DEAR Editor,-
Dave Snashall’s letter ‘Time to work together to gain control’ published in the Herald’s May 30 edition is worth correcting. Looking at the criteria used, it is no wonder Ezinqoleni is featured prominently on the list.
Due to historical imbalances, pre-1994 policies to be precise, it is therefore not accidental that Ezinqoleni is one of the worst affected in terms of:- the number of people aged 20 and older without matriculation; high unemployment and poverty levels; few households with flushing toilets and piped water; low percentage of weekly refuse removal access; and almost non-existent revenue generated by the municipality.
Fair enough, there can be no justification for poor governance and adverse Auditor-General reports, and failure to spend national government allocations is tantamount to treason, especially in the context of massive backlogs. I’m proud to say that Ezinqoleni is not one of those and accepting the responsibility of being a municipal manager in an environment with such challenges, is no mean feat.
The level of backlogs vary from municipality to municipality and it is improper to pass judgement without acknowledging efforts of various municipalities in addressing backlogs.
However, you can blame the municipal managers for not doing what they get paid for when there is glaring evidence that no progress has been made in terms of service provision and poor audit outcomes.
Without speaking for other municipal managers, Ezinqoleni is unperturbed by such criticism as records speak for themselves. A significant number of households have benefited from sanitation, water supply, electricity, housing and bursary assistance for poor children, who would otherwise not have made it to tertiary institutions.
Fortunately, all students aided through our Tertiary Assistance Programme (TAP) are not in human resources, but in critical fields like medicine, engineering, surveying and postgraduate studies in accounting. This is a practical commitment to addressing historical challenges by a municipality with virtually no income.
If such efforts can be labelled as disgraceful, it can only be by those who do not appreciate good things done for the most destitute segments of the population. It is no crime for municipal managers to accept deployments of working in such constrained municipalities since we come from the same backgrounds. Criticism is always welcomed, but it must be fair, objective and qualitative.
I have carefully steered away from politics, rather confining myself to issues affecting Ezinqoleni, so I invite you to carefully scrutinise the source documents used and you will find that Ezinqoleni is making great strides in service delivery and improved governance. Were it not for huge historical backlogs, Ezinqoleni would not be on the list.
Grants are cash-backed and have been spent in line with approved business plans, audit reports are not adverse and there are no incidents of mismanagement or maladministration.
On a separate note, we thank South Africans from advantaged backgrounds for continuously giving us innovative ideas and words of encouragement in our quest to move the country forward.
MANDLA MABECE
Ezinqoleni Municipal Manager
