No excuse for poor service delivery, municipalities told at Salga assembly
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Willies Mchunu vowed to act swiftly on political killings in the province,
Service delivery issues, violent protests and the performance of councillors topped the agenda at the eighth South African Local Government Association (Salga) provincial assembly, held at the Estuary Hotel and Spa in Port Edward on Thursday last week.
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Mayors and councillors were urged by provincial Salga chairman, Mluleki Ndobe, to ensure their communities received full service delivery from their municipalities in order to curb the spate of violent protests.
Mr Ndobe told the meeting that it was unacceptable for communities not to have access to electricity, clean water and sanitation.
Although he admitted that there was a backlog and that municipalities faced a number of challenges, this, he said, was no excuse for shoddy service delivery.
“Salga is committed to expediting economic growth by fast-tracking service delivery, and councillors must remember they exist to provide service delivery to communities at all times.”
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Willies Mchunu vowed to act swiftly on political killings in the province, including on the Lower South Coast where several politicians have been slain since the 2016 local government elections.
Mr Mchunu promised ‘additional government efforts and resources’ to end the killings.
On the LSC alone, more than 10 politicians had been murdered in what were believed to be politically-motivated attacks.
According to Mr Mchunu, intimidation and the killing of political party representatives prevented people from choosing their preferred representatives.
“The killing of politicians makes people fear standing for election, which defeats election objectives.”
He urged all political parties to stand together in fighting the scourge of these murders.
“If it has never affected your political party, do not rejoice because, if you allow it to continue and fester as a culture in society, you yourself may suffer the same fate in the not too distant future.”
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