SEDIBENG.- The Democratic Alliance (DA) has said that with no water and electricity, the Emfuleni Local Municipality residents will endure an even tougher battle against the third wave of Covid-19, where they will be unable to use hot water to clean and protect themselves from the virus.
DA’s Kingsol Chabalala said that ELM officials are struggling to reach out to its residents to attend to service delivery issues due to the shortage of vehicles, which greatly concerns the DA.
“Only 129 out of 522 vehicles are roadworthy and operational in Emfuleni Local Municipality, which impacts negatively on service delivery in terms of officials attending to service delivery complaints such as power outages, water leakages and sewer blockages.”
Chabalala said that this information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile, in a written reply to his questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) recently.
“According to MEC Maile, 302 vehicles are still waiting to be sent for repairs and 91 vehicles are being repaired. In total 393 vehicles are not operational in Emfuleni. Furthermore, 41 vehicles have been repaired but have been kept by the service provider for over two years due to non-payment. It is unacceptable for service providers not to be paid on time for services rendered which result in service delivery being interrupted and harms the sustainability of small businesses, ” Chabalala said, adding that this is a clear indication that Emfuleni is experiencing a serious long-term cash flow crisis which has resulted in failing to pay service providers for services rendered.
“It has now become a norm for this municipality not to pay service providers on time such as Telkom, resulting in telecommunication lines being suspended, where residents could not communicate service delivery issues directly to the Municipality. Emfuleni must prioritise paying service providers within a 30-day payment period, ensuring that no services to residents are interrupted. The current situation in Emfuleni is a clear indication that the current government and its administrators are failing to rescue this municipality from its long financial crisis.”
