As part of the Ridge Times’ commitment to voter education ahead of the November 4 elections, the publication invited all political party mayoral candidates to answer our questionnaire by October 12.

This is what Louise Jonker is the mayoral candidate for the Vryheidsfront / Freedom Front Plus (VF+) in Govan Mbeki Municipality, answered.

Questions 1 & 2: Govan Mbeki Municipality is a major industrial and economic hub. What is your strategy for protecting existing jobs and attracting new investment? Furthermore, given persistent challenges with infrastructure (electricity, water, roads, sewage, dumping), which issue will you tackle first, and why?

Response: Water, electricity, sewer networks, and roads form the critical baseline required for any community or local economy to function. Attracting new investment to Govan Mbeki Municipality and protecting existing industries – such as our vital agricultural sector and major industrial complexes like Sasol – requires more than standard administrative promises. It demands operational certainty, merit-driven governance, and well-maintained infrastructure.

To make Govan Mbeki an attractive, low-risk destination for commercial and industrial investors, the VF Plus will implement key policy shifts:

1. Abolishing Local Race-Based Procurement (B-BBEE): We will end race-based transformation targets in municipal procurement. Municipal contracts will be awarded strictly on merit, technical competence, quality, and cost-efficiency to ensure infrastructure projects are executed correctly the first time.
2. Prioritising Water and Sewerage Infrastructure: While all core utilities matter, sewer spills and water pipe bursts represent immediate statutory, health, and environmental emergencies in our towns. We will prioritize immediate capital expenditure on sealing water leaks, upgrading wastewater treatment plants, and protecting our water sources.
3. Enforcing the 8% Maintenance Budget Rule: We will strictly enforce National Treasury guidelines mandating that a minimum of 8% of the total book value of municipal property, plant, and equipment is ring-fenced strictly for routine and preventative maintenance annually.
4. Appointing Technical Artisans Over Bureaucratic Managers: We will trim top-heavy administrative structures and reallocate those funds to hire qualified, technical tradesmen—electricians, civil technicians, and plumbers—who deliver tangible, on-the-ground maintenance.

Cutting Red Tape and Stabilising Rates: We will streamline zoning applications, accelerate building approvals, and ensure rate and tariff increases remain strictly below inflation so local businesses are not priced out of operation.

Question 3: Govan Mbeki Municipality has a large number of informal settlements. What is your plan to improve basic services while addressing longer-term housing needs, and how do you plan to curb illegal squatting?

Response: Every resident living in an informal settlement deserves access to basic human dignity, hygienic sanitation, and clean drinking water. The VF Plus policy balances compassionate basic service delivery with an uncompromising defence of lawful property rights:

• Dignified Basic Services for the Indigent: We will utilize the municipality’s allocation of the National Equitable Share grant strictly for its intended purpose: delivering basic sanitation, clean drinking water points, and refuse removal to vetted indigent residents living in legally recognized areas.
• Title Deed Transfers Over State-Housing Promises: Rather than making unrealistic promises of state-funded housing rollouts, our focus is on accelerating the transfer of title deeds to legitimate occupants. Granting true private property ownership builds wealth, provides security of tenure, and integrates families into the formal economy.
• Zero Tolerance for Unlawful Land Occupations: Unlawful land grabs undermine orderly urban planning, devalue surrounding properties, and overwhelm municipal electrical and water grids. We will enforce immediate law enforcement intervention and obtain swift court interdicts against illegal squatting to protect private, agricultural, and municipal land.
• Balanced Urban Development: We will ensure orderly urban planning that maintains a strict balance between formal housing needs, environmental conservation, ratepayer property values, and agricultural land.

Question 4: What is your plan to improve the municipality’s financial position and ensure that municipal spending translates into visible service delivery?

Response: To stop the disappearance of municipal funds into inefficient projects and administrative black holes, the VF Plus will introduce strict financial discipline, localized revenue protection, and complete public transparency:

1. Earmarked Ward Revenue Reinvestment: Under our core municipal policy framework, a guaranteed, fixed percentage of rates and taxes collected in a specific ward will be ring-fenced and reinvested directly back into that ward’s infrastructure. Taxpayers will finally see their hard-earned money at work in their immediate neighbourhood.
2. Public Municipal Expenditure & Service Delivery Dashboard: To ensure total transparency, we will establish a monthly public dashboard detailing all capital receipts, exact allocation lines, project milestones, and delivered outcomes. Residents will see what money was received, where it was allocated, and what was delivered.
3. Personal Liability for Wasteful Expenditure: We will end the culture of impunity by holding municipal managers and accounting officers personally liable under law for irregular, fruitless, or wasteful expenditure.
4. Stopping Revenue Losses Through Smart Metering: We will address municipal debt at the source by deploying modernized smart meters, securing bulk supply meters, and taking decisive legal action against illegal electricity connections and utility theft.
5. Ring-Fencing Infrastructure Grants: We will ensure 100% of national conditional grants (such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant) are spent entirely on physical infrastructure assets rather than being diverted to cover operational shortfalls or administrative salaries.

Question: If we interview you again at the end of the 2026 – 2031 term, what specific measurable result should we be able to hold you accountable for?

No more promises are needed, only accountability and results.

I do not expect that a five year term will erase decades of neglect, but realistic measurable change MUST begin in the next five years,for  a Municipality where residents can say, we could see where our money was used. A Better Govan Mbeki for all citizens.

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.