District municipality wants to see improvement in service delivery

SECUNDA – Mr Muzi Chirwa, executive mayor of the Gert Sibande District Municipality, said the time to bridge the gap between the communities and the government has arrived.

He said this will improve service delivery in the area.

Mr Chirwa shared these sentiments at the Gert Sibande District Municipality’s strategic planning session led by the speaker, Mr Joshua Nkosi, at the Lillian Ngoyi Centre on Wednesday, 8 March.

This session was also attended by councillors, acting municipal managers, heads of department, IDP managers, planners and other stakeholders.

It was held after another session that was held in February by the executive mayors, MMCs and speakers from the Gert Sibande District Municipality during which they brought to the table their plans to improve service delivery in Govan Mbeki Municipality.

Mr Nkosi said the session was a follow up on the previous session that was aimed at involving other stakeholders and involving them in the five-year plan to improve service delivery.

Mr Chirwa said the district has adopted zero tolerance on mediocrity and passiveness.

He said it is time those who lead politically and administratively, lead with integrity and excellence.

“We demand that everyone services and respects our community with dignity and respect.

“We must pay attention to small details, such as time management, because we can not afford to have people who arrive late for work and leave work early.

“Officials and politicians must work together to ensure we implement our plans.

“We must all be committed to the vision of delivering services to our people.

“It is time to deliver clean water to our people, to deliver electricity to all communities and to improve our revenue collection.

“We must work hard to make our town a conducive environment for private investors to invest in.”

According to Mr Chirwa, this can only be made possible by involving the people on the ground.

He said councillors must hold ward meetings and always involve stakeholders in their wards.

Ms Flora Maboa-Boltman, executive mayor of Govan Mbeki Municipality, slammed officials and councillors who arrive late for meetings and said they must take their duties serious.

She called on all political parties to unite so services are delivered.

“Regardless of our parties, we have one thing in common and that is that we all have been mandated by those who voted for us to improve their lives.

“We have a responsibility to serve the community and we can not do that without a plan.

“We hope the plan that will be tabled today, will help achieve our goals.”

The district municipality will continue with consultations and when the five-year plan is finalised, it will be sent to Council for adoption.

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