‘Vhembe area must improve’
The newly elected Executive Mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Florence Radzilani promised to change the municipality's status from a dysfunctional and under-performing municipality, starting with appointing officials in all critical posts.
LIMPOPO – “One of the reasons the municipality is classified as such is the fact that critical posts have been left vacant for too long. You will all recall that for more than a year now, this municipality has been running without a dedicated full time municipal manager and chief financial officer,” Radzilani said.
“We are worried about the repetition of poor audit outcomes as it creates the impression that we are incompetent or that we simply do not care about our responsibilities,” Radzilani added.
She made this statement at the Council Chamber in Thohoyandou where she and 58 other councillors were sworn in by Judge Khami Makhafola.
Councillor Freda Nkondo was elected Speaker, while MKMV veteran and former MEC for Safety Security and Liaison, Sampson Ratshivhanda Ndou was elected Chief Whip.
Radzilani said she will no longer tolerate lack of performance from municipality employees during her tenure.
“Water is a basic necessity and we will address the challenge of providing clean water to our people by doing immediate maintenance on existing infrastructure and upgrading and repairing all damaged boreholes,” she said.
According to Radzilani, the new council is expected to join hands with traditional leaders with the objective to develop all impoverished rural communities.
The Chairperson of the Vhembe House of Traditional Leaders, Chief Busa Nxumalo said he and other traditional leaders in the district are ready to work with the new elected leadership in order to fast-track service delivery.
