War room falters after city officials’ no show
War Room faces closuer if municipal officals don't act.
THE ward 66 War Room is on shaky grounds, as the latest meeting failed to reach a quorum and was duly shut down.
“Last month we hailed the appointment of a senior manager, Thomas Mketelwa, who reports directly to the city manager, as a welcome move in promoting the effectiveness of the War Room. But it would appear that our hopes were premature – at the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 12 August, only one official turned up,” said ward 66 councillor, Duncan Du Bois.
After waiting unsuccessfully for further officials to arrive, the meeting was abandoned due to non-attendance. “War Rooms are an initiative of the Premier of KZN in order to address bottlenecks in service delivery and poverty alleviation. Officials from a range of departments are supposed to be present as part of their daily duties. Although matters looked promising after Mketelwa fired off a string of emails demanding answers to ward 66 War Room issues, nothing further has transpired. We find this farcical and unacceptable because it is going to lead to the failure of the War Room.”
Along with Bluff Ratepayers Association chairman, Ivor Aylward, Du Bois calls for Mketelwa to liaise with the War Room co-ordinator, Brenda Dlamini, to ensure officials are present for future meetings. “Failing which, the exercise will have to be declared a non-starter and disbanded.”
In response, senior manager, Thomas Mketelwa said he has indicated to the War Room members that action will take place.
