Mayoral candidate for African Transformation Movement (ATM) in Govan Mbeki Municipality answers our questions
Nonhlanhla Maseko tells voters what she will do if she becomes the mayor.
Ridge Times invites all mayoral candidates and candidates contesting wards in the upcoming local elections to answer our questions.
Here is what Nonhlanhla Maseko, mayoral candidate for African Transformation Movement (ATM), answered.
Q. Govan Mbeki Municipality is a major industrial and economic hub. What is your strategy for protecting existing jobs and attracting new investment?
A. Work with big companies: We will partner closely with key industries such as Sasol and the mining sector to ensure reliable bulk water, steady power, and maintained logistics routes so existing operations remain viable and jobs are protected.
Support local entrepreneurs: We will empower local small businesses and youth with technical skills, accessible trading spaces, and dedicated participation in municipal supply chains.
Make it easy to invest: We will streamline commercial rezoning and permit approvals, cutting red tape to make Govan Mbeki an attractive and welcoming destination for new businesses.
Q: The municipality faces challenges with power, water, roads, sewage spills, and illegal dumping. Which infrastructure problem will you tackle first, and why?
Priority Focus: Clean Water Supply and Sewage Infrastructure.
Restoring health and dignity: Persistent sewage spills in our townships threaten family health, contaminate local water sources, and strip residents of basic human dignity.
Essential foundation for growth: Businesses cannot invest and new homes cannot be built without dependable water provision and working sanitation networks.
Immediate maintenance action: We will ring-fence municipal capital to repair failing pump stations, stop leaks in fresh-water mains, and concurrently deploy road teams to patch primary transport routes.
Q: GMM has many informal settlements. What is your plan to improve basic services, address long-term housing, and curb illegal squatting?
Immediate interim services: Rapidly provide communal clean water points, regular waste collection, and high-mast solar lighting so informal settlement residents live in safety and decency.
Planned, legal land tenure: Survey suitable municipal land, install water and sewer connections, and issue title deeds to give families secure, legal ownership to build their homes.
Proactive land management: Prevent land grabs by releasing serviced plots through an organised “site and service” framework before illegal invasions occur, while actively monitoring municipal land banks.
Q: What is your plan to improve the municipality’s financial position and ensure spending translates into visible service delivery?
Accurate billing and revenue collection: Audit and repair commercial and residential water and electricity meters to ensure all users, especially major commercial accounts, pay accurately for consumption.
Settle bulk utility debts: Negotiate binding, realistic repayment plans with Eskom and Rand Water to prevent cut-offs and stabilise public utility supplies.
Stop wasteful expenditure: Eliminate unnecessary administrative luxuries and middlemen contracts, ensuring municipal funds are spent strictly on visible service delivery like road repairs, water pipes, and streetlights.
Q: What will you expect ward councillors to deliver for residents, and how will you hold them accountable for service delivery and local problems?
Mandatory quarterly community meetings: Every councillor must convene regular public ward meetings to listen directly to resident concerns and present verified progress reports.
Rapid issue logging and tracking: Councillors must actively log potholes, electrical outages, and sewer bursts through a centralized tracking system and follow them through to resolution.
Direct public performance reviews: Establish clear community complaint channels. Non-responsive or absent councillors will face formal council review and disciplinary accountability.
Q: By the end of the 2026–2031 term, what specific measurable results should the community hold you accountable for?
1. Zero untreated sewage overflows: Fully operational wastewater treatment works and pump stations, ending raw sewage leaks in residential areas.
2. Financial stability and clean audit: Achieving an unqualified audit outcome with no unexplained expenditure and maintaining current accounts with bulk suppliers.
3. 5 000 serviced stands delivered: Providing at least 5 000 formally planned stands with water, electricity, and official title deeds for local families.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the candidate and do
not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the journalists or the newspapers (Ridge Times and Standerton Advertiser) and the company (Caxton) they represent.
