Parliament blames ‘lack of cooperation’ for North West service delivery failures

North West MEC for local government and human settlements Galaletsang Fenny Gaolaolwe told a recent ad hoc committee that Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality and local municipalities under its jurisdiction were not pulling towards the same direction to address service delivery challenges in the district.

Parliament reports that a delegation comprised of members from the ad hoc committee to inquire into the intervention in the North West Provincial Government in terms of section 100 of the constitution is alarmed by admissions of lack of cooperation and coordination between the district and local municipalities under its jurisdiction.

The ad hoc committee is in the North West province to undertake oversight visits to ascertain if there is a need for the intervention as required by section 100 (2) (b) of the constitution.

Delegation leader Jomo Nyambi said in a statement after a site visit: “According to the report that we got, there is a problem of coordination between the district and a number of local municipalities. This lack of cooperation concerns us as the ad hoc committee because it compromises service delivery.”

The delegation visited the Lichtenburg Waste Water Treatment Plant and found the facility partly operational leading to spillages into the ecosystem.

“The issue of inadequate maintenance, the issue of insufficient security, and the issues of workers not getting the necessary equipment that will enable them to be effective and work properly are a concern for us,” said Nyambi.

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The delegation has requested a full report on the work that was supposed to be done by Sedibeng Water Board within the municipality as per a previously signed service level agreement.

In the meantime, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has implemented Operation Prosper which has seen SANDF members assist the municipality as it seeks to stabilise its sanitation programme despite the SANDF’s own funding challenges.

The delegation also visited the department of social development provincial head office in Mahikeng where department employees are currently engaged in strike action citing non-compliance with occupational health and safety requirements by the landlord of the building they are stationed in.

The staff claimed to have sent the landlord various letters demanding that he resolves the safety concerns and stated that he has allegedly ignored these letters.

The staff then told the delegation that part of the problem stems from the fact that all senior managers are currently “acting managers” and none have been permanently appointed to their roles.

Despite the “acting” status of the current head of department who has been in her position since her predecessor retired on October 1, she was given until noon today (Wednesday) to provide the committee with a full report outlining all steps taken to address all the challenges that have impacted on service delivery by the department.

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