Corruption rife in municipalities, says Ramaphosa

At the National Council of Provinces People’s Parliament held at Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the assembly and said ‘municipalities are full of corruption which need to be rooted out’.

He said having received feedback on service delivery challenges faced by the communities in Ugu District, he has realised that municipalities need serious interventions when it comes to the employment of staff.

“In many ways, the challenges facing residents in Ugu mirror those of many municipalities countrywide. Since democracy in 1994, this government has made significant strides in improving the lives of South Africans, particularly those who were most disadvantaged by apartheid rule,” Ramaphosa said.

He said as part of strengthening local government performance, national government is striving to entrench the District Development Model (DDM) as an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to government planning and implementation.

“We spend time diagnosing the problem and painting a picture of what a poorly-run municipality looks like. Instead, we should be focused on what an ideal municipality should look like and how to build such municipalities across the country.

“The key elements of an ideal municipality are a vibrant economy, places where tourists want to visit, inter-connected communities and skills and training hubs.

Such municipalities provide good access to health, education and recreational facilities,” Ramaphosa added.
He said to achieve this national government needs to capacitate local government to play a far more prominent role in implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

“We cannot achieve higher economic growth, create more jobs and grow more businesses, if local government does not function well.

“Municipalities are corrupt and they are the hubs of money laundering, therefore government will introduce a new law which will evaluate municipal officials’ competencies. We want qualified people, trained and equipped to work for the people and ensure that their municipalities are well run,” the president emphasised.

The president was booed by the leadership of the EFF who repeatedly interrupted his speech. They also held a silent protest before his delivery and carried placards which stated that the president was a ‘criminal’ and had ‘no right to address the people’.

The EFF said Ramaphosa had no right to call municipal officials criminals as he still needs to respond to the allegations filed against him in the Phala-Phala farm saga.

Ramaphosa urged all spheres of government to work together, to turn the South Africa they dream of into reality.

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