipal coffers dry are being made aware of the impact of their actions. This administration is unceasing in its efforts to dismantle a network of patronage, which only benefitted the few in the past and shut out the people it was supposed to serve.
Now that we’ve been given an opportunity to reverse this callous act, we will not hesitate. Equally, we’ve beseeched municipal staff, ward councillors and officials to serve the public impeccably.
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We’ve taken a strong stance against mediocrity and incompetence. We are aware of our financial challenges as a municipality, and we’ve been working tirelessly to attend to them, despite the financial woes which were created by the same people who claim to be fighting for the community.
We’ve just concluded our strategic planning session, which saw to the adoption of critical strategies to counter our challenges, including introducing mechanisms which will see to the acceleration of fixing outdated infrastructure.
Last week the municipality achieved an ‘Unqualified Audit Outcome’ and next year we are aiming for the much coveted ‘Clean Audit Outcome’.
To demonstrate that we are serious about providing uncompromisingly superior services to our residents, collectively we’ve proposed that municipal officials, including myself and the municipal manager, to accompany municipal workers to all areas within the municipality.
This is in a bid to engage residents and see where the institution can improve service delivery. Madadeni, Osizweni and Blaauwbosch are the key areas which have been earmarked.
Our key priority will be to accompany units from the water, electricity and waste collection department to the above mentioned areas. We’ve further proposed to hold public gatherings and consultations, with the aim of attaining first-hand accounts of community complains and grievances.
We also want to tackle the issue of litter, and urge our residents not to despair, as grease and grime is top of our agenda. The municipality is in the process of launching its WhatsApp line to report on critical issues and will allow residents to report on issues affecting the community.
The line will give the municipality the opportunity to report on job advertisements, municipal news and programs to accelerate service delivery.
Newcastle Mayor, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba
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Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za
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